Hi Amy. If you check with Deere, they will tell you that, 1500 lb to 2500 (!) lbs of rear ballast is required, dependent on the load in your front bucket. Rim guard gives us 504 lbs. My ballast box is another 500 or so. I’m also adding (2) 70lb wheel weights. Even at that I’m under the recommended level. So the answer to your question is: if I don’t have a rear attachment on, the ballast box is on. You’ll see an upcoming video where I added 3 inch spacers for rear wheels. I’ll also be adding 1.5 inch spacers for front wheels. I just think we need to err on the side of caution. Thanks for watching!!