Hi All, My first post!!! I own a Scat Trak 1700C, perkins powered, a real brute. I use it for farm work, hay loading, logging, manure relocation, brush clearing, snow removal, grading, landscaping, pretty much an all around unit for my farm. It gets used at my dads and friends farm and has been a great machine. So, I have McLaren Diamond Steel Tracks and pneumatic tires. My issue is, I don't need to run the tracks but pretty much leave them on all winter because of wet conditions and feeding hay, cleaning out manure, I need the traction period. I do a lot of clearing on my families/best friends property and we have locust, hedge all over around here. I get flats!!! and hate of course wrestling the tracks to fix tires. I have been to three tire shops and given up on their opinions as they all three say I can, I cant, I shouldn't I wouldn't or SURE we will sell you whatever you want!!! So, I am confused, that is why I am here. I am looking for an honest opinion for what is the best solution for a flat proof or foam filled running steel track combination. Can you even run a flatproof tire on a steel track since the sidewall is straight? Do I need to go with a foam filled? will that ruin the sidewall because there is no flex in the sidewall? These are the things I am hearing. I run the machine around 150 hours per year. I would say the tracks get 100 of those hours. So, lettur rip guys.............what should I do? Thanks in advance, Robert
I always run my McLaren Nu Airs when I run my tracks. As you stated, fixing flats really sucks, also if you find yourself sidehilling with steel tracks it can tear up regular tires (at least my Loegren Trail Blazers do). I have never had any issue with running the solid tires with tracks, I think most people so equipped do the same thing.
Youtube showing tracks on those McLarens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF-cYfb1l5U
My BIL has been running foam filled tires on his old tracked 1080 Bobcat with a tree shear on it for many years. He says it is much more stable with the foam filled tires beside no more flats.
ok confused again......my unit has 12x16.5 tires on it, i dont see anything like that on the mclaren site for their nu-air tires. I presume you are running the DT version. I wouldnt want to have to get different tracks if I went with one of the nu air type, do they have different sizes since they are non pneumatic? I got a quote for 375/tire for 12x16.5 foam filled tires. When they fill them with foam, i presume you cannot reuse your rims again?
Yeah, you just have to take the foam filled tires off with a saw, then put new foam filled tires on.
They sell the Nu Airs in 12X16.5 that is the size I run.