I have a Cat 299D3 XE compact track loader & usually my grading work is on flatter areas, but today I was working where the customer wanted to have a berm graded up & I never usually do any steep slope work with the CTL where the unit travels along the slope (one side lower than the other) & wondered what is the max considered safe without throwing a track, when the tracks are newer & properly adjusted. On a dozer, it is considered ok to work along the slope on a 2:1, or even a bit steeper, with good tracks, but what is considered the max slope for a CTL to work on, when traveling along the slope?
Go up and down the berm. Keep the bucket or attachment very low! If you cross side ways and your sliding causing ruts, then especially if your getting rocks into the track sprockets area, then there is a good chance of loosing a track. If it's a hard packed surface, it may not be so bad. By the book it's likely just 20-25 degrees of slope. Don't go by what a dozer can do. If you feel you should put on your seatbelt, then you're operating at your limits.
My CTL is for farm use only, and I've been around farm tractors all my life, still have 3 that I use daily. My CTL scares the crap out of me, on a side slope that I wouldn't even think twice about in a tractor. There ain't no level ground in some parts of TN.
I have a Takeuchi TL140 that I will run on a 3:1 and not even think twice about it. I would say a 2.5:1 would be pretty marginal. About a year ago I had the lower track come off on @ 2.5:1 but I was in a hurry trying to get done with that particular job and knew the tracks were a smidge loose. Instead of taking 10 mins to tighten the tracks I ended up with a big slice in the lower track. Expensive screw up on my part!!! Your 299 is probably wider than my TL140 so that would help a little.
Thanks for the input...On the weekend I actually talked to another operator with a lot of experience with the CTL's & he said if it surface is firm, he has no problem traversing sideways on a slope, on a 2:1, but where the problem lies, is when the soil is loose & lumps roll into the tracks, derailing them. I have put about 250 hrs on this unit doing a variety of jobs, just not any steep slope work & at my age, don't want to throw any tracks!! I've ran dozers countless times on the slopes, even steeper than 2:1 & they have no problem, if the tracks are in good shape, but somehow I'm a bit suspicious pushing the limits, on the rubber CTL tracks!
This is good advice. I prefer to keep a CTL on flatter slopes but they will handle 2:1 if you're careful. Make sure your track tension is good before getting on the slope. Keep the slope free of bumps, divots, and loose rocks and clods and travel slowly with as little turning as possible and you should be fine. Also be aware that this only applies to tracks that are in good shape and not too old... If the tracks are old, stretched, cut, etc all bets are off.