Any tips for hauling tracked equipment?

My post was in response to someone saying a track can't come off. It's not like 1 person throwing a track every week. I'm
looking at it on a nation or worldwide scale. There is a hell of a lot more twenty year old tracks out there than new. Obviously a brand new machine has a very tight track, and chances are nothing bad will harken if you hook to one. On the other hand, the op most likely has very little hands on experience doing thus or he wouldn't be asking for advice. Chances are its only a matter of time before he has to load a used machine with 50 percent wear on the under carriage (or more). I'd rather he be made aware of the potential risks than be convinced a track can never come off.

 

When talking about caterpillars, there is no such thing as p.o.s. it's not uncommon to see a sixty year old dozer bring fifty grand at auction.

 

i chain to tracks always and to other tie down points. remember you must have enough chains on the machine to secure half of the weight of machine. example- 80000lb machine will need 40000lb of securement. a chain from machine to side of trailer is rated for half of rating of chain or binder which ever is the least. 16000lb rated binder is reduced to 8000lb. a chain that goes from one side to the other is full rating.

 

Take it slow and you'll be fine.

Right before you start running up the ramps with an excavator, swing the house sideways and check to make sure your tracks are equally spaced coming on the trailer. Then use the splits in the boards to keep it centered up on the trailer.

I chain to the tracks and don't have issues you with it, and I've hauled some pretty loose ones. Haven't had issues at scales about it either. Also, don't feel like you need to go clear up to the top of the track. Remember, the idea of the chains is to keep it from sliding on the trailer. The excavator isn't going to bounce off of it.

Dump your air on the trailer before loading, too. She'll really want to rock around if you don't, and it's a little hard on the bags.

I generally run my chain from the outside of the track to the main-rails. Main-rails on lowboys tend to be heavier than the outer-rails and a stronger point to tie down.

If you can, try to keep the knuckle of the boom on an excavator sitting over a crossmember. Also, some scrap lumber to set the knuckle on, as well, so it doesn't have to dig into the deck.

As a general rule, 50% of the track or less being on the trailer and it's time to swing the outriggers out.

Also, finals to the back.

Regarding loading, the one thing you have to learn to overcome is the break-over point.

When the machine starts walking up the ramps and it keeps going up you're going to have a moment where you're going to feel the machine starting to come over center and down on to the deck. It's a knee-jerk reaction to let off and let it drop down when this happens.

DON'T DO THAT.

Likely, your ramps have growzers (the little strips of raised steel across the width of the ramps), and letting the machine stop while it begins to break over can cause the tracks to bind up on the growzers, causing it to swing or grab sideways. You don't have to go full throttle, but, keep the tracks moving as you break over onto the deck. Just keep it going nice and easy and she'll walk right on.

 

I usually get to the point of breaking over and stop. then extend the stick out. it will set down on the deck with out a thud! I have only had one slide off the side, it was a new johndeere and a brand new xl lowboy.(shiny new tracks+shiny new painted rails+freshly rained on trailer = slippery fun.) really po'ed me when I have to replace out riggers on a shiny new trailer! now I jinxed myself!

 

Not as big a deal with lowboys, but still helpful pack some sand with you to aid in traction. Tiltdeck equipment trailer that sets 3 feet off the ground, you don't wanna come off that, trust me. Swing the house around s l o w l y and we keep a tarp over our deck to keep the frost / snow off of it.

Take your time and don't get in a hurry. Moving equipment gets expensive when you funk it up.

 

Another option is to have a welder make up a set of mini-growzers if you have the stake-slots in the outer rail. The fliptail I run sometimes has no growzers on the back, just wood boards. We have a set of small "teeth" that you drop into the stake slots to act as growzers coming up and give excavators traction. Just a piece of C-channel with a flat sheet on top and a raised "tooth" on it.

 

We've got bar grousers welded on our tail hump and the steel wheel covers. I've thought about what your saying but shyed away from it, too much metal on metal I thought. Are yours just the channel or square tubing with a small tooth or are they sort of an add on outrigger?

 

Put your money where your mouth is. I bet you $100 that you can't pop off a track that is chained down in five minutes.

The chain locks the track to the grooves on the machine. The only way your popping it off is you can push more than 16 000 lbs of pressure for what my chains and binders are rated for.

There is a reason why you don't hear of a story of a dozer coming off its track if it was properly chained.

I hauled a dozer for the first time since I read your post, my initial reaction was to look for a tie down point instead of using the track, then I thought about it and I realized that the chain locks it in place preventing it from being popped off.