For really better traction on bad surfaces - snow/ice and for hilly conditions chains are the way to go. I used to add weights on the back of the tractor previously and they do help. I decided to load the tires as the weight only weighs down the wheels/tires and not the axles or frame. Plus it provides a lower center of gravity which is always good. Another factor is cost - cost me $18 to add 80 pounds with tire loading, suitecase weights would be about $100 for the same weight. Only concerne is the loaded tires are always there not just in winter when I need it for snow plowing. Also weight of tires on lawn when mowing may not be good. Possible extra strain on the trans/engine moving the extra weight? Add on weights like suitecase weights are easy to add only when needed.

To save a lot of trouble, jack it up, and remove the tire from the wheel, leaving the wheel on the tractor. Clean it up, apply some paint to the rim, inside, and install the tire and/or the tube, get it all set, and air it up! First allow the paint to dry. Usually the rim is rusted tightly to the axle, and any attempt to hammer, jack, or pull the wheel off, will result in breaking the axle retainer rings that hold the axle in the transmission---and--its deep doo-doo from then on, with having to do a removal of tranny and a replacement of the retainer, if it is still available! Another thing you can do, if the tire can be reused, is to fill it with "Slime" available at Tractor Supply Co. stores, or mower repair shops, etc. Follow the directions and it will work well!

In my opinion, you are heading down the highway to hell on this one because your priorities are all wrong. You don't buy, modify and use some cheapo LT to try and bush hog a piece of property that is strewn with hazards. Go rent a skid steer loader with a tooth bar on the bucket and clean up all the rocks and other junk that is on this property. Even if you don't haul the stuff off site, you can heap it up in one spot for the time being. If stumps are an issue, then rent a stump grinder and deal with them. The only obstacle/obstruction left on the property should be live trees. The rest of the ground should be clean and level even if you don't want to have an actual lawn right now. The skid steer loader can shave off high spots and carry the dirt to fill in the low spots. If you don't know how to operate one, then hire a pro. Once you achieve the clean-up and levelling, then any LT will maintain it without fear of destroying itself or launching a chunk of something into the air that might hit a passerby. With your back condition, why would you even think that some LT with 12" rear rims is going to navigate smoothly over that terrain?

I'm going to have to defer to some of the "Gravely owners/experts" here. I can only offer that some tractors have a snap ring, washer and keyway mount, some have a cotter pin,washer and keyway mount, while some heavier/higher end models have a flange and lugs (nuts or bolts). If you see a cotter pin through the end of the axle shaft, or a snap ring in a groove on the end of the axle shaft (it will be one or the other), that will have to be removed before the wheel can be slipped off the axle. If this is a machine you have recently acquired that has been "put up" in storage for a long time (year or more) you might have difficulty in "slipping" the wheel off. If it doesn't slip off, spray penetrant on the axle/wheel juncture on the inboard and outboard sides of the wheel, allow up to several days and repeated sprayings to loosen the wheel. One method you can try to help loosen the wheel after spraying with penetrant is to jack up one wheel only, just enough to clear the ground (or floor). Leave the opposite wheel on the ground. Take hold of the raised wheel and rock it back and forth (clockwise/counterclockwise) with a lot of force. I mean really SLAM it. Just don't knock it off the jack stand or block. If it loosens, leave that wheel in place and let that side down on the ground. Go to the other wheel, raise it up and do the same thing to that side. Only when you have both sides loosened should you actually slip the wheels off. DO NOT beat on the inboard side of the wheel in an attempt to "drive" the wheel off. You risk damaging some retaining rings inside the differential if you do that. If your tractor does not use washer and keyway wheel wheel mounts I don't know how to remove the wheels.