Thompson Wheels for Planters Testimonials

“I especially noticed a difference on our non-irrigated ground that was hard and dry. The T-wheels were able to close the furrow, and the Keetons + Mojos helped get the seed into what little moisture was there.”

“I love those Thompson wheels and wedges—they’re wonderful. I have some clay soils along the river, and I’ve tried a bunch of different types of closing wheels, and nothing else comes close to closing the furrow. Fabulous.”

“I planted double-crop corn into wheat stubble in extreme wet conditions using Thompson wheels—I shouldn’t have been in the field, but the corn made an excellent stand! I planted in no-till and tilled ground, and had superb results in both. When I planted soybeans, I used OEM wheels and T-wheels—the stand was scarce where the OEM wheels were, but I had a better stand and higher emergence where the T-wheels had been.”

“[A respected friend] convinced me to put T-wheels on our planter, and that paid off big time: WAAAAAY better stand on our corn on corn.”

“I put on one row of the Thompson wheels a few years ago, beside the other rows with [competitor] closing wheels. I’m putting Thompson wheels on the rest of the rows now [2009]—I don’t need a drag chain as they do a better job of consistently covering the seed.”

“On my planter, I run two Thompson spoked closing wheels [per row] and get along great. Make sure you use Keeton seed firmers. I use the firmers with a Mojo Wire to stiffen them even more and really push the seed into the soil. After that, I like the fluffy crumbly dirt on top.”

“Your Thompson wheels closed the seed trench very well. I have no complaints with them whatsoever.”

“Your products help me make money. I did a trial with different spoked closing wheels and yours were by far the best wheels I’ve seen. I have Thompsons on my 16-row JD planter and am converting my 750 drill to them. They really make a difference in covering the seed and emergence. They break up the sidewall compaction and do a great job closing the seed trench. I appreciate you guys [Exapta].”

“Get rid of your cast wheels. We have had good luck with the Thompson wheels. We have them on both our 1890 and our 1770 and won’t use anything else.”

“We planted hundreds of acres of corn into killed CRP sod in the spring of 2010. The Thompson wheels and toe-out wedges did an excellent job of getting the furrow closed in those really tough conditions.”

“I tried 2 rows of Thompson wheels and wedges, and the rest of the planter was [competitor] spike closing wheels. When I did stand counts, the two rows with Thompson wheels had 1,000 – 2,000 higher final populations than the other rows. It was easy to see which rows had the Thompson wheels.” [Four years later, Thompsons & Mojos on all rows] “I think I have the best stands around of corn-on-corn in no-till.”

“The Thompson wheels really worked well — just like you said. With the complete rebuild of the planter… including Keetons and Mojo Wires, all the plants came up at the same time….With the Thompson wheels, and everything you said, it’s made a world of difference in how the planter performed—even the previous owner was really impressed with what I’d done with it. I’d think anyone using this setup would be overwhelmingly satisfied.”

“The Thompson wheels were wonderful—Neatest seedbed I’ve ever accomplished…I attribute some of [my perfect stands] to the Thompson wheels. I have nothing but praise for them.”

“The Thompson wheels are everything you said they were. Much better closing than the cast [OEM] closing wheels”

“The bearings in the Thompson wheels are superb. I never have to worry about them seizing up and having to replace them in the middle of planting, like I used to with OEM bearings.”

“We are in the South and plant mostly cotton. I tried several [competitor] closing wheels on our planter this last summer [2018]. We had Thompson wheels on our planter and went back to those, as in our conditions we felt like they did the best job.” [They have ran T-whls on their planter for many years, but were checking out some newer options.]

“I purchased Thompson Wheels off you last year and they have worked great.”

“I’ve tried rubber closing wheels, cast closing wheels, and several other brands of spoked wheels on planters, and without a doubt, the Thompson wheels are the best for all of my conditions.”

2010 comment: “We are sold on Thompson wheels. We’ve used them for 4 years on over 7,000 acres, no breakdowns. Planting beans in Missouri-River-bottom gumbo, we could never get much over 15 bu/a, no-till or full-till. However, when we installed the Thompson wheels, we have raised 40-bu beans every year with no-till. Wet or dry, they do a good job of covering the seed.” [Feb 2014 update:] “The bearings last forever; we’ve never had one fail. Last spring was very wet. While full-till folks had to wait several days for the ground to dry, we went to the field and planted, all no-till. The Thompson wheels worked, and never balled up in wet soil conditions.”

“I traded for a Kinze a couple of years ago; ran one rubber closing wheel and one [competitor spoked wheel] per row for a year and a half—about the only time I closed a slot was when it rained after I planted. I put Thompsons on this spring [2010] and had no problems closing.”

“The Thompson wheels do just what you say. They close the furrow even though it’s too wet to be out there. Our stands are excellent. I’m glad I tried them.”

“I had 4 different brands of closing wheels for several years before going to the Exapta Thompson wheels. I like yours because of the thin blade—it goes into the soil easier for good crumbling of the sidewall. There’s seldom any corn stalks getting stuck in them. It’s a good closing unit. No maintenance needed in 9 years.”

“I first tried Thompson wheels after running [competitor ‘spikes’] several years. The Thompson wheels pull the soil in very nice and closed the trench. I have the toe-out wedges set at 3 degrees and had some mud adhesion, but didn’t hurt the closing job at all. I’ve really liked them! I also took off the wavy coulters like Exapta recommends and added Thompsons to the entire planter. This season I had the most uniform emergence ever.”

“I’m happy with the Thompson closing wheels and toe-out wedges—the best results I have seen versus other brands. I like the short teeth and the adjustable spring tension because with some of the soil I don’t even need any pressure, just the weight of the wheels.”

“The Thompson wheels have been one of the best additions to our planter as they do a great job closing the seed slot in both extremely dry and extremely wet conditions. Having them on is often the difference in whether I can plant or not when the weather turns wet. Previously, the inability to fully close the seed slot with the stock JD rubber closing often left me setting at the edge of the field waiting for things to dry out. The T-wheels enable me to keep planting in these same conditions. Thompson wheels dig in and give us excellent seed slot closure in both wet and dry conditions, regardless of the volume of crop residue on the surface. And when conditions are wet at planting time, sidewall compaction is largely eliminated when using the Thompson wheels as compared to the JD rubber closing wheels.”

“A couple of years ago, my brother and myself both bought new planters. He put the [competitor cage-type] closing wheels on his, and I put the Thompson wheels on mine. Last year, they took the [competitor’s] off and replaced them with Thompsons because they couldn’t get them [competitor’s] to close the furrow even with quite a lot of pressure. We are no-till and ours soils are king of tough.”

“I like the size of the bearings and the self-cleaning action. They’re very trouble-free.”

“I really like the Thompson wheels—they didn’t leave a rut and closed really well. They were very consistent in closing the furrow, and a big improvement over the cast closers…I’m very happy with them.”

“The Thompson wheels worked exactly like you said they would. Nearly perfect closing in cotton and corn. We’ve had good service out of them. They’re very trouble-free and well-made. They’re the closest we’ve come to being able to plant in all conditions.”

“I ran competitor’s wheels and really liked how it almost tilled the soil and closed the trench so well, but I wanted to try the Thompson wheels on my planter beside them to see which ones performed better. At first, I was disappointed as they looked like they did a poor job of closing the furrow, but we later experienced a heavy rain and noticed the rows with the competitor wheels crusted the soil. Meanwhile the Thompson wheel rows emerged with no problem and had a much more consistent stand.”