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Standard Equipment Yanmar Tier IV / Stage 3B Naturally Aspirated Diesel Engine 31.8 Net hp (23.7 kW) @ 2,800 rpm 34.7 Gross hp (25.5 kW) @ 2,800 rpm Load capacity1,050 lbs. ( 476 kg) @ 35% tipping capacity Bucket pin height 109 in. (2,769 mm) Standard auxiliary hydraulic flow 14.5 gpm (55.0 L/min)
Why do manufacturers insist on structure (track frame) so close to the sprocket? Do they not use these in all 4 seasons?
what problem does this cause in your opinion?
I imagine with dirt, mud,rocks, and ice getting wedged between the sprocket and the track frame that it causes premature wear on the sprocket, and if someone doesn't clean the track frame after running in muddy conditions and it freezes overnight I can't imagine it being too much fun to get the machine moving in the morning. I think pretty much all CTLs undercarriages are designed this way, probably to keep the height of the track as low as possible...
Yeah they are so hard to clean out
One time we didn't clean the undercarriage out on a CTL on a Friday just before Winter hit, temps went subzero over the weekend. Machine was stuck to ground, and the mud had froze the undercarriage into a block of solid mud. I had to haul down a diesel fired infared heater and thaw each side of the machine, took hours. If the guy that leaves the machine like that, has to unstick it, tends to solve the issue from happening again.
They could have put in an extra roller and extended the rear idler back some to give clearance on the sprocket. I can see no end of tree limbs and roots winding up in that notch between the track frame and sprocket. Also in the photo there is little clearance between the front of the track frame and the track as it goes into the front idler. Might need to install a top roller there for clearance. I don't know if its me or what but all this little stuff strikes me as a commodity. All brands are pretty much the same except for the electronics package. It's like buying a pickup. None are really any better or worse. They all will do the job. They all have their shortcomings. Reminds me of the cartoon movie "Cars" and the stampede.
Didn't Gehl and Mustang have a CTL with some sort of self-tensioning undercarriage that was just released a couple years ago? I know I've seen more than a few on auction websites and related used equipment dealers with quite low hours, makes me wonder if they held up as well as was promised? The area I live in has some of the most challenging ground conditions for any CTL wet, freeze and thaw, thaw and freeze, cold cold cold, heavy clay gumbo, silt, mud, mud, mud. Lol Hence why the ASV style undercarriage has always been a bit of a failure here if used for earthmoving and grading work.
YES, This model DOES HAVE SELF TENSIONING TRACK / Uses pilot pressure and a cylinder inside the track frame to set the tension, ALSO you can flip a switch and it sucks the front idler in for changing the track!
Moving the rear bottom roller further rearward would reduce the "Wrap" around the drive sprocket, IE less contact with sprocket teeth fewer mandrels contacting fewer of the sprocket teeth
I wonder if detensioning the track with the switch overnight would help reduce the freezing problem???
Adding room on the back of the track frame was done on Cat 527 tracked log skidders with no measurable change in wear patterns. How many teeth do you think have to be engaged with the track in order for the machine to move?
how wide is it?
I was kind of wondering that too. Its only 34 hp so I wouldn't think it was very big. I think some manufacturers have really downsized the hp on some machines trying to get under tier regulations? Are you going to be changing tracks on it that often- that it needs to be powered track tensioner? Be real handy to accidentally hit that button in a mudhole and flop a track. Because you know it would only happen in a mudhole. I don't think detensioning the track would help with the freezing. I've had to load up a bobcat track machine and haul it into a heated shop. Wet mud in a track machine and a hard freeze overnight is a big pain. They can also pack up with snow and become a frozen block of ice.
I have never been that convinced that the auto tensioning was that big of deal, the ability to retract in order to change out tracks is a cool feature but I think I like most people get 1000 hours or so out of a set of tracks. I never keep them long enough to have to replace two sets of tracks on the same machine. I don't have detracking issues so it is a feature that for me has limited appeal as well. I have never had a machine freeze due to ice and snow to the point it cant move, they do of course freeze but the machine is never locked up due to the ice. The frozen mud like I mentioned already completely different story, locked up like a drum. I don't think the auto tensioning is going to save you from that situation either.
The Terex 30 size machines are 4 foot wide and will fit between houses with 5 foot set backs. We use ours a lot in Nashville.
The detensioning switch is inside the engine compartment
It's 54" wide, I wish it could get down to 48" but it can't,
Thanks for the info! I think the main reason is so that you do not have to use a grease gun to tension up the track, AND keeps it at the proper tension regardless of whether it has mud packed between the sprocket, rollers and the track.
ASV, which WAS the Terex just came out with a 25hp version for the same reason you mention. I personally feel tier 4 on the under 50 HP is Stupid. They can't POSSIBLY be degrading our environment with as little volume of exhaust as they make...
ASV also has an RT-40 model, same size as the RC30, but bigger motor, maybe some of the other parts are beefed up, too. $43 grand, or thereabouts, tier 4 without def. Looks a lot more modern and service friendly, than my RC-30...
You buy it?
Park it on top of some logs and that won't happen, (I'm told) Really don't have that problem in Texas
It wasn't stuck to the ground, the drives, caked in mud were frozen to the undercarriage.
Never had one froze down but I have had plenty of tracks so full of frozen mud by the time we quit for the day that you could not clean them out. Running in unfrozen ground in sub freezing temperatures is quite common in the northland. We tried to run around on frozen ground to get out what we could that was against the undercarriage and park on froze ground or on logs if possible. Always made sure the rollers were not froze in the morning in them conditions.
One time my 321DL was frozen to the ground in Alabama! We cleaned the UC the night before but it wouldn't budge and it wouldn't lift itself off the ground until mid-morning when the sun and temp was rising. As far as the little Mustang it looks cheaply made and if the picture is not distorted the bucket is too big for it.
I don't really understand the engineering of CTL's. Since they use tracks, I think a much better design would be similar to a larger track loader like a 953 just on a smaller scale. Would be more stable going up and down slopes and you could get in the side instead of crawling over the bucket.