Marathon Two Tire Wheelbarrow Conversion Kit

The instructions are simple(probably not explicit enough). I would note the following based on my experience:1) The tires STINK so dont store in your house (even in the box). But note that you get TWO wheels as opposed to some kits that only send one wheel and you have to use your old wheel as the second. The problem with that is that the wheels may not be the exact same size. Very iffy. Mine ended up not being the same size (about 1" bigger).2) You do NOT NEED the upgraded ball bearings kit. Rolls very smoothly without.3) I would advise seeing if you can get off the (axle holding) hardware from your old wheelbarrow BEFORE ordering this. I had terrible trouble getting off my old bolts as the threads had gotten dinged up over time. The instructions do not tell you that you need to remove the old hardware (both sides).4) When you put on the new hardware to hold the axle, DO NOT tighten down the nuts until you have put in the axle. You will need to move the hardware around a bit to get the axle through. And the brackets will then not sit straight on the wood, or exactly as the old ones did (see pix 3)5) Since this is a universal kit, the new bracket hardware that holds the axle has very large holes. Better have 4 extra washers (of the size of the bolts holding on your axle hardware) on hand (not provided) cuz your old washers may be too small (as mine were) and slide right thru the holes in the new brackets.6) The kits provides other washers for the axle.7) The spacers are impt cuz if you dont use them your wheel will rub on the handles (pix 4).8) the cotter pins are the gauge of a paperclip, not very substantial and can get caught and get lost (pix 5) so I bent them around (not shown) (might have to find something better).Not a trouble-free assembly but a very nice outcome. Took me about 1.5 hour of struggling, but Im so glad that I did. I spent $50 for this kit instead of buying a new 2 tire wheelbarrow for triple the cost. I think of this kit as upcycling my wheelbarrow, and Im very happy with the outcome.

Double wheel barrels are much more stable when moving heavy loads. But their initial cost is pretty high when compared to an equivalent single wheel barrel (about double the price of similar contractor grade single wheel barrel). I had a single wheel barrel where the wheel itself was rusting out and the sharp rusting edges around the valve stem were cutting into the inner tube. I needed to replace the whole wheel but the axle was 1" diameter. Most replacement wheels fit a 5/8" axel. So this kit from Marathon included two new wheels with an axel and 2 Axel mount plates along with 4 plastic bushings. The axel mount did not exactly fit where the original axel mounts plates were but it was not a big deal to drill new holes in the wheel barrel frame to mount the axel holders. I also had to cut the plastic spacer bushings but that wasn't hard either. The whole kit coat around $35 and a single 15" wheel cost around $20-25 and I would had to find one that fit a 1" axel. Overall, it worked out well for a few extra bucks to end up with a 2-wheel wheel barrel.

I have an existing 2 tire wheelbarrow kit but the the shaft is 1" diameter and I was unable to find new tires/wheels (old wheels rusty and a few good dings in the rim with flat tires and attempts to patch/replace tube were unsuccessful). I bought this basically to convert my wheelbarrow to standard 5/8" diameter shaft and get two decent tires on it. One of the brackets matched up with the holes on the handle fine but the other would not match up no matter how I arranged them. I could have drilled for the new brackets but I ended up using my old brackets and cut two pieces (about 3/4" long each) of 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe for bushings. I cut along the length of each "bushing" on one side so they would expand and slide over the 5/8" diameter shaft and fit within the old brackets. I also shaved the plastic spacers some. Everything seems to work fine. However, these tires don't seem to be truly 4.80/4.00 - 8 in size. Both the tires and wheels seem to be a bit smaller in diameter (about 1 inch smaller on the tire). The result is that the front end of the wheelbarrow bottoms out earlier when you lift up the handles. I think I can live with it but if not, I will just put a spacer underneath the brackets (maybe a 1"x2" under each bracket and longer bolts) to get me more lift range. I did not rate it 5 stars because of the issues with fit-up and tire size but it is certainly a good value and comes with a variety of parts that one can use/modify to try and make it work.

Ran across this mod kit on a gardening website, which said they were available at Sears, but I found them $20 cheaper here at Amazon. Sorry Sears. Only giving this kit 4 stars because I just installed it yesterday and haven't had a chance to actually use it yet.Install was a breeze. Only small issue was that the original mounting hardware, (nuts, washers, etc) get re-used to attach the new axle mounting brackets, and the existing small flat washers want to fall thru the rather large slots in the bracket. Found 4 larger washers in my garage junk drawer.Once installed though, the difference in handling and stability is nothing short of amazing. Granted, I haven't tried moving a heavy load yet, but looks to be a huge improvement. I have a bunch of concrete I'm busting up and wheeling past my swimming pool, and I almost dumped a few loads in the deep end. This will be a big help.