Lifting and Supporting Tractors

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Posted: 5/24/2020 8:01:42 AM EDT

I'm getting reading to swap around the rear rims on my John Deere 1050 tractor for a wider track, about 4" or so. Tractor is about 4000lbs. What are you guys doing or not doing? I was planning on using a bottle jack and 8x8" timbers as cribbage, I don't have jack stands that I trust or that are tall enough.

Posted: 5/24/2020 8:17:15 AM EDT

[#1]

HARDWOOD cribbing is fine

Posted: 5/24/2020 8:23:23 AM EDT

[#2]

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Quoted:
HARDWOOD cribbing is fine

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I think I'm just going to pick up a better bottle jack/jack stands from US Jack. I'm sure this won't be the last time I need to lift the ass end of a tractor. USA Tool Supply has decent prices right now.

Posted: 5/24/2020 9:45:39 AM EDT

[#3]

my harbor freight 12 ton stands are very tall(36" i believe at max) and have been fantastic for the lifted pickups I have had over the years.

Posted: 5/24/2020 10:00:09 AM EDT

[#4]

There isn't a lot of room to play with on a smaller tractor, so I put a 20 ton bottle jack under the drawbar fixture, then use jackstands under the axle housing. Cribbing is fine as long as there is room to get it under there in a stable fashion. Just stacking on on top the other is not that.

Posted: 5/24/2020 11:03:21 AM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:
There isn't a lot of room to play with on a smaller tractor, so I put a 20 ton bottle jack under the drawbar fixture, then use jackstands under the axle housing. Cribbing is fine as long as there is room to get it under there in a stable fashion. Just stacking on on top the other is not that.

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Like you said proper cribbing would be fine. With wide enough boards you could possibly get away with single stacking if you nail them together but I'd be worried about side stability. Personally I'd just get some bigger jack stands, it won't be the last time you need to jack the tractor up.

Here's what proper cribbing looks like (we're sliding 300,00 lbs here).

Posted: 5/24/2020 11:17:14 AM EDT

[#6]

Timber cribbing unless you have specialized jack stands.

We sometimes still use timber cribbing to hold up semi trucks in my shop on long term projects. But rarely anymore as we’ve gotten so many sets of jack stands and combination jack/stand devices.

Posted: 5/24/2020 12:13:39 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:
my harbor freight 12 ton stands are very tall(36" i believe at max) and have been fantastic for the lifted pickups I have had over the years.

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In all seriousness, I think those just got recalled. Like a 5% failure rate.

ETA Linky looks like the 3 and 6 ton.

Posted: 5/24/2020 12:51:02 PM EDT

[#8]

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Quoted:

Like you said proper cribbing would be fine. With wide enough boards you could possibly get away with single stacking if you nail them together but I'd be worried about side stability. Personally I'd just get some bigger jack stands, it won't be the last time you need to jack the tractor up.

Here's what proper cribbing looks like (we're sliding 300,00 lbs here).

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/119852/424-1430487.jpg

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
There isn't a lot of room to play with on a smaller tractor, so I put a 20 ton bottle jack under the drawbar fixture, then use jackstands under the axle housing. Cribbing is fine as long as there is room to get it under there in a stable fashion. Just stacking on on top the other is not that.

Like you said proper cribbing would be fine. With wide enough boards you could possibly get away with single stacking if you nail them together but I'd be worried about side stability. Personally I'd just get some bigger jack stands, it won't be the last time you need to jack the tractor up.

Here's what proper cribbing looks like (we're sliding 300,00 lbs here).

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/119852/424-1430487.jpg

Yes, correct. OP said he was using 8" timbers, I would not want that parallel stacked lateral stability would be poor at best.

Correctly cribbed it can be very stable, in fact I would prefer that to a jack stand, but under a 40hp tractor there is going to be limited room to do so correctly

Posted: 5/24/2020 3:50:43 PM EDT

[#9]

I ended up buying a set of jack stands and a bottle jack from US Jack. I’ll post some pics when I swap the outer rims around. I’ll end up with a 4” wider track.

Attached File

Posted: 5/24/2020 6:30:35 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
my harbor freight 12 ton stands are very tall(36" i believe at max) and have been fantastic for the lifted pickups I have had over the years.

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Have you checked to see if they are recalled?
ETA: beat to it. I didn't know they even made 12 ton stands?

Posted: 5/26/2020 2:02:10 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
I ended up buying a set of jack stands and a bottle jack from US Jack. I’ll post some pics when I swap the outer rims around. I’ll end up with a 4” wider track.
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/434728/8FB0F9D7-F927-4D8F-944D-797D6A406F51_jpe-1430929.JPG

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I've almost forgot what a clean 1050 looks like. My parents mow their lawn with theirs, my dad oils every linkage about every time. Most of the back end of their tractor is black with dirt stuck to oil residue...

Posted: 5/26/2020 7:43:12 PM EDT

[#12]

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I've almost forgot what a clean 1050 looks like. My parents mow their lawn with theirs, my dad oils every linkage about every time. Most of the back end of their tractor is black with dirt stuck to oil residue...

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She's a little dusty here. Having only 260 original hours helps, too. Not bad for a 1983 tractor.

Posted: 5/26/2020 11:28:56 PM EDT

[#13]

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She's a little dusty here. Having only 260 original hours helps, too. Not bad for a 1983 tractor.

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Wish I knew how many hours were on my parents' 1050. They bought it new in 1980. It's seen a ton of use over the years. The hour meter doesn't register hours right though. I remember when I was a teenager mowing fields one day for five hours, and the hour meter registered one.

Posted: 6/1/2020 4:06:35 PM EDT

[#14]

I got the rims and tires switched around. Ended up with an 8” wider track. The jack and stands by US Jack are very solid.

Attached File

Posted: 6/1/2020 7:43:22 PM EDT

[#15]

Did you roll them to the other side? Rotate and shift outward?

I have to do the same thing on a Ford 3000 with loaded rears, only I am making track narrower.

Posted: 6/2/2020 7:28:23 AM EDT

[#16]

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Quoted:
Did you roll them to the other side? Rotate and shift outward?

I have to do the same thing on a Ford 3000 with loaded rears, only I am making track narrower.

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I just swapped sides, they are a press fit, and the first tire popped off the inner wheel pretty fast, the next one I was ready for. They aren't loaded, so don't weight too much. The owner's manual has 9 different ways to orient the wheel/rim, I could swap the wheel and get another 8".

Of course, one lock washer broke, so I have to go to the HW store and get one, always something that drags out a project like this. I'll hit the nuts/bolts with a wrench in a week or so and make sure they are snug. My upper back cracked about 4 times, so that is about 125 in. lbs.