Hello all,

I'm about to take delivery of a new tractor (the one with the expensive green paint), and a no-cost option is for them to fill the rear tires with a water/anti-freeze mixture. Those of you who have tractors will know that the purpose of the water is to add extra weight on the back end in order to keep the back wheels on the ground when lifting a heavy load at the front end.

Since I've not had a tractor before, I don't know if there is any downside to adding water. If anyone who has a tractor wants to post their opinion about this subject, I would be appreciative to hear (read) it.

thanks in advance,
Caladan

main reason I have added water/antifreeze or cacl mixture or rear wheel weights has always been for traction (torque to the ground) ... If I need to offset heavy load in front end loader just put on hay forks and pick up a bale.
But for whatever reason, nothing really bad about using water/antifreeze mix .... ca cloride mix I don't think anyone uses anymore. So wheel weights cost you and liquid is free .... your call IMO

That extra weight also provides more "bite" from your tires when pulling a disk, cultivator, blade, etc. Another reason I like the water is if you get a puncture in your tire, the air will not leak out as fast. The water slows down the flat. I have always put water in my tractor tires.

Depends on the tractor, options, weight, workload, and speed. The water is really just a cheap way to properly ballast the tractor.

If it is a 2WD, I usually have gone with about a 30/70 split on weight. Although this seems light on the front end, a lot of row crop tractors have to have front weights added to reach this weight distribution. Adding water in the tires requires adding even more weight to the front.

For MFWD, smaller tractors would do well with something along the lines of 40/60. Larger row-crop tractors with this option, probably something more like 35/65 unless it has front duals, then you may want to get back to about a 40/60 split.

For a 4WD, 55/45 should get you pretty close. Steiger/Case IH 4WD's, I've found I can usually ballast with water and get them pretty close. The Ford Versatiles were a little lighter in the back end and required a little more work to ballast correctly.

While the water can help slow flats, it also makes a flat repair more expensive, depending on who does the work. Some guys charge more due to the time of letting water out, etc.

What model JD did you get? What are you going to use it for?

Thanks for the replies -- looks like there's little downside to having water in the rear tires. We had agreed to it when we purchased the tractor, so I guess we will let that decision stand.

We got a 3032e - 31.4hp/4-wheel drive/hydrostatic/front loader/5' shredder. Use is just general land upkeep at our little ranchito.....

Unless you implale it with a stick, you don't get many flats on tractor tires. Get the tires filled and don't look back. You will get a hell of a lot more performance out of your tractor, even if it is smaller.

We didn't put any in our tires on our new McCormick MC130. But its also a 4WD and has plenty of traction.

Just my opinion.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-Thomas Jefferson

Downside: Weight. If you have a big trailer and a good truck, or if you never move the tractor, it isn't an issue, but all that extra ballast can make the SOB really heavy.

On my old ford, I've got wheel weights, and if I ever need more weight on the ass end, I hook up a heavy implement.

For some shredding and light front end loader work, etc. I wouldn't add any water. The added weight will not help in any way.

If you're doing some heavy plowing or lifting heavy items or doing heavy work with the front end loader frequently, that's when the added weight will do you good.

As mentioned, the reason water was originally in tractor tires was for traction. We ran in smaller tractors because we pull pecan harvesters that can really throw the rear end of a tractor around without some extra weight back there, especially when you're circling native trees in uneven river bottoms. The ballast for the front end loader was a positive side-effect.

The biggest downside that there is came to a head back in the cold snap of the early '80s... all the tires back then had tubes in them, and the water froze solid. You could not get a tractor tire tube in the state of Texas. With tubeless tires and antifreeze it should be better, but make sure you have protection to 0 degrees or so. That should also give you some extra corrosion protection since it isn't confined in a tube anymore.