“Sewer Pipe” 3-Pt. Tractor Weights

2020 - Volume #44, Issue #4, Page #18

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Eric Petrevich was looking for an easy way to add rear ballast to his Kioti 25 hp. tractor, without losing use of the 3-pt. hitch or pto. He couldn’t find what he wanted on the market so he decided to build his own out of a big steel pipe.
    “All the ballast boxes I looked at had major flaws,” says Petrevich. “ On some the 3-pt hitch has to be raised when they’re installed, which puts constant strain on all hitch components and also raises the tractor’s center of gravity. Others are so large they’ll scrape the ground as you drive up an incline, or they’re in the way when you have to navigate tight spaces.”
    He started with a 2-ft. long, 16-in. dia.. 3/4-in. thick sewer pipe given to him by a neighbor. He welded the pipe onto a homemade, 3-pt. mounted bracket with an expanded metal floor, as well as a ball hitch on back and 3 welded-on, homemade jacks. Each jack consists of a pipe that rides inside a larger 1 1/2-in. dia. pipe, which Petrevich welded onto the sewer pipe. Both pipes have a series of holes in them, and the jack’s height can be easily adjusted by changing the position of a pin.
    “The sewer pipe weighs just 240 lbs. empty, but the tractor’s rear wheels are filled with ballast so I only needed a little more weight. If I need more weight I can drop rocks or other heavy objects inside the pipe,” says Petrevich.
    “It took about 3 days to build, with most of that time spent painting and sandblasting. All I bought were 2 pins and the ball hitch, which I use to pull trailers. The rest was scrap metal. My total cost was less than $50.”
    By lowering the 3-pt. all the way, the ballast won’t interfere with the pto, says Petrevich. To remove the ballast he just raises the 3-pt. and then drops the jacks to the ground.
    He stores rakes and shovels in 2 vertical pipes that he mounted next to the 3-pt.’s top link. “I leave the ball hitch and a toolbox inside the pipe all the time. There’s room for a 5-gal bucket inside the pipe to carry smaller items,” notes Petrevich.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eric Petrevich, Glen Gardner, N.J. (farmshow@megageek.com).

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“Sewer Pipe” 3-Pt Tractor Weights TRACTORS Accessories Eric Petrevich was looking for an easy way to add rear ballast to his Kioti 25 hp tractor without losing use of the 3-pt hitch or pto He couldn’t find what he wanted on the market so he decided to build his own out of a big steel pipe “All the ballast boxes I looked at had major flaws ” says Petrevich “ On some the 3-pt hitch has to be raised when they’re installed which puts constant strain on all hitch components and also raises the tractor’s center of gravity Others are so large they’ll scrape the ground as you drive up an incline or they’re in the way when you have to navigate tight spaces ” He started with a 2-ft long 16-in dia 3/4-in thick sewer pipe given to him by a neighbor He welded the pipe onto a homemade 3-pt mounted bracket with an expanded metal floor as well as a ball hitch on back and 3 welded-on homemade jacks Each jack consists of a pipe that rides inside a larger 1 1/2-in dia pipe which Petrevich welded onto the sewer pipe Both pipes have a series of holes in them and the jack’s height can be easily adjusted by changing the position of a pin “The sewer pipe weighs just 240 lbs empty but the tractor’s rear wheels are filled with ballast so I only needed a little more weight If I need more weight I can drop rocks or other heavy objects inside the pipe ” says Petrevich “It took about 3 days to build with most of that time spent painting and sandblasting All I bought were 2 pins and the ball hitch which I use to pull trailers The rest was scrap metal My total cost was less than $50 ” By lowering the 3-pt all the way the ballast won’t interfere with the pto says Petrevich To remove the ballast he just raises the 3-pt and then drops the jacks to the ground He stores rakes and shovels in 2 vertical pipes that he mounted next to the 3-pt ’s top link “I leave the ball hitch and a toolbox inside the pipe all the time There’s room for a 5-gal bucket inside the pipe to carry smaller items ” notes Petrevich Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Eric Petrevich Glen Gardner N J farmshow@megageek com

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