Mattracks

[oneal]

Love my Toolcat but exploring ideas to travel in wet conditions better. Wish I had more power to the wheels and diff locks but everything else about my 5610 is perfect for my needs so I will continue to work with it. I do have a 20K winch on the back so I am never stranded but it is a bit of a PIA to drag out a 200' 7/8" winch drum filled with 90 weight gear oil in cold temps.

Been talking with Firestone engineer about their Destination Turf IF 320/65 R15, they seem promising and affordable. They are 10 ply radials and should increase flotation.

The Mattracks look bada&& but are very pricey and raise the TC 5" requiring a step down bracket for tool attachment. Their rep told me if my woods have a lot of small stumps they don't reccomend them, I assumed the small square edges of stumps could damage tracks under load but I forgot to ask why. I should also mention that I live at the glacier edge where rocks as big as my truck are common and numerous areas have more smaller round rock than dirt.

Anyway, I thought I would mention my challenge here in the only group of TC experienced folks I know of.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[ruffdog]

Looking at past pictures it seems you have the 29x10.5-15 R4 tires now. The optional turfs (29x12.5-15) would be the same width as the Firestone tires you are asking about. The 320/65r15 is a 31.2" tire so you would have to look at clearances and get wider wheels to make them work. There are tough V tread trencher tires that are 29x12.5-15 too.

$23.99 - Galaxy Super Trencher I-3 29/12.5-15 tires | Buy Galaxy Super Trencher I-3 tires at SimpleTire

 

[DaveBittel]

Those trencher tires look like they would be better the R4 in mud!

 

[bridge4]

I had mattracks on a polaris ranger, I know it is a different vehicle, but sorta similar. They held up well and worked great in deep stuff, I used them for winter grooming. I will say it was a PIA to change them over and make sure you had every bolt and whatnot. They also put a lot of extra wear on some hubs and the steering column, adding to annual maintenance work and costs.

I sold the ranger because I couldn't look at it anymore after 3 winters of doing that. I just hated the process.


If I ever track a vehicle again it will stay tracked forever.

The rubber held up well and the tracks themselves didn't need maintenance, but it wore everything else out much faster. Then storing them all spring and summer etc... They look super cool but theres a lot of crap that goes along with them.

There is a member on here I think @arlya or something, he knows about all the tracks and will tell you anything you need to know. He has a thread in the snow section about some big groomers he's working on now.

 

[ruffdog]

I'm thinking that small stumps might put too much pressure on individual rollers that look to be plastic? Being that toolcat weighs 6000lbs before any attachments, that is a ton of weight focused on one or two rollers. The OP is also running the big winch in the rear and could lift another 1500++ with the boom which would add more pressure.

 

[bridge4]

I'm thinking that small stumps might put too much pressure on individual rollers that look to be plastic? Being that toolcat weighs 6000lbs before any attachments, that is a ton of weight focused on one or two rollers. The OP is also running the big winch in the rear and could lift another 1500++ with the boom which would add more pressure.

Their stuff is good quality, and I ran over some little rocks and rubbed between trees every now and then with mine. I don't really think a small stump would make a huge issue, you could always cut your stuff low though going forward knowing it might be an issue? I only used them in the snow because the one time I tried to use them going up a wooded hill at a bit of an angle in the fall I started throwing a track and part of it got messed up. I lost all motivation for that game.

Tracks are cool, but they aren't really that great for general use IMO. For specific stuff, or terrain they are great.. but the ride isn't that smooth, more noisy and you lose a lot in turning radius.

My tracks weighed 800lbs, so add that weight to your list, but they do disperse it much better than tires.


I'm not saying don't get them, but hopefully someone who runs that setup can chime in and let you know what the deal is. And even better, it'd be nice if you could find someone who has tracks on something and you could drive it around.

 

[bridge4]

I'm thinking that small stumps might put too much pressure on individual rollers that look to be plastic? Being that toolcat weighs 6000lbs before any attachments, that is a ton of weight focused on one or two rollers. The OP is also running the big winch in the rear and could lift another 1500++ with the boom which would add more pressure.

Their stuff is good quality, and I ran over some little rocks and rubbed between trees every now and then with mine. I don't really think a small stump would make a huge issue, you could always cut your stuff low though going forward knowing it might be an issue? I only used them in the snow because the one time I tried to use them going up a wooded hill at a bit of an angle in the fall I started throwing a track and part of it got messed up. I lost all motivation for that game.

Tracks are cool, but they aren't really that great for general use IMO. For specific stuff, or terrain they are great.. but the ride isn't that smooth, more noisy and you lose a lot in turning radius.

My tracks weighed 800lbs, so add that weight to your list, but they do disperse it much better than tires.


I'm not saying don't get them, but hopefully someone who runs that setup can chime in and let you know what the deal is. And even better, it'd be nice if you could find someone who has tracks on something and you could drive it around.


Edit:watching that video, it looks like they go on just like a tire without any frame bracing. That makes things MUCH easier. I find it curious it didn't show it turn once and it also never showed it scooping against a big pile, just little light work one nice dry flat ground (even the hill was flat if you get what I'm saying, no bumps or rocks) .

 

[ruffdog]

The kit for the TC has a 16.5" sprocket wheel so that is a whopping 43% less diameter than 29" tires. You should have plenty of power with much less top speed. Each track assy weighs 310 with a total of 1240lbs of unsprung weight. The original wheels/tires are no lightweights though.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

King of Obsolete put a set on a Chevy pu, it didn't take him long to break them, declaring they are pretty fragile! So, he rebuilt the UC on each one, and now says they are fairly reliable, although not totally reliable...

SR

 

[ruffdog]

King of Obsolete put a set on a Chevy pu, it didn't take him long to break them, declaring they are pretty fragile! So, he rebuilt the UC on each one, and now says they are fairly reliable, although not totally reliable...

SR

It sure seems it would make a difference which direction you run them. They ran the rears forwards for a while, then, backwards. :shocked: I think the ones he put on the Chevy were intended for smaller vehicles anyways.:confused2:

KoO-Tracks 2017

 

[ruffdog]

King of Obsolete put a set on a Chevy pu, it didn't take him long to break them, declaring they are pretty fragile! So, he rebuilt the UC on each one, and now says they are fairly reliable, although not totally reliable...

SR

In fact, the ones they put on the Chevy was one step up from the ATV/UTV and was considered the "economy line". They weigh 170lbs each while the toolcat ones weigh 310lbs each.

http://www.mattracks.co/specs/ez-series.pdf

 

[Butch933]

Just spoke with a Mattrack salesman last week about those.
I was asking info about capability and price.

He informed me that they were made to handle the weight and workload of any attachement.
As for the price they were 20,000$ usd

Still waiting for a video showing there capability in wet and muddy terrain.

 

[ruffdog]

I would be concerned about the track assy rotating too far and binding in the wheel well. Notice in this video (1:50) how the track unit nearly rotates around. I would feel much better if there were hard stops preventing this from happening.

 

[oneal]

. The optional turfs (29x12.5-15) would be the same width as the Firestone tires you are asking about. The 320/65r15 is a 31.2" tire so you would have to look at clearances and get wider wheels to make them work.

Agreed, except the BC turfs are 8 ply rated bias compared to Firestone being 10 ply rated radials offering a substantial increase in flat plate measurement which of course is what flotation is all about. Wheels and clearances are not a problem.
Thanks for replying.

 

[oneal]

Just spoke with a Mattrack salesman last week about those.
I was asking info about capability and price.

He informed me that they were made to handle the weight and workload of any attachement.
As for the price they were 20,000$ usd

Still waiting for a video showing there capability in wet and muddy terrain.

If you are interested in them they have 20% off deals here and there ( have one now).
The videos on their website seem to always be in loamy soils, I have hard clay and mucho rocks. For me the gear reduction would be a great plus but can't convince myself the poly idler rollers would withstand my terrain.
I appreciate everyone offering their thoughts.

 

[bridge4]

I've driven mine on stumpy terrain and again they don't flourish. Hard clay they would eat up no problem, just not a super smooth ride.

I have no doubt they can handle any weight or whatever, but I don't think they can handle tons of rocky or stumpy stuff well. Mud I wouldn't worry about, they probably do well. You can find tons of atv videos of tracked guys flying across mud. I know working in it is different though and you might get stuck.


I will say this, you call or email Terry over there, and he is in touch and knows his products. They have great support after the sale and during the entire process.

 

[ruffdog]

I've driven mine on stumpy terrain and again they don't flourish. Hard clay they would eat up no problem, just not a super smooth ride.

I have no doubt they can handle any weight or whatever, but I don't think they can handle tons of rocky or stumpy stuff well. Mud I wouldn't worry about, they probably do well. You can find tons of atv videos of tracked guys flying across mud. I know working in it is different though and you might get stuck.

A Toolcat 5610 that weighs 4.5 TIMES what a Polaris Ranger 900 weighs, then add the extra 1.5 tons it can lift, is a whole different animal. If the plastic idlers break all the time, it would be $20k wasted.