Crawlers can be any type of heavy-duty, outdoor equipment fitted with tracks instead of wheels. The term is most often used to refer to a heavy-duty tractor fitted with tracks but is also used to refer to anything from skid loaders to massive excavators that use a track system instead of four wheels. It's rarely ever absolutely necessary to use a piece of equipment fitted with tracks over wheels. But it's very often preferable to do so for both safety and efficiency.

The main advantages of crawlers over vehicles with wheels stem from the way the tracks allow the vehicle to move. In a muddy situation or where there is any type of slick surface, a crawler is a much better choice. That's because the track makes contact with more of the ground at one time than four wheels would. That allows for maximum traction over any type of surface but is especially good at offering more traction on mud, ice or snow.

If you look at wheel design for rough-terrain use and the appearance of the track, you'll see similarities as far as the ridges and tread. But only the bottom of each wheel makes contact at one time which offers a very small number of treads. The track extends along each side of the tractor allowing several treads to make contact with the ground at one time.

This works very well in a soft ground or mud situation because instead of four wheels which can sink, the track is one long surface with the weight distributed evenly across it. That offers more support for the vehicle and helps it move along rather than go down into the ground on the four contact points of the tires.

Another benefit of crawlers is that because of the way the tracks are designed, they do less damage to the ground as they move than wheels could. They compact the ground less beneath them than wheels. Because it's simply a larger surface in touch with the ground at one time, there's less sinking and gouging of the ground which leaves it a smoother surface for the other equipment and makes it safer.

Crawlers can be very small pieces of equipment or very large ones. The larger the equipment is, the more likely a crawler and track function is going to be helpful. When you think of large earth moving equipment like excavators that are typically moving over nothing but dirt after construction has removed trees and other obstacles, the benefits of tracks become clear. Construction can continue more easily after rain with crawlers because they're not hampered by the mud. And the construction area itself will be less bumpy and ridged when using crawlers than it would be using wheeled vehicles when the ground is wet or soft.

If you're considering crawlers, you do have to take into account the higher cost of the equipment and the higher cost of maintenance and repair because the track system is a much more complicated set up than wheels.

Photo Credits: Timitrius

Originally posted 2010-04-13 03:51:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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crawler, excavators, four wheels, maximum traction, mud situation, rough terrain, skid loaders, slick surface, wheel, wheel design