source for larger gage wheels

[John c 93]

I'm trying to get a bit more height for the deck on my 314, a couple guys have suggested larger wheels, anybody got any leads on a vendor I could use ?

 

thanks

[stevasaurus 23,279]

Tractor Supply has an nice assortment of tires.  I just put 6" on two of my decks...think 
Wheel Horse used 5 1/2".

[peter lena 9,271]

@Johnc  agree with @steveasaurus above on tractor supply ,  for wheels  https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/martin-wheel-6x1-3-8-plastic-deck-wheel-1-2-in-bushing-1-3-8-in-offset-hub  these are the wheels I  have on 3 decks , give you the added height you want , use lucas chassis grease as lubricant , have them for years now , no failures , might have yo order them , pete

[tunahead72 2,543]

Which deck (don't know if it matters, but just in case)?

 

Not to contradict the great @stevasaurus but the originals on all my 42" decks were 6"x1.75".  I replaced one set with 7" wheels, with mixed results.  They do add some extra height, but not much, and they interfere with the deck height adjustment lever, so I can't use the highest setting.  I forget which ones I bought (Martin?), but I can tell after just 2 years of use that they're not going to last like the originals.

 

Here's some brands and sources to get you started:

Stens

McMaster-Carr

Surplus Center

Grainger

Marathon

Martin

Tractor Supply

 

[stevasaurus 23,279]

Ed, my decks are the rear discharge,36" decks from the early 60's.  RMR-364 & RMR-367.    Here ya go, my 702 sporting the new deck tires.

[squonk 43,808]

I got New School wheels on one of my Old School decks!   

 

[stevasaurus 23,279]

Hey @squonk, that roster has not moved in a year.  You might want to see if the battery is dead.  

[squonk 43,808]

Solar! 

[stevasaurus 23,279]

You know, the other side of this thread should be...Why do you want to change the height past what the deck allows??  The wheels on my decks were shot and the bearings were bad.  I just wanted to replace like for like really.  I'm thinking, I pretty much got that after I replaced the wheels, because the old wheels were worn so much.  I should really go out and measure, but I remember the difference being 1/4"...which is only 1/8" difference in height for the axle.  

   Not knowing what deck you are talking about, we can only guess.  The deck is designed to lay almost flat, with (I think) the front of the deck being like 1/8" closer to the ground compared to the back.  Could be the other way around, I did not verify.  I'm thinking, if you want to have the deck higher, and mow correctly, you would have to change the wheels and the rollers also.  Ed mentioned having trouble with raising his deck after changing wheels.  In my situation, I never have to raise the deck...so ...that is why my HY-2 fan belt is not hooked up.  

[squonk 43,808]

14 minutes ago, stevasaurus said:

  In my situation, I never have to raise the deck...so ...that is why my HY-2 fan belt is not hooked up.  

Don't you have to raise the deck when mowing around your Flamingo's? 

 

[clueless 3,234]

4 hours ago, stevasaurus said:

Tractor Supply has an nice assortment of tires.  I just put 6" on two of my decks...think 
Wheel Horse used 5 1/2".

Your 314 deck more than likely came with 6" wheels not 5 1/2", Steve's a little old not sure he knows they made these things after '65 . I've said this before, according to an older WH dealer, mechanic and district rep, these decks were designed to cut 3 1/2"'s and lower, you can put taller casters (wheel) on them and you may get another 1/2" of cut from it but after that the quality of the cut starts to go to hell. Like I said before once you start adding higher casters or use the attachment height adjuster to raise the deck cut the decks cutting geometry gets wonky.  

[wallfish 18,087]

1 hour ago, stevasaurus said:

...that is why my HY-2 fan belt is not hooked up

That is why you should just sell that HY-2 to me

[squonk 43,808]

4 minutes ago, wallfish said:

That is why you should just sell that HY-2 to me

You have flamingos too? 

[stevasaurus 23,279]

You know, I was standing out on the curb and I whistled for the Clown Car...and it went right by me.  

[squonk 43,808]

Don't worry it will come back in a minute and pick you up! 

[stevasaurus 23,279]

You know, when I sit in a lawn chair after mowing the lawn, I can see that the lawn has a nice cut.  That's what it is all about.  

[cod 121]

On 5/1/2022 at 10:25 AM, John c said:

I'm trying to get a bit more height for the deck on my 314, a couple guys have suggested larger wheels, anybody got any leads on a vendor I could use ?

 

thanks

You might consider making your own.  I've got a friend who owns a machine shop and is willing to let me fool with some of my ideas.  The drawing may not be perfect but it works for me.  I did stray from the drawing through as I machined the wheels on a 2 axis mill instead of a lathe.  Easier to hold down and instead of the large radius on the edge, I cheated with a 1/2" radius cutter.  I think the larger radius might be better for turning ( it may slide more easily on your lawn ) but so far the 1/2" radius is working fine.

 

Good luck!

deck_wheel.pdf

[Lee1977 7,206]

There is another way to lift the deck. This is on a lifted tractor It's a pain to install the deck. I have to put wood blocks under the front of the deck to get it attached.

 

[briankd 819]

On 5/1/2022 at 3:55 PM, stevasaurus said:

You know, when I sit in a lawn chair after mowing the lawn, I can see that the lawn has a nice cut.  That's what it is all about.  

you got that right I think older mowers cut great theses new mowers and seen some zero turns my neighbor's  mow with their yards look like crap uneven and strips not cut cut quality not good  . my old 857 when i mowed with it for 10 years it did great as long as you kept up with the grass if got too high it would windrow  the cut grass  with the 36"  rear discharge deck