Compact Track Loaders

Through the years, the skid-steer loaders have been dominating the loader market for jobsite and farm operations. It was in 1986 when a general purpose loader product has been introduced, and this is none other than the CTL or compact track loaders that changed the game in more ways than one.

At first, the SSL operators didn’t adopt well to the use of compact track loaders. Tracks weren’t able to last that long unlike tires. Idlers and undercarriages didn’t have a robust and solid design yet and there are also skid-steer loaders who simply don’t wish to use the new type of loader.

With the evolution of compact track loaders, their benefits over skid-steer loaders became even more apparent. Not long after, operators began seeing the benefits of tracks over wheels and compact track loaders starter gaining a solid following among general contractors, landscapers as well as farmers.

CTL Tracks Now Have Longer Life

Track manufacturers today have developed tracks with longer life through advances in rubber composition and track design. It is now common to see sets of tracks that can last for 600 up to 2,000 hours. Manufacturers of the equipment also noticed the trends in the market and started to design more robust designs for tracks with improved idlers and suspension. There are also various designs for suspended tracks to let operators work more comfortably in the cab during long working days.

With undercarriage designs and track technology continuously evolving, it is no longer a surprise that more operators are choosing compact track loaders over skid-steer loaders.

The Top Loader Option Today

The compact track loaders have now become the top choice of general contractors, rental businesses and landscapers. These forms of applications require a machine that could go everywhere without losing the traction and causing disturbances on the operating surface unlike skid-steer loaders.

Since CTLs have more contact with the surface area of the ground, they can naturally achieve better traction, produce lesser ground pressure for every square inch and offer a simpler lug cleanout. It is specifically helpful for landscapers who need to do jobs that need the least damage to turf surface.

But probably the most important thing here is that compact tract loaders can provide more profitability and efficiency for the operators. Due to the increased surface area contact to ground, compact tract loaders can have more effective tractive effort that makes pulling and pushing loads so much easier.

The contractors notice the ground pressure and traction advantages as they set a grade on the work site with notably reduced corrective work. Compact track loaders can also go into areas wherein it is not viable to use wheeled machines.

The best example of this is in land management and forestry applications where the operators use the mulching heads for clearing the land of brush and trees.

For the longest time, there were of course valid concerns regarding the tracks’ longevity compared to that of tires. For the operators mainly running in hard surface environments such as concrete, the obvious advantage is the more comfortable ride. But, the design of undercarriage and tracks has already come a very long way since then.