Source for very heavy duty wheel

[MChalkley]

rbargeron - That's an interesting possibility... I don't want it to weigh any more than necessary, though, so a tire/wheel of some sort would probably be best. Still, a roller like you describe that's 8"-12" wide might do the trick. Thanks for the idea - I've got all of them churning around in the "idea-blender" (actually, more like an idea "liquifier", in that what comes out is rarely recognizable as related to what went in). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

That reminds me of a high-level exec (he reported directly to the CEO) that was once my boss 2 levels up in a job I held at a large bank. He was one of the most under-qualified (for the job he held) individuals I've ever known. I always (kindly, if condescendingly) referred to him as "The Fog-Bank", because things went into his office and things came out, but you could never be sure there was any connection between any of it... /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif In fact, I think he rose to the level he did because folks assumed that, since they couldn't understand his logic, he must have had a superior intellect when, in fact, there was no logic to comprehend. He popped into the position as the result of a merger, and things went steadily downhill after that. When I left to go into business for myself, I told our division head who reported directly to him, in an exit interview, that I couldn't stay because doing so would violate one of my two fundamental rules of employment: "Never work for an idiot." He knew exactly what I meant, and said that if he weren't within two years of retirement, he'd be leaving too. (My second rule is "Never accept responsibilty for something unless you're also given control of it.") BTW, shame on you for changing the subject so drastically. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

Mark, that reminds of something I read in one management book; that in large organizations people tend to rise to their own level of incompetence./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

John_Mc - Thanks for all the extra details and info! I really like the idea of a foam-filled tire but, as you said, those would probably be too big.

As to your question about whether the wheel should be leading the front mounted implement to correspond with a trailing on on the rear, no, I don't think so. If you were backdragging the front-mounted implement, then yes, that would correspond directly. But with a front-mounted implement, I want the gauge wheel trailing the ground-engaging device so it's riding on the surface after I've worked it. The only exception there would be something like a tiller or pulverizor, where you not grading, but working the ground, and fluffing it up, in which case you want to backdrag anyway, so the wheel tracks don't run over it, especially when the tractor weighs 10,000 pounds...

Of course, the hitch in all this, and the reason the project is still highly experimental in nature (to me, anyway), is that I'm not sure how much the difference between pushing an implement and pulling one will rear its ugly head. As everyone who's tried to push a bucket in float mode knows, the front of the tractor wants to lift. My EF-5 seems to have less tendency to do that than my L4310 did, but so far I'm not sure if it's just because of the additional weight of the machine, the FEL linkage configuration, or what. In any case, it's likely an issue that will need to be contended with, but I've got a couple ideas to address that up my sleeve, too. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Bird - Yep, this guy would've been the "Peter Principle" personified - except he was somewhat unique in that he'd somehow risen a number of levels above his level of incompetence... /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Lawrence J. Peter would've found him very interesting, I think. Or maybe just considered him too much of an aberration to be worth examining...

 

[patton]

Grainger lists 3500# casters 8" dia, 3" W Polyurthane tread, 30 lbs for $239 (plate caster) PN:4W751

Available in swivel, also with a 10" tire that gets the load range up to 4600 lbs

And they similar wheels in steel, 30 lbs for 6x2.5"(5000#), 74 lbs for 8x3.375 (11000#)

On the opposite page are forklift tires for as little as $71, though to get enough weight range, you may need to spend a bit more.

Pat