# Cheap alternative to counterweight kit



## seekay (Aug 31, 2009)

I use a tractor-mounted snowblower to clear my driveway and private road, and have come up with a couple of easy and cheap ways to avoid spending big money on one of the fitted suitcase weight kits you can buy (one from Bercomac costs $300 for a 150-lb kit and bracket), or wheel weights, which are also pricey and don't really weigh that much.


-- get some threaded steel rod, 5-8" should work, and in a one-foot length if available. Slide it through one of the larger holes on your rear hitch -- be careful not to push it too far back and into the transmission or other parts - and secure both sides with a lock washer and nut. 

Use another nut, or other piece of metal of similar length, and place it on the lower lip of the hitch and under the rod. This will help even out the tension and keep your weight bar straighter. (It won't bend but will lean down some)

Now you can slide standard barbell weight plates onto the rod and secure those with a big washer and nut.

Right now I have four 25-pound plates on the bar. It's sagging down a little, so I only have about 4 inches of clearance from the ground. That shouldn't be a problem, but I am looking for a way to pull that end up some. I have some ideas. An alternative would be to use smaller weight plates.

This isn't ideal, but it eliminates the time and expense of fabricating or buying a bracket and custom weights. You can get this together with a trip to Ace hardware. Of course it only works if you've got some barbells in the basement. 


-- 100 lbs. isn't quite enough weight, so the other thing you can do is place a couple 70 lb. bags of tube sand between your seat and the engine housing. Two on top of one another shouldn't interfere with the gas pedals, and they're pretty heavy, so they don't slide around either.

If you've got any more small weight plates, you can lay a number of them behind and underneath the bags. 

Assuming 40-50 pounds of extra weight from the plates, and this is another nearly 200 pounds of weight for short money.

Of course, this isn't ideal either, as the weight is best placed right over the back wheels or hung off the back. But what do you want for short money?


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## jkitterman (Jan 28, 2004)

I have visions of a Red Green tractor special in my head now. Did you use lots of duct tape? "If she doesn't find you handsome, at least she'll find you handy."


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## seekay (Aug 31, 2009)

*But of course!*

Yes, at least a full roll of duct tape is securing these babies tight to the tractor.

Hey, what can I say. We like to save a buck here, just like the rest of the gang down at Possum Lodge.


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