Aftermarket vs. OME rubber tracks?

[Digdeep]

I strongly believe that aftermarket tracks are just as good.

Because you sell them? There is a reason they are called aftermarket and they are less expensive.

 

[JNB]

Funny...I was doing a search on tracks a couple of days ago and this thread came up. I'll be interested in any opinions too.

 

[hmearth]

Hillboy have you got a picture of were the carier rollers run that usaly were the track fails it like driving on pot holes the tread on all of my tracks have got 80% left no cuts or chips

 

[apetad]

We like Trelleborg Best, they are extremely high quality and last longer, they cost more.(Denser material and harder rubber) Bridgestone are also comparable quality. Expect to pay about 20% more for them BUT our experience in abrasive conditions shows at least 25% longer life and as much as 50% on some of the teeny asv's. Of course there are a LOT of cheepy cheepy asv tracks out there.

 

[HillBoy]

Hmearth, I didn't realize you've asked me a question until today. The McLaren tracks on the Bobcat above broke shortly after I posted the pictures, and they're long gone. Now we run the same type of TDF Mcclaren tracks on CAT 259D. I took some pictures showing the rollers and the track- the machine has only 420 hrs right now. It these tracks last as much as on the Bobcat, I'll be a very pleased guy; The performance is very good though - good traction and a soft ride:

 

[Ropinghorns]

No more after market tracks for me. I learned my lesson.

 

[hmearth]

You'll get good wear of those tracks if you stay away from rock

 

[HillBoy]

For rocks, I'd rather use some block pattern tracks. The tracks we have will simply grind themselves to pieces - they have high traction and will catch every sharp rock that's on their way. But we don't work much in rocks, mostly in dirt, sand, and on concrete or asphalt. Actually, they do well in snow too. We bought these aftermarket, but I saw them as OEM on the new CAT 249 and 259 as well. It seems McLaren is now working with CAT. Anyway, will keep you posted once we get more hours out of them. Hope they last like the old McLarens.

 

[Downard]

Well, I'm new to this site as I had an engine question about my 277B, but I can throw my .02 in on this one as I do have a little experience. I bought my Cat 277B used with 1400 hrs on it. Don't know if the tracks were original (they did have decent wear on them), but they ran to 2100 hrs before the sprocket lugs started to break off. I bought a set of Rubber Trax from Georgia. First set wouldn't fit, they where too short to even fit on the machine. They sent me a second set, at their cost, but in 200 hrs time had stretched to the point that I didn't have any track adjustment left. Under the 1 year warranty, they sent me a good faith discount on a new set of 50% off. I didn't bother and instead bought a set of Camoplast as that is who the manufacturer for Cat's OEM tracks are/were (that's what I was told). they were a little long to start with, but have barely stretched with almost 500 hrs on them. I do have one track where the tread rubber had a slight split, and now a 6" x 8" section of rubber is missing from the kevlar. I don't expect this track will last a whole lot longer. I can't help but to wonder if Cat has camoplast build tracks to a higher standard than the camoplast tracks I bought. Those original tracks would have gone forever had I kept them tight enough to no allow the sprocket to slip and pop the lugs. Oh well, this is how we learn, right? Now I think I'll look into the Bridgstone and McLarens.

 

[JNB]

Downard - I have around 250 hrs. on these from Rubber Trax and I'm happy with them so far.


Since I installed the tracks they've been subjected to a bunch of ground water, fist to football sized broken limestone and more mud than I care to talk about. It beats the heck out of the tracks, machine and me. I cringe every time I accidentally spin the tracks and keep expecting the worst, but they've held up well. I've also spent more time on asphalt and gravel than I care to. Surprisingly, I haven't had to adjust them since installation. It's my wallet and I'm the only one that operates the machine so that may make a difference in the wear. From your experience it makes me wonder if Rubber Trax gets all of their different designs/sizes from the same vendor.

 

[Downard]

Hard to say. Mine was for the Cat, from the color of the paint on your machine, looks like you have a Case. I really don't know what to think on that one, but they stretched out so fast there was no way I was going to swap out tracks every 200 or so hours. You know the old saying, first time shame on you, second time shame on me.

 

[Chaz1978]

Aftermarket Rubber Tracks

I just ran across this thread and thought I would put my two cents in. I purchased a set of Arisun rubber tracks for my Bobcat T300 from Mitco in Chattanooga, Tn. I am thourghly impressed with them. I currently have 900 hours on them and they still are performing great. I recently broke a track on my new Takeuchi TL12. I will definitely be putting on another set of Arisun over the OEM.

 

[GregUST]

I actually just ran across this thread as well because I was looking for information on opinions of Arisun tracks. I'm with a company called United Skid Tracks, and we've recently started selling Arisun tracks online. Our experience with Arisun tracks on our own machines has been great, but I want to know how others perceive this tracks. I feel like they are the best value in terms of $ per hour on track life. Does anyone else have an opinion on these, or comparisons with other aftermarket tracks?

Aftermarket Rubber Tracks

I just ran across this thread and thought I would put my two cents in. I purchased a set of Arisun rubber tracks for my Bobcat T300 from Mitco in Chattanooga, Tn. I am thourghly impressed with them. I currently have 900 hours on them and they still are performing great. I recently broke a track on my new Takeuchi TL12. I will definitely be putting on another set of Arisun over the OEM.