chevelletown 37 #1 Posted February 23, 2008 A good friend stopped by the shop today and we always end up talking about Wheel Horses. He was a dealer from the early sixties to late seventies and has some interesting stories. I told him to look out for a 1045 for me, he said that he had sold several from his dealership. The interesting thing is that the mower decks were so poorly made that Wheel Horse told (ordered) him to destroy them. (even mentioned running them over with a large truck). Has any one ever seen one of these decks? or heard of this before? :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TT-(Moderator) 1,127 #2 Posted February 23, 2008 Sounds like he was feeding you a line, Ken. The 42" deck did have a weird secondary deck drive belt arrangement, but it worked alright. (Wheel Horse engineers must have liked twisting V belts in to some odd directions? ) I don't know of any problems that would require destroying them though. Greg has a picture of the RM-425 deck in this post : http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1144 The RM-364 was also a good deck -- unless you got the blades out of time and they hit each other! :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #3 Posted February 23, 2008 Ken I never heard that one before. I supose you could have ordered any of the tried & true gear box decks ..the 32" & 36" twin blade designs. They were also sold with a 42" side discharge belt driven deck the RM425. I heard they had some issues with the foot operated pto clutch not being able to pull a 42" deck? I hope to have mine at the show this year...for a driveing tractor. Will swipe the hood of the 1055 if I can't find one in time. I have heard some Wheel Horse stories in my area from people who used to work there, sell them, or claimed to of helped design some. Some of these people are more credible than others too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chevelletown 37 #4 Posted February 23, 2008 I'll show him that picture and see is its the one he told me about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 1,028 #5 Posted February 23, 2008 I received one of the RM-425 decks with my 1075, it's in pretty good shape, needs work but is nicer than some of the newer 42RD decks I have, at least 20 years newer. The belt set up is wierd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BPjunk 184 #6 Posted February 23, 2008 The RM-425 mower deck was extremely exspencive to make and complex, the drive belt for the spindles is 139 inches in lenth! (a drive belt for a average mid 60's model is only 72 inches long) Too many service parts made the RM-425 a head ache. These decks are hard to find today and of course replacement parts are too. Back in 2005 the raffle prize tractor at the Wheel Horse Show was a 1965 model 875 with it's original RM-425 mower deck both in working condidition but wow that's a lot of mower deck plus hydrostatic for only 8hp. The gear drive mower decks were in production up until 1969 with the short framed models. Bill in Richmond, Va. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mack1605 8 #7 Posted February 23, 2008 i have a 1055 with a plow on it now but it also came with a deck that looks like that one i will try to get a pic up plus its in real good shape. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mack1605 8 #8 Posted February 23, 2008 heres a pic of the one i have think its the same deck couldn,t find any numbers on this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TT-(Moderator) 1,127 #9 Posted February 24, 2008 That's definitely it! That's the only one like it in the history of Wheel Horse! :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mack1605 8 #10 Posted February 24, 2008 thought it might have been thats why i posted a pic figured you would know thanks terry :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
combatmp29r 27 #11 Posted February 24, 2008 Here I thought all the twisted belts on the verts were odd. Thats just nuts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites