B7100 axle extension?

[Puriri Farm]

I'm wondering if it's sensible (without breaking things) to widen the rear of my B7100.

I'm using it in a market garden, and my beds are 800mm wide. With my turf wheels in the outermost hole on the standard axle, I have 500mm between the wheels. I'd need to push them out another 150mm each side (which would also help deal with how tippy this machine is on the slightest slope)

It may actually be smarter to just extend the hex socket in the wheels themselves - I can't imagine ever wanting to run them more inboard than where they currently are.

Effectively this would be like running dual wheels, only without the inner tire on.

Can the axle/case handle this extra leverage? I would be running a little power harrow in this configuration on basically flat ground.

I'd need to push the front wheels out 50mm each as well which should be relatively easy
with some spacer brackets (but will make steering even more of a bear probably!)

Any/all thoughts welcomed!

 

[Roadworthy]

You can await other opinions but personally I wouldn't do it. You'll be placing strain on the axle for which it was never designed.

 

[BigG]

Are your beds fixed at the 800 mm? Or is this what your are accustom to? Here in the Florida strawberry fields the equipment dealers make extensions onto the wheel to get the correct spacing, however, I have only see this done on larger tractors. They are setting the wheels out maybe 10 inches on each wheel. I have never measured the space but it does make for a strange looking tractor. A very wide stance with very narrow tires but it fits the spacing they need.

Could you use a combination to obtain the spread that you need? By this I mean obtain some different wheels with a different offset in the rims? The rice paddle tire and rims come to mind. Then add the spacers that you would need.

This idea might make you think that I am crazy but I like to think outside the box. Could a set of old fashion steel wheels be made that would do what you need? My thinking is to make the wheel narrow and not make the tractor wider and putting more stress on the axle and related parts and still allow you to get to the 800 mm.

 

[Puriri Farm]

30" is pretty standard for market gardens on this scale - that's 762mm in Kubota measurements, so 800mm gives me a tiny amount of clearance either side.

I'd imagine that the leverage would effectively be applied from the middle of the tire contact with the ground, so a narrower wheel/tire would shift it in a little, but probably not all that much.

The axles are certainly not going to bend - even the full ~500kg of tractor would struggle to bend one of those! It's the bearings inside the case (and the case supporting them) that I haven't laid eyes on that I'm not sure of.

 

[bucktail]

You don't move the wheels out by extending the axles, you do it by flipping the rims to offset the wheels out instead of in or by using spacers. Most models are good for about 3" on the back. The problem is going to be on the front. The front is not designed for the extra stress. Some guys get away with offsetting the front, but I wouldn't use a front end loader with it.