Storage Wheels for BX MMM - Step by Step

OrangeLivin

New member
Sep 9, 2015
75
1
0
Eastern
Hey all. Now that summer is over it's time to remove the MMM and get ready to install the snowblower. But as anyone who has an MMM knows (particularly the 60 inch!), it's ridiculously big and heavy off of the tractor. All of us need a good way to store this beast in our garage, and perusing the web I've seen some of you guys come up with great solutions. Particularly Larry and his moweraxle solution, and the rest of you natural fabricators!

Well, I'm not one of them! :) I do not own a welder or lathe or steel cutting apparatus, so I wanted to build something using off-the-shelf, big box store parts, and I think I got it done. Here's how I did it.

What you'll need:

4 x 5/8 in. pneumatic (or solid) tires - 5/8 in. hub. Got mine from Harbor Freight, part # 69385, on sale for $3.99/ea
2 x 5/8 in. threaded rods, 1 foot lengths from HD or Lowes ($2.24 ea I think?)
4 x 5/8 in. hex nuts ($.35 ea)
8 x 5/8 in. lock washers ($.32 ea)
2 x 1/2 in. x 6 in. black steel pipe nipple (roughly $2/ ea)
A Dremel and a round file

First steps are elementary:

1) Attach a wheel to the threaded rod using lock washers and hex nuts. *Note, the hex nut you see on the inside of the hub will actually not fit when this thing is fully constructed, I just put it there for the picture.

IMAG0633.jpg

Another view

IMAG0639.jpg

2) Note that, out of the bag, my 1/2 in. iron pipe would not fit over the end of the threaded rod

IMAG0635.jpg

This is because there's a seam ruanning along the length of the pipe on the inside, and an internal seam right at the very ends of the pipe on both ends

IMAG0636.jpg

3) You will need to buzz out the end seams with the Dremel and the length-wise seam using the round file. I'm not sure of the name of the Dremel bit I used but it looked like this

IMAG0651.jpg

**Continued next post!
 

OrangeLivin

New member
Sep 9, 2015
75
1
0
Eastern
4) After about 10 mins of filing/Dremel-ing, and a few squirts of WD40 later, you'll have something like this (view off of the MMM)

IMAG0641.jpg

A closer view

IMAG0643.jpg

5) Wrestle these onto the deck by using a combination of mover dollys, front end loader pickups and stacks of bricks and 2x4's (or muscles if you're Hulk Hogan :) ) and you'll have something like this. Tada!

IMAG0645.jpg

Now there are a couple considerations. The 1/2 in. iron pipe does not take up the entire space within the anti-scalp post as you can see, so there is some slop

IMAG0647.jpg

But the balance of this MMM on these back anti-scalp posts is amazing. Even tilting the MMM to the side it wants to return to center by itself - this is the most it will tilt (obviously knocking into it with something heavy or carelessly can cause it to fall - CHAIN IT UP WHEN IT IS TO BE STORED!!!)

IMAG0650.jpg
 

OrangeLivin

New member
Sep 9, 2015
75
1
0
Eastern
Well that's it. I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope it helps someone else out. However I will reiterate, USE CAUTION WHILE MOVING THE MOWER and once it is in its' final position CHAIN IT TO A WALL STUD OR SOMETHING ELSE. This deck is incredibly heavy and dangerous and if it falls it can SERIOUSLY INJURE SOMEONE!! BE SAFE AND CHAIN IT UP!

That said, servicing this MMM will be much easier now! :)

IMAG0652.jpg

Good luck and go Orange!

OrangeLivin
 

SLIMSHADIE

Member

Equipment
Kubota BX25D
Apr 10, 2013
445
1
16
Eureka,IL
Nice write up and cheap. I bought mine from moweraxle, definitely saves on floor space. Only thing i would do different is the tires, those arent solid and that deck is heavy.
 

OrangeLivin

New member
Sep 9, 2015
75
1
0
Eastern
Thanks! Yeah I considered solid tires but they were more expensive, and I'm out in the garage almost daily and will keep checking the tires over time for air loss. If it gets to be too much maintenance I'll swap them out.
 

mdhughes

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3901DT
Dec 10, 2014
1,207
622
113
Ste Geneveive county, MO
I would think that the pneumatic tires would make it easier to move over cracks and things on the floor. I remember when I was younger and used 2 wheels all the time, it was always easier to roll heavy boxes over door thresholds with the pneumatic tired 2 wheels then the ones with solid tires.

Very nice write up, I don't have a mower deck, but I will use your idea if I ever get one.
 

Diydave

New member

Equipment
L2202 tractor, L185f tractor
Oct 31, 2013
1,635
7
0
Gambrills, MD USA
I would just bungee cord it to to a $2 auction bought delivery dolly, but that's just lazy ole me... Nice job on the fab up, though...:D:D
 

Kennyd4110

Well-known member
Vendor Member
Sep 7, 2013
1,164
329
83
Westminster, MD
www.boltonhooks.com
Nice project, I have Larrys mower axles as well just cause I was lazy!
I too have a concern over those pneumatic wheels though, those can go flat very quickly-especially the cheap China ones and cause the deck to tip over.
 

Joninct

New member

Equipment
BX2230
Dec 20, 2015
28
0
0
Redding Ct
Pretty cool. Although I just moved mine by hand and put it on top of a pallet. I thought it was heavy but not that bad. Maybe it was the Wheaties I had***128514;
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
2,756
113
SW Pa
And here I though usin the boom pole to lift it and set it aside was a good idea,,:D
 

aeronutt

Member

Equipment
Z725 Mower, MX5200 w/FEL, Stihl 660, assorted others...
Jan 7, 2016
120
2
16
Omaha NE
Oh, I am stealing this! Great idea and dirt cheap. Thanks for the pics.
 

Ugly

New member

Equipment
BX22 with Fel and grapple,deck,front blower,backhoe, push blade, sweeper, plow
Dec 28, 2015
18
0
1
Elysian, MN
Nice idea but instead of buying wheels I made a bracket from some 1" shaft and some heavy wall pipe to make brackets that pin or bolt together and used the antiscalp wheels to move the MMM. After moving it a couple of times I modified the one bracket to mount two swivel 2 1/2" cast casters on that way you can steer the deck when positioning it into storage. Cool part is there are no tires to ever go flat!!
 

hockeystewey

Member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2017 BX1880 w FEL, 54"MMM, 2019 BX2816 50 " snowblower
Dec 12, 2017
114
3
18
NY
i love this idea..thanks for sharing, but can I ask why you used 3/4" black iron nipples as a spacer? i was thinking of using some 3/4" conduit I have laying around the shop. Appreciate the help.
 
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Bucky Badger

Member

Equipment
BX2660
Mar 17, 2017
48
3
8
Madison
Great Idea.
My question is, if you didn't have threads on the pipe, would it fit over the rod without having to dremel it out?
 
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