Steel & Rubber Tracks

Track Types

DMC Wear Parts offers a wide selection of track types, making it easy to pick the best steel or rubber replacement parts for your equipment.

Choosing Steel or Rubber

It is important to select the right type of track for your equipment. When deciding it is best to consider the job environment, surface material, weather, cost, and lifetime value. Below are the strengths and weaknesses of rubber vs. steel.

• Steel tracks are the better choice when working on rough and jagged rock underfoot surfaces due to the increased durability over the rubber ones. On the other hand, rubber is more effective when operating on gentle surfaces that can be easily scarred by heavy steel-tracked equipment.
• Rubber provides an advantage when it comes to maneuverability and speed. However, many rubber treads do not provide the same level of traction as steel.
• When taking weather into account, there are many more limitations with rubber tracks compared to steel. Rubber is more affected by temperature, as heat and cold can make the material more malleable or brittle, respectively. Also, the increased traction and weight of steel can be beneficial when operating in wet and muddy conditions.
• Steel tracks have a much longer wear life than rubber. Plus, when a link in the steel track wears or breaks it can be replaced without having to change out the entire undercarriage. But, this is balanced with the higher upfront cost of steel compared to the less expensive per track option of rubber.
• Finally, rubber reduces the overall wear on the machine and undercarriage parts by reducing the vibration and shock associated with steel. This provides a benefit to the machine’s operator as well as the undercarriage’s rollers, idlers, and sprockets.

As you can see, both options have plenty of advantages and are balanced with disadvantages. There are certain situations that call for steel tracks and others that call for rubber tracks. Therefore, it is important for operators to evaluate their solution based on the environment, job, and overall long-term costs.

Tracks vs. Tires

While there is a situational debate of the different materials, there is much less debate for tracks vs. tires on heavy machinery. Most heavy-machinery and large equipment use a crawling movement rather than driving on tires because of the physics of weight distribution. When the weight is distributed more evenly across a greater surface area it increases stability. Because tracks provide more surface area than tires, they are more stable and less likely to fall over or cause a balance issue while operating. Tire-equipped machines have their weight dispersed on just a very small point, the tires. This can lead to issues with tires sinking into the ground for wet or soft surfaces. But, tires do provide an advantage when it comes to machine movement speed, but that is rarely a primary factor for worksites.

Manufacturers & Brands

Our rubber and steel tracks are designed as replacements for most major manufacturers. Below is a list of some of the popular manufacturers of equipment that match our offerings. If you don’t see an equipment manufacturer on this list, please send us a message or give us a call, because we likely still have the right part for you.