Got new track system

[Bob Horrell]

I picked up my new Loegering VTS track system today from the freight terminal. They are impressive and heavy (1595lbs per side). I won't get them installed until after Christmas. I have a land clearing job on pretty steep hills next week. I'll let you know how I like them and how they compare to all the track loaders I tried.
Happy Holidays to everyone.

[badranman]

Congratulations. Any chance you could get some pics? Time lapse of the install as well as on the job? Keep us posted.

[Bob Horrell]

I installed the track system and did my first job.
First the install. All together it took about two and a half hours, but I was developing a system as I went to hopefully be able to complete in about an hour in the future. Adjustment of the track tension is a snap and only a couple of minutes per side.
We have had a ton of rain here the last week and there are many jobs cleaning up debris etc. I got a job clearing out about 150 yds. of muddy silt that built up on a property at the bottom of a driveway completely blocking the gate. It was about 18 inches deep and would have been impossible with a skidsteer. It was so snotty, it would have been difficult with my skiploader despite the fact that it has 17.5/24 rear tires. It was a combination of topsoil and sand and had no clay so clean up was a snap. Using my 1 yard 80 inch construction bucket and the 2 speed in my S250, it barely took 2 and one half hours. And, yes, the tracks work great with the 2 speed.
The tracks have a very aggressive lug pattern and the ride is rough on hard surfaces just like a T300 is. The difference is really noticeable when transporting a bucket of material, when the suspension is really noticeable and makes for a very comfortable ride. So far I am very impressed.
My next job is clearing a strip of land in a really hilly area so a large trencher can dig for water and power lines. The soil there has a lot of clay so I have to wait till it dries some because I have to leave it smooth enough that a trencher can navigate the hills.

[Tigerotor77W]

Good review... did the tracks appear to consume extra power? That is, did the engine seem more sluggish than usual?

[Bob Horrell]

The tracks did not seem to consume any extra power and I was surprised because I fully expected them to. I did the above described job at about 2/3 throttle and at one point I filled the bucket with about 1 yd of material and was pushing about another yard in front of it up a slight incline and 2/3 throttle was all that was needed. This was in some of the drier stuff and the tracks were digging in and not spinning. In the softer, wetter stuff the tracks would spin some when pushing a lot of material.
When I tested the Bobcat T300 I had a situation where I was taking 2 large bolders that barely fit in my 80 inch bucket up a very steep hill and I had to use full throttle and then could only push the sticks half way forward to go up the hill (slipping the hydrostatic transmission). If I tried to jam the sticks all the way forward, the engine would bog some. It was brand new, though, and may have done better if broken in. It will be interesting to see how this set up does if I ever get a similar circumstance. I estimate the rocks weighed 7,000 to 8,000 lbs. I could curl them back but not lift them.

[badranman]

Do these tracks increase your ROC? the ROC of a wheeled machine is 50% of the tipping load and for a tracked machine it's 30% because of the extra ground contact further towards the front. Curious to see if you noticed a difference, i.e. could you pick more up?

[Bob Horrell]

It significantly increases the ROC for several reasons. First they weigh 1595 lbs. per side and the weight is down low with a lot of it right near ground level. Second they extend much farther forward and rearward than the tires and therefore increase stability significantly. I could raise my 1yard 80 inch bucket full of wet dirt all the way up and drive around on uneaven terrain without feeling the least bit tipy.
My over the tire grouser tracks (550 lbs per side) helped the ROC a lot but not near as much as this track system.
I am going to have to be careful when I first go back to the tires, when I have a job that requires them, because you can get down right careless about tipping with the ATS and it would be easy to forget when you first go back to wheels and tires.