John be sure and read the operators manual on proper ballasting for loader use.
Two reasons. One is safety. Having enough weight on the rear of the tractor, especially low center of gravity weight, makes the tractor more stable with a bucket load in the loader. Keep the bucket low to the ground when loaded except when raising to dump. Never be turning a corner with the bucket fully raised loaded unless you absolutely have to, then slowly and carefully. But you probably already knew that.
The other reason is to prolong the life of the mechanical front wheel drive. With inadequate rear weight, that little front differential and associated parts takes the full horsepower of the engine. With adequate weight on the back the rear wheels are doing their fair share of the work so the load is distrubuted away from the front end. One of the weakest links on the small 4wd tractors is the front drive mechanism. They take a lot of abuse and for as small as they are, they are not cheap to repair. So do yourself a favor and weight the rear properly for loader work.
There are several ways to acomplish this. Rear cast wheel weights, fluid in the rear tires, a rear mounted implement on the 3pt hitch, or a weight box built for the 3pt hitch.
I use a combination of cast weight and windshield washer fluid in the rear tires (tire dealer can do it - we buy in 55 gallon drums) plus usually a box blade on the rear. As I recall my JD manuals for the numerous 5000 series tractors I have owned recomended at least two types of rear ballast to get enough rear weight. Adequate rear weight will make the tractor more stable on hillsides, will make it work better with a loader, and will prolong the life of the front wheel drive.
When we owned commercial turkey grow out barns we used a weight box filled with concrete because the tractor loaders were used extensively in close quarter buildings (rear blades tended to reach out and grab trusses). But for most home owners a rear blade of some sort will suffice for part of the weight. Check the manual. It should give minimum recomendations.
