I ran into a guy around here that had them when we were up in snow. He liked them but said they were pricey.
TeeJay, I've ran and operated hvy logging equipment my entire life, I understand the value of tracks over tires and it sure as hell isnt for flotation. LOL
lol on a serious note... I am not looking for speed, I want a crawler that I can side hill or go up nearly vertical terrain, I do this all the time on my skidding cat for logging.. I am very comfortable on steep terrain, on my sled, I ride with one hand on my mountain bar and both feet and body hanging off the other side off the sled with that 800 pinned...throttles on both sides..of the bars..to keep it from barrel rolling of a verticle face.. Balance is no problem. I just want Traction that a quad with 4 rubber tires on it can't give..and I'd like to be able to get around on constantly varying terrains..snow. to mud, to ice, to dirt.. thats what I would see in a days ride.. possibly large tracts of each..
Ill bet you loose at least (bare minimum) 50% power. If any of you operate a skid loader before put tracks on one and are what happens. Those things are for apearence only. Anyone that knows anything knows that tracks are for flotation not necessary traction. Go ride a 20 HP sled and that is what you are going to endup with.
Ask Tim if they use any challengers. There is a reason why tracked tractors were not a hit. For example Troy how many skidders have you saw with trax. All of them here in MN have tires and chains. BTW a d-7 has less weight per sq inch than a average skid loader call it what you will you use tracked rigs for floatation.
We skid logs all over this country with tracks. Especially the steep ground, Rubbered tired skidders here with chains.. NEED to have specially built skid trails to run on. Rubber tired skidders are built for flatter ground. Tracked skidders crawl all over the steep ground without trails. I think we are really talking about two different disciplines here.
My biggest fear might be wood or something getting caught In between the rollers and tracks. Are they pretty durable Troy?
Two different worlds I guess. I know 2 guys that have wheelers set up like this. One guy is a Polaris fan boy that would do anything new to one of his wheelers just to brag. I take his opinion and toss it. The other guy does some of my underground locating. He has one only because he inherited it. He does say it works great for running around in the peat bogs other than that no reason to own one. Flat lander thinking. Troy the one thing I know for a fact is tracks=high maitenence. You should be able to agree there. Get ahold of me I will give you Robby and Wayne numbers. For around mere in MN I would not recomend a tracked up wheeler. Hows that sound.:D
You don't see many tracked tractors here. We've ran tracks on combines in the past in real wet falls. They got the job done but were pretty much shot by the end of season. I know they have improved them over the years and are much better. We have a bobcat set up on tracks ( solid rubber ) and the thing is great for what we use it for. Low maintenance and we can run in snow or mud where a wheeled bobcat can't. We are seeing more out of staters bringing tracked 4-wheeler for coyote hunting. They can get around where a regular 4-wheeler can't. They will suck up power but it beats plowing throught the snow or owning two machines ( 4-wheeler and a sled )... they seem quite happy with them. We all know how sleds are high maintenance compared to a 4-wheeler. I know the later model tracks are much better then the earlier ones but can't say how durable they are now. If it was me... I would go the track route with a 4-wheeler and never look at a sled again for my needs. I don't need speed nor would put hard miles on it. In the long run it would be much cheaper then sinking money into a sled to keep it going, insurance and payments. Been there... done that and left me much poorer to have the piece of **** broke down all the time for the few actual months I got to use it. We have had years of little snow and then it just sits there collecting dust. You guys can have your sleds !!! Tim
I haven't read all the replies... However, we have a polaris ranger and threw a pair of Matracks (http://www.mattracks.com/html/atv_tracks.htm) on it. While they indeed look badass...really badass actually...after a few months of use we took them off. Why? A) It cut speed IN HALF, crazy I know. and B) with the power of our ranger...we realistically could go through the same amount of snow/mud/what have you with simply putting a pair of chains on it, or taking the snowmobile. We are now trying to sell our tracks.
fwiw - a LOT of the sled trail groomers use tracked tractors, they are actually kinda cool to tell the truth...
Troy I made a post for you on another Forum I frequent, Now these guys are Brand biased(as am I a little ) but They KNOW quads... Enjoy... http://www.arcticchat.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=134460
Hey guys, again thanks for all the info and comments. Definately plenty of info to chew on now. Shultzy we usually get over 100 inches of snow in the elevations I am looking to get through. the funny thing is the norths will have over a 100 at times while some of the southerns will be almost completely burned off by March and April. As for what I am going with, I am pretty confident the track system on a high hp/torque quad will be my choice. Chains in this country, work ok but they slip and tear stuff up because its so steep. Like I've stated before I want something that I can crawl around the mountains in. Speed honestly is not a big issue as long as I can cruise above 30 mph on the easy ground.
