# Front Roller for McLane/TruCut/CalTrimmer



## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

If anyone is looking for a roller for their reel mower ReelRollers.com is having a fathers day sale going on until 6/20.


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## lagerman72 (Feb 14, 2017)

SGrabs33 said:


> If anyone is looking for a roller for their reel mower ReelRollers.com is having a fathers day sale going on until 6/20.


Great post!! If you're on the fence about getting one, it's so worth it.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

hmm I'm wondering if that would fit on my HRX he hehe that would looks so slick!


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Actually I just saw that Dolphin Outdoor(a known seller to TruCut mowers and parts) was selling TruCut front rollers for all sizes for $100 and free shipping. I actually don't have a roller on my 20" TruCut and wasn't going to add one because I want to upgrade to the 25" or 27" at some point this year. At $100 i couldn't pass it up, so I bought one.

TruCut Rollers all sizes for $100 and free shipping


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

j4c11 said:


> Hey look, it's in Home & Garden, you can take an additional 20%($140) off with the coupon.


Just remembered this and forgot to add it when buying my roller. FML. I guess I will have to contact the seller tomorrow and see if I can cancel the order. I cant imagine the 20% is coming out of their pocket so they wouldn't mind, right?


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

I got my new roller in the mail today. Really fast shipping. This thing is a monster for 80 bucks. The front of my mower is so much heavier now. Maybe I will be able to do some striping now.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Looks really solid - I think the $80 will be worth it for sure.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

dfw_pilot said:


> Looks really solid - I think the $80 will be worth it for sure.


Yeah, I was always hesitant because they are usually around $150 with $20 shipping. When I saw that this one was going to be $80 all in I clicked buy very quickly. Don't think I will be regretting it anytime soon.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Looks great, congrats!


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

I would prefer that roller over my reelroller.com purchase! The swept back design keeps the roller closer to the reel, less likely to scalp on uneven surfaces.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Redtenchu said:


> I would prefer that roller over my reelroller.com purchase! The swept back design keeps the roller closer to the reel, less likely to scalp on uneven surfaces.


Nice, I didn't even think about that. It's only about a half inch from the reel. I'm looking forward to taking it for a spin this weekend.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Cut for the first time with the roller and it worked great. It makes the front of the mower so much heavier. I would definitely recommend it. I was even able to get a few stripes.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

SGrabs33 said:


> Cut for the first time with the roller and it worked great. It makes the front of the mower so much heavier. I would definitely recommend it. I was even able to get a few stripes.


I'm glad you like it! Stripe city at your house soon!


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## gotgrass (Aug 7, 2017)

Hello,

New to the forum... However, i stumbled across this thread searching for a front roller for my Mclane 20 inch ...... Now, can anybody tell me if the roller(from www.reelrollers.com) prohibits the use of catcher?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

gotgrass said:


> Hello,
> 
> New to the forum... However, i stumbled across this thread searching for a front roller for my Mclane 20 inch ...... Now, can anybody tell me if the roller(from www.reelrollers.com) prohibits the use of catcher?


Welcome to TLF - glad you found us! I don't have any McLane experience, but someone should be along shortly to answer your question. :thumbup:


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## gotgrass (Aug 7, 2017)

Thanks for the quick response....

So many questions.....

i'll pot them in correct seciton


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

No help for a McLane but it doesn't interfere with the catcher on my TruCut. I would assume they would make them so they wouldn't interfere. Also check out what a few members here have done to add a roller on their McLanes for cheap.

DIY McLane roller


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## gotgrass (Aug 7, 2017)

J_nick said:


> No help for a McLane but it doesn't interfere with the catcher on my TruCut. I would assume they would make them so they wouldn't interfere. Also check out what a few members here have done to add a roller on their McLanes for cheap.
> 
> DIY McLane roller


I would assume that too, but i found a guy on youtube who has a roller from www.reelrollers.com and he modified his catcher....

Here's the video....






keep in mind that the the video is 5 years old so they may have changed the design....

Here is the picture....

some kind of screen......



i went ahead and purhcased....
He states 100 % satisfaction guaranteed.... so if i have to modify it, guess what it is going back.....

Thanks guys...!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

When I put the reel roller on my McLane the grass catcher did rub the roller. I modified my catcher to work with the roller. All I did was simply drill some holes in the catcher and a pvc pipe and then zip tied them together. This works well for me and only took a few minutes to do.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Brodgers88 said:


> ...I modified my catcher to work with the roller...


Nice workaround - thanks for sharing! I think the benefits of having a front roller far outweigh the trouble of making this modification. :thumbup:


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## gotgrass (Aug 7, 2017)

Brodgers88 said:


> When I put the reel roller on my McLane the grass catcher did rub the roller. I modified my catcher to work with the roller. All I did was simply drill some holes in the catcher and a pvc pipe and then zip tied them together. This works well for me and only took a few minutes to do.


NOw that is a mod i don't mind doing!

:thumbup:

Thanks for the info!


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## gotgrass (Aug 7, 2017)

Yup, so I gave in!

THe roller came in yesterday! I was youth tackle football scrimmage in San Diego......

Installed that bad boy this morning ......

And bam:


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## xraydesigns (Apr 8, 2018)

Does anyone have a used front roller for a Mclane 20" reel mower selling. Hook me up I'm wanting one.


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

xraydesigns said:


> Does anyone have a used front roller for a Mclane 20" reel mower selling. Hook me up I'm wanting one.


Contact us at [email protected]

We have some used demo models, not many.


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## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Shout out to @Reelrollers for setting me up with one of there demo rollers! Can't wait to see what this thing can do when the yard starts filling in better.


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

Redtenchu said:


> I would prefer that roller over my reelroller.com purchase! The swept back design keeps the roller closer to the reel, less likely to scalp on uneven surfaces.


First, any roller is better than no roller! Full disclosure, we are the manufacture and patent holder for all California Trimmer, Tru Cut, and McLane Front Rollers.

But, if interested, I would love to send 2-3 folks at no charge our front roller if they own a Tru Cut mower with a Tru Cut brand front roller. I provided my comparision below with pictures, but it would be only fair if we had some unbiased opinions posted here on TLF. PM me if interested in putting together a video, post, and images and we'll ship one to you.

So here's the history and differences = Tru-Cut had to design their roller to be different from ours due to our patents. That's why theirs looks "after market" and our roller looks like it was manufactured with the roller. Because they need to have a different design, my experience with their roller has been:

1. Their roller is too heavy. Ours 27" roller weighs 15lbs. Theirs is almost 22lbs. In theory better, but unfortunately it adds a lot of strain on the clutch and your thumb... Throw a grass catcher on there and you are really fighting that tank and putting a lot compaction on your turf.

2. Their bearings are for conveyor indoor use (TT = metal sealed for fast dry conditions). RR are for outdoor dusty/ wet conditions (RS - rubber sealed).

3. If their bearings ever go bad, you have to replace the entire roller because their end brackets are pressed into the bearings. Their design doesn't allow for you to replace their bearings. RR is designed to replace bearings because eventually, all bearings wear. We have rollers out there 15+ years old and still kicking strong.

4. Closer roller to bed knife = better contour of turf. I agree. RR designed the roller to be the EXACT footprint as the front caster wheels. We assumed Tru Cut balanced their mower with their original design which is why we didn't put the roller closer to the bed knife. What you'll find with the Tru Cut roller is the mower is out of balance. You will absolutely experience 10x more "rear wheel spin outs" because the mower is now front heavy.

5. RR is an exact replication of height, footprint, and adjustment as the stock caster wheels. You'll see in many of the pictures below, their brackets don't even align with their own stock caster wheels meaning your height is not the same. You can see how the RR bracket holes line up exactly with the stock caster wheels. The Tru Cut holes on their roller are way off.

This was my own experience when I first saw their roller 2 years ago. See the pictures below and hopefully we can get 2 -3 unbiased opinions posted online.

Black and Red Roller = Reel Rollers
Unpainted = Tru Cut Roller


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

Thank you for that information @Reelrollers, I didn't know they used a cheaper bearing assembly.


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

I can't say "cheaper" because I don't know their prices - that wouldn't be fair on my part.

But, I would comment that its the wrong application for that type of bearing. Both bearings are sealed, but if you look online for "TT" bearing vs "RS" bearing you'll find that their applications are different. RS is for wet, dusty, dirty conditions. The TT bearing is for high speed, high temperature, indoor use mainly.


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## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

@Reelrollers 
Thanks for the post, I have a Tru-Cut roller and have been wondering how the hell I would change the bearings out when the time comes. You're absolutely correct, they will eventually fail - I just changed out the very heavy duty roller bearings on my JD. If you still need someone to test/review I'm available!


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

I was counting on a similar sale this year!!! Ahhhh!!!!


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## gpbrown60 (Apr 7, 2018)

First, any roller is better than no roller! Full disclosure, we are the manufacture and patent holder for all California Trimmer, Tru Cut, and McLane Front Rollers.

But, if interested, I would love to send 2-3 folks at no charge our front roller if they own a Tru Cut mower with a Tru Cut brand front roller. I provided my comparision below with pictures, but it would be only fair if we had some unbiased opinions posted here on TLF. PM me if interested in putting together a video, post, and images and we'll ship one to you.

Reelrollers,
Is the roller offer open for a 20" Tru Cut? My roller is shot.


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## RayTL (Jun 4, 2018)

Anyone know where to purchase a grooved roller for a c-27 Tru Cut?


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## njoy1389 (May 6, 2018)

Ah shucks just bought one back in March.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

RayTL said:


> Anyone know where to purchase a grooved roller for a c-27 Tru Cut?


I'm still waiting for someone to come up with something, but I've only ever seen one in a pic online.

edit - @Reelrollers any thoughts? I would certainly volunteer to do any product testing or comparison since I have your original already. :smile:


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

We've looked into this several times, and built several grooved rollers. Here is what we found:
1. Grooved rollers are made of aluminum and are very light, too light. The McLane, Trimmer, and Tru cut need more front weight to keep them "grounded".

2. Very expensive. These rollers would have to retail in the $200+ range to make it worth it for any manufacturer.

3. Yard chunks. Really the only brand these grooved rollers would work on consistently would be the Tru Cut. Because the McLane and Trimmer have the rear wheel elevated drive, folks often can't tip the mower back far enough to clear the grooves from taking out chunks from the lawn while not tipping it back too far where the rotating rear wheel drive doesn't shoot the mower forward.

I hope #3 this makes sense, probably easier to show then explain in text. If we made a small diameter grooved roller that might help, but then that creates the problem of getting over curbs, driveways, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you have suggestions, we have the resources to manufacture some prototypes.


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## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

I had the chance to mow with the Reel Rollers TruCut 20" roller and compare it to the roller that TruCut offers (that I already had mowed with for a half season). Here are my takeaways:

-Accuracy to cut height settings
Because the displacement of the roller setup on the Reel Rollers hardware, it matches the same geometry as the stock TruCut casters ... which effectively allows for the identical HOC adjustment that is advertised in the TruCut manual. With the OEM roller, it sits closer to the bedknife which changes the adjustment range because of the angle between the ground contact (roller) and the adjustment mechanism. ADVANTAGE: Reel Rollers

-Scalping
This one surprised me. I figured with the Reel Rollers setup, I'd scalp more because the distance between the roller and bedknife is slightly increased. That, however, did not appear to be true. I have two areas where I always scalp due to the sloped nature of my lot. On those two areas, the scalping did not appear to change (for better or for worse). ADVANTAGE: none

-Stability (wheel spin from shorter contact base)
This one really bothered me with the OEM roller. Because it is so close to the bedknife, the weight distribution is moved further back so when accelerating the machine likes to "pop wheelies". Since the machine is rear-wheel driven, having weight distribution that is even from front to back is necessary to prevent wheel spin and pop-ups which end up causing miscuts.
ADVANTAGE: Reel Rollers

-Weight/ Balance
The Reel Rollers striper is a bit less heavy and supposedly uses better bearings for a more consistent/smooth roll. I didn't notice anything here but it should be better for clutch life and be less harsh on the machine in general.
ADVANTAGE: Reel Rollers

-Handling
Same comments as above.

-Appearance
New Reel Roller striper looked nice, however after only a few mows, the coating/paint has worn off quite a bit and now the metal is showing. While only aesthetic, the OEM roller I used for half a season still looks intact from an appearance standpoint.
ADVANTAGE: OEM Roller

-Contact/ Impact on Grass Catcher
I did not see a difference with this as neither roller I tested had an impact on the grass catcher.
ADVANTAGE: none

-Overall performance
Same comments as above, in aggregate. I expect the better bearing componentry and better balance to fare better int he long run for the overall health of the mower. However, the Reel Rollers striper may continue to deteriorate from an aesthetic standpoint (but this should not affect overall performance).
ADVANTAGE: Reel Rollers (due to overall better handling and striping because of keeping the roller on the ground more consistently)

-Overall value (there is a price difference)
Since Reel Rollers' striper is less costly to purchase than the OEM striper, I would hands down purchase this striper vs. the OEM one. Especially for someone like myself who has to feather the clutch a lot and mows around a lot of objects and has a lot of slopes/undulation, the Reel Roller striper has performed better than the OEM one in almost all aspects.

I'll be sticking with the Reel Rollers product on my Tru Cut as the overall mowing experience is noticeably improved over the OEM roller.


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## RayTL (Jun 4, 2018)

Spammage said:


> RayTL said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone know where to purchase a grooved roller for a c-27 Tru Cut?
> ...


Same here, I've only seen them on YouTube


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## RayTL (Jun 4, 2018)

Reelrollers said:


> We've looked into this several times, and built several grooved rollers. Here is what we found:
> 1. Grooved rollers are made of aluminum and are very light, too light. The McLane, Trimmer, and Tru cut need more front weight to keep them "grounded".
> 
> 2. Very expensive. These rollers would have to retail in the $200+ range to make it worth it for any manufacturer.
> ...


Thanks for the information @Reelrollers . My roller has a little play in it, so I'm planning to get one of yours when the time comes.

-Ray


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## Gudor (Jul 2, 2018)

I am currently keeping my grass on the higher side as I baby it (I seeded at the end of last Summer and had to overseed heavily this Spring). I built my own roller and because of the longer length grass it lays down more in places so I know I am not getting a consistent cut height. I have been kicking around the idea of grooves - but I think I would weld rings (washers) onto the roller.


Was rather inexpensive to build. I have found the roller I used for less than $20. The pipe is just 1/2" black pipe. First time I have used the spray on galvanized paint - pretty sweet stuff. McMasters has EVERYTHING.



I would like to get a stand-off instead of stacking washers.



Accessing a water jet is a neat way to get the parts. I added the 5 holes for adjustment purposes, but I don't think they help - maybe 3 would suffice for different HOC increments.

d

Rings/washers, maybe one every 1.5", might do the trick. Not sure how they would hold up if you picked up the back of the mower 'wheelbarrow' style. What do you guys think about welding rings around a roller? Outside diameter would be ~4" with inside ~2", so 1" of clearance for grass.


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## Lawndude29 (Jun 26, 2018)

Got a new accessory for this ole gal in the mail today. Awesome!


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

That is one veteran mower for sure! Looks great!


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## Lawndude29 (Jun 26, 2018)

MasterMech said:


> That is one veteran mower for sure! Looks great!


Thanks! Runs like a champ.


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## Gudor (Jul 2, 2018)

Your lawn and your Trimmer are looking good!


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## Lawndude29 (Jun 26, 2018)

Gudor said:


> Your lawn and your Trimmer are looking good!


Thanks I appreciate that!


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## Bryan34w (May 3, 2019)

The front rollers for the Mclane, trimmer and tru cut, are they all about the same diameter? What is their diameter. Thanks.


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## Gudor (Jul 2, 2018)

I am pretty sure most people use rollers from a conveyor system...Many sizes, but 1.9 inches seems most common/cheapest. I am talking about a roller attachment, the stock wheels are definitely bigger - I don't have them to measure currently, but IIRC, they were 3.5" or 4" diameter.


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

Bryan34w said:


> The front rollers for the Mclane, trimmer and tru cut, are they all about the same diameter? What is their diameter. Thanks.


The front rollers for all 3 brands are the same diameter, 2.375". It's the mounting brackets and height adjustment that is specific for each and the more complicated part.

The rollers are designed so that your HOC is exactly the same as they were with the front grocery cart wheels.


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## Bryan34w (May 3, 2019)

Thanks guys. I was looking into being cheap about it and trying to make one from a conveyor roller but decided to just buy a legit one for my 20" Cal trimmer. Should be here Friday.


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## Gudor (Jul 2, 2018)

Please share what your get...I wouldn't be surprised if it is exactly what your were thinking - the height change is corrected for in the modified brackets.


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## Bryan34w (May 3, 2019)

This is what I ordered https://www.homedepot.com/p/California-Trimmer-20-in-Front-Roller-Kit-for-RL20H-Reel-Lawn-Mowers-FR-20/304781992


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## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Has Reel Rollers done the Fathers Day sale the last few years? I am ready to pull the trigger on a Cal Trimmer grooved roller, but would hate to miss out on any sales.


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