Tractor Mike's video: Proper Ballast and the Deere Lawsuit

Got a letter from a viewer who bought a new tractor and assumed it had fluid in the tires. When lifting a weight on an incline he encountered a really dangerous situation when the uphill rear wheel came off the ground. He immediately let the load down, which is what you need to do when something like that happens, and he survived. Situations like that don't always turn out well and it illustrates how important it is to add weight to a tractor for maximum productivity and safety. Tractor ballast, could be tire fluid, wheel weights or a weight box on the three point. If you're using the tractor to mow and are never on slopes or trying to get a big load in the front end loader bucket, you may not need ballast. Just about all of the rest of us do. My favorite ballast is fluid in the tires. It's carried low, and will greatly assist in stability on hills and front end loader performance. The best choice for fluid, in my opinion, is Rim Guard, a beet juice derivative. Rim Guard won't cause your rims to rust like calcium chloride, and it's environmentally friendly, unlike any type of antifreeze-type substance which could kill your dog or cattle if some leaked out and they drank it. Rim Guard is my sponsor, and it's the best choice out there for wheel ballast. It won't freeze down to -35 degrees Fahrenheit. If you get the tires fluided and still don't have enough weight, you may want to add some wheel weights. Wheel weights are only an option if the rims have holes drilled in them, not all tractors do. You can stack as many weights as you need both on the inside and outside of the wheel. Makes it a little tough on anyone changing tires though. Some people prefer a ballast box on the back...I recommend filling them with sand until you determine the exact amount of weight you need. Too much or too little isn't good, filling a ballast box with concrete is a bad idea if the tractor can't pick it up. Not having proper ballast can be deadly. John Deere is involved in a lawsuit with a family in Oklahoma as this video is being posted. A man bought a new tractor and wasn't told about ballasting at the time of the sale. The tractor rolled over on him and he died as a result. The family sued Deere and won, now it is going to appeal. It's a tragic situation and brings home the importance of ballasting and may, in the future, dictate that the subject gets discussed at some point in every tractor sale. Bottom line to all of this is if you use a loader and/or if you're on hills, you need some extra weight on that tractor to get the maximum performance from it and stay safe. LINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... Rim Guard: https://www.rimguardsolutions.com/ The Tractor Fun Store: https://asktractormike.com/products-for-sale/ Support the Tractor Mike Channel: https://www.patreon.com/TractorMike Visit the Tractor Mike website: http://asktractormike.com/ Visit Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ask-Tractor-Mike-312112962245304/ Copyright 2020 Tractor Mike LLC