Hi guys, I have a Deere 410B backhoe. I operate it fairly often on "less than flat" ground. Nothing crazy but I seem to get the "pucker factor" fairly often I know you can get wheel spacers for smaller tractors to increase the width and stability, but can you get the same thing for industrial sized machines that are much heavier? Do wheel spacers increase the stresses on the axles/differentials? I would like to add 4-6" or so total in width if it would make a big difference in stability.
I am presently working on a 310D 4x4 Turbo that has appx 2" spacers on it. I would suspect they may be the same but others would know for sure. That would give you near your desired increase. Mel.
I'm not sure about your particular backhoe but you might look at swapping rear wheels from side to side and turning 'em around. I did this on an older gas powered 400 Deere because there wasn't enough room for heavy tire chains. After turning 'em around and swapping side to side, as I recall it made about 1 1/2" more room for the chains per side. Try measuring the offset in your rims to make sure this would work. I doubt that little more width would add much more stability for sidehill work. What I do for sidehills that give me that "pucker factor" is to run the boom and bucket out on the downhill side, just clearing the ground with the bucket. The loader bucket is carried as low as possible as well.
I "believe" the wheels are set to the max width, but I'll certainly double check on that.
half fill the tyres with water,,,,,added low down weight
Fill the up hill side?
If you're always going around the hill in the same direction.
I suppose that could work I filled the rear tires on my tractor with Rimguard, which made a big difference, it was an additional 1,100lbs or so on a 5,000lb tractor, so it was significant. However, I don't imagine an extra 1k lbs on a 14k lb piece of equipment would have that much effect???
YOU would be Very Surprised !!!! …… at how much difference it would make, and while you were at it do the fronts as well, so that you'll maintain steer-ability that the front-end won't be taking off while crossing the slope empty ….. And widening up, even 4" is huge …… It's all about the centre of gravity …… the only drawback I can see widening up , would be that your front bucket width will be narrower than its stance ….. jmho
Any ideas where I could find wheel spacers? I believe (but I'll have to check) that my bucket is a good foot or so wider than my rear wheels are now.
I had to put spacers on my front wheels because new replacement tires were wider. This link is where I purchased them. They fit perfectly. http://www.motorsport-tech.com/contact.html