Looking at getting a 60G. It has steel tracks. Will I regret them? I get they will last longer and are more durable but I don't envision the ex traveling near as much as our rubber tracked skid steer and tracks on it last reasonably long enough. Seems the steel will limit where you can go a lot.
Hi bdog, I don't know what a 60G is but i will give you my opinion for what is worth. I love and hate my rubber tracks. The bad, The get cut easy, because they are tight rocks get caught in cogs and not clear as well as steel which are looser. The good, they are quiet, do less damage on ground, the ex does not have to be chained down so hard on trailer as they grip the deck, When you are loading in the wet steel tracks can slip badly, when you are traversing on huge hill if a rock goes under track the rubber tends to bend over it and you still have grip but steel begin to skid on the rock so you you better have Bruce Lee reactions. Cheers
I had a machine with wide steel pads about the size of a 60G. I never replaced any undercarriage parts except the top rollers in 5200 hours. The bottom rollers were close to needing replacement when it got sold. I bought a new machine with rubber tracks and like 007 said, I love and hate them. I do a lot of different residential jobs so they shine if I need to go across or continually work on asphalt. If it's rocky though,I shudder when I run over a sharp rock everytime. If you're just using it On your property and not going job to job I'd stick with the steel....
If I had 2 if the same machines to pick from I'd take the one with steel
You can put bolt on rubber pads on the steel. Best of both worlds.
steel are nice but noisy , I would go with rubber
Run steel tracks with roadliner pads or rubber pads that bolt to steel pads. Best of both worlds.
I run 2 machines, both rubber, one of which is a JD50C. Like what most have already mentioned. Consider what type of ground is in your area and what type of work you'll be doing the most. Where I am, a lot of clay, sand, and round rock. So rubber works. I too would consider steel/pads. However, I did run a 75 with that setup, and working on slopes with vegetation/roots etc. the pads didn't grip very well. Assuming it's because the pads are smooth, and the grousers are covered by the pads. Wasn't fun. I'm also most likely going to end up with a 60D or G in the next few months as the 50 is getting tired. Let us know how you make out