How do you guys unload a dozer or anything with steel tracks without tearing up the pavement. I have used everything from old decking from my lowboy to strips of plywood to lay under the tracks. I saw a lowboy the other day that had some old conveyer belt rolled up on the deck, I assumed he was using it for unloading. Has anyone else used that to unload on? Any other thoughts on unloading on pavement?
We always use some 36" wide conveyor for all steel track machines over 10,000lbs. when they are to be tracked over concrete or pavement.
old conveyor belt or old pick-up size tyres.
Thanks for the quick replies. I going to try and find some used belting.
If there are any stone quarries or large gravel beds near you, especially if you are a customer, try talking to them. I know where I retired from they often had a bunch of old belting they were glad to get rid of.
Thanks to everyone who replied! With no luck inquiring at several quarries and a couple of concrete plants, I found a neighbor that had a 100 ft roll of new conveyor belt. He traded it to me for a 30 pack of beer. It pays to have good neighbors.:drinkup PS: The belting worked great ........thanks again for the help!
That must have been good beer or cheep belting! But as both are happy that's the important thing:drinkup
When you have a neighbor with a lowbed you are good to them!Ron G
Just the other day I had a guy tell me he uses old pickup tires as Nige said but he takes a sawzall and cuts the tread off and uses the sidewalls to track on. I thought I might give that a try. FWIW
Depending on the size of belt, you could have struck a gold mine, we buy belt for about $63/ft. Glad he took care of you!
The thing about pickup size tyres as opposed to truck tyres or conveyor belting is that one man can handle them comfortably. A big plus if you are the driver who has to go out to deliver or collect a machine on his own.
We've always used tires. A D7 can be walked across a paved street without any damage.
I never had a helper and often had to work at night in the dark....you oughta hear me cuss at the guy who last used those ratchet binders and didn't reverse the pawl so they were ready to use and I couldn't see them in the dark!Give me the over center binders any day!Ron G
I really like conveyor belt , protects well it don't take up any extra room on the trailer. Have four sections cut it in 10' lengths so it's easy to handle . Keep two on the trailer all the time . HeavyEquipmentForums
Nige has a good point about the tires being more easy to handle, but I cut my belt in 8' lengths ( I think its 32" wide ) and it is very for one guy to move around. Plus they lay nice and flat on the lowboy. On another note.......I know it was minimal, when unloading on the belting it also seemed to ride smoother on a hard surface.