I'm having to buy an undercarriage. I believe that a Caterpillar branded U/C is the best, no matter............ then there's the rest of that stuff. But being that Cat doesn't offer an undercarriage for an older D8H, and only the Cat Classic line, which is not Cat at all, I think it's a repackaged I-Trac. Then there's the rest: Berco, I-Trac, and KUT. Have any of you done a side-by-side comparison of the best of the latter? I've got to buy one, might as well buy the best of the aftermarket. Thanks for the opinions, Jason M.
For that 8H you just bought? I have had pretty good luck with Berco, had one set of rails that flaked out a little long time ago the rest have been OK
The Brand on the Cat Classic is Nexus and yes, it is aftermarket. You have a few different aftermarket brands to choose from. Berco, ITM, DCF, V-Track, ITR, KUT. Berco and ITM are the best but they are not much cheaper than Cat. V-Track and ITR are made by a couple different companies. KUT which is (Korea Undercarriage Track) and DCF (Dae Chang Forging) makes the ITR and V-Track in their manufacturing plants in Korea. ITR and V-Track puts their stamp on each link. I sell undercarriage all day everyday and my opinion is that the Korean chains are all the same. They all come with a 3 year 4000 hr warranty or 100% wore, whichever comes first. I believe that is the same as the Cat warranty. The ITR or V-Track will be the best bang for your buck. They are the same track except for the writing on the links.
I have a set of ITM rail on D6R and they are holding up good so far,but our soils are not as abrasive as other types.More problem with mud then anything,which mean just having too keep the tracks cleaned out more often. I would consider getting another set when time comes,if can't get Cat originals.They was new on the machine when i bought it 4600hrs,little over 7000hrs now older D6R.:usa
Yup, for that D8H. Thanks.
Thanks for the education.... my local Cat dealer couldn't get an answer as to "who" manufactured their Cat Classic line. Anyway, since you're involved, "Why don't you send me a quote for an entire U/C for a Cat D8H (46A) and maybe we can do some business?" I haven't decided yet. Houston is not far and could pick up there. Quote the U/C from several different manufacturers, complete U/C. 318 876 3326 (office) 318 876 2411 (fax) 318 359 4827 (cell) Jason M.
Remember to never sieze the bolts, save you alot of heart ache down the road.
Dear Quick Trax, Do you know if DCF makes the V-Track ? Are there chinese manufacturers for D8, D10 and D11 track chains? What about quality? Is there anybody in Asia that can make the Komatsu D475 track chain? I appreciate your help. [email protected]
jrx, My supplier confirmed that dcf makes some of the v-track. I don't know if any Chinese manufacturers make d8,d10, or d11 chains. I do know that Korean manufacturers make up to d10 chains. I am not sure if they manufacture d11 chains. I do not know about the d475 chains. I know berco makes them and they are based out of Italy. I hope this can help. Thanks Quicktrax
dang that Quicktrax is good................:drinkup
under carriage This maybe a little of the subject, but I have found some good deals on used tracks and undercarriage. Lots of machines being turned back in with cab fires HUMMMM and the bottom end are still very good. I have seen good parts at my local Cat used parts section. You just got to be careful and know what you are buying. Price usually about half the cost of new stuff Just a thought
I don't know if they still make them but at one time DCF made the D11 chain. The set I saw only had about 600 hours on them and they were toast. ML
D11 I offer alot of the same brands as the fellow in Texas. We have sold several of the larger undercarriages in KY, IN, and IL. D8N/R to the D11N/R. Currently, there has not been a D11 undercarriage to last in our area. We have sold 3 this year. ITM has done the best in the larger tracks, but are working on 3rd and 4th generation tracks to do better. The Vtrack D10, was made by DCF and it failed. I know this, because my company had to put P&B in it for free. It is not much fun to do that with all the lifting for nothing. It is strange, but they tell me that DCF doen't make all of Vtracks products, but they did the D10. ITM is in my opinion is a step ahead of the other aftermarkets in the larger machines. We had Berco links chipping and they said it was cosmetic and wouldn't do anything about it. But for the record, I believe that the conventional dozers can run the Korean products and the smaller hi drive(D7H & down) Cats can too. YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS WHO YOU BUY THE UNDERCARRIGE FROM.:usa
I have always thought that NEXUS for Caterpillar was made by Nordtrack in Italy. There stuff was available for a while in America and then it disappeared right before the NEXUS program.
D8H with D155 chain and pads I just put new D155 chains on my 8H last year. But that was what was on it and the the shoes were 80% yet. If you need new pads you might want to consider that option.
Ran Berco for years, and never had any issues. Just cause it says CAT doesn't always mean its the best...the most expensive maybe but not always the best. Trbo
A few months back we sold a set of used D155 track groups to a customer who was putting them onto a D8K and he hasn't had any problems at all.
D8 tracks we used to run our D8,s on berco tracks,but would,nt guarentee a wet turn because we were on 28" shoes,and a wet turn you must have to eliminate internal wear,now we only use cat who will guarentee the wet turn on a 28" shoe.
Most undercarriage dealers will only offer a 50% warranty on the pin and bushings at turn time on LGP machines. Any standard track machine should have a 100% warranty on any dry joints.
Man Tommy sure has taught you a lot.Tell that Turd Billy said hello.
D8H tracks go with cat (classic)at least you get a guarenteed wet (SALT) turn and thats critical
Billy, Tommy brings the work in. I do all of the dirty work. I guess that a fair trade. Now, get back to work. Don't be a stranger. Brad
The "Classic" is just a korean chain that is marked up twice as much as the rest of the Korean chains. They all have the same warranty. "Classic" is just Cats way of trying to be competitive on the aftermarket side.
QuickTrax,what Korean manufacturer actually makes the cat D8H-k chain.
Hey I knew Tommy wasn't going to get dirty working.Thats a Cardinal Sin for him plus it will mess up his image.
Hey QuickTrax i have heard that td15c and td15e chain cant be found in the usa. Is this true? If it is why and when will it be back in stock.
The dry master pin chains are available but not many. I could probably look some more and maybe find some salt chains.
thats what the story is up here in IL. sounds like its the same in TX. up here they say salt rails will be in stock in late spring. what do you think.
I show Salt chains for your TD15C and the TD15E available. I would bet that if you are dealing with an aftermarket dealer in your area they can get these also.
QuickTrax thanks for the info. i was told two or three weeks ago that grace track and heavy quip said none to be found. guess i well make some calls tomorrow and again thanks for the info.
Has anybody heard about Erma Track? What can you say about this brand?
metman33, I see you are in KY. I am in Maysville, Ky on the O-hi-O River. I have a Cat 2005 D3G LGP. It is just over 2000 hours now. I would like to have someone in person come to my shop and do an Undercarriage assessment. Do you do that? Ron
Most Cat dealers will send a Product Support Specialist out to do that for free, in hopes of selling you the parts. Just call your local Cat dealer.
We have had good luck with Jinsung on our D6H, but I understand Cat has not purchased them.
Cat Classic undercarrige is manufactured in the same factories as normal Cat UC. Its made by Cat for Cat the only difference being is the classic UC is made to above Indusrty Std's not to Cat's Propriorty Std ( which is way higher than industry std). Therefor making it a viable repair option for older lower use machines because it is cheaper to manufacture and therefore the saving can be passed on to the customer specially in a low use machine. Berco and Itrac are crap never use them cause it will come back an bite you on the ass.... Spend the little bit more and Go with the Cat Classic it works just as well as the normal cat UC and has the Std Cat warranty and UC assurance.
mitch504, I got a Cat Dealer product specialist to conduct an undercarriage evaluation. He came to my shop where I house my D3G LGP. He used measurements and sonic devices to do the evaluation. I was impressed with him professionally and he was a very nice fellow. Turns out that my bushings have been turned and the down side that is riding on my sprockets are about 25% worn at this point (2033 hours). The links are the most worn component which are about 45 % worn. He said the links will be the determining factor on when undercarriage work will be needed. The shoes, sprockets, rollers, idler are all good. His overall diagnosis was to run out the life of the undercarriage which should get me about 1500 or 2000 more hours. I have a formal write-up that shows the measurements and % worn numbers.
ITM and ITR have factory in China. V-Track is just a importer, they just buy from many chinese suppliers. Berco is the largest undercarriage parts factory in the world.
If it is chinese turn around and run as far as you can as fast as you can for as long as you can cause it will be junk. Quality of anything and everything from china is crap.
I have used machine tools and measuring instruments made in China as good as any made anywhere in the world. I have a neighbor in the printing industry who says Chinese printing presses are some of the best made. I'm not a fan of China but we used to say the same thing about "jap-crap" and Korean junk. Now the best manufacturers in the world for cars and electronics. And by the way do you know where most Apple products come from?
ITM is actually an Italian product. Even Berco has some components that are being made in China. It seems like more and more of the U/C is starting to come from Korea or China. I have heard that ITR has replaced Berco as the OEM on the 450,550, and 650 Deere machines.
We always got better life out of itrac then cat undercarriages. but that is on smaller stuff.
China Caterpillar has a factory in China they also quit buying US Bonds and are buying Chinese instead. So go figure!!!
i have a set of vtrack chains on a d37 komatsu that are failing at 450 hours. pins are breaking and seem to be smaller than komatsu oem by .040". doesnt sound like alot untill you try to repair with oem only to find the difference in the middle of a swamp
QuickTrax Cold you please quote me a complete undercarriage for a 953B you can reach me at 704-791-4149 and email me at [email protected]
As he has not been seen on HEF since February 2016 I think you may be flogging a dead horse .....