homemade tracks question

[john swenson]

buzz, thanks alot for your reply. i will need to read it a few times to get a good understanding. i see what i think i know is sometimes not correct. you explained it well, which really helps martz and i and others who tackle making their own tracks. just the part about stopping the inside track is exactly opposite of what i thought. one thing you pointed out that may be i need to correct, is the 8'' wide center belt on my tracks ''floats'' between the flat bar guide under the belt and another flat bar on top of the belt . the top flatbar is bent slightly and welded to the underside one on the ends. also because the 2'' outer belts on my tracks are not on the same plane, they follow a slightly different radius. as i watched the main belt as i drive, i see it floating allitle which seems o. k. they are staying on well. the advantage it seems is because the outer 2'' belts only touch the ground in softer conditions, when i turn i am spinning on just the 1 1/2'' flat bar. also as i said before, i didn't weld everything precisely enough so that may be a little factor. i will get my wife to take some close pictures in the next few days. anyway ,i got some more good tips from you to experiment with. much appreciated !! johnboy va.

[martz694]

@buzz i think my issue is the length, even with 6psi front and 5 psi back i still have a good 4 inches of space between the bottom of the tire and the inside of the track when i lift up the machine off the ground. I'm going to shorten them like someone said in an earlier post. take the air out of all the tires, measure the length of track, and assemble them at that length. I have them set up to overlap so i don't need to cut them just to try out if that will fix my issue.

[john swenson]

martz, when i did my lengths, i let the air out of the tires. i had the max jacked up with the track on. i used 2 rachet straps and tightened the track as tight as possible. lowered the max so there was no sag in the bottom of the track. then tightened some more. connected the belts, aired the tires. they were pretty darn snug. like to see if buzz thinks thats a good procedure. so far i am having good results with the one halftrack. working now on the second one. johnboy va.

[martz694]

yea i'm going to take it off the ground and use a ratchet strap to put them as tight as i can without overdoing it and re couple the tracks. Should be an easy fix over the weekend

[Buzz]

yes, I like to jack the machine up and then pull the tracks under to a point that when brought together..the ends fall roughly between tires. Pull tire valves in corner tires (no need to do the center). In the case of half tracks...pull both tire valves. Basically any "end" tires. Lower the machine down onto the track so that no track length is lost to "sag" when you ratchet the ends together. I typically try to ratchet the last (2) inches together. If you can secure the ends w/o the ratchet strap, it's probably a couple inches too long. Anyway, ratchet the ends together, secured them and air up the tires.

With and overlap, I typically like to secure the two ends together at the rear of the machine....next to or just below the skid-plate so you have room to work.
If you have an overlap and want to easily shorten the track (which usually means you need to shorten at least 2 inches, you can just move the end grouser on the track end with the "long" leftover belt (the bottom of the overlap)...back a couple inches. Leave the end grouser on the track with the "short" leftover belt (the top of the overlap in other words)...in the same position, and re-use the through-bolt holes of the top piece to drill down onto the bottom-overlap to accurately place the holes. As long as any new holes are 1" or more away from any existing holes, you'll be okay. You'll need to do this part with the tracks off the machine.

Using hinges...like strong and easily attainable Flexco 550's...is a muuuuuuch easier way to do it. Just leave 1.5" of belt beyond the final crossers on either end so you have substantial "meat" to attach the flexco 550's to. You need approx 4 inches......inside wall-to-inside wall of adjoining grousers to fit a matching pair of flexco 550's. If your grousers are closer than that, you'll have to scoot one of them back a bit to make room. This won't change your track length...just grouser position.

[john swenson]

buzz, great guidance thanks for helping both of us !! hope others have learned a few tips also . will keep you posted on the outcome. johnboy va.

[gusgus]

if the grouser height went to the rim (a taller grouser) would that help prevent it from throwing a track?

[martz694]

i heard too tall would damage the tires. Anyone have a confirmation on that?

[Buzz]

i heard too tall would damage the tires. Anyone have a confirmation on that?

Simply going taller isn't going to damage your tires. You can only go so tall in relation to your on-center distance that the guides are affixed..as guides on flat tracks need to compress (like slices of pizza in the center), so you don't want them smacking into each other. Non sharp tips and a smooth, routered edge etc are more important. Depending on the material used to make bolt-on tire guides, the guides themselves can crack or chip, which is a really bad deal because they are constantly rubbing on your sidewalls. That's exactly the place where you want nothing but smooth, rounded material. Newer bolt-on guides are less prone to this now as better materials are use (nylon or added nylon comes to mind, but I'm not positive). UHMW or steel (if contact parts are smooth, folded over, routered, or sanded) are the best in my opinion. They are the most resilient.
Bad material choice, sharp edges or tips, or guides that have tips that can be leveraged into the bead area..are potential problems. Grousers that act as guides themselves will help, as well as bolt-on guides that have rigid material under them to prevent the tips from being leveraged in or even tilting to some degree.

[gusgus]

Cools, thanks for the input.

[john swenson]

buzz, great to be in touch with you and your track knowledge ....thanks for your time. still wondering what you think about before i install my second modified half track, cutting out a square of the center belt between each grouser ? will i loose enough footprint to be noticeable? thanks.... johnboy va.

[john swenson]

buzz, not removing the center belt completely, just taking out maybe a 4'' wide on the 8'' width, and 3'' wide between the 6'' space between the grousers. johnboy va.

[Buzz]

John- I think that would work just fine. You'll lose some floatation vs. a solid track at the same width, but in most cases you'll still have plenty. If you need to add more to the outside, you can always do that...mostly just for deep deep snow if needed. Opening up the track will give it a much better chance at working in the situations where most other closed, solid belt tracks have problems.....water and bottomless mud. A typical lug on top of a closed rubber belt can only do so much to grab the mud when you're belly is touching. On the other hand an open track is able to better engage every grouser.. to act a little like an "anchor" in the mud. They're still going to cut-through the mud or water but have much more effect than a simple lug that stands-up from a solid rubber belt. The mud is also able to fall through to keep the track lighter and keep the individual grousers working better. That's the only way I know how to describe it.

[john swenson]

buzz, you explained it well and it makes perfect sense. plus it looks cool !! will cut it before installation, plow around in the mud a bit, then cut the other one. probably play around with them a month or so then go back and add the remaining track lenghts for a full set again. will take pictures and post them when i get the cut one installed. thanks, johnboy va.

[martz694]

so I took them out yesterday for a little test run. had mud, rocks, hills, ditches. Only thing missing was the deep deep swampy muck. And I have to say they work really really well. i pulled my friends quad out of the creek while he still had it in drive and i was pulling him up the landing no issue. I didn't come close to losing a track so I don't know what happened the other day. i might shorten them a bit still anyways