steel vs rubber tracks and 10 vs 12 by16.5

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shallowwater9

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Dec 9, 2006
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I am a new proud owner of a 773G turbo. Not having ever driven one before, this should be a hoot. I am going to be using it around the property clearing areas, landscaping, etc. and not use it for construction. I am going to clear out some "stuff" in a cove where I have lake property. In the winter, the water drops down to where the cove is pretty much hard mud (other than the "stuff" I want to get rid of). Questions - this is my first skid steer so these are I am sure, pretty basic to you pros. 1. My 773 has 10 inch tires that will soon need to be replaced. Other than the cost, is there any downfall to putting 12 inch tires and rims on? Does it stress out the drive train? 2. As I am going to be playing in mud, I am looking to put tracks on it. Are there benefits one way or the other as to the more expensive rubber tracks vs steel tracks (the cheap ones at around $1300)? 3. When they (whoever they are) talk lift capacity of say 1800lbs, does that include the bucket or other attachment - like a grapple? Say the grapple weighs 800lbs. Does that mean then that the remaining lift capacity is then 1,000lbs? Thanks for your feedback.
 

skidsteer.ca

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Jan 20, 2006
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If your machine has a rated lift of 1800, it will actually pick up twice that at the "tipping" point.
But the weight of the attachment come off of the rating, because the manufacturer has no way of knowing how heavy various attachments are, especially if you are using other manufacturers attachments (most of which interchange btw.)
Over the tire tracks on your 10" tires will give you more traction then say 12.00 tires. A 12.00 tire will reduce the torque or "rim pull" the machine can develope by whatever the difference there is in circumfrence of one tire compared to the other.
A taller tire will also mess up the way the bottom of the bucket was designed to lay flat on the ground, which makes it much easier to shave a level cut in virgin soil.
All that being said I have been thinking of trying 12.00 rubber on my 773g for soft ground doing auger and backhoe work. I think it would be ok for grapple work so long as it not really tough rolling, you might over heat the hydros if you push real hard all the time. I was going to try steel tracks on them.
But I will keep a set of 10.00 tires and tracks around to, or leave one machine set up each way.
I run the tracksplus.com tracks and have had good service out of the for the price. 400 hours or so now and 20% worn I'd say
Ken
 
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shallowwater9

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Dec 9, 2006
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If your machine has a rated lift of 1800, it will actually pick up twice that at the "tipping" point.
But the weight of the attachment come off of the rating, because the manufacturer has no way of knowing how heavy various attachments are, especially if you are using other manufacturers attachments (most of which interchange btw.)
Over the tire tracks on your 10" tires will give you more traction then say 12.00 tires. A 12.00 tire will reduce the torque or "rim pull" the machine can develope by whatever the difference there is in circumfrence of one tire compared to the other.
A taller tire will also mess up the way the bottom of the bucket was designed to lay flat on the ground, which makes it much easier to shave a level cut in virgin soil.
All that being said I have been thinking of trying 12.00 rubber on my 773g for soft ground doing auger and backhoe work. I think it would be ok for grapple work so long as it not really tough rolling, you might over heat the hydros if you push real hard all the time. I was going to try steel tracks on them.
But I will keep a set of 10.00 tires and tracks around to, or leave one machine set up each way.
I run the tracksplus.com tracks and have had good service out of the for the price. 400 hours or so now and 20% worn I'd say
Ken
Thanks for the feedback Ken. I guess I incorrectly assumed the 10 inch and 12 inch were the same circumference.
 

Philngruvy

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Nov 7, 2006
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30
There are wide tires available that are the same height, but i not sure what the size is, check with your tire retailer.
Ken
Shallowwater, Having already been there myself, let me caution you that if you take the machine down into the lakebed, be careful not to spin your tires very much because you will be stuck in a heartbeat. I am not sure where you live, but I am in central Florida and I live on a marsh. I had the same idea of doing a little maintenance of the semi dry portions of the swamp and I rapidly found myself bottomed out and I could not push or pull myself with the bucket because the substrate just jellified rapidly. :( I had to go to my neighbor with my tail between my legs to get him to pull me out with his big Case payloader. I am sure the tracks you get will be a big improvement. I need to get some myself. I am thinking of fabricating them myself. Anyone ever do that?
 
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shallowwater9

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Dec 9, 2006
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Shallowwater, Having already been there myself, let me caution you that if you take the machine down into the lakebed, be careful not to spin your tires very much because you will be stuck in a heartbeat. I am not sure where you live, but I am in central Florida and I live on a marsh. I had the same idea of doing a little maintenance of the semi dry portions of the swamp and I rapidly found myself bottomed out and I could not push or pull myself with the bucket because the substrate just jellified rapidly. :( I had to go to my neighbor with my tail between my legs to get him to pull me out with his big Case payloader. I am sure the tracks you get will be a big improvement. I need to get some myself. I am thinking of fabricating them myself. Anyone ever do that?
I am at the Lake of the Ozarks in the middle of Missouri of all places. I ordered steel tracks because they were cheaper than the rubber and I wasn't sure the rubber had a benefit to them. I am planning on testing my theory over the Christmas holiday - putting on the steel tracks and go swimming. This is the first skid steer I have owned and the first time I ever set foot in one. Started her up this morning and got used to the operations - didn't run into anything yet. Still have a long way to practice. Now I have to figure out where to put the diesel in. It has a quarter tank and That probably won't last long. My skid steer is a 2002 bobcat 773G turbo and I am hoping it has enough power to push the steel tracks through the hard mud that I have to work with. I never thought of manufacturing my own tracks - probably because I wouldn't have the faintest Idea how to. Good luck
 

skidsteer.ca

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I am at the Lake of the Ozarks in the middle of Missouri of all places. I ordered steel tracks because they were cheaper than the rubber and I wasn't sure the rubber had a benefit to them. I am planning on testing my theory over the Christmas holiday - putting on the steel tracks and go swimming. This is the first skid steer I have owned and the first time I ever set foot in one. Started her up this morning and got used to the operations - didn't run into anything yet. Still have a long way to practice. Now I have to figure out where to put the diesel in. It has a quarter tank and That probably won't last long. My skid steer is a 2002 bobcat 773G turbo and I am hoping it has enough power to push the steel tracks through the hard mud that I have to work with. I never thought of manufacturing my own tracks - probably because I wouldn't have the faintest Idea how to. Good luck
www.eelriversteel.com makes tracks out of 7/16" chains for pivot points that anyone could fab a simular product at home. However www.tracksplus.com has stamped steel track @ $1100 for a 773 with 10.00 by 16.5 tires, just incase the price of some of the other manufacturers has scared you off. I have @ 400 hours on my tracksplus one now and they are holding up well.
Ken
 

500K_773

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Mar 5, 2004
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342
www.eelriversteel.com makes tracks out of 7/16" chains for pivot points that anyone could fab a simular product at home. However www.tracksplus.com has stamped steel track @ $1100 for a 773 with 10.00 by 16.5 tires, just incase the price of some of the other manufacturers has scared you off. I have @ 400 hours on my tracksplus one now and they are holding up well.
Ken
I have 31.5"x13"x16.5" Galaxy Hippo tires on my 773G which are the Super Float option that Bobcat offered. These tires are expensive and I wanted to go to a standard size tire. I like the floatation that they offer, so wanted the 12" tires rather than the 10" tires. The 12"x16.5" tires are taller so I took the 12"x16.5" tires off my brother-in-laws 873 and tried the on my machine.
The taller tire reduces the clearance between the rear "fender" too much, even with 1.5" wheel spacers on my machine. So I didn't even run the machine with them on. I still have the Hippo tires and most likely will continue to use them. They are an oddball size, so finding over the tire tracks is difficult, but not impossible. Grouser Products has a bar track option that fits my tires.
 

Fishfiles

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as far as running tracks on a 773 with 12 x 16.5 you don't have enough clearance on the fenders , you can get some wheel extenders , which I have seen in 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 ''s offset , they bolt to the axle and the tire to them , this will get you clearance for tracks but could cause an issue with the increased width of machine if you are working in tight spots ,I do find the 10 x 16.5 works better with the tracks , and the 10 " tracks are alot cheaper to buy I know this as I wa a service manager of a rental house here in New orleans that also supplied machines with an operator , so I got a lot of seat time with different combinations of tracks , tires and machines ----the rubber tracks that are like a rubber band and slip over the tires to me are junk , Grousser or Loering steel tracks to me are the best ones
 

skidsteer.ca

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as far as running tracks on a 773 with 12 x 16.5 you don't have enough clearance on the fenders , you can get some wheel extenders , which I have seen in 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 ''s offset , they bolt to the axle and the tire to them , this will get you clearance for tracks but could cause an issue with the increased width of machine if you are working in tight spots ,I do find the 10 x 16.5 works better with the tracks , and the 10 " tracks are alot cheaper to buy I know this as I wa a service manager of a rental house here in New orleans that also supplied machines with an operator , so I got a lot of seat time with different combinations of tracks , tires and machines ----the rubber tracks that are like a rubber band and slip over the tires to me are junk , Grousser or Loering steel tracks to me are the best ones
Loguering and grouser do make good tracks, but they are twice the money as www.tracksplus.com , and I bet 2 sets of the tracks plus would out run theirs imho.
Regards
Ken
 

Butters

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Jan 23, 2007
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Loguering and grouser do make good tracks, but they are twice the money as www.tracksplus.com , and I bet 2 sets of the tracks plus would out run theirs imho.
Regards
Ken
Does anyone have experience runnng the eelriversteel tracks? Do they stay on well, chew up tires etc? I like the price, and I just use my machine around the farm. I need to clean out a pond and want to get stuck as little as possible.
 

Skid Steer Solutions

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Feb 11, 2007
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Does anyone have experience runnng the eelriversteel tracks? Do they stay on well, chew up tires etc? I like the price, and I just use my machine around the farm. I need to clean out a pond and want to get stuck as little as possible.
We started building that style of track in 1994. Ours worked great, but along came Eel River and made a cheaper version. Our business all but went away so we went with a stamped plate style. We now get the customer on the second sale. They buy the eeltracks, are unsatisfied and then buy from a second source. We bought a set as well to see what the issues were and here they are. The chain is too light and cheap. They hold together, but they are constantly stretching so you have to always adjust them. Always meaning daily. If you don't they will roll of your tire on a side hill and tangle around your axle. You have to cut them off with a torch to get them off and they may or may not cut into your side wall when coming off. You get what you pay for.
 

Butters

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Jan 23, 2007
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We started building that style of track in 1994. Ours worked great, but along came Eel River and made a cheaper version. Our business all but went away so we went with a stamped plate style. We now get the customer on the second sale. They buy the eeltracks, are unsatisfied and then buy from a second source. We bought a set as well to see what the issues were and here they are. The chain is too light and cheap. They hold together, but they are constantly stretching so you have to always adjust them. Always meaning daily. If you don't they will roll of your tire on a side hill and tangle around your axle. You have to cut them off with a torch to get them off and they may or may not cut into your side wall when coming off. You get what you pay for.
Wow. I believe you, but can I get a set of light to medium duty steel tracks for less than the $2600 that the local bobcat store quoted me? A used set would work. I just need to put about 20-50 hours on a set.
 

skidsteer.ca

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Wow. I believe you, but can I get a set of light to medium duty steel tracks for less than the $2600 that the local bobcat store quoted me? A used set would work. I just need to put about 20-50 hours on a set.
Yes you can by the stamped steel ones for @ 1/2 that, I have several sets out now with no complaints. The wear or pivot pins are much larger then 7/16" greatly reducing the speed they stretch
They are a good track for the money. see www.tracksplus.com or go to the track links on my webpage for more info. They drop ship from the factory to reduce freight costs.
Regards
Ken www.skidsteer.ca
 

Butters

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Jan 23, 2007
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Yes you can by the stamped steel ones for @ 1/2 that, I have several sets out now with no complaints. The wear or pivot pins are much larger then 7/16" greatly reducing the speed they stretch
They are a good track for the money. see www.tracksplus.com or go to the track links on my webpage for more info. They drop ship from the factory to reduce freight costs.
Regards
Ken www.skidsteer.ca
Thanks for the reply. I sent you and email.
 

Skid Steer Solutions

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Thanks for the reply. I sent you and email.
Here is our link with specs, photos and video. http://www.skidsteersolutions.com/2PLUS_TRACKS_10_p/t1000-b.htm I also personally use them adn my only complaint was installation. We make our own tools that we supply with every track that we sell. We do not drop ship because we add our own spares kits as well. The factory is good at making tracks, but they are lacking in the little extras that we provide.
 

skidsteer.ca

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Here is our link with specs, photos and video. http://www.skidsteersolutions.com/2PLUS_TRACKS_10_p/t1000-b.htm I also personally use them adn my only complaint was installation. We make our own tools that we supply with every track that we sell. We do not drop ship because we add our own spares kits as well. The factory is good at making tracks, but they are lacking in the little extras that we provide.
So what does your spares kit consist of.?
Customer can purchase a 2 shoe longer track in a 10" tire width for an extra $67.00 usd
That would be 2 spare shoes, 4 spare bolts, 4 spare side links.
How is your tightener constructed?
I find a common 1" ratchet strap works well, and an air compressor if you have one makes things easier if you partially deflate your rear tires until you get the track joined, but is optional.
The key to getting the slack out is being able to drive the machine a foot or two forward and back so the slack trapped on the ground between the tires can work its way out. Any type of rigid steel tightener prohibs this movement.
Also the strap is strung from the top or the front tire to the top of the rear tire under the joint in the track to hold the loose ends up level for you so you can focus on getting the bolts in. I had a Logeuring track tighener, and I cheerfully sent it with my first loader when it went to its new home.
Now if we could get the bucket bottom to still sit flat on the ground, after we raise the machine a inch with the tracks and possibly raise the boom with a boom stop. (without of course rewelding the bucket plate higher on the back of the bucket, or buying a bucket that was built for use with tracks,) we could have our cake and shave the ground flat and smooth too.
Regard
[email protected]
 

cyclist

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Apr 11, 2008
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as far as running tracks on a 773 with 12 x 16.5 you don't have enough clearance on the fenders , you can get some wheel extenders , which I have seen in 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 ''s offset , they bolt to the axle and the tire to them , this will get you clearance for tracks but could cause an issue with the increased width of machine if you are working in tight spots ,I do find the 10 x 16.5 works better with the tracks , and the 10 " tracks are alot cheaper to buy I know this as I wa a service manager of a rental house here in New orleans that also supplied machines with an operator , so I got a lot of seat time with different combinations of tracks , tires and machines ----the rubber tracks that are like a rubber band and slip over the tires to me are junk , Grousser or Loering steel tracks to me are the best ones
Have you had any experience with McLaren Magnum Tracks?
 
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