Mesa Boogie 8x10 edge casters

[ariff]

So I picked up a nice Mesa power House 8x10 cab the other day.. It sounds killer and worth the extra effort to haul around. However the edge casters are crappy. The wheels have gashes and knicks in them and the bearings have come loose. It still rolls but not very smoothe. I'd like to find some replacement casters or wheels but I am not having much luck. Mesa does not seem to have them listed on their site. Anyone ever have to replace these? If so how did you do it. I have actually thought about picking up some inline skate wheels and bearings. and swapping out just the wheel. However the axle is rivited in place. I could replace the rivited axle with a bolt, but I think the extra length of the head and nut would cause it not to fit anymore. Well thanks for any suggestions.

[Sartori]

Have you tried calling them?

[ariff]

Yeah.. left a message and have not heard back.. I am going to try calling again during the week.

[Classickbass]

+1 to calling them!

The number is on their website.

[Crabby]

I have the Powerhouse412 and one of the casters was worn out. They are like an inline skate wheel and on mine it looked like the bearings were falling out as the wheel was worn out pretty bad.

I ordered two new wheels from Mesa. They come with the whole assembly that you screw into the cabinet and were not very expensive. Took five minutes to replace. Just call them during business hours and order what you need, I also bought new corners and skid rails for my cab and its as good as new.

[edpal]

Yeah,yeah, old thread. The original wheels have a cast zinc frame...kinda cheap in my opinion....one of mine the frame cracked and then the wheel strated gnashing about, then went AWOL. grundorf makes a REALLY good replacement wheel assembly, rated at like 300 lb. per. A little costly at $27+ per assembly, but it is the closest in size to the originals. Will still take a little opening up of the notch in the cab.

[ariff]

Yeah old thread.. I did get new casters from Mesa.. After a year of use they have started falling apart again. The bearings come loose around the wheel and they don't roll very well. Can you post a link of the better ones you found. I'd like to look into getting a set.
Thanks!

[nervous]

Another option: Do you have the large rubber feet that are held on with large screws? If so here is what I did on my PH1000 when I had it. Remove those feet, get yourself some 3/8" t-nut inserts, then get yourself some quality thread-in polyurethane wheeled stem casters from Caster City (or the set from me that I have at home...).

Stem Casters - Threaded Stem - Grip Ring Stem - Caster City

Drill out the holes where the screws went in the appropriate size to acommodate the t-nuts. Hammer home the t-nuts from the inside of the cab and thread the casters in. Done. Easy wheeling in any direction especially when set up on stage with the head on top. No more tilt and go.

The beauty of this is two fold. It does not interfere with the tilt back wheels that are already on there and if you decide to tale them off you can easily reinstall the rubber feet using some short 3/8" hex head bolts and washers. Better than original.

[edpal]

Direct Pro Audio - Professional Audio, Lighting, and Video Prodcuts and Services
Grundorf 37-008 $26.95

nervous: Some folks think the rubber feet transmit the bass sound to the floor better, and with wheels front and back, some rigs are a little TOO mobile. But I personally like the idea so I might try that on one of my cabs. THe tilt-back wheels reaaly help when doing stairs, which with a 135 lb. cab. is pretty important. Which is why a better quality wheel is well worth the money.

I agree with OP - they could have at least made that wheel assembly so the axle could be pulled. I was SO confident it was made that way, I both 4 roller blade wheels with bearings thinking I was going to be flying high in minutes. No such luck. An otherwise glorious cabinet.

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by edpal

Direct Pro Audio - Professional Audio, Lighting, and Video Prodcuts and Services
Grundorf 37-008 $26.95

nervous: Some folks think the rubber feet transmit the bass sound to the floor better, and with wheels front and back, some rigs are a little TOO mobile. But I personally like the idea so I might try that on one of my cabs. THe tilt-back wheels reaaly help when doing stairs, which with a 135 lb. cab. is pretty important. Which is why a better quality wheel is well worth the money.

I agree with OP - they could have at least made that wheel assembly so the axle could be pulled. I was SO confident it was made that way, I both 4 roller blade wheels with bearings thinking I was going to be flying high in minutes. No such luck. An otherwise glorious cabinet.

Not to mention that tilt back wheels just plain work better with taller cabs... I've been gigging my PH810 for a little over a year now, and the wheels are starting to get a little tired - I agree that Mesa *should* have put more heavy-duty castors on a cab as heavy as the PH810...

I'm probably just going to replace mine with these - which will require a little work, but isn't really a big deal for me... I suspect these will last quite a bit longer, if not indefinitely:

Recessed Casters, Tilt Casters

[Caca de Kick]

I don't know about you guys, but I replaced my PH810 wheels around last may, and the replacements were revised (better) than the original '08-ish original wheels. The originals seemed more hard plastic and partially hollow. The replacements seem a softer compound and sure seem to be solid and not hollow.

Boogie p/n 359700 only cost $11.90 each is okay by me. My Mesa Diesel cabs, I had to change pop-out casters every couple of years, so I'm used to this drill after 20yrs of playing their gear.

[edpal]

georgestrings:
I saw those, but the housing was so wide I couldn't commit to them, would have required chopping into the skid rail and/or the metal kick plate. But an awesomely sturdy wheel, for sure. The Grundorf housing is only .08 " (2mm) wider, I figured I could deal with filing that little bit off the skid rail. Mesa could have gone another $10 on those wheels.

[edpal]

Originally Posted by Caca de Kick

I don't know about you guys, but I replaced my PH810 wheels around last may, and the replacements were revised (better) than the original '08-ish original wheels. The originals seemed more hard plastic and partially hollow. The replacements seem a softer compound and sure seem to be solid and not hollow.

Boogie p/n 359700 only cost $11.90 each is okay by me. My Mesa Diesel cabs, I had to change pop-out casters every couple of years, so I'm used to this drill after 20yrs of playing their gear.

You know, I would have tried some replacements, but when I went on their site I couldn't find those. I may consider ordering a pair and returning the Grundorfs. BUt the grundorfs are on their way, so I guess I may as well look at them. THe one cab of mine is an older POwerhouse 1200, and both wheels were completely blown off, so I really don't know what they were like. THe other is 1-2 yr. old, and the wheesl seem like black rollerblade wheels. THanks for the part #.

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by edpal

georgestrings:
I saw those, but the housing was so wide I couldn't commit to them, would have required chopping into the skid rail and/or the metal kick plate. But an awesomely sturdy wheel, for sure. The Grundorf is only .08"(2mm) wider, I figured I could deal with filing that little bit off the skid rail. Mesa could have gone another $10 on those wheels.

Yeah, I just brought my PH810 home after being in the backline truck for the last 14 months - it's wheels still have some life left in them, but will definitely need to be replaced sometime this year...

Looking at them a bit closer reveals that it would take more "surgery" than I originally anticipated to install those heavier casters I linked... I'm going to think things over a bit more before committing to anything... I probably played almost 80 paying gigs with that cab, and the cab itself is still in pretty nice shape - but the cover is starting to get a bit rough, and I've already replaced two corners that got cracked... I'm figuring that putting a few $$$ into it annually is somewhat a "cost of doing business", given my gigging schedule, and the logistics of moving such a big heavy cab...

I do agree that Mesa could've put some better casters on such a heavy, high dollar cab - but performance-wise, the PH810 is the best cab I've ever played thru... I'll probably just buy another set of Mesa casters, a few spare corners, and a new cover - and pass it off as an annual gigging expense...


- georgestrings

[edpal]

Just got the grundorfs - never going back to the Mesa wheels. The metal is easily twice as thick, the tire is a flatter tread(you're not cornering like a roller-blader, I hope), and the tire is 50% wider than a rollerblade tire. Nice ball bearing deal. Looks like it will require opening the pocket about 1/8"(2mm), total. Doing it as soon as the old lady hits the driveway for work tomorrow(I work out of my home).

[ariff]

Cool you should post some pics of your progress.. I think I'll put them on the list to get. How are you planning on making the hole bigger?

[edpal]

Originally Posted by ariff

Cool you should post some pics of your progress.. I think I'll put them on the list to get. How are you planning on making the hole bigger?

WIll do - just grabbed the implements of construction. I've flipped the cab face down, and looking at it a little closer I'm thinking I will take all the flesh off the outer side of the hole(closest to drag rails.) Top and bottom of hole needs nothing as the tire is 1/4" small than a new rollerblade tire, so the housing fits. THe grundorfs are made to mate to a sharp cornered cab, so I will have a small gap due to the large radius on the cab corner - black silicone. Nobody should notice unless I drop the cab on their face! Oh, planning on using large rasp/file - I'm thinking 3-5 minutes. Grabbing the camera - here goes.

[edpal]

Got a little distracted - but yeah, about 15-20 including removale of old corner(busted), wheel and drag rail, rasping and reinstalling all. Ihad bought corners that were 1/8-14" shorter on each leg than the originals, perfect fit. More pics next post.

[edpal]

And there you have it. THe green dot in previous pics is a spot where you have to go a little deeper for the axle ends.Plywood really files easily. Without TOlex or carpet, ur cbs. would quickly shred to pieces.

[Crabby]

Nicely done!