My t300 tracks have finally fallen in half, so now im shopping. I was originally sold on the MacLaren TDF, they run about $5200 shipped, Then I found Radmiester, they have an ebay store, and a decent site, they sell for $2590 plus shipping. http://www.radmeister.com/p-6204-a-set-of-2-rubber-tracks-for-bobcat-t300-55-links-450-mm-wide.aspx Any experience with radmeister? Im trying to get a picture of the actual CTL tracks, but all they show is a sketch of the tread pattern. At almost half the price, id rather get new tracks with fresh rubber 2x as often rather than wear out a $5000 set of tracks to get my moneys worth. Any thoughts or other suppliers out there?
Ok found one more, Viqan, $1165 each, in stock, OEM tread pattern. http://www.viqan.com/content-1-846.html
Radmeister and Mclaren are the same company.
Seriously?
As are Mc Laren and Bullman.
Well i think im going for the cheapies...they claim to be getting about 900 hours out of them with United Rentals machines.
I don't know about the Radmeister tracks (didn't know they are the same company either -- looked like two very different companies to me and different quality), but the McLaren TDF tracks are also sold by Bobcat... maybe this is why they cost more - they are made to meet Bobcat's quality standard. After few weeks research, I myself just ordered a set of McLaren TDFs for T190 (see the ad above below the US flag for how they look). Can't wait to get them! Actually, they also offered me their regular duty tracks which were cheaper, but I wanted to get the TDFs since they are the best. One thing to know -- they did give me about 8% discount on either set of tracks from what they initally quoted me after I talked a bit more with the rep. He turned out to be really nice guy, save me few bucks when I need it most Hope this helps. Good luck :usa
I also got the quote for both and was pretty sold on the TDF's, but at double the price, how good can they really be? I wonder if radmeister is selling off the old style maclarens, because their price is even better than the older ones from maclaren by about $1500
Good question. This is why I never thought they are the same company, too... When I check them now I see they do sell some used McLaren tracks ( http://www.radmeister.com/p-11151-used-rubber-track-r33-for-bobcat-t200-52-links-450-mm-wide.aspx ), but they specifically say they are made by McLaren. But they also sell used Solideal tracks http://www.radmeister.com/p-7254-solideal-rubber-track-for-bobcat-t190-almost-brand-new.aspx . So, it's hard to say, but they all look decent to me and their site is good. I just went with Mclaren TDF direct because I feel safer that way and because we really abuse the tracks over here, but if you don't have the cash, go with Radmeister...they'll probably run well, too.
I just got the new bobcat sales flyer in the mail, low and behold they have some awesome pricing on tracks... $1400 each for something that looks exactly like the Maclaren TDF tracks... SOLD!
Yes, I got it, too! Really good staff! They look like the TDFs because they are also made by McLaren...
changing subject- Rules! How about buckets? How many hours are you getting out of buckets? Tracks, lucky to get 1,000 hrs here but the buckets are eating my lunch. Thoughts, suggestions-. J
I replaced the bucket edge at about 800hours, snow removal killed it, but the rest of the bucket is still fine.
Just my experience but I tried after market tracks (solid deal) on my T300 BIG mistake!!! Go back with OEM Bridgestone, you cant beat them. Just wondering how long did your originals last? Mine went for a little over 1600hrs and the after markets lasted 600hrs big difference!!!!
Typical but I've gotten less than 600 hrs on a bucket here in GA. Years ago-the bucket was the LAST thing to wear out. Are there any "swap out" companies that will offer a "core charge" for the buckets and send a replacement? I'm loaded down with worn out buckets & my local welder kills me with rebuilds.
I ended up with the OEM Bridgestones anyways with the sale they have on. I got 1300 hours out of my originals, they were pretty much bald and started breaking cleats at that point! 1600 is incredible!
For my Bobcat T300 I get tracks from Rubber Tracks USA. There tracks have always held up very well, I've been getting over 1500 hours out of them. There service from their staff has always been exellent as well. I used to buy from another place, but the tracks only lasted about 300 hours, and then they refused to warranty them. But the Rubber Tracks USA guys seem to have a great track.
I have a T200 and luckily only use it for side jobs and such so it only sees about 250 hours a year tops. Luckily the whole undercarriage was pretty new when I bought it.
I am wondering whether anyone here has familiarity with the tracks that are made for snow, I think called Polar Tracks. I have read elsewhere that they are good for snow. My question is whether they are durable and how well they perform on surfaces other than snow. Realistically 90% of the use of my machine would not be on snow, and those tracks would not he helpful if they didn't perform well on dirt and mud.
Having spent years going through buckets, I decided to go a different route than trying to rebuild a wore out bucket. Buy a new one and armor it. So I bought a new Cat bucket with smooth cutting edge. Spent some time going through the Cat parts book and found some backhoe shanks that (with a little torch trimming) would have the right pitch to be welded onto the bucket and still allow the reversible cutting edge (from the original smooth bucket) to stay attached. It was important for me that the bottom of the tooth and the cutting edge be on the same plane. The problem we used to have was scalloping between the shanks. Now I have a tooth bucket and when the cutting edge wears down, just flip it around. Problem solved. I didn't stop there. I had a bunch of old D5G cutting edges lying around. We cut them up and welded them to the rear, middle and sides of the bottom of the bucket. Then a few cut down on the vertical sides of the bucket (the normal wear areas). Unfortunately the bucket hasn't been worked much but it looks like it's going to be a winner.
When we got our TDF tracks from McLaren, we got them becuase we were looking for good heavy duty general purpose tracks and they do just that - we use them all year round. However, we were surprised to find out how well they performed in snow. I did some extra research and found that others have noticed this as well. Here are some videos I found on the web on McLaren TDF tracks working in snow and more: http://www.youtube.com/user/trackbob#p/u/3/lcupDenb5Hk http://www.youtube.com/user/trackbob#p/u/2/GA8F0dd2kk8 http://www.youtube.com/user/trackbob#p/u/1/28lCnaq6EOI
How do they work on inclines? The terrain here is on the steep side.
They have very good traction if this is what you mean and I have no problem going up and down on a slope with a full bucket or empty, but I have not tried them on slope and snow at the same time. My guess from all I've seen so far is thet the TDFs will be as good or better than the original Bridgestones we had.