Light ground protection

[Lumberjack]

Easy trick to reduce the mats deflecting causing the ground to sink is to just add layers :joy:

For the Manitou on a moderately soft area, we'll be at least three layers thick with the standard mats. The number of layers can scale as it gets softer. A single layer doesn't offer much ground protection, more for not getting stuck.

 

[Reach]

Easy trick to reduce the mats deflecting causing the ground to sink is to just add layers :joy:

For the Manitou on a moderately soft area, we'll be at least three layers thick with the standard mats. The number of layers can scale as it gets softer. A single layer doesn't offer much ground protection, more for not getting stuck.

View attachment 100175

That’s a lot of mats! (What is that wild looking attachment?)

 

[ATH]

Easy trick to reduce the mats deflecting causing the ground to sink is to just add layers :joy:

For the Manitou on a moderately soft area, we'll be at least three layers thick with the standard mats. The number of layers can scale as it gets softer. A single layer doesn't offer much ground protection, more for not getting stuck.

View attachment 100175

At what point would it make sense to switch to wood mats?

 

[southsoundtree]

Yep. Layers, 'breaking the joints'.




Paul from Ropetek made some roll-out timber mats for his crane.

I've considered making a slimmed down version for my mini loader. They would spread the force out on the mats. Could be narrower than 4', for tight spaces. My mini's expandable undercarriage goes from 34.5- 43.5" total width.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

But are you really using mats on snow and ice?
Ice I’m studding my tracks and snow I channel my inner 6 year old driving my tank into a snowy battlefield. Well, at least for the first trip in then it’s back to work.

I was thinking for the lift on inclines/hills.

 

[Friedrich]

Yep. Layers, 'breaking the joints'.




Paul from Ropetek made some roll-out timber mats for his crane.

I've considered making a slimmed down version for my mini loader. They would spread the force out on the mats. Could be narrower than 4', for tight spaces. My mini's expandable undercarriage goes from 34.5- 43.5" total width.

that‘s a good thing to do with all those old ratchet straps that should not be used anymore…

 

[southsoundtree]

I think there is an overhand knot between rungs.

His may have been oak. Little oak around here.

I have elm slabbed. Elm is meant to be split-resistant.

 

[ATH]

I think there is an overhand knot between rungs.

His may have been oak. Little oak around here.

I have elm slabbed. Elm is meant to be split-resistant.

Red elm makes great trailer decking...strong and light. I assume it would be good for mats.

 

[flushcut]

I was thinking for the lift on inclines/hills.

Cheap motocross tire studs in your tracks are far better than a mat or mesh on a hill/incline of any kind in snow and ice, especially. If you haven’t tried them I highly recommend doing it.

 

[Lumberjack]

That’s a lot of mats! (What is that wild looking attachment?)

Rotobec’s grapple saw.

At what point would it make sense to switch to wood mats?

I have wood mats, they hold a bunch of chunk and aren’t very fun to handle. They’re getting replaced with plastic mats.

Yep. Layers, 'breaking the joints'.




Paul from Ropetek made some roll-out timber mats for his crane.

I've considered making a slimmed down version for my mini loader. They would spread the force out on the mats. Could be narrower than 4', for tight spaces. My mini's expandable undercarriage goes from 34.5- 43.5" total width.

I don’t think the mini would enjoy the gaps between the timbers, also rolling them up seems problematic. I need to go back and find those posts to refresh my memory of how he used them. SlatTrax makes a plastic version, but I don’t think they’d help my use case at all.

We have to put two rows of mats down for our larger excavator or the Manitou, the weight near the outside of the mat doesn’t get spread very well and you still make ruts.

 

[Reach]

Rotobec’s grapple saw.


I have wood mats, they hold a bunch of chunk and aren’t very fun to handle. They’re getting replaced with plastic mats.



I don’t think the mini would enjoy the gaps between the timbers, also rolling them up seems problematic. I need to go back and find those posts to refresh my memory of how he used them. SlatTrax makes a plastic version, but I don’t think they’d help my use case at all.

We have to put two rows of mats down for our larger excavator or the Manitou, the weight near the outside of the mat doesn’t get spread very well and you still make ruts.

View attachment 100178

View attachment 100177

View attachment 100179

I thought that looked like a grapple saw, but I wasn’t certain since it was on a small excavator.

Slatrax seem like a great idea, but from what I have heard from a company near me who had a couple sets, they aren’t really all that great. They ended up selling theirs, and they went very cheaply. Seems like nobody around here was real interested in them either.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Cheap motocross tire studs in your tracks are far better than a mat or mesh on a hill/incline of any kind in snow and ice, especially. If you haven’t tried them I highly recommend doing it.

I have not. Brilliant idea. Score another tool in the box.

 

[southsoundtree]

If I get a wild hair, or a job with narrower than 4' access on a hill, I'm make some as a test section.

 

[Reach]

I have not. Brilliant idea. Score another tool in the box.

We used to use these: https://www.amazon.com/INS-Products-carbide-Gripmaster-Track/dp/B0B9KKD21P for skid steer tires, back when I had 28 employees pushing snow. Takes 252 to do a pair of R4 tires properly, but it turns the loader into a bulldozer and does far less damage to asphalt than tire chains, and they don’t come loose like chains either.

 

[flushcut]

We used to use these: https://www.amazon.com/INS-Products-carbide-Gripmaster-Track/dp/B0B9KKD21P for skid steer tires, back when I had 28 employees pushing snow. Takes 252 to do a pair of R4 tires properly, but it turns the loader into a bulldozer and does far less damage to asphalt than tire chains, and they don’t come loose like chains either.

I use Kold Kutters or something like that. They are just plain hardened steel and much cheaper but work wonders.

 

[Reach]

I use Kold Kutters or something like that. They are just plain hardened steel and much cheaper but work wonders.

That’s cool. If you’re not working on pavement, you probably don’t need the carbide tips. I think hardened steel would’ve worn down too quickly on our equipment back then, but these days it would work just fine I’m sure. And saving money helps, though back when I bought all of those studs they were about a dollar apiece. I see they’ve gone up greatly since then.

 

[flushcut]

The hardened ones do wear but surprisingly well.