HOW MUCH COUNTER WEIGHT DO I NEED?

[husqvarna257]

I was out today moving some green split red oak today with my Kubota L3800. I had the bright idea or so I thought of putting it on skids with skids for the sides and back for portable firewood storage. I went to lift a skid and it would not lift it and the rear tires were coming up. I went with a half skid and I was moving it when I noticed the rear tire was coming up. I should add that I have rim guard in the back tires and that I have clamp on forks. Right now I have the tractor only, no back hoe or snow blower. Is the snow blower enough counter weight or what? Anyone else using skids for wood storage? Looking for ideas on how to beef up the sides.

 

[muddstopper]

With clamp on forks, the skids are a long way from the tractors front wheels. I would guess with a normal set of forks the load would be much closer to the tractor so you could lift more weight. There is probably all kinds of formulas for figuring proper counter weight, I dont know any of them. I would suggest just try the snow blower for back weight and f that didnt work, just attach the heaviest attachment you have.

 

[olympyk_999]

You can add enough weight for it to lift the skids but the front end of the tractor won't last long... If you don't need to lift the skids high I would look into a 3point fork setup as it should be able to handle the weight better...

 

[cantoo]

Your skids are too big for a L3800. Cut them down to a size that you can lift. Clamp on forks are not the long term solution for moving skids.

 

[cantoo]

Sorry husqvarna247, I got called away and didn't finish my post last night. I have a L35 and routinely overload it. My loader arms are weak and my left side arm is weaker than my right side arm. I have too many big buckets and attachments for the tractor size I have. I lift heavy ash and maple logs all the time.
I built my own skids starting with brick skids because they were the correct size. My skids for ash are 30" deep x 48"high by 48" wide. This is the maximum I can (likely heavier than I should lift) lift when they are full of "wet" ash. Maple would likely be too heavy. I can put 2 rows of 16" ash in them and lift them but it's a stretch. I have a counter weight for the back but my tires are not loaded because I transport the tractor a fair bit. The picture of the skids of wood shown is only 24" ash splits

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

524 loader? I believe at the plate it's rated for about 1200lbs, which isn't bad considering the tractor is only about 3000lbs.

Figure your bucket is 250ish lbs plus with those clamp on forks your a good distance from the quick tach plate.

If you keep your bins to maybe 1/4-1/5 cord you might be ok.

My Dad has the same tractor, with counterweight and a fork attachment, it won't lift a pallet of pellets.