Flat Help!!

[Jamey cat]

I am new to this forum but sure could use some help! I have a 262 cat and I am trying to figure out best way to go. I do demo and a lot of clean up also.
I am going to have to change to tracks or another kind of tire. I have flats all the time. I wish I could find a track like a dozer but have not seen them. I would like steel tracks due to todays dump fee's you can run over things and break them up. But I do not know of a system. I am looking at the no flat solid tires. Need some help???

[CEwriter]

Jamey,

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry I can't provide a lot of personal experience to answer your questions, I"m just a guy who writes about construction equipment for a living. But you might find some interesting things about solid tires from

Air Boss -- www.airbosspolymer.com
Amerityre -- www.amerityre.com

find out about tire flatproofing at

Arnco – www.arnconet.com
Hyperlast – www.hyperlastna.com
Trak N Seal – www.traknseal.com

find out about Loegering's tracks that convert a skid steer to a compact track loader
http://www.constructionequipment.com/article/CA631851.html?text=loegering

and more about Loegering and its dealers at http://guide.constructionequipment.com/company.aspx?cno=L0559

More manufacturers/marketers of over-the-tire tracks at
http://guide.constructionequipment.com/companylist.aspx?pid=1407&ctype=m

Look specifically at Grouser Products, Loegering, and McLaren Industries.

Hope this helps.

Larry

[Dozerboy]

In the past I had done tons of demo with Skidsteers. They had almost solid rubber tires with the normal utility tread, but they had holes through the side walls all the way through. They rode a little stiffer than tires with air and they had terrible wheel hop when pushing hard in lose sand. I have never seen the tires before and don't have any idea who makes them.


Edit they where similar to the Airboss in the above link.

[CEwriter]

Sounds like the kind that Air Boss and McLaren make.

L

[Steve Frazier]

You can have your tires foam filled to make them flat proof, the only trouble is the wheels can not be reused after this process, or so I'm told. You can also run the solid rubber tires premounted, either should be available from your Cat dealer.

[digger242j]

the only trouble is the wheels can not be reused after this process, or so I'm told.

It's the casings themselves which cannot be reused, they have to be cut off the wheels. The wheels can be reused. The tires can actually be recapped, while filled and still mounted on the wheels, if you do them soon enough, or so I'm told. You need to do it before they have big chunks mssing out of them--they'll run that long with the foam filling if you want them to. (I've seen that.) If you never want to have a flat agian, for the life of the tire, filling is the way to go.

One advantage/warning: they're much heavier when filled. They give you a lower center of gravity, so the machine won't be as "tippy", but when you replace them, you could get a surprise. With the extra weight gone, a really heavy bucketful of material that you could once raise to full height will now cause you to fall flat on your face. I know this from experience.

I've never run on solid rubber, but I've run on the Airboss tires. They were hard on the machine, and the operator.