MudSmith Gauge Wheel Eliminates Plugging Problem
The open design of the Mudsmith, replacement gauge wheel keeps planters and air drills going in conditions where the original OEM wheels would plug up due to wet soil or residue. In the early 2000’s, South Dakota farmers, Duane Smith, his brother Roger, and his son Jacob, came up with the original design and tested it out for several years before starting to sell them, starting with their neighbors. The demand has been overwhelming at times and they now market them across Canada and the United States for nearly every brand of planter and drill in the field.
“We were under our corn planters and drills hundreds of times, taking the OEM gauge wheels off and cleaning them out, when we needed to be planting,” recalls Duane Smith. “When conditions are bad, you have to do it again and again which wastes time and is very frustrating.”
Smith points out that earlier planting dates and reduced tillage have added to the problem. Their wheel, which has evolved from their early edition now comes with even larger spaces between the spokes. This larger spacing has dramatically reduced the problem with plugging and, by opening up the wheel even more, it has also allowed for access and visibility to disc opener hubs and scrapers.
“We’ve been running them on our own equipment for many years,” he says. “We no longer have issues with plugging. These wheels are a huge improvement over the OEM equipment. We designed them so you can use standard bearings and tires from your dealer.”
The MudSmith units feature a cast iron hub and a simplified bearing replacement. Smith notes that original equipment gauge wheels require removing the tires, splitting the rim and removing bolts to get to the bearing.
“With the MudSmith wheel, you remove the snap ring and replace the bearing,” says Smith. The steel spoke of the MudSmith wheel fully supports the rim, unlike cast iron spoke wheels which only contact the rim in 3 small areas resulting in cracked rims. The steel spoke also allows for a small amount of movement from shock loads reducing the stress on the rims. Very important in rocky-rough-high stress conditions.“We didn’t intend to sell them when we first made them for ourselves, but the response has been terrific.”
Call or order MudSmith Gauge Wheels online: 877-443-2820 or www.themudsmith.com
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MudSmith Gauge Wheel Eliminates Plugging Problem PLANTERS The open design of the Mudsmith replacement gauge wheel keeps planters and air drills going in conditions where the original OEM wheels would plug up due to wet soil or residue In the early 2000’s South Dakota farmers Duane Smith his brother Roger and his son Jacob came up with the original design and tested it out for several years before starting to sell them starting with their neighbors The demand has been overwhelming at times and they now market them across Canada and the United States for nearly every brand of planter and drill in the field “We were under our corn planters and drills hundreds of times taking the OEM gauge wheels off and cleaning them out when we needed to be planting ” recalls Duane Smith “When conditions are bad you have to do it again and again which wastes time and is very frustrating ” Smith points out that earlier planting dates and reduced tillage have added to the problem Their wheel which has evolved from their early edition now comes with even larger spaces between the spokes This larger spacing has dramatically reduced the problem with plugging and by opening up the wheel even more it has also allowed for access and visibility to disc opener hubs and scrapers “We’ve been running them on our own equipment for many years ” he says “We no longer have issues with plugging These wheels are a huge improvement over the OEM equipment We designed them so you can use standard bearings and tires from your dealer ” The MudSmith units feature a cast iron hub and a simplified bearing replacement Smith notes that original equipment gauge wheels require removing the tires splitting the rim and removing bolts to get to the bearing “With the MudSmith wheel you remove the snap ring and replace the bearing ” says Smith The steel spoke of the MudSmith wheel fully supports the rim unlike cast iron spoke wheels which only contact the rim in 3 small areas resulting in cracked rims The steel spoke also allows for a small amount of movement from shock loads reducing the stress on the rims Very important in rocky-rough-high stress conditions “We didn’t intend to sell them when we first made them for ourselves but the response has been terrific ” Call or order MudSmith Gauge Wheels online: 877-443-2820 or www themudsmith com
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