9 t wide tracks

[CPS]

2 different Aidys

Big Aidy and Wee Aidy

 

[Bri963]

If your on ground that needs wide tracks you'll be fine.

Chain wear happens when you’re punting it over rocks rather than just uneven loading.

12 years ago I was testing a wide track D6K in soft sand. the sand ran round the edge of the blade and tipped the outside of the grousers so they were running tipped towards the machine. In 300 hrs the chains went from 10% worn to over 50%. Continual side slopes will kill chains as well.

 

[Storrsy]

12 years ago I was testing a wide track D6K in soft sand. the sand ran round the edge of the blade and tipped the outside of the grousers so they were running tipped towards the machine. In 300 hrs the chains went from 10% worn to over 50%. Continual side slopes will kill chains as well.

That's my thinking on a machine being placed offset on the tracks though- similar effect as running on a side slope. on soft ground they will contort the pads and chains Imagine Doobin doing clearance work tracking back and forth to bonfires and the like would soon induce uneven wear patterns.

 

[doobin]

That's my thinking on a machine being placed offset on the tracks though- similar effect as running on a side slope. on soft ground they will contort the pads and chains Imagine Doobin doing clearance work tracking back and forth to bonfires and the like would soon induce uneven wear patterns.

Yup, heathland is soft sand for sure.

 

[JD450A]

I'd personally be amazed if running uneven did anything.

Best thing to do is put equal one side and uneven the other and report back in a thousand hours.

 

[doobin]

I'd personally be amazed if running uneven did anything.

Best thing to do is put equal one side and uneven the other and report back in a thousand hours.

Well it's Brians job to test stuff like that for a major manufacturer so I'm inclined to take his advice!

 

[doobin]

That's my thinking on a machine being placed offset on the tracks though- similar effect as running on a side slope. on soft ground they will contort the pads and chains Imagine Doobin doing clearance work tracking back and forth to bonfires and the like would soon induce uneven wear patterns.

That's a good point, half of what I do is tracking!

I remember a certain member telling me I could just use a dumper

 

[Bri963]

Well it's Brians job to test stuff like that for a major manufacturer so I'm inclined to take his advice!

The most damaging thing for any tracks is the operator. Or gas bottles.

Seriously though Doob, are you already having issues with getting stuck, or are you planning ahead for a known difficult job? If it’s not a major or regular job, could you hire a Morooka or similar and save your own tracks? Might end up being quicker (said without having seen the job).

And thanks for those kind words.

 

[Canal Navvy]

The most damaging thing for any tracks is the operator.

That just about hits the nail firmly on the head, some operators just can't help themselves and don't deserve any seat time

 

[doobin]

The most damaging thing for any tracks is the operator. Or gas bottles.

Seriously though Doob, are you already having issues with getting stuck, or are you planning ahead for a known difficult job? If it’s not a major or regular job, could you hire a Morooka or similar and save your own tracks? Might end up being quicker (said without having seen the job).

And thanks for those kind words.

I just need bit more flotation than the 450 rubbers give. And no, respectfully, like I told gaz, you cannot use a dumper to do this two hundred times a day!

 

[Grahams]

"And no, respectfully, like I told gaz, you cannot use a dumper to do this two hundred times a day!"
You could put low ground pressure turf tyres and a grab on your multione. Much faster and less damaging than tracking and a lot easier to do. I used to run low ground pressure turf tyres on my Norcar and they were fanastic. Less ground pressure than walking and because they were so wide made it a lot more stable on side slopes.

 

[doobin]

"And no, respectfully, like I told gaz, you cannot use a dumper to do this two hundred times a day!"
You could put low ground pressure turf tyres and a grab on your multione. Much faster and less damaging than tracking and a lot easier to do. I used to run low ground pressure turf tyres on my Norcar and they were fanastic. Less ground pressure than walking and because they were so wide made it a lot more stable on side slopes.
View attachment 78095

I use the multione a bit for that and also a euro adaptor on the alpine. They come into their own on heathland clearance when the stuff is around 8 feet tall and the drag distance a long way to a dump site. Especially the alpine which is much more comfortable- although the Multione can stack high, so swings and roundabouts as they say.

However neither of them will handle skidding whole trees or bundles of them and then hoofing them over a fence and stacking them neatly. Or placing them on the fire just right and then adjusting the rest of a fire bigger than the machine.

I’ve got double wheels for the alpine which help in slopes a lot. But you generally try to work down a slope, and if you leave brash bundles to collect it’s a nightmare to try to get them picked up again without the digger rotating grab. And it’s also generally a lot easier just to use the digger and grab full of brash to counterbalance yourself than to try to use a wheeled machine on slopes.

You also get a ‘bonus move’ when using a 360- the slew and reach at both ends of the drag can be performed whilst on the move and is a large component of the total distance on a shorter drag.

Basically it all depends upon the length of the drag. But brash needs a grab of some sort to move it, and a dumper shouldn’t even be up for consideration. I’m happy to change my final drive oil every time I change the engine oil and buy tracks a bit more often for the efficiency gains.

 

[Smiffy]

I use the multione a bit for that and also a euro adaptor on the alpine. They come into their own on heathland clearance when the stuff is around 8 feet tall and the drag distance a long way to a dump site. Especially the alpine which is much more comfortable- although the Multione can stack high, so swings and roundabouts as they say.

However neither of them will handle skidding whole trees or bundles of them and then hoofing them over a fence and stacking them neatly. Or placing them on the fire just right and then adjusting the rest of a fire bigger than the machine.

I’ve got double wheels for the alpine which help in slopes a lot. But you generally try to work down a slope, and if you leave brash bundles to collect it’s a nightmare to try to get them picked up again without the digger rotating grab. And it’s also generally a lot easier just to use the digger and grab full of brash to counterbalance yourself than to try to use a wheeled machine on slopes.

You also get a ‘bonus move’ when using a 360- the slew and reach at both ends of the drag can be performed whilst on the move and is a large component of the total distance on a shorter drag.

Basically it all depends upon the length of the drag. But brash needs a grab of some sort to move it, and a dumper shouldn’t even be up for consideration. I’m happy to change my final drive oil every time I change the engine oil and buy tracks a bit more often for the efficiency gains.



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As an aside, have you got a skidding grapple for your alpine. That would be quite useful on the whole tree stuff if you have a second person with you.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

As an aside, have you got a skidding grapple for your alpine. That would be quite useful on the whole tree stuff if you have a second person with you.

View attachment 78108

I use skidding grapples quite a lot on site clearances - can move a massive amount very quickly, and it’s really fast if there is someone else on a machine stacking.

 

[doobin]

As an aside, have you got a skidding grapple for your alpine. That would be quite useful on the whole tree stuff if you have a second person with you.

View attachment 78108

I use skidding grapples quite a lot on site clearances - can move a massive amount very quickly, and it’s really fast if there is someone else on a machine stacking.

Yes. Big fan of the grapple, also on large garden type jobs with a central chip/burn location. Very little mess. It’s good for tree length stuff or tight drags.

But with pulled brashy type stuff a larger grab lets you get a lot more in, so long as it’s all windrowed parallel.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I have a ‘Trigger’s broom’ grapple that has been bent/snapped/modified numerous times (the only original part left are the actual tines, which have proven to be incredibly strong!). It opens really wide and doesn’t ever let go - will take much bigger bites than any grab mounted on a sub-30 tonne machine. That in combination with a tree shear clears and ‘forwards’ an incredible volume of material in short order.

 

[doobin]

I have a ‘Trigger’s broom’ grapple that has been bent/snapped/modified numerous times (the only original part left are the actual tines, which have proven to be incredibly strong!). It opens really wide and doesn’t ever let go - will take much bigger bites than any grab mounted on a sub-30 tonne machine. That in combination with a tree shear clears and ‘forwards’ an incredible volume of material in short order.
View attachment 78115

Definitely the way to do those kind of clearance jobs!

Most of my jobs are smaller and less of a drag.

 

[Canal Navvy]

I'd be doing something like this
The machine is a keeper, the JCB design is not at all elegant, and ideally you want even tracks with no restriction on the functionality of the blade

 

[DaveDCB]

Personally I’m considering a 9/10 ton on 600 steels from the factory. I don’t do a lot of boggy work, but it’s handy to have something that doesn’t churn the place up! If it’s sinking and making a mess on them it’s time to go home!

 

[Giles]

My 5.5 ton is lighter obviously but on its 550mm steels it literally floats teamed up to our 5 ton yanmar tracked dumper you can be on stuff you can’t walk on.

Saw this thought of you for cutting tracks down

16 ton is on 800s and that does pretty well on the soft stuff but does sink on seriously wet stuff