We have a handful of excavators with roadliner type track pads. One in particular is starting to shed some pads. We ordered a handful of pads to replace and received complaints from the operators that the "ride quality" sucks. It makes sense that it would as the new pads have a pretty decent height difference. My question I suppose is; What is worse? New pads next to old or missing pads in a few spots? Out of the 80 pads like a dozen have shed and about six have been swapped out. My concern is that the new pads next to the old are creating a lot more stress on the chains versus having a gap. I would like to just replace all of them but its about 7k$ to do so and the owner would like opinions from others in the field with more experience on this style track. I don't have a ton of experience with these so I would also like to know what the best practices are myself. Thoughts and opinions please!
New pads will be putting a lot more stress on the pavement if that's what you got them for. IMHO probably worse that having the odd miss one.
Where are you getting the pads from ?
Not really pavement specific application. Machine sees about a 50/50 mix. My biggest concern is the chains, rollers and sprockets. Now if the gap is the better option, how far can you take that concept? I also had someone suggest replacing every-other pad too. That seems like it would solve the ride quality issue but still leads to weird stresses. Aftermarket supplier in the Buffalo area.
Because those pads don't have holes in the centre (the one's I've seen) dirt tends to compact in the chain more that just conventional grousers. That doesn't do the chains or sprockets much good either. Depending on how hot the weather gets standard grousers don't the the pavement any harm if care is taken. That's been my experience at least operating diggers from 4 to 25 tonnes on roads. Heck even laying tyres down does more damage.
What model do you have? It doesn't need $7,000. I'm a dealer in China. For good roads, I recommend adding pads to the tracks. I'll attach pictures below.
Here is an OEM nearby, I think you can buy direct: Excavator Track Pads American Made track pads for excavators. Polyurethane & rubber track pads designed specifically for heavy duty use and surface protection. www.superiortire.com
Take a 450mm track shoe rubber as an example. The retail price is 5 USD for a regular version and 7 USD for a reinforced and thickened version. I wonder if this price is attractive enough for your local dealer.
Price is not everything. Let's say the dealer orders in a container load from you, and then finds they are wearing out much too fast, as the rubber is not the correct formulation, the bond is breaking etc. Now the local dealer has many angry customers. How are you going to make it right with the dealer ?
If such a large customer wants to buy a whole container, I will refuse. I will let him buy a small part or buy samples first to meet his expectations. What I want is long-term cooperation. Instead of buying and selling with a hammer, secondly, I gave the local retail price. I didn't deliberately lower it to facilitate the transaction. It's for reference only. It doesn't matter if you don't buy it. Your dealers also buy from here and sell it. It's the same goods. I can't stop you from being willing to be a water fish. It's just to provide you with one more channel. Chat privately. I'm also happy to answer my questions.
My question is regardless of how many purchased. How do you handle defective parts ? Parts that wear out too quickly ?
My experience with road liners has been **** poor. They always delaminate. And with allen pad bolts, I can never keep them tight. I ended up using bolt on pads, after burning 4 holes in every triple trouser. Don't even think about clip on pads, either. I put bolt on pads on my 4 314, 2 320, and 3 328 Cats. And never looked back. The road liner failures were in a Cat 314, and my Komatsu PC128UU and PC228UU.
Take the crawler rubber plate as an example. The degree of wear and tear of this kind of consumables is different for each driver's driving habits. It is not guaranteed that everyone is satisfied. I still suggest that you can buy a small amount and go back for testing, or not buy it. For damage and installation after arrival, it can be refunded directly. If there is a quality problem with a high-value supercharger during the warranty period, it can also be returned, but the return freight will not be borne. The selling price is estimated to be one-eighth of your local. This should be measured by yourself. If this problem occurs in the Chinese market, the merchant will bear it, because the Chinese market express
Just so everyone is on the same page. This is the type of pad I'm dealing with. Its not a cleat or clip on design. This is a John Deere 75G with 3000 hours. Also I'm not looking for quotes or sales pitches. Looking for best practices in replacement cause and effect. So far the one train of thought is your better off leaving an empty slot versus a new single shoe. I can get behind that as being better for the surface your working on. What would be the percentage missing to prompt replacement?
I'm on the same page. All road liners delaminate before wearing out. As for mixing heights, the additional stress/ wear and tear on the rest of the undercarriage will be negligence, if not non existent. You've got an 18k lb machine, with a 5.3psi ground pressure. Adding one, or several, new road liners to the existing ones won't change enough to even begin to worry about.
At the above price quoted, it may be better to just replace them all if the operator is complaining of a rough ride.
I'm completely aware that they will fall apart before wearing out. Just have to deal with the operator complaints then....LOL