Putting non oem tracks on this old D6 will be a good idea.
There are many undercarriage parts available here in the UK.I’ve tried them all over the last 30 years in D5 to D9 tractors.
It’s hard to make direct comparisons and everybody has their own opinions.
Consider price per hour rather than quality for many applications.
My favourite tracks were Berco for my D8 and boxes back in the day.Not much cheaper than Cat,but they seemed to last forever on drawbar work.These days I steer well clear of Berco as I hear nothing good about them from others.
DCF and DCR,I’ve fitted a set on a D5H and a D8H that are part time tractors.They were cheap and not particularly good,allthough I had no issues with them.
ITR....these seem to be a fair option for me these days.The customer service is great and the wear on them has been pretty good so far.
Their GET products are priced well and we actually get more hours out of their blade edges,bucket edges and ripper shank gear.They are generally a third or half the price of Cat.
ITM.....the most cost effective hourly running costs I’ve enjoyed from any undercarriage manufacturers,allthough they went bankrupt in December in the UK,so perhaps they were too cheap?Eitherway,they make a great quality product for my D5 and D8 tractors.
FYI,my current ITM trackgroups fitted to a D8T needed to hit 700 hours of running before they were level with the Cat track groups cost per hour.They have managed that with ease and have 35% wear on the bush,so they will be pure profit after this time unless they snap and cause damage(never say never).
Astrak......they seem quite new to large tractor undercarriage parts and I’ve bought new sets of rollers and idlers off them.The proof is in the pudding as they will sit in a container for some time as I don’t need them.
Their customer service is absolutely sharper than a razor and they are priced in line with ITR,so only time will tell....
Cat....well,every so often I bite the bullit and buy Cat undercarriage.I should give up on them really as allthough they are a great quality product,they tend to double my hourly running costs.
I’ve tried them all from Cat HD,PPR,GD and???I get confused with all the options.I’ve never tried system one yet,and there are many contractors swapping back to conventional tracks for their D5 and D6 tractors.I should also point out that it’s Cat’s competition that’s getting those jobs as Cat are at least twice the price and take much longer to do the job.
Failed parts.......in 30 more years,I recall no problems with Berco at all,but that was then.....
ITM,I’ll admit to one failed new D5 idler that was replaced by them the next day.I’ve also had 3 collapsed bottom rollers,but they were at the end of their life anyway.
ITR,no problems ever as yet.
Cat,A handful of sheared D9T segment bolts fitted by someone else on 3 seperate D9’s.Replaced with Cat bolts by myself with no further issues.A few broken Idler bolts on D8R and D9T tractors for no real reason.I don’t hold Cat to blame.Could be a mix of bad driving and bad fitting?.
Last of all,a sheared idler shaft on D9T.Finnings didn’t want to know at all as it was 30% worn and arrived on a tractor we’d bought,so it seemed a good idea to use it as a door stop.Finnings wanted nearly 3k for it and a few weeks to get one during Covid.
ITR wanted 1200 quid for one and about 3 days to get one.
Got a DCR one the following morning before 6am for 1k delivered.Its currently done over 500 hours and looks in good shape.
The moral of this long and boring post is to look at your own hourly running costs and the type of material you work in.
Would I put a ITR undercarriage on the D9T if it was working in hard granite?.Probably not.I’d stick with Cat PPR.
Would I put Cat on my old D8H or new D8T that’s not in hard rock??.Absolutley no way as it’s far,far too expensive per hour.
Do your homework,you may be suprised at how economical some non oem track manufacturers actually are
