Hi all, I have a Takeuchi (I have to gete the manual just to spell it!) 145 mini ex that's been a great machine. I have about 300 hours on it and have been thinking about replacing the rubber tracks with McLaren Industries combination steel and rubber tracks and was wondering if anyone uses them, and, if so, what do you think of them? It seems like a great idea but they aren't cheap so I want to make sure I am going in a good direction. I also want to put a rotating bucket on this machine and would love input on this as I really don't know much about them. I would envision usually using it for grading, contour work with a muck bucket. Are they hard to put on? any big srawbacks to them? Please help fella's! As always this is a great site with lots of great advice (priceless!) Thanks Karl TL140 TX 145
A buddy of mine has them on his TB153. He hates them. Wished he would have just stayed with solid rubber. I cant remember what his issues are but he would not buy them again.
stick with the all rubber , the pads on the combo will peel and there alot more noise from the chains . all rubber stands up well in most situations other then demo or crush stone or blasted rock
I agree, stay with the rubber. Also better on grass, etc than the steel. Plus (at least on my Cat 301.8) they cost less than $1,000 for a new set, delivered!
Thanks for the info, I didn't realize the new rubber tracs were so (relatively) inexpensive! I think I will stick with those. How about advice on tilt buckets, anybody have any tips to share? Is the tilt mechanism able to use different buckets or are they a one piece unit? Sounds like it would be great for finish work. Thanks again Karl
Definitely stick to solid rubber!
I have a set of Mclaren's hybrid tracks on my yanmar VIO 35. I probably have about 400 hours on them. I was a little disappointed at how fast the rubber pads get tore up. Also it seems that the machine's travel speed is slower with the metal tracks. The good part is if you do any kind of demo you won't regret having them, I think they offer more traction than regular rubber tracks. Also I don't throw tracks anymore. I would buy them again but I understand those who would not.