New to lawn tractors

Im a retired Marine and my lawn is always inspection ready. My wife calls it neurotic. To the point. I just bought a 2006 Bolens with a 15.5 hp engine and a 38" cutting deck. It also has the grass collector. I must admit I feel like I got a steal at $400. It's in great shape. So what's the first thing I did? I cut my lawn. Briliant. When I was done it looked like one of Pattons tanks had it way with my yard. That's when I opted to read the owners manual. The deck was way out of adjustment and I ordered the deck wheels. My lawn has healed and my ego is getting better. So here are my questions. Is there a way to lift the deck or the suspension by another 1/2 inch? Even a 1/4" would be great. For years I have cut my lawn with the mower set to its highest setting. With the deck of my tractor set to its highest point it's still just a little closer then I like and in some areas it's still coming close to scalping the yard. Any ideas would be great. Thank you.

One thing you could try is more air in your tires

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It's funny - I have the same condition. I'd like to raise mine also as the highest setting isn't really high enough to prevent drying and browning during the dry season.
I've often thought about installing slightly larger tires/wheels but when I look at the cost, the browning lawn all of a sudden doesn't look so bad.:biggrin:
Maybe a thought though.
Semper Fi.
Rich

To save all the two finger typing I'm pasting something I posted in another area under Bolens mowers. It worked. I changed out the provided 5" plastic wheels that came in the deck wheel kit I ordered from MTD with 6" wheels from Lowes. Please let me know if this helps. Thanks for looking in on this post. Gunny.

Tell your Dad SEMPER FI! I retired ten years ago and miss it every day. So here's the latest. By the way I'm one of those guys who just can't leave well enough alone. So I just finished edging, trimming and mowing. Yesterday on the way home I stopped by Lowes and found something I just had to try. The wheel kit I ordered had 5" plastic wheels. Well Lowes had 6" steel wheels with rubber tires. So I thought that's what I want. Had to get axle bolts that were a little longer but the point is, they worked. As the tractor is setting in the flat garage floor both deck wheels have a 1/4" clearance. So today I had NO SCALPING and after 25 bags of miracle grow two weeks ago (I hooked the feeder up to my sprinkler system. That's another story. ) anyway I now have the putting green I've always had. Now I just need to figure out the right pattern for the tractor. With the hand mower I did diamonds. It will just take time. Oh yes, all my friends still call me Gunny. Feel free. I do look forward to hearing from you. Gunny.

GUNNY USMC said:

Im a retired Marine and my lawn is always inspection ready.

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Thank you for protecting my family and me and making the world a better place.

Good luck with your new tractor and endeavors.

You are very welcome. I miss the Corps every day however it's a young (man's) ooops persons job and I ain't that person any more. Now I keep my lawn high and tight like my flat top. We still have so many in all services over there. We need them home when the time is right. Have a great night. Gunny.

GUNNY USMC said:

You are very welcome. I miss the Corps every day however it's a young (man's) ooops persons job and I ain't that person any more. Now I keep my lawn high and tight like my flat top. We still have so many in all services over there. We need them home when the time is right. Have a great night. Gunny.

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My wife, daughter and I used to compete and officiate at Camp Perry. The United States Marine team(s) were fantastic. The most fun contest was the National Team Infantry Trophy Match (rattle battle). The marines were unbeatable. They'd finish first and have the highest score. Shooting machines. I was proud to lose to them. A United States Marine with an M14 is a great combination. 200 to 1,000 yards - no scopes, no miss.

We retired from shooting, but still have fond memories of Camp Perry and all of the competitors.

~Bullseye

Oh this is cool. I was a Primary Marksmanship Instructor at MCRD Parris Island for 4 years and was selected to the team in 1987. Only problem was my son was due to be born during the division matches so I had to pass on the opportunity. No regrets. But I'll always wonder. Chief Warrant Officer Matthews trained me. He was a VERY decorated marksman. I am 10th award expert with the m16 and 10th award with the pistol. I did go into a competition at Camp Pendleton CA. and took first out of 475 a number of years later. I do miss that. I never got to try the 1000 yard ranges but over the years I've been to a few civilian ranges where all the shooters are using sand bags on benches for support and couldn't put two rounds in the same spot with a scope to make a dope change at 200 or 300 yards. But offhand with open sites the "V" just wasn't safe with me. I guess once the gun powder gets in your blood it stays there. Please tell your family shooting team I said Semper Fi. Please stay in touch. Gunny.

GUNNY USMC said:

Oh this is cool. I was a Primary Marksmanship Instructor at MCRD Parris Island for 4 years and was selected to the team in 1987. Only problem was my son was due to be born during the division matches so I had to pass on the opportunity. No regrets. But I'll always wonder. Chief Warrant Officer Matthews trained me. He was a VERY decorated marksman. I am 10th award expert with the m16 and 10th award with the pistol. I did go into a competition at Camp Pendleton CA. and took first out of 475 a number of years later. I do miss that. I never got to try the 1000 yard ranges but over the years I've been to a few civilian ranges where all the shooters are using sand bags on benches for support and couldn't put two rounds in the same spot with a scope to make a dope change at 200 or 300 yards. But offhand with open sites the "V" just wasn't safe with me. I guess once the gun powder gets in your blood it stays there. Please tell your family shooting team I said Semper Fi. Please stay in touch. Gunny.

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I was fortunate to be born into a family of shooters. We had a range in the basement of the house I grew up in. My father taught the trustworthy kids in our neighborhood firearm safety and marksmanship.

My brother shot on the Second Army rifle team from 1958 to 1960. I got to stay with the team in the World War II prisoner of war huts. Later in life my family and I would spend many weekends in them when we were officiating or competing in State, Regional, or National competitions. My daughters grew up thinking Camp Perry was our summer home.

When I was 12 or 13 I was standing on the sidewalk in front of our suburban home shooting offhand into our garage (slanted boiler plate backstop). A police officer pulled up and checked out the set-up and told me to be careful. Can you imagine the insanity of that today? SWAT team. Rifle seized. Psychologists. Kid becomes ward of the state.

Thank you for refreshing some fond memories. I'm going to wash my little X300.