I was talking to a guy the other day who buys and sells skid steer machines. He's bought numerous machines over the years. He says he steers clear of machines that have had tracks on them as it causes excessive wear to the front/rear of the wheel bearing surfaces, that they weren't made for OT tracks. That's one of the first things he checks out and he claims he can tell right away. So, the questions I have are: - How much excessive wear, if any, do they REALLY lead to? - Are some machines more prone to wear than others? - What, if anything can an owner do to minimize wear? - If YOU use them, do you use them all the time, or just for particular situations, then remove? - What tips would you give to new track users? Thanks, Jeepwalker
Have Not Had Excessive Wear Issues By Running OT Tracks . Run Them Only When Needed . They Are Not That Hard To Remove & Install ! A Good , Careful Operator . You Need To Be Watching For Rocks, Frozen Dirt , Etc That May Fall In To Tracks Between Tires . Stop & Remove It !
I run a 1997 model JD 8875,we run it with the tracks on year around.Im sure there is some extra wear on the machine over the years due to the tracks.My wheel bearings have grease fittings and I keep them greased.Like SVTSHELBYGT500 mentioned watch for debris falling into the tracks.Another thing is I dont like to run them tight as a banjo string,aint nothing wrong 2 or 3 inch sag between the tires.This allows the tires a little slippage inside the track and in my opinion helps protect the wheel bearings, finals & Inner chain drive system.Tracks turn a skidloader into a small dozer for all practical purpose,just keep in mind that its still a skidloader as they dont have the heavy finaldrives a dozer has.I try to be carefull when say grubbing around a treestump or rock not to "pin " the machine down with the bucket hard then spin the tracks .They work great just use a little caution.Allot of jobs I team the skidloader up with the excavator ,let the big hoe do the rough grubbing on dirt,stumps,rock etc.Then let the skid offbear & move the matirial around.
The key is to run with plenty of sag in the tracks as mentioned. There is more stress on the drivetrain with tracks, there is no getting around that. Even if it did require replacement of wheel bearings at a more frequent interval, the benefit of increased productivity is worth an increase in maintanence (to a point). There are no free rides. I run the tracks when I need them and take them off when I dont. I would try not to buy a machine that has run a steady diet tracks, simply because its harder on a machine than not.
friend of mine has around 5k hours on his machine and probably half or more has been with ott steel tracks. He runs them loose. Same wheel bearings. More wear for sure, but not excessive.
The rubber tracks seem to do a number on the wheel bearings, working on a 773 Turbo that needs new wheel bearings. It had rubber tracks on it for the 1500-2000 hours it was run.
If I'm not mistaken most of the OTT manufacturers state clearly that some slack should be left in the track.
What's a good OTT that you'll recommend that can be used all year long and on multiple of terrains – dirt, pavement, some gravel, asphalt?
Bobcat used to void warranty on bearings and axles if rubber tracks were used. Don't know if that is still the case. Metal tracks were OK.