cbSCNE - 4/15/2018 12:27

I installed Mudsmith on my soybean planter last year. I like the quality of the wheel and bearing support. I don’t have experience running the other spoke options.

I did run into a problem with spoke wheels in my notil situation. I have narrow spoked wheels running next to the cornstalks on my 1535 planter. I drive the same wheel track as the previous year to prevent the tire damages I had when planting at an angle to the standing stalks. The narrow tire next to the stalk row crushes the residue better and helps maintain better planting depth. The problem with spoked wheels in this situation is the amount of exploding dry corn stalks have a tendency to have small pieces collect in the tru-vee openers in the front side and then it acts like a disc brake and stops the openers. I ended up with a few blood blisters from rolling the blades backwards to clear the trash. I can be a slow learner sometimes, gloves really help...

I had some sheet metal cut to bolt on that should eliminate the problem I had with open spokes. I think there are narrow wheel options with solid rims but I think they had the plastic/steel halves and I really like the bearing mounts on the Mudsmith better.

This may not be a problem in your area if your corn residue breaks down by planting season but this area still has residue from 250 bu + corn like it was harvested the day before.