Metal or Rubber tracks, which one is the best

Most of the owners of compact and medium-sized equipment that move on tracks have had the same doubt: should I use rubber or metal tracks? The immediate answer to this question will be: depending on the purpose, environmental conditions, and the expected result.

Each configuration provides the equipment with different characteristics that you should analyze before acquiring any type of these tracks.

The steel tracks are the predominant configuration in the machinery, especially in medium and large size machines; the positive points about them are:

1.- Durability: Due to the nature of the material, steel tracks will have the significant advantage of resistance and durability, significantly exceeding the useful life and resistance of conventional rubber tracks.

2.- Balance of the equipment: In medium-sized equipment that move large volumes of material, high stability is required, the metal tracks tend to reduce the tipping point of the vehicle and favor stability, especially in machines whose service tools act above the center of gravity like a bulldozer.

3.-Traction: In steel tracks, there is a uniform distribution of the weight of the vehicle, added to the degree of penetration into the ground caused by the claws of the shoes, which favors the traction level and the buoyancy of the machine. On the other hand, rubber tracks tend to deform or flex, which generates non-uniform load points that lead to poor traction.

4.-Maintenance: Scheduled maintenance tasks are easily on an undercarriage with metal tracks; this ultimately turns into less wear and tear and the number of repairs. Therefore, you will obtain greater profitability due to the lesser amount of downtime.

On the other hand, the incursion of rubber tracks has evolved since its introduction into compact and medium-sized equipment, minimizing its initial deficiencies, mainly achieving versatility when operating equipment; its main advantages are listed below:

Rubber tracks.

Price: The affordability factor is one of the distinguishing features of a rubber track, its price can be less than 50% compared to a steel track depending on the quality and reputation of the manufacturer.

Noise: A rubber is a material that has the property of absorbing impacts and vibrations, which translates into a lower amount of noise caused during vehicle operation, thus favoring the comfort of the operator and personnel in the environment.

Minor surface damage: Perhaps the main reason why a machine owner decides to use this configuration on the tracks, rubber minimizes the damage left by the vehicle’s footprint compared to steel elements, which favors landscaping work in areas where the least impact on the surface is needed.

Travel speed: A rig with rubber tracks sees its speed favored compared to a steel configuration. If a job requires a higher speed and the terrain conditions are suitable, a rubber track will be your best choice. Also, there are fewer external elements stuck in the tracks compared to a steel track.

Although it is convenient to list the advantages of each of the track configurations, before your decision you should know the negative points of each one of them and weigh them to obtain the most benefits.