just wondering why some of these tractors come fitted without carrier rollers on them, is it better for different applications,has any one ever did any testing on it.it seems like a lot of track without support.i thought I read something a while back where nige said in his operations rail/bushing life was much longer on the non carrier roller setup.
I wondered the same thing.
I don't know why, but backing up steep slopes I have seen the tracks really slap up and down on ones without a carrier roller, and I don't think it was a track adjustment issue.
could it be, that the track slap is good on cleaning the abrasive materials of before they come back around the bottom of the rollers? one contractor I know orders all carrier rollers on his machines in Michigan,while one in Minnesota never puts them on?
after watching some run on youtube you would think the non carrier roller setup would be harder on the track adjuster group.
Carrier roller is an attachment, optional extra (at extra cost) in other words. If track tension is maintained correctly whether to have a carrier roller or not is pretty much a non-issue. Carrier rollers tend to attract mud faster if the machine is working in wet conditions. We preferred not to use them, in fact we had a couple of new machines that came with them and took them off before putting the tractors into service.
As Nige mentioned all about application and preference. Pros - Less track noise, less track slapping, less chance of wear on the top of the track frame as the tracks loosen/wear Cons - Extra cost, extra moving parts, extra things to clean, not something that is needed With the carrier roller being on top and only carrying the weight of the track and not the machine like the bottoms do it is a lot easier to plug with mud and flat spot. Then you need to buy a new roller or remove cause your sick of replacing it and your back to not having one. As for the extra weight the tensioner carries without it. I don't think it's an issue considering the forces and abuse the recoil takes on any given day just with normal operating
Possible pro to having the carrier roller: The 7H I used to run started scalloping out the links. Appeared to me the exact spot the link began contacting the front idler (forward) or leaving the idler (reverse). Possible?
Another pro for the top roller, having operated machines with and without, on the machines without, track whip tends to fire debris at the cab doors travelling in reverse.
We fixed that easily by disabling 3rd speed in reverse .......
While I realize that works, I doubt you'd be so proud if you were an operator........ But then, I guess your guys are hourly, so really shouldn't matter.......
We also disabled 3rd speed forward as well, just so we couldn't be accused of bias .......... IMHO if an operator needs to use 3rd speed reverse more than just occasionally, then he's pushing too long a distance.
I knew someone would come back at me with that one, Nige, but it happens in 2nd under some circumstances. In third the lumps end up on the cab roof, or so I'm informed....