Hi all. Just wanted to give some feedback on the traction tracks seen on ebay. I got a set for my 763 and so far they are working really well. (maybe only 5 hours so far.). I only use the the skidsteer for home use at the moment, so spending big bucks on a nicer set was really not needed. I can easily get up and down the hill i am grading for my driveway where as before it had to be very dry. I cant beleive how much better i can dig now, and smaller trees that used to give me problems come out quickly now. At any rate, thought id let everyone know that they do work, for how long who knows. Ill keep you posted on how long they last me. (im hoping they will last about 800-1000 hours, but i doubt ill even need to run them that long.)
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skidsteer.ca
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theboogers
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had a enough use to notice if they need a lot of adjusting to kkep tight? thanks
I am tightening them week actually. Looks like after the initial break in they are gonna need another link taken out. Hopefully it stays put for a while after that.
Earthwerks Unlimited
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I bought a set off ebay from another guy. They were a joke. They were made of 3/8" bar stock and supoposedly logging chain. They were held together with a dinky link that was rated for 300lb. Broke many links before I installed my own 800lb. links but they too broke. Chain tracks are only good for going straight without turning. If you think of it they are not rigid when pushed from the side, which allows them to get get stuck undeer the tires and peel themselves off in seconds---did it many times. In fact the pieces of carap I bougfht on ebay got wrapped around my tires and stuck between the chassis and the tire and scrathed up my brand new engine hood, new paint on the loader arm and chassis. I sent them back and got a refund. Oh yeah and the track shoes got bent all to hell. Keeping them tight was a nightmare---if each link wore just just .003 a day times say, 200 links, that means there is almost 5/8" of stretch per DAY! In about a month of use you'll end up removing an entire track shoe to take up the slack. I ended up rengineering the crappy ebay ones and used 1/2" x 2-1/2" that were cut and bent at a steel supplier for $1 each (I helped bend them--took an hour). Then I bought logging 9,600lb chain and solid links with pins to secure the ends. Then I had a welding shop arc weld the shoes ot the chains with low-hydrogen rod which worked great. I still had to tighten them but not near as often. My buddy still uses them. I use light-weight, alloy, high-floatation tracks made by www.TracksPlus.com also known as Fisher-Barton. They require tightening too but not as much/often as the chain types.
I bought a set of the chain traks for my 743 I use around the house. I love them, now I can use the skidsteer anytime I want, not only when it is dry. I can go anywhere I want even after 2 days of solid rain. Before that, If I tried to move, I would sink. For me it was a good investment, and I have not had any problems wiuth them. I have run them for about 10 hours so far, and have not had to adjust them yet. I think they are great for around the house or farm.
