In the planter closing wheel discussion thread below, there is discussion about and reluctance to change the tail piece on a 7200 planter.

Before buying ANY closing wheel, or even using the OEM wheels, release the spring pressure on your tailpiece and try to move the tail piece from side to side.

As the center to center distance at the tightest point on most closing systems should be just a tad more than your seed depth especially for corn, if you can move your tail piece more than maybe 1/4" side to side THAT should be where you put your money before buying any brand of closing wheels and before planting any $150-$300/bag seed!!!

Lateral movement of the tailpiece means that your closing wheels are not centered over your seed slot much of the time.

The last 7200 was manufactured around 1996 or 18 seasons ago. Most are over 20 years old. The 7200 OEM tailpiece was manufactured out of relatively thin sheet metal.

Most 7200 tail pieces I've seen should be replaced before putting one seed in the ground.

The idea that people will plant hundreds of acres of expensive corn seed but balk at the idea of spending $50-75/row to replace or rebuild the closing wheel tail piece on their 20+ year old JD 7200 or 7300 planter defies logic.

The RK rebuild kit is excellent, Shoup, SI and JD parts all have replacement parts. If you are replacing the tail piece I suggest you go with a part which uses bolt on closing wheels rather than the 7200 stud. You can reuse your existing 7200 wheels by supplying a new 5/8" bolt, nut and washers.

It is critical to planting success to keep the closing wheels as centered as possible over the seed slot. Not rocket science.

Jim at Dawn

Dawn did manufacture a ball bearing version of our Curvetine closing wheel but we have discontinued the ball bearing version and only produce our regreaseable Timken tapered roller bearing/triple lip seal version.

Any brand or type of tooth type closing wheel is much harder on bearings than a smooth OD rubber tire. The intermittent load of an individual tooth hitting sometimes hard ground puts different stresses into bearings than a smooth rubber tire.

The standard, inexpensive imported 203 class sealed ball bearings used by OEMs will likely have a shorter life with any type of toothed closing wheel than it will with a smooth rubber tire.

And for all the winter preparations for planting, all the dollars spent on planting technology, if a simple $3 closing wheel bearing goes out you have to stop and fix it.  And what is down time worth on a planter in the spring when the time is right and the sun is shining?