Need Antiscalping Wheels for JD 48 Inch Deck

[Gebo]

Is there a long lasting replacement for the black plastic wheels on my JD 48 inch deck? I can buy the yellow OEM John Deere Wheel AM115488 grease-able for about $19 each. The last replacements I bought didn't last 2 years.

 

[Eddie]

The deck wheels are only supposed to stabilize the deck when you turn. The should not turn when mowing straight. Maybe the wheels need readjustment My JD deck wheels are still good at ~ 10 years. Ed

 

[Gebo]

We must be talking about different wheels. My deck has 4 of them and mine turn a lot in my rough and hilly yard.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Eddie

The deck wheels are only supposed to stabilize the deck when you turn. The should not turn when mowing straight. Maybe the wheels need readjustment My JD deck wheels are still good at ~ 10 years. Ed

Is your yard flat. They should turn sometimes when going straight if only from tall grass, and uneven lawn. I realize yards are regional and mowing differs.. I could see them not moving if your yard was Flat and cut short. IIRC the Deere spec was 1/4" clearance

 

[bugeye]

I am not familiar with your tractor/mower. Some large heavy mower decks run on the wheels. Other lighter decks float while hanging on the lift carriage. What does JD recommend for your tractor/deck. The hanging decks only occasionally touch the wheels to the ground to prevent scalping. Greasable wheels with bearings will last longer than plastic. My greasable deck wheels are 20 years old.

 

[AMC]

I have a john deere lx280 with the 48" edge deck. It has 2 greaseable wheels at the rear of the deck and 2 non-greaseable wheels at the front of the deck. I ordered replacement OEM JD wheels from Ebay, they were much cheaper than my local dealer. I only replaced them because I wanted to, not because I had to. That being said, what do you mean by they don't last 2 years? Do you mean they actually break and fail or that they just wear a little flat in the center? If you are referring to the slight flattening down the middle, that is pretty normal and won't affect the quality of your cut. If you really want to replace them, look up harteville hardware on ebay. They are a JD dealer that sells on ebay, much cheaper than your local dealer usually.

 

[Gebo]

The front one's end up looking like they lost the retread. The outer portion just peels off like peeling an apple.

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: Gebo

The front one's end up looking like they lost the retread. The outer portion just peels off like peeling an apple.

If that is the case, I am guessing you have your scalp wheels set too low and/or have a bad habit of dragging the wheels down a rough sidewalk. Can you upload a picture of this wear?

 

[JTK]

Back when we had JD garden tractors in the family, I'd buy replacement gauge wheels from the JD dealer. I'd have to see what JD deck this is, but most are not intended to ride on the ground. They should hang from the machine while mowing with the wheels only contacting ground on high spots. If they're hitting the ground a lot, you will eventually damage more than the wheels. I've seen it and had to repair hangers and associated components because of this.

 

[Gebo]

I don't feel like taking pics, sorry. I need tougher wheels on the front of my mower deck. My issue is all of my "flower" beds are trimmed in that concrete edging. You know, where they bring that machine out and it lays a concrete "turd" around all of your decorative roses, azaleas, monkey grass, etc. Keeps the grass out of the mulch kinda thing. My deck is set perfectly. My blade is 3.5 inches from the ground at the front of my deck and 3.65 inches at the back of the deck. I've got the tools to to the measuring. The wheels are not hitting the ground and are set for 3.5 inch mowing height. Second hole from top for those that are familiar with the JD deck setup. It's how I mow that causes the problem. What happens is as I mow the front wheels of the mower deck contact that concrete edging I have all over my yard. They sorta ride up on it as I mow close enough to minimize weed eating. Over time they just peel off like peeling an apple. It's the edges where the wheels are coming apart as they contact the concrete edging. LOL, don't get me wrong but I am unwilling to modify my mowing pattern. I only weed eat once a month. I am just hoping to find a super tough "plastic" wheels for my deck. Is there a super tough wheel? I'll admit, $15 for 2 front wheels every year or two ain't gonna break me or my wallet.

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted By: Gebo

I don't feel like taking pics, sorry. I need tougher wheels on the front of my mower deck. My issue is all of my "flower" beds are trimmed in that concrete edging. You know, where they bring that machine out and it lays a concrete "turd" around all of your decorative roses, azaleas, monkey grass, etc. Keeps the grass out of the mulch kinda thing. My deck is set perfectly. My blade is 3.5 inches from the ground at the front of my deck and 3.65 inches at the back of the deck. I've got the tools to to the measuring. The wheels are not hitting the ground and are set for 3.5 inch mowing height. Second hole from top for those that are familiar with the JD deck setup. It's how I mow that causes the problem. What happens is as I mow the front wheels of the mower deck contact that concrete edging I have all over my yard. They sorta ride up on it as I mow close enough to minimize weed eating. Over time they just peel off like peeling an apple. It's the edges where the wheels are coming apart as they contact the concrete edging. LOL, don't get me wrong but I am unwilling to modify my mowing pattern. I only weed eat once a month. I am just hoping to find a super tough "plastic" wheels for my deck. Is there a super tough wheel? I'll admit, $15 for 2 front wheels every year or two ain't gonna break me or my wallet.

 

[Eddie]

Possibly a compromise by moving the deck wheels up one hole? Ed

 

[Gebo]

Possible

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: Gebo

It's how I mow that causes the problem. What happens is as I mow the front wheels of the mower deck contact that concrete edging I have all over my yard. They sorta ride up on it as I mow close enough to minimize weed eating. Over time they just peel off like peeling an apple. It's the edges where the wheels are coming apart as they contact the concrete edging. LOL, don't get me wrong but I am unwilling to modify my mowing pattern. I only weed eat once a month. I am just hoping to find a super tough "plastic" wheels for my deck. Is there a super tough wheel? I'll admit, $15 for 2 front wheels every year or two ain't gonna break me or my wallet.

I knew your problem had to be something like that and wasn't happening all on its own. AFAIK, there are OEM scalp wheels and there are aftermarket wheels. The aftermarket wheels are usually lower quality and probably won't even last as long as the JD wheels. Even if you were to forge wheels from steel and put them on, rubbing them on concrete is going to wear them down, it just is. I had cement pavers around trees in my yard. I too was tearing up my deck and scalp wheels on them so I replaced the scalp wheels and took the pavers out. To me, it looks better and the whole yard is so much easier to take care of with them gone. If you are not willing to do that, I would just stock up on whatever the cheapest scalp wheels you can find and plan on replacing them every year or so.