caster wheels on plow

[JD 4520]

I decide on a solution for this and went for polyurethane. See a new thread on Polyurethane Side Shoes.

I'd be interested in what you have decided on wheels.

 

[psdx]

This is a set of yokes and wheels for a King Kutter RFM. Note the sleeves above and below the tubing. I can set the blade height easily, and can actually go from riding high on the wheels to scraping concrete by adjusting the hydraulic top link from my seat.

 

[fatboyinmaine]

psdx, nice set up, thats the idea i have for my fisher plow. its far enough back to allow the trip edge to work, and swivels. i found a few suppliers online to get casters from, not cheap though!!! thanks for the input

 

[psdx]

The wheels and yoke are crazy expensive. I got the fabrication done for free and paid for only the steel by having the local high school career center do it in the welding shop. I think each wheel with the yoke was $90 and the steel for the tubes and brackets was about $40, so $220 all together.

 

[bigdad]

I get these at TSC.

 

[fatboyinmaine]

how much were they? does the snow build up on wheels?

 

[bigdad]

how much were they? does the snow build up on wheels?

Fifty bucks a Pop at Tractor Supply. I have never had snow stick to them. Bearings with zerks on the swivel and the wheel.

 

[zmansmac]

I started out years ago with caster wheels similar to Ray66v's on a modified back blade that I used for snow plowing on my FEL. But they were problematic in that I ended up bending the wheel brackets a couple of times (not the best quality caster) and I had a couple of flat tires. Last fall I bought a used snow blade and modified it but I wanted better casters for the doing the gravel part of my driveway. So I borrowed the design from my Swisher tow behind mower and made my own. Just had to buy a piece of 1/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch flat bar. I had the little bit of angle stock needed and the 3/4 inch rod from an old garden tractor rear end. And I did have to buy a little bit of DOM tubing for the rod to fit into. The set up basically looks similar to what psdx has. My wheels are 10 inch and I highly recommend getting solid rubber ones no matter what size. I think I paid about $45 for the pair.

 

[ray66v]

I started out years ago with caster wheels similar to Ray66v's on a modified back blade that I used for snow plowing on my FEL. But they were problematic in that I ended up bending the wheel brackets a couple of times (not the best quality caster) and I had a couple of flat tires.

Interesting. I used low grade Chinese casters on mine, (around $30 each). I worried about the quality of them, when I made the plow. But, decided to test the concept, before spending large amounts of money on it.

I wanted to have pneumatic tires with tread, so they could grip better, rather than skid. As soon as the wheels skid, they will move gravel, and my goal was to keep that from happening.

After 5 years of use plowing snow, I have never had anything bend, or any flat tires.

If I built another one, I would not change any aspect of how I originally made my casters.

 

[zmansmac]

The solid rubber tires I have have tread and look just like the pneumatic ones so gripping is not an issue. I have some rocks lining parts of the driveway that can get hidden with higher amounts of snow and you know what can happen when you're in a hurry some times. Hence my flat tires. My original casters were also of the Chinese variety and under normal conditions probably wouldn't have been a problem. They are fairly strong going forward but cannot take much of a side load. And that in combination with me letting the FEL down too fast caused the problem. This problem could have been lessened by limiting the amount of swivel but that is not easy to do with that type caster. On my new ones I welded short stubs of rod stock to limit the swivel to only what is necessary with the angling of the plow.