Tracked Skid loaders vs Tires

[Foxtrot08]

So I might of convinced my boss to allow me to persue a new skid loader, if we hand our older one down to another division or trade it in.

Now, I've always thought of Tracked skidloaders to be 'the best' but I could be very wrong and looking for feed back from people that use them.

Right now I have a JD 240 Series 1 w/ deep tread tires and a JD 317 with Prowler Rubber/Steel tracks on it. I don't work on concrete or asphault all that much, except in the cow barn and when pulling it around into the shop and the like.

What I do with it:
Clean the cow barn.
Move stone/gravel around and spread it. (Fixing the drive ways, etc.)
Light dirt digging (not much at all)
Running our 5ft Hydroaxe for land clearing / pasture cutting.
Post driving when adding more fence.
Fork lift around the farm.


The hydroaxe / brush hogging part and the post driving is probably my biggest concern, because one of next year's projects is to make a path all the way around the farm and then put 5 strand up. We live in an old hilly/strip mine area, so the terrian is really rough. Along with being logged about 20 years ago, multi-flora rose (thorn bush) and brush has grown up pretty heavy, which is why we use the hydroaxe so much. Along with the streams and such, the terrian gets pretty slippery at times too.

Would tracked be the way to go? Or just stick with tires?

I was looking at the CAT 257B or 277B, since in our 'day job' we supply our local cat dealership with a lot of their oil products. Also, price wise they make sense. I was also looking at the Deere CT322.

 

[Red Horse]

My two cents. i think tracks are great but because of their higher operating cost, I think they make sense when you need the floatation they provide. That is if you did a lot of fine grading or worked a lot in wet areas were the flotation was a benefit, they make sense.

but your use sounds to me like tires are the way to go

 

[MarkV]

My experience is limited so I will only pass on what my high school friend who is a Bobcat dealer told me. He estimates that the cost of track wear, replacement and related wear parts runs about $10 per operating hour. He also felt like the demand for wheeled skid loaders was coming back due to the high maintenance costs of track machines. He has owned the business for over 25 years for what it is worth.

MarkV

 

[ctlguy]

I think tracked unit have thier pro's and con's. As mentioned I think they are incredibly popular for site prep as most operators claim to have increased productivity. Constant back and forth movements provide the operator with a much better ride and control of the machine since you are not "bucking" the unit like you can with a wheeled unit. Gain in tractive force is usually tremendous and by the units you are looking at your gonna be #2000 heavier. So more operating capaicty. I have never been impressed with track units in slippery mud or on ice, but then again skid steers in general arn't thought of as great ice machines. If you have the potential to be damaging to the tracks on a regular basis that cuts the track where you have exposed the core is when you can start spending some cash on new tracks. Have seen tracks last any where from 100 - 2200 hours.

 

[brain55]

My experience is limited so I will only pass on what my high school friend who is a Bobcat dealer told me. He estimates that the cost of track wear, replacement and related wear parts runs about $10 per operating hour. He also felt like the demand for wheeled skid loaders was coming back due to the high maintenance costs of track machines. He has owned the business for over 25 years for what it is worth.

MarkV

I have found the $10/hr maintenance cost to be pretty accurate. I was the fleet manager/mechanic for a large landscape contractor we had 16 Bobcat track loaders, 7 T300's, 8 T180's, and 1 T190. The main expenses with the Bobcat track machines are tracks and then as you get in the 2500 hr neighborhood drive motors.

As for the Cat machines I would stay away from the models with the ASV undercarriages. I haven't heard of drive motor problems, but the bogie wheels are a terrible design and fail on a regular basis along with liking to shear the lugs off of the tracks. In the 8 years I worked for the landscape contractor I think I repaired a front idler roller once and never replaced a bottom idler.

 

[Ken45101]

I am certainly no expert, but I've heard the same thing about the tracked machines being much more expensive to buy and operate. OTOH, in really hilly terrain, the tracked machines are supposed to be more stable.

I have a JD325 with over the tire metal tracks. That provides a better footprint than tires for soft ground, and better traction. You can get aggressive tracks for even more traction. The OTT tracks also add weight down low which helps stability.

You said you were operating in hilly terrain. From what I recall, JD and NH have the best weight distribution for hilly operation.

Ken

 

[Rio_Grande]

I own an 80 hp tracked machine and it rocks, until there is a problem. From your post I would say a tracked machine might be a stretch for your needs. I goy this one because I am routinely in an environment unfriendly to tires and we work on very steep grades. I have used both wheeled and tracked and for my purposes I like the tracked units. Not looking forward to paying for drive motors though when the time comes. Mine is a rebadged mustang mtl 20. Rides kinda rough but off road it is awesome! On pavement and in rocks it scares me to death that the next pop will cost a couple grand.

 

[Rio_Grande]

I own an 80 hp tracked machine and it rocks, until there is a problem. From your post I would say a tracked machine might be a stretch for your needs. I goy this one because I am routinely in an environment unfriendly to tires and we work on very steep grades. I have used both wheeled and tracked and for my purposes I like the tracked units. Not looking forward to paying for drive motors though when the time comes. Mine is a rebadged mustang mtl 20. Rides kinda rough but off road it is awesome! On pavement and in rocks it scares me to death that the next pop will cost a couple grand.

I want to know more about that hydro axe!! I want something similar for my operation.

 

[Johndeere3720]

Here is what I have learned through experience between tires and tracks. I too own a Deere 317 skid steer, no over the tire tracks, yet. I also have logged hundreds of hours on a Deere CT322. So i have several hundred hours of experience between my 317 and the CT322 on hills, rough terrain, pavement, gravel lanes, and on the ranch. The CT322 is rough on hard ground or pavement, ride quality is less desirable than my 317, however if you are trying to scrape hard packed gravel the CT322 has the needed weight to get the job done where as the 317 takes several passes to do the same job. Tires for my 317 are between $600-$1k, tracks for the CT322 run $1500 installed around here. The undercarriage on the CT322 is very easy to clean except the small gap between the drive sprocket and the housing surrounding the drive motor where gravel, dirt, and mud will pack extremely tight and requires a chisel and hammer to clean. Maintenance on the CT322 is exactly like the 317, it only has the added grease points to tighten your tracks which is pretty simple to do. You will notice that the undercarriage likes to carry dirt and mud with it, it will fill up with mud and if you have to travel across a nicely maintained surface you will find yourself going back and cleaning up your trail. On hills, the CT322 is far more stable than the 317, that extra ton close to the ground makes it feel stable. The extra weight also seems to give better traction however if your tracks are worn you will loose all traction is all conditions. The CT322 also has an additional 1000 lbs of lifting capacity over the 317 however they run the same 4024T diesel engine as well as a very similar frame. In your case I can see a CT322 being very versatile, and when you don't need a tracked machine you can always jump on the 317. I can say if I had the $$$ I also would have a CT322 for heavier work.
Here are the two machines I have run side by side, I have already logged over 120 hours on my 317 since I bought it in January.

 

[Durallymax]

Most of the opinions you seem to get on track machines versus wheeled machines will tell you to only get one if you absolutley need it. They are expensive up front, and not worth anything after a couple thousand hours. Maintenance is very high and they require a different set of skills to operate. However, when you need one, you need one. Landscapers and excavators don't think twice about it, but in your case it may be better to stay wheeled.

For clearing fence lines I think the stability and grunt would be nice, but other than that you're going to like the wheeled machine better. The Tracked machine will be terrible for cleaning the barn. They do not do good on slippery surfaces.

You mention you only do a little bit of digging and you move gravel just to fix the driveways. the rest of the time its essentially a chore skid steer on a farm. Wheeled machines suit the chore skid steer much better.

Now I see you do have two machines. If you dont need both skid steers at the same time and are looking at swapping one for a tracked machine to use specifically for grading, digging and working in the hills, then it would be up to you. Nothing wrong with having two machines dedicated for two seperate skillsets. Took me a long time to get that through a lot of peoples heads that you dont need 5 of the exact same size skid steer. Its okay to have a bigger one, smaller one, radial, vertical, tracked etc etc. Just make sure you cover the important bases first and weigh out the options.

If you can get a CTL CAT instead of the MTL it may be better for you. The MTL rides nicer and is softer on the ground but is very high maintenance since the system was designed for the positrack and adapting it to a skid steer didnt really work out too well. The CTLs end with a "9" MTLs end with a "7"generally.