Tire Ballast?

j-bird

Moderator
What experiences do you all have with different tire ballasts? I am considering adding some sort of tire ballast to a cart project I am working on (because it's now top heavy). I see options include: water, washer fluid, radiator fluid, beet juice, calcium chloride & foam. I am leaning heavily towards foam.....because I want max weight, and I like the non-flat benefit as well. Tires are new so replacing them anytime soon should NOT be an issue.
 
I have not tried the others yet but would look at them over the calcium chloride. When the tire is old and the valve starts leaking the calcium chloride will corrode the rim. Let us know what you learn.
 
What I have done on my wagon blinds to stabilize them (2 are gravity wagons with blinds built on top like yours and a flair side with wagon body as part of blind but it is on 7' legs welded to running gear) is take cables or heavy gauge fencing wire and tether them on each corner to a t post. I can't just hook up and drive away but it don't take long to disconnect if I needed to and move to next spot. I have moved two of them on a couple different occasions. One is in a permanent spot. Deer have been shot out of all of them and no problems with rocking has been experienced yet.
 
I have beet juice (brand name Rim Guard) in rear tractor tires but those tires are a decent size compared to what most med/light duty running gear have. With beet juice and calcium chloride you get around 10-1/2 to 11-1/2 lbs/gal. I just just don't see getting all that much extra weight in the old truck tires I use on my running gears.

Think you would be better off just making a shallow box on the cart frame and load up some rocks. Granite rocks are about 165 lbs/cubic foot. Or mix up some quikrete readymix instead.

A basketball sized granite rock weighs about 43-1/2 lbs so it doesn't take too many rocks to add up. If you have a gravity wagon you are starting with, just load a bunch of rocks or gravel in the bottom and be done. Of course on my land there is no shortage of rocks, or use dirt if you have to.
 
I am just looking at possibilities at the moment. I have the entire hopper I can add weight to, I can certainly add ground anchors or even use 4x4 to provide stability as well. Was just curious as to what some have done for the "tire ballast" option.
 
Foam would be the best bet for that application. Although, as mentioned, the weight will be negligible.
 
I'd be real hesitant with the foam. The equipment I've owned over the years with foam in the tires road so rough down the road I couldn't hardly stand it. 10 mph is about max. If you plan to pull that thing any faster than slowly through the field, it'll bounce itself to death.
I know fluid is often looked down on because it can rust rims but I know of tractors that have had fluid for 40+ years and the rims are still original. I seriously doubt you will have to worry about rusting your rims out any time soon. The down side of fluid or any type of liquid is the obvious PITA that comes with having to fix a flat.
If it was me, I'd figure out a way to attach ballast to your frame. It'll be a lot simpler and cheaper to do.
 
I have beet juice in mine, don't know the brand. It is non-corrosive and has added 600 lbs per tire. Have had it in for 4 years now without any issues.
 
I have windshield washer fluid in mine. Anything is better than calcium, fixing a rim that rusted through at the valve stem on a project tractor I'm working on.
 
I recently was moving some dirt with my loader started backing up and saw a spray of a brown liquid. Thought it was hydraulic oil but it turned out to be a buried stump had poked a hole in the tire sidewall and all the beet juice was spraying out. I suggest metal wheel weights.
 
I have beet juice in mine, don't know the brand. It is non-corrosive and has added 600 lbs per tire. Have had it in for 4 years now without any issues.
This is what the dealer recommended and installed in my new Kubota.
 
I would go with beet juice. A guy at my work bought a huge amount of foam to put in our equipment at work. After putting it in one loader, the rest is sitting in the shed unused. It made the ride terrible. They are bouncy enough with air, 10hrs a day with the foam is unbearable.
 
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