Bull RT-700 caster wheel replacement

[Bmmcdaid]

Hey Y’all

I have had my Bull about a year and already on my 4th caster wheel. Fist one the post bent, replacement was sent and after the first week it had a flat spot (didn’t have a flat spot when I got it). My 2nd original wheel missing 3-4 of the bearings. Got sent a replacement and now that has a flat spot it in.

Does anyone have any threaded replacement wheels that don’t sucks?

Thanks
BM

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

So could we deduce you're "hell on wheels", LOL!!

 

[Bmmcdaid]

Ohh yeah hell on broken wheels!!!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Hey Y’all

I have had my Bull about a year and already on my 4th caster wheel. Fist one the post bent, replacement was sent and after the first week it had a flat spot (didn’t have a flat spot when I got it). My 2nd original wheel missing 3-4 of the bearings. Got sent a replacement and now that has a flat spot it in.

Does anyone have any threaded replacement wheels that don’t sucks?

Thanks
BM

No specific recommendation. But Harbor Freight sells casters of various sizes. I was just looking at them earlier today. Also, they have wheels of various sizes, if you decide on upsized casters, you'll want to figure out how much bigger diameter fixed wheels will make it level.

 

[Savage Bull]

Hey Y’all

I have had my Bull about a year and already on my 4th caster wheel. Fist one the post bent, replacement was sent and after the first week it had a flat spot (didn’t have a flat spot when I got it). My 2nd original wheel missing 3-4 of the bearings. Got sent a replacement and now that has a flat spot it in.

Does anyone have any threaded replacement wheels that don’t sucks?

Thanks
BM

Try https://shop.servicecaster.com/default.asp. I used them for a Webber challenger cart rebuild for my bullseye grill. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, it can’t be found.

I went with stainless steel construction and polyurethane wheels that don’t deform or become “flat”. If you are shopping by price, I’m sure there are cheaper ones out there. But when it comes to casters, you get what you pay for. Buy once, cry once.

 

[Simarti28]

Have you considered purchasing the comp cart?

 

[brnytruk]

I used 4 wheel assemblies from Eagle kitchen shelving. I had to cut some of the shaft off, abt 2”, slipped them in the square tube grill legs, then drilled a 1/4” hole through the legs and caster shaft and pinned in place with a bolt and nut. All four wheels swivel and lock. The grill rolls very smoothly

 

[Jim6820]

Stainless steel caster bodies are a must for outdoor use, IMHO. Yes, they cost more, but they will outlast several sets of plated steel casters. And, @Savage Bull provides a good source for them.

 

[GroceryBoy]

I did this wheel mod last month on my 680. Parts are readily available and inexpensive.

https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/rec-tec-rt-680-mods-and-tips.21/post-52094

 

[Threadcutter]

For those of you with a relatively new Bull/700 and are considering doing the wheel/caster upgrade, I just did it and frankly, it was a major PITA. The steering caster side is simple, it's just replacing 1/2" threaded stud casters with the like (but with new, 5" diameter tyres).

My Bull/700 was delivered to me about a month and a half ago, so it's new production. I started taking everything apart on the wheel (non-castered) end and immediately found something interesting. That is, unlike swap/change videos of older units, the factory is now lathe turning spindles, installing them through the hole(s) in the outside of the legs and welding them to the inner wall of the inside of the leg(s). There are no "through holes" or pairs of holes in each leg. So, in order to install one long, single piece 5/8" shaft, the spindles need to be removed and holes located/drilled/enlarged to 5/8". Vastly easier said than done.

Upon removing the Tinkerbell factory wheels and seeing the spindles, I immediately realized that the inner portion of the spindle would be welded to the inner wall of the leg. I thought "oh shit, here we go"......Why ? Well, when you weld something to something else, both parts become hardened in the area of the weld. Yep, that was definitely the case. Sparing everyone all the gory details, I drilled most of the way through each spindle and used my Makita Multitool with Carbide blades (3 of them....) to cut the spindles out of the interior of the legs. This left chunks of spindle on the inside/welded end of the spindle that I couldn't drill any further through. I also tried using a cold chisel with a small sledge hammer to break free the remnants of the spindles free, no bueno......

So, I cleaned everything up as best I could, drilled a 5/8" hole through the outside of each leg. Installed 5" x 5/8" threaded rod, installed the 10" Harbor Freight wheels, nutted/washered everything where it needed to be, tightened everything up and called it good.

Here are the 5" casters that I found/bought on AMZN. Would have certainly preferred the wheels in black and the ability to buy only two, but I guess I have spares now..........

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L7PBF6H?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

The only "problem" with the finished product is that the 10" wheels are at an angle instead of being perpendicular to the ground. Frankly, I don't really care. Realistically, there is no practical way to remove the remnants of the hardened spindle(s) from the legs so that "interior" holes can be drilled, one continuous shaft can be run through both legs and wheels can be mounted so that they are perpendicular to the ground. As finished, mine will work just fine and the wheel/caster diameter is SOoooo much better when rolling it around.

On the one hand, the "hardened" spindles are probably a good thing. On the other hand, both the wheels and casters as supplied by the factory are pretty "twinkie" and really should be upgraded. I also just had (a couple of weeks prior) the factory send me a replacement caster because of a "flat spot". It wasn't until I did more reading here that I saw the pattern of this being an ongoing problem (that didn't appear to be getting attention from RC).

And no, I not only didn't consider buying the competition cart, I dismissed it outright. All I wanted were the larger casters and $400 for a Comp Cart just wasn't in any way attractive.

Honestly, I'm glad I did the upgrade. The factory wheels were pretty bad. It was much more work/pain than what I anticipated, but I'm glad I did it. I just wanted to post this because I know there will be people out there with new units that want to go down this path. I wanted them to be aware of what's involved.

I'll post up some pics later today........

 

[PRC]

I'll post up some pics later today........

Looking forward to seeing the pictures. After reading your experience, the effort is a lot more that I can/would do. Wish there was an easier conversion capability.

 

[Threadcutter]

Here’s the pics…

 

[C. Keeper]

Here’s the pics…

View attachment 15299

View attachment 15300

View attachment 15301

View attachment 15302

Looks great!

 

[Threadcutter]

Looks great!

Thank You Sir.....

It's functional, but isn't the way that I'd ultimately like it to be. But.....Trying to remove the hardened chunks that were welded in seemed impossible.

I would have liked to have been able to remove the hardened pieces and run a solid 5/8" rod all the way through both legs, but this seems to work as well. We'll see if the single axles will bend the leg walls, but for my needs/apps, I'm confident they won't. So far.....

 

[Threadcutter]

Oh, and the latest update/Mod;

Big Kahuna smoke generator. Tried it out on Sunday, worked great. Probably isn't going to go for much more than 1.5 or 2 hours per load, but it's very easy to reload while in operation. Burns very clean. I have a different brand of generator on my dedicated smoker and it's Mickey Mouse by comparison to the Kahuna.

Very happy with the Kahuna so far. I thought about getting the stainless wood/smoke box that surrounds the pellet burn pot. Two problems. The first being is that you have to pull the grates and drip pan every time you want to load/reload it. The second problem is doing so is unattractive when everything is hot/meat is on the grill. With the Kahuna, you just remove the lid and drop some more wood chunks into it and replace the lid. If you have to re-light it, just torch it from the bottom. Easy Squeazy.

 

[Pnman-55]

Bought my RT-700 last November. It’s still in the box because I absolutely must have a wheel modification for it to be usable. We’ll eventually have a deck or concrete patio off the sliding patio door on the left of the photo. Until then, the grill will be used where the blue box is at the bottom of the step. The grill (w/grill cover) will store under the right side of the shed overhang. What concrete is there is a little rough and there’s shredded bark in between. I’d have to replace the competition cart casters with something bigger since the stock ones are suitable only for smoother, somewhat uniform surfaces. Suitable casters run $80-$130. Add that to the competition cart price and no. Just no!

 

[Greg Jones]

Why not just keep it under the shed overhang and cook there?

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Does anybody know the size of the hole in the middle of the 5" fixed wheel? I'm looking to upgrade mine and was planning on using the factory spindles.

 

[Jim6820]

Does anybody know the size of the hole in the middle of the 5" fixed wheel? I'm looking to upgrade mine and was planning on using the factory spindles.

IIRC, they are 5/16” (actually, I think they are the Metric equivalent of 5/16: 8mm, since they are just slightly loose on a 5/16” bolt). I had to make axle bushings when I did my conversion because all the wheels of the right size I could find had either 1/2” or 5/8” bores.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

IIRC, they are 5/16” (actually, I think they are the Metric equivalent of 5/16: 8mm, since they are just slightly loose on a 5/16” bolt). I had to make axle bushings when I did my conversion because all the wheels of the right size I could find had either 1/2” or 5/8” bores.

Thank you very much good sir! The threaded side is 1/2" - 13, correct?