Tracks vs. Tires??

[r.reid]

9400 or 9400"T"???What are the advantages of belts over tires if any? How do they turn under load? Is there more to maintain over the regular 9400s? I hear the belt tractors are rough on the road, but smooth in the field, true? Would there be less slip% than triples or 710 duals? Would fuel economy be better with belts? Could a track machine tear apart equiptment turning? How are they on wet ground, can you turn out of tough spots? Any info would help. Thanks...
Any

[FarmRanger]

I don’t have the JD, but I imagine the Cat would be similar.

What are the advantages of belts over tires if any?
Compaction is greatly reduced, slippage is almost non-existent so you don’t grind up the surface, making it more susceptible to erosion. It seems to firm the ground instead of chewing it up. Implements don’t’ sink first behind the tracks in muddy conditions like they used to do behind drive wheels.

How do they turn under load?
If you are turning under full load you might notice more difficulty turning, ask to try it out first before you sign the cheque. You’ll have to judge for yourself how much of a problem this is. I like to seed back and forth so I’m hardly ever turning under load anyway. Near sloughs you have to be careful not to get in too deep, all that traction will disappear if its bottomless mud. You’ll get stuck a few times until you get used to how far you can go. I try to leave a space around sloughs and seed around them where you are always pulling parallel to the water. If you don’t have to turn much you’ll outpull a wheel tractor in the mud any day.

Is there more to maintain over the regular 9400s?
Not sure about the 9400, I change the oil in the bogeys about every 1000 hours. Belts are barely worn with 2500 hours on my Cat, so I’m not anticipating ever touching those.

I hear the belt tractors are rough on the road, but smooth in the field, true?
Mine is rough on the road at around 12 mph, faster or slower its smooth. JD?

Would there be less slip% than triples or 710 duals?
My slip indicator is usually 0, when its starts showing 1 or 2% I’m usually in some pretty muddy ground and its an indicator that its time to get outa’ Dodge. I have 300 hp and even when I’m under full load this still holds true.

Would fuel economy be better with belts?
Good question, that I don’t know the answer to. I doubt that it would be any worse.

Could a track machine tear apart equiptment turning?
It could, but you’d have to try pretty hard to do it, they’ll turn just as sharp as a wheel tractor without hitting the implement. Yes, they’ll turn sharper, but why would you want to?

How are they on wet ground, can you turn out of tough spots?
If you run them into really muddy stuff, they won’t turn as easily as a wheel tractor, but at this point you are usually in farther than a wheel tractor would have pulled it in the first place. It would be better to leave that space and come back at the slough at a shallower angle. I can pull my drill into the muddy soil farther than the point at which it still does a good job.

Hope this helps.
FarmRanger

[slinger]

The AgTech Centre has done quite a lot of work on traction issues, and has a number of publications that would probably be of interest to you. They are all available on-line, on the Alberta Agriculture website (Ropin' the Web).
Visit: www.agric.gov.ab.ca
On the left side of the screen, click on 'Ag Engineering', and then from the list that appears, select 'field machinery'.
In the 'general' subsection, the publications most applicable to your questions are:
- 'Comparison of two and four track machines to rubber tire tractors in prairie soil conditions'
- 'tracks vs wheels'
In the 'research' subsection, check out:
- 'field performance of rubber belt and MFWD tractors in Texas soils'
- 'field performance of rubber belt and MFWD tractors in Southern Alberta soils'
- 'power delivery efficiency: a valid measure of belt/tire tractor performance?'
- 'single, dual, and triple tires and rubber belt tracks in Prairie soil conditions'
Of course, browsing through the listing of publications, you will probably find more that are of interest, but I think these are the most likely to provide the information you are looking for.

[r.reid]

Good write-up. Thanks for the site info.

[r.reid]

"FarmRanger", what are you pulling for a drill?