Going dual 520H

[Mister_520H 58]

My property is a combination of 10-12 acres of steep hillsides, slopes and banks. My wife can’t even watch me when I’m out on the wheel horse as she says it gives her anxiety. I’ve developed techniques to mow “safely” but it involves a lot of sliding far off the seat when mowing across slopes and backing down steep grades to keep from the rears letting go and sliding. I have a neighbor who’s entire yard is a bank and he’s been mowing with dual rear wheels on his 520H for a decade or more. I’ve always been envious of his set up but never did much research into making it happen. 
 

This week I answered an ad for a new set of Wheel Horse wheels with 23x10.5x12 Carlisle Turf tires and figured I’d swap these onto my 520 to replace the AG tires I’ve been running that seem to do little but tear up my lawn. While chatting with the seller about my property and dreams of going dual, he invited me up to his attic to check out his Wheel Horse inventory shelves upon which was a brand new “Dual wheel spacer kit” with all the mounting hardware intact. He offered it to me at a fair price and I brought the whole package home. 
 

When I first bought my 520 about ten years ago I replaced the original Turf Savers with AG tires and figured I’d slap those old Carlisles back on and try out the dual wheel setup. I pulled my old tires out of storage and was befuddled by the difference in size in the new vs old Carlisles in apparently the same “size.” 
 

So these clearly won’t work together as the new tires would probably end up floating. I honestly prefer the width and overall size, appearance of my original tires but I’m guessing these are no longer available. 
 

So I’d love some feedback here. I want to enjoy the potential added traction and stability of dual rears but I don’t want to snap my axles or damage my tractor as she’s my baby. 
 

Thoughts?

[ri702bill 8,386]

That Sears kit may - or may not work with your rims, depends on the offset of the center plate.

DO inspect how well you rear hubs are attached - duals put a lot of stress on the hubs.

[Wayne0 471]

OK, first of all, mowing across a slope is a recipe for disaster. Too many tractors wind up shiny side down doing that. Mow up, down or diagonal. Maybe the dualies will give you more stability, but I wouldn't stake MY life on it. Just my

[Mister_520H 58]

3 hours ago, Wayne0 said:

OK, first of all, mowing across a slope is a recipe for disaster. Too many tractors wind up shiny side down doing that. Mow up, down or diagonal. Maybe the dualies will give you more stability, but I wouldn't stake MY life on it. Just my

 

Sound advice. Over the years here I’ve determined where it is and where it is not safe to do such here on my property. In all the risky areas I only mow up and down or possibly diagonal but I have a few acres of hillside that isn’t a dangerous slope, but it’s somewhat steeper than is comfortable to just sit in the center of the seat. I don’t think duals are going to change gravity but I think they’ll give me some peace of mind. 

[kpinnc 12,174]

I think you should check the deck gage wheel clearance before adding duals. Gonna be awfully close on that 60-inch deck. 
 

Also- just my opinion, but I wouldn’t go more than 8 inch wide tires with duals. Dual 10.50 wide tires places a great deal of leverage on those axles and bearings. Couple that with the tendency to attempt to mow up close to obstacles, and you could definitely break an axle. 
 

And I won’t even guess how much harder it will be to remove and reinstall that 300lb mower deck with duals on your machine- if it fits at all. 
 

I don’t mean to be doom and gloom, and I agree that duals will add a degree of lateral stability. I just think you’re going to have some modifications to make if using with any mower deck. 

Edited November 17 by kpinnc

[Pullstart 62,939]

I gotta believe more traction might be the better bet, by means of fluid filled tires and wheel weights.  Keep it heavy, keep the heavy side down.

[parsonsponyz 120]

In total agreement with what has already been said.  I have some slopes to mow, nothing severe, but use weights and chains and no problem.  My .02 is put weights and chains on it then have a go after which make a decision.  I would never mow across a hill, lost several neighbors/friends that had the tractor land on them.  

[Mister_520H 58]

Appreciate all the feedback so far guys. Sounds like my perception of this whole endeavor, based off years of seeing it in action at my neighbors may be somewhat half baked. The deck clearance is quite tight as is with my 60“ deck and current tires. Removal of the deck by simply backing off and on wouldn’t really be effected by the duals, but pulling it out of the side as I sometimes do seems like it could surely be even more difficult than usual. I’m not married to this idea and may just try going back to turf tires to address the issues (or annoyances) with my AG tires. I have, after all mowed this property now for about 10 years and put roughly 400 hours on the 520H with the current set up. I thought running duals would be sorta of fun, look cool, and provide incredible traction and stability but it sounds like if so, it may come at a cost. 

 

I am currently running wheel weights but have not tried adding fluid to the rear tires. Another annoyance is how poor the front tires grip for steering when on certain slopes. They will often just plow along sideways and I’ll have to stop, back up to change direction, then straighten out and head off again. 

[953 nut 55,391]

10 hours ago, Mister_520H said:

front tires grip for steering when on certain slopes.

Same deal, weight equals traction, also a bit of under inflation may help.

[Pullstart 62,939]

10 hours ago, Mister_520H said:

thought running duals would be sorta of fun, look cool

I’m right there with ya!  They look great on these tractors in my opinion.  Traction adder not a bit.  We are all about contact PSI.  More weight, maybe even a little skinnier tire, and more weight.

 

10 hours ago, Mister_520H said:

Another annoyance is how poor the front tires grip for steering when on certain slopes. They will often just plow along sideways and I’ll have to stop, back up to change direction, then straighten out and head off again. 

Maybe @Ed Kennell or @rjg854 could comment, but some folks run a section of roller chain along a front tire.  It makes a rib in the tire.  Maybe that would help with this application?  I’m just curious as to what it would do to the lawn.

[Wayne0 471]

1 hour ago, Pullstart said:

 

 

Maybe @Ed Kennell or @rjg854 could comment, but some folks run a section of roller chain along a front tire.  It makes a rib in the tire.  Maybe that would help with this application?  I’m just curious as to what it would do to the lawn.

I run #50D chain on the front of my 520 machine with a 2 stage blower. Makes a big difference in the snow and ice.

[rjg854 11,392]

As @Wayne0 said, I use that method in the winter.  My lawn is flat so I've never tried it on sod. Don't see why it wouldn't work though.  The only problem would be running across blacktop or concrete, that's gonna leave a mark.

[kpinnc 12,174]

Rib tires up front would help. The wider ones that fit your front wheels aren’t cheap, but they work well. Also makes the machine drive like it has power steering.
 

A 520 is already pretty heavy up front just because of the Onan. Of course filling the tires can’t hurt. 
 

 

[c-series don 8,735]

One thing we can all agree on is the cool 😎 factor of dual wheels!! I put these on my C-165 because I just had to see how it would look! I’d agree on the stress on the axles, I had duals on my C-141 loader tractor and took them off. It also takes up more storage space with them on. 

[mrc 818]

Mister-520H,

 

they make wheel weights for the fronts too.  PA seems to be wh country so you should be able to find a set. 

 

regards

mike

[kpinnc 12,174]

1 hour ago, mrc said:

they make wheel weights for the fronts too. 

Only issue is fitting that big 1” ID front axle bearing. I had to use different front wheels to make mine fit the 520 front axle. 
 

I think there was a 520 specific front wheel weight. Or maybe it was for a D series, but those will fit. 
 

[Mister_520H 58]

16 hours ago, kpinnc said:

Rib tires up front would help. The wider ones that fit your front wheels aren’t cheap, but they work well. Also makes the machine drive like it has power steering.
 

A 520 is already pretty heavy up front just because of the Onan. Of course filling the tires can’t hurt. 
 

 

Ah ha! That makes sense. Boy looking at the price of tractor tires lately makes my head spin. I can go buy old complete tractors with tires for less than 2 new tires most days. 
 

Is there a brand, vendor you’d recommend for front ribbed tires? Thanks! 

[Mister_520H 58]

11 hours ago, kpinnc said:

Only issue is fitting that big 1” ID front axle bearing. I had to use different front wheels to make mine fit the 520 front axle. 
 

I think there was a 520 specific front wheel weight. Or maybe it was for a D series, but those will fit. 
 

I was out hunting yesterday and a collector had 4-5 complete sets of wheel weights but said they’re $450-500 a piece. Is that the going rate these days? I sure would love a set like these pictured. 

[Mister_520H 58]

15 hours ago, c-series don said:

One thing we can all agree on is the cool 😎 factor of dual wheels!! I put these on my C-165 because I just had to see how it would look! I’d agree on the stress on the axles, I had duals on my C-141 loader tractor and took them off. It also takes up more storage space with them on. 

 Now that looks great!

[kpinnc 12,174]

2 hours ago, Mister_520H said:

Is there a brand, vendor you’d recommend for front ribbed tires? Thanks! 

 
Mine were Firestone. You will not like the price. I got mine cheap because someone bought them and they didn’t fit his wheels. 
 

But there are other options as well. Some of the guys here have bought the 5 rib tires (Vredestein) and like them. 
 

M.E. Miller tire used to make some replicas as well. 
 

2 hours ago, Mister_520H said:

was out hunting yesterday and a collector had 4-5 complete sets of wheel weights but said they’re $450-500 a piece. Is that the going rate these days?

About 10 years ago the rule of thumb was one dollar per pound of weight. Cast iron Wheel Horse weights for some reason are much more expensive now. Just remember any 8-inch/ 2 bolt wheel weight will work IF the center is large enough to go over the larger hub on your 520. 

 

[Mister_520H 58]

Looks like the firestones are well over $100 per tire. They do look great though I’m not sure how they’d look on the 520. I put Turf Master fronts on my 520 when I got it as the original turf savers never held air. Now looking back, I wish I’d done Turf savers again. They just “look” right on that vintage of tractor. 

 

I’ll do some more digging and decide if I want to drop the coin on those Firestones. 

 

As for the wheel weights, I have a non wheel horse set up on the rear and it’s fine but as I grow more inclined toward originality, I like the idea of having “correct” weights on this machine but the going rate is getting a bit nutty. If yesterday’s experience going to see a tractor for sale at the shop of a local collector is any indication as to why these prices have gone nutty, it seems to make sense as he had 4 or 5 complete sets of weights in his “collection” and admitted to buying up any and all old rare parts he can find whenever possible. I’m sure this isn’t a rarity amongst collectors, all collectively driving up the prices of the things they’ve chose to collect in a good old example of supply and demand. Perhaps I should just paint mine red and call it a day. 

[kpinnc 12,174]

9 minutes ago, Mister_520H said:

Perhaps I should just paint mine red and call it a day. 

I have done this with lots of things. You’d be surprised how quickly you forget the original colors!