Finish mowers need wider wheels!

[Mosey]

My Land Pride FDR2572 3pt pull behind finish mower has 10"x4" tires and I've had problems with it leaving ruts in soft ground. The mower will leave ruts even when the tractor, which is much heavier, doesn't leave ruts. It also scuffs the ground sometimes if I go from forward to reverse (or vice-versa) so that the casters have to pivot in one spot to change direction. Wider tires would be much better. I've noticed that other brands have about the same sized tires. I've also noticed that many of the zero turn type riding mowers have much wider tires, such as 13"x6.5". Does anybody agree that "wider is better" and that pull behind finish mowers need wider tires?

 

[djradz]

Don't necessarily agree. I'm not seeing the same with my Woods RM 360. It only has casters in the rear though with the front being supported by "check chains". Does your mower have 2 or 4 wheels.

 

[Mosey]

My <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.landpride.com/lp/products/fdr25_specs.html>Land Pride mower</A> has 4 wheels. It weighs 670lbs. Wider wheels on the mower would have the same advantage as wide turf tires on the tractor. I don't have a problem 99% of the time, only in early spring when the ground is soft. I'm not complaining that it's a big problem, I just find it curious that the zero turn mowers have wider wheels and the pull behind types don't.

I got started on this whole train of thought because I was thinking about the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=buildit&Number=202371&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=>Adding guide wheels to blade or rake</A> problem and felt that wider would be better there too. Narrow tires would sink into the soft dirt more while leveling an area for seeding. I was thinking of going down to a local small engine and lawn mower repair place (they have a bunch of old mowers there that they use for parts) and see if I can get some used front caster wheels off of a zero turn mower, like the one I attached here which usually have pretty wide tires in the front, to use as guide wheels on my grader blade.

 

[normde2001]

Are you sure your mower wheels turn freely and are not trying to freeze up and drag instead of roll? A mower should not be heavy enough to leave ruts unless you have a tractor with downforce on the 3ph.

 

[Mosey]

I guess I didn't explain the situation very good. The only time I have a problem with ruts is when the ground is very soft, actually muddy. The tractor R4's will leave tread marks, but they are wide enough that they really don't leave any ruts. The narrow tires on the mower will leave "tracks" not more than 1/2" deep. This is only in the early spring when I have to mow even when it's wet because it won't stop raining long enough for the ground to dry out. Any other time of the year the ruts are not a problem. All I was saying is that if the tires were wider, they would sink in less. Apparently I'm the only one who mows when it's that wet.

But, even when the ground is dry, I have the scuffing problem when I change directions. If I stop and then back straight up, the caster wheels have to make a 180 degree turn on a dime - they basically just pivot 180 degrees in place. When that happens they will leave a slight scuff in the grass. In 2 days it's no longer noticeable, so it's not a real problem. Again, all I'm saying is that a wider tire would not press down so hard in one spot and probably wouldn't scuff. I can avoid the problem by raising the mower before changing direction and letting it down gradually again once I get going. If I turn as I change direction, then the tires can rotate as they pivot and there is no problem. Apparently I'm the only one who goes forward and then straight back again once in a while.

 

[em14]

I agree with you about the small wheels and like you have thought about putting wider wheels and tires on my finish mower. It's not a Woods but I have the same problem with the sandy soil here. It's not a constant problem but is the same as you describe except I have places that rut with or without rain ... I will be interested in what you come up with ...

 

[frank_f15]

heck, up here in the spring when it is wet, if i just look at the grass it leaves ruts.i would expect anything will leave ruts when it is that wet and soggy, my finish mower does.

 

[surfacewave]

Megadittos, I couldn't have said it any better.

 

[Hoeman00]

My old one did, 6' woods RFM,times I had to raise up because of 6" deep water
or more in the yard so I just trimmed the tops of the grass over the water.
When it's that wet everything leaves ruts,but they kind of smooth
themselves out and I try to run over the sides of rut later to help
flaten out.
W/ the MMM I don't have that problem now unless the water is too deep
and can't get mower high enough

 

[gmason]

My problem with the narrow wheels is that when I trim along the road and I'm riding with one side on the blacktop and one in the grass, if the front wheel slips near the slight crevice where the hard surface meets the grass and gets caught in that rut, the tire will try to rip off of the rim. I've gone through several tires from air filled to solid hard rubber with no luck.

I recently purchased a 6" wide (for zero turn) wheel that has a valve stem, but they have filled the tire up with some type of semi hard material that is guaranteed not to go flat. Hopefully it'll stay on the rim too. I'm going to give it a try sometime this week, if it stops raining...

gary