Has Anyone Ever Found A Decent Homemade Replacement For Mower Deck Wheels?

[drizler]

I have a no name finish mower 72" that has lasted well enough the last 13 years or so. I have had it long enough that I forgot the name of the thing even as I never could get any parts by name. It's made In the Carolina's by some outfit that if memory serves makes spray equipment for it's main line. No Doubt speaks Chinese in part though all US bolts ect. It has the usual 10" by 2" wheels solid on a 5/8" shaft consisting of a bolt and nut. Really simple stuff. Over the years I replaced one after the other with HF pneumatic wheels I got for $5 apiece. I take them apart and double up the rim half with the protrusion and put a spacer on the spindle to keep them from binding. They lasted predictably with usually the bearings failing after as season or possibly more. All told it's getting old replacing these all the time now that I have 3 of them and the last OEM is going to crap completely.
It's time to make something up that will actually last. Has anyone drummed up something akin to this that didn't cost a bundle? I searched and found nothing along that line. I have all the welding grinding cutting goodies to make anything up needed except the wheels and tires themselves.

 

[Kernopelli]

Been there. I started watching ebay auctions ( Home and Garden category, sub heading-Lawnmowers then search the word 'tires" ) I found a pair of new very high quality 10" tires/rims on a no reserve auction....ended up getting them for a little over $15 including shipping.

 

[leonz]

GEMPLER'S - Official Site - Carhartt Workwear, Chemical Sprayers, Chemical Safety Supplies & more
www.mcmastercarrr.com

 

[Eagleview]

I would think Go Kart wheels would be ideal and would be of good quality considering the speed they travel and the forces that are exerted during turns . They are also slick which is what is the norm for mower decks .

 

[hawkeye08]

I was looking at small wheels today for another project and thought of the finish mower wheels (mine are solid, a friend has pneumatic, he loses a tire now and again). I found some really good wheels for the project I was working on at Norlift (a forklift place locally) and they had some that might work for mowers also.

They at least looked better quality than HF, but who knows.

 

[jbooth]

drizler:

If you are talking about pnuematic tires that have the stamped out press in ball bearings, new bearings can be had for those dirt cheap. Like 50 cents a pop! The problem is finding a bearing supplier that is interested in satisfying customers as opposed to making big profits. We have a bearing supplier nearby (IBT) who will take the time to work on customer satisfication. I have a flip over disk that I pull with my 4 wheeler and need to replace the bearings about every 2 years.

Might need to tack weld the bearings in if the rim gets a bit loose.

 

[Redgoatea]

I know it's not the same thing but the wheel on my brush hog is made from tire pieces all jammed together and cut round I'll post a pic if you're interested. If you're willing to make it yourself that wheel is over 20 years old and shows no sign of ever wearing out.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Surplus Center has some beefier looking wheels at $30/each.
https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=1-3319&catname=wheels

There's a positive review on this wheel as a finish mower replacement:
Marathon Tires Flat-Free Tire — 2.80/2.50-4in. Sawtooth | Caster Style | Northern Tool + Equipment
And a sort of positive review of this one with a 3/4" bore:
Marathon Tires Flat-Free Lawnmower and Cart Tire, 9in. x 3.50-4 | Lawn Mower Style | Northern Tool + Equipment

If you have the original rims, can you rebuild them with new bearings and tires? Northern has a good selection of tires. The Kenda brand seems better than Carlisle.