Over the tire tracks

[500K_773]

Does anyone use the over the tire tracks? I looked at the Goodyear rubber tracks, but am leaning more towards the metal grouser tracks now. Bobcat offers a grouser track that looks exactly like Grouser Products (http://grouser.com) tracks. I have the wheel spacers already, so that I can run tire chains in the winter. I ordered them from my Bobcat dealer and I believe they came from Grouser Products. The tracks Bobcat sells are the cross bar type, but I am more interested in the hard track model. It is about $3,300 the tracks and they should offer me greater traction and increased floation, not to mention more counter-weight for increased lifting capability.
Obviously I am not going to get the same performance as a true track machine, but for the cost it should be a worthwhile investment; at least until I can justify buying a T-300. The Grouser website touts installation in 30 minutes and removal in 10 minutes, does this sound right? If running over the tire tracks, have you experienced problems with flat tires or premature tire wear? Any information would help greatly, thanks.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

I dunno... I doubt the real purpose of tracks. I was watching an 863 with OTT (over the tire) metal tracks dig in really loose dirt and the engine stalled twice. This is coming from a machine that hardly ever STALLS. If you pay $3300, it might take a while for you to actually get back the money. Tracks cannot allow the same access into mud and therefore will earn their keep much slower. If you think that you have enough potential work to warrant their use, go for it.

 

[StuZ]

I don't care for them. I don't think you gain much, and if you put a track machine up against an over the tire track, you might not get back in the wheel loader. The Loegering tracks can go on or off in maybe 15 minutes. That is if you leave the wheel spacers on.

 

[500K_773]

I don't care for them. I don't think you gain much, and if you put a track machine up against an over the tire track, you might not get back in the wheel loader. The Loegering tracks can go on or off in maybe 15 minutes. That is if you leave the wheel spacers on.

I was looking to get the over the tire tracks strictly for traction, not floatation. I find that while digging undisturbed earth or using the skid steer more like a dozer, the tire have a tendancy to spin. This creates ruts and slows production. I suppose if you created more traction and eliminated wheelspin, the machine may then enter a stall condition. I also found that if I enter muddy conditions the wheel lugs pack off, leaving me a "slick" tire. The tracks would offer more traction from the cross bars and clean themselves better.
I leave my wheel spacers on all year long, so that is not a problem. The tracks themselves will add 3" overall width to my machine (already added 4" width with the wheel spacers), so my overall width will nearly be 74", the same as my bucket. I spoke to someone at Grouser Products and was informed that the track weight nearly 1000#, so I will increase my counterweight and therefore should be able to lift more before tipping. The downside to the added weight is I will weigh a 1000# more without really increasing my floatation, so I may sink easier in soft conditions. I also found out that the MSRP for the cross bar tracks is $2,200, so I will see how close my dealer comes to this price.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

I was looking to get the over the tire tracks strictly for traction, not floatation. I find that while digging undisturbed earth or using the skid steer more like a dozer, the tire have a tendancy to spin. This creates ruts and slows production. I suppose if you created more traction and eliminated wheelspin, the machine may then enter a stall condition. I also found that if I enter muddy conditions the wheel lugs pack off, leaving me a "slick" tire. The tracks would offer more traction from the cross bars and clean themselves better.
I leave my wheel spacers on all year long, so that is not a problem. The tracks themselves will add 3" overall width to my machine (already added 4" width with the wheel spacers), so my overall width will nearly be 74", the same as my bucket. I spoke to someone at Grouser Products and was informed that the track weight nearly 1000#, so I will increase my counterweight and therefore should be able to lift more before tipping. The downside to the added weight is I will weigh a 1000# more without really increasing my floatation, so I may sink easier in soft conditions. I also found out that the MSRP for the cross bar tracks is $2,200, so I will see how close my dealer comes to this price.

If you find yourself digging in hard terrain or in "digging undisturbed earth or using the skid steer more like a dozer," you might benefit at the moment from the tracks. But long term... I dunno.

 

[500K_773]

If you find yourself digging in hard terrain or in "digging undisturbed earth or using the skid steer more like a dozer," you might benefit at the moment from the tracks. But long term... I dunno.

I find that my skid steer can push more than it can carry, but I run into the problem of the tires losing traction and have to reduce the load. I am considering buying a 6 way dozer blade (mostly for snow plowing, but also for dirt work) and the tracks should give me traction to move large amounts of material. Seems like a lot of my jobs require me to move material about 100-300 yards, just enough to be too far to carry one bucket at a time and almost to shortl to load into a truck to move. $2,200 for tracks would not be too bad of a price, especially if they give me the traction advantage I am looking for. Tire chains (which I already have) I think would be harder on the tires and may get hung up on obstacles when used in the tire/mud. Tire chains work great for me on the snow and ice when plowing snow, I only had a tire chain slip/spin off twice last winter.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

I find that my skid steer can push more than it can carry, but I run into the problem of the tires losing traction and have to reduce the load. I am considering buying a 6 way dozer blade (mostly for snow plowing, but also for dirt work) and the tracks should give me traction to move large amounts of material. Seems like a lot of my jobs require me to move material about 100-300 yards, just enough to be too far to carry one bucket at a time and almost to shortl to load into a truck to move. $2,200 for tracks would not be too bad of a price, especially if they give me the traction advantage I am looking for. Tire chains (which I already have) I think would be harder on the tires and may get hung up on obstacles when used in the tire/mud. Tire chains work great for me on the snow and ice when plowing snow, I only had a tire chain slip/spin off twice last winter.

Good luck to you then. You might find the engine will lug a little bit more with tracks on.

 

[500K_773]

Good luck to you then. You might find the engine will lug a little bit more with tracks on.

OK, since I kind of changed the focus of my work to landclearing/landscaping, I find I could really benefit from tracks. When clearing land, I am driving over wet moss, fallen trees, stumps, etc... and the tires may end up spinning. The tracks would allow me much greater traction. Not to mention the silty/loamy soils here turn to snot when we get any rain or run off. Its next to impossible to work on the slippery stuff when wet.
I have been looking at Grouser Products tracks (actually what Bobcat sells as their cross bar track), buy have recently found McLaren http://http://www.mclarenrubber.com ProTracs. They look like a really great product. Offers more floatation than the cross bar type, yet more traction than a loegering track. Does anyone have experience with these tracks? There's an awesome video (10 minutes long) on their website which shows great performance, but this could just be advertising hype. I have an e-mail into McLaren for prices, hopefully they are not priced too high.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

OK, since I kind of changed the focus of my work to landclearing/landscaping, I find I could really benefit from tracks. When clearing land, I am driving over wet moss, fallen trees, stumps, etc... and the tires may end up spinning. The tracks would allow me much greater traction. Not to mention the silty/loamy soils here turn to snot when we get any rain or run off. Its next to impossible to work on the slippery stuff when wet.
I have been looking at Grouser Products tracks (actually what Bobcat sells as their cross bar track), buy have recently found McLaren http://http://www.mclarenrubber.com ProTracs. They look like a really great product. Offers more floatation than the cross bar type, yet more traction than a loegering track. Does anyone have experience with these tracks? There's an awesome video (10 minutes long) on their website which shows great performance, but this could just be advertising hype. I have an e-mail into McLaren for prices, hopefully they are not priced too high.

If you go with tracks, something tells me you'll want a longer wheelbase to take advantage of as well. I think that a machine with a longer wheelbase would use the tracks' potential a bit better. Just my thoughts -- not saying they won't help you on the 773. Just another thing to consider if you are considering a CTL (as in rather than buy a T300 try out a S300 with tracks).