Deere MFWD Tractor Gets "Rewheeled"

Deere MFWD Tractor Gets Rewheeled TIRES/WHEELS Miscellaneous Chad Travis Drasco Ark came up with a couple of modifications to the wheels on his Deere 5300 MFWD loader tractor that add traction and reduce the likelihood of a flat tire “I use this tractor to do a lot of bush hog work and also loader chores The modifications that I made let me keep working without a lot of downtime ” says Travis Wheel weights He used the flywheels off a pair of Deere 24T small square balers to make wheel weights that fit the 30-in rear wheels on the tractor Each flywheel is 27 in in dia so they fit just inside the wheel The round weight mounted inside the flywheel is made from 1-in thick plate steel which Travis cut out in a circle It weighs 105 lbs An X-shaped mount bolts to the wheel rim and is made from 1/2 by 2-in flat bar The threaded shaft at the center of the mount is the axle off an old Case disk “I used the outer end of the axle since it already had threaded ends on it and a nut ” says Travis The hardest part of the job was cutting a notch out of each flywheel to make room for the wheel’s valve stem “Years ago I welded short lengths of pipe on all the wheels to prevent damage to the valve stems while working in brush So I had to cut a notch out of each flywheel to make room for the pipe ” Each wheel weight weighs about 410 lbs so the tractor gained 820 lbs of additional weight “It was enough to make a big difference on the tractor and I’m satisfied with the results ” says Travis “The weight is flush with the outside of the wheel and isn’t a problem ” Truck wheels He replaced the front assist wheels on the tractor with truck wheels and tubeless tires using 10-22 5 retread tires mounted on open center wheels The truck tires are 14 or 16-ply with steel sidewalls and tread and are made to be recapped “I’ve had many issues with tube failure and flats on this tractor which was one reason I decided to go with the tubeless tires The retread truck tires are also less expensive than buying new tractor tires ” says Travis He made an adapter plate from 5/16-in thick plates with four ear mounts for the truck wheel on it The ears are made from 1/2 by 2-in flat metal He welded short lengths of angle to the inside of the wheel rim which the ears bolt onto “I can bolt the wheels on the tractor’s original wheel hubs using the original bolts If I want I can take the truck wheels off and put the tractor wheels back on ” says Travis After he got everything mounted he pumped 5 gal of tire sealer into the tires to prevent flat tires “The truck wheels have worked out quite well Their traction isn’t quite as good in heavy mud but it hasn’t been a problem If I want I can mount snow chains over the truck tires for more gripping power ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Chad Travis 574 Greers Ferry Rd Drasco Ark 72530 ph 870 668-3400

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