I have a 279c and run a 72" bobcat brush cat mower. I find when carrying it around the machine feels very light in the rear and feels like it's riding on the front idlers an creates lots of vibration. Do you guys think that counterweights would solve this problem? How much do they weigh?
Two questions. How much does the mower weigh and how much is the 279C rated to carry hung off the front end of the lift arms..? Is the machine in reality too small capacity-wise for the attachment and should you really be looking at a 289 or a 299 to do the job..? Also what is the machine Serial Number..? because there is a counterweight attachment available for an MBT-prefix machine.
I don't believe the machine is to small. It just feels unbalanced with the mower hanging off the front. The mower weighs around 1500lbs but is about 7' long. The machine is rated at 3200lbs at 50%. Serial # JMBT01878
Drop me a PM with your email address. I'll send you details of the counterweight system including the weights. It might also pay you to consider updating the machine to heavy-duty axles if it doesn't already have them. I'll send details of those as well.
Counter weighs do help to offset weigh hung on the front on the machine. Increases lifting capability as well using the same principals. CAT has a few different options in terms of weighs and configurations. 1500 lbs dangling off the front is going to be felt but a weigh kit can/will compensate for allot of the unbalanced travel you are feeling. As Nige said, you should consider the. Heavy duty axle as well...
Unfortunately counterweights in this instance are a double-edged sword. The attachment itself is not that heavy but the distance it's hanging from the front of the machine is the killer, that makes for a big lever. To counterbalance that lever unfortunately you can't add a small amount of weight 7 feet behind the back of the machine, you need to add a lot of weight bolted to the back of the chassis. That counterweight, plus the weight of the attachment, is going to be hard on the axles and wheel bearings.
Nige pm sent
You have mail.........
Couldn't agree more with you Nige....it's going to be very hard on bearing and axles and the operators back if you get moving to fast and hits a drip in the road and get that 7 foot monster bucking too and fro...I hang a mulcher off the front of my 299's and can feel those as well. I have the full forestry package and weigh kit plus steel undercarriage...but it's close to the machine when compared to what the OP is running....
You would think that balancing out the machine would less strain on the components by spreading out the load?
Not true unfortunately. I agree that you are balancing the load between the front and rear of the machine by adding counterweight, however the total load you are imposing on the machine is increasing by virtue of adding the counterweights. That's usually where the heavy-duty axles come into their own, but unfortunately they are not available for your particular model.
Not how it pencils out... For example, when you max out the lift and just get the rear wheels (or idlers in this case) off the ground, the front idlers are supporting the whole weight of the machine, AND the attachment. Adding counter weights, just adds more weight to the total, yes the back comes down, but the weight on the front is the same, or worse.