Finally - Got A CTX100

Birdyman88

Birdyman88

Branched out member
Location
Arlington
It's been a while since I've been out here, hope everyone is well. I thought I'd post up some pics of the new machine. I finally gave up on Ditch Witch and the SK800 and all the price increases, delays, getting bumped by larger customers, etc, etc. Found this used down in AL and couldn't be happier. 930 hours, all scheduled services done and documented, new drive motors within last 200 hours, a few rollers and idlers replaced recently, seals replaced on control module about 100 hr back, and some other stuff. It was filthy. Took me 2 days to clean, but other than that I got about $30 in small parts from hardware store into it, and a little labor fixing some minor stuff. No leaks, all fluids topped off. And the price was right.

Just got the new McLaren Terrapin turf tracks on today - Bobcat branded for MT85. Bought the grapple new, along with some other attachments. So glad I got the 40 hp machine now. This thing is strong. Enjoy, this may be the last time it's ever this clean.
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Nice! I love those tracks. I’ve never seen those before. We take our CTX100 out EVERY DAY, even when my boss says, “You probably won’t need the mini.” One of my favorite features of that machine over the DitchWitch is the ability to load matts on top of the boom. Makes moving matts around so much nicer. Enjoy it!
 
Congratulations! I love the controls on that machine, it’s my favorite mini to run because it’s so smooth, and the sticks are all in the right places.

I want to know how those tracks work for you. If they work out well, maybe we will go shopping too.
 
Reach said:
I want to know how those tracks work for you. If they work out well, maybe we will go shopping too.
Click to expand...
I'll post an update after I've run them through their paces. But after I took that pic, I took them through a low muddy area, up a 25* incline, and pushed a tooth bucket through some soil and so far they work as good as the bar lugs, with less damage.

FYI, they are 250x72x45, so you'll lose about 10mm of clearance between track and body, but I don't think its a big deal. Bobcat sells these under their name $1400 to my house. We verified all the specs even down to the guide code ("K") and they are a match. McLaren hasn't updated their database to show ctx100, but they show them S800tx, which uses same drive, idler, and rollers as ctx100. They also show mt85 and s800tx as same track sku. Took a little research, but good to go.
 
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Birdyman88 said:
It's been a while since I've been out here, hope everyone is well. I thought I'd post up some pics of the new machine. I finally gave up on Ditch Witch and the SK800 and all the price increases, delays, getting bumped by larger customers, etc, etc. Found this used down in AL and couldn't be happier. 930 hours, all scheduled services done and documented, new drive motors within last 200 hours, a few rollers and idlers replaced recently, seals replaced on control module about 100 hr back, and some other stuff. It was filthy. Took me 2 days to clean, but other than that I got about $30 in small parts from hardware store into it, and a little labor fixing some minor stuff. No leaks, all fluids topped off. And the price was right.

Just got the new McLaren Terrapin turf tracks on today - Bobcat branded for MT85. Bought the grapple new, along with some other attachments. So glad I got the 40 hp machine now. This thing is strong. Enjoy, this may be the last time it's ever this clean.
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Click to expand...
Congrats
 
Those tracks look like they will be a lot easier on the lawn

ARRRgh
let me know how that Berlon grapple holds up looks like a 95% copy of my BM gtrapple
I like the extra reinforcement at the hitch plate
 
tnttree said:
let me know how that Berlon grapple holds up looks like a 95% copy of my BM gtrapple
Click to expand...
I was looking for BMG, but prices through the roof. My DW dealer bumped theirs up over $600 from when we talked last year. Ran across this one for about about a $1k less than BMG before tax and freight. Not normal, but it was a great find. Berlon said they worked with you at some point, maybe a prototype or something.
 
@Reach You were looking for some feedback on the turf tracks, so here is the list of observations. I've got about 50 hours on the machine now, the majority with the turf tracks doing regular tree work and some landscaping.

Dry Conditions
  1. For general hauling, grip is excellent. I have no problem going up a 30* grassy slope with a large log or bucket of dirt. I have not noticed it slipping at all and turf damage from track slippage is pretty much nil. I will say that repetitive movement over areas will leave soil depressions, but you could probably guess that.
  2. For scooping from dirt piles, the grip is excellent with only minor slippage. Usually the track slips a few inches then grabs again. The type of material plays a role here though. You're gonna get more slippage pushing into a gravel pile than into a pile of sod blend.
  3. Riding on hard surfaces like concrete/asphalt is WAY better than lugs. You still get a little chatter, but it is significantly reduced. Also, I have not noticed any residual marks on the surfaces from making turns.
  4. Turns still need to be swept wide as any tight turn will dislodge grass, soil, clay; however, it will generally only disturb the top surface and not gouge very deep into the soil like the lugs. So basically, you generate a pile of dust and fines as opposed to solid chunks of dirt using lugs.
  5. On clay surfaces, I was very surprised at how well it grabbed, which I guess kind of makes sense seeing how much surface contact the tracks make. Sort of like racing slicks. At first it seemed a little counter-intuitive to me, but my brain finally wrapped around it.
Wet Conditions
  1. For general hauling grip is very good. I have been up 30* grassy slope when wet, and it performed better than I expected. The slippage was certainly more noticeable, but I never encountered a scenario where I felt like machine was going to slide back down hill on me. If you go slower and give the machine time find it's footing then it can get up without much slippage. But if you try to try to move too fast, then you WILL spin the tracks.
  2. For scooping from dirt piles, expect about the same performance as climbing an incline. To prevent slippage, I learned to get a full bucket either go into pile 2 or 3 times, or to tilt up bucket as encountered resistance. Now this may be standard practice anyway :)
  3. As you would expect, tight turns on wet soil will screw things up quick, but mainly stems from the deep depression from the machine weight displacing the soil as opposed to the type of track.
  4. On clay surfaces, you're gonna get that slick film and it will slip pretty bad. This is how my brain normally envisions clay surface, which is why the drastic difference in grip on dry clay threw me off.
Other Stuff
  1. The wider track (250mm) has not caused any noticeable problems with operation. I do see one small area near the front idler about 2" long where the paint seems to be rubbing off a bit more, but I cannot say for sure that it's the wider tracks doing it.
  2. In general, I can see a noticeable reduction in lawn damage using the turf tracks.
  3. I have not had any issues with the fit. They are 250x72x45, as opposed to the 230x72x45 that comes with machine. They tension as expected with plenty of room for future adjustment.
If I see anything else notable, I will put it out here.
 
Birdyman88 said:
@Reach You were looking for some feedback on the turf tracks, so here is the list of observations. I've got about 50 hours on the machine now, the majority with the turf tracks doing regular tree work and some landscaping.

Dry Conditions
  1. For general hauling, grip is excellent. I have no problem going up a 30* grassy slope with a large log or bucket of dirt. I have not noticed it slipping at all and turf damage from track slippage is pretty much nil. I will say that repetitive movement over areas will leave soil depressions, but you could probably guess that.
  2. For scooping from dirt piles, the grip is excellent with only minor slippage. Usually the track slips a few inches then grabs again. The type of material plays a role here though. You're gonna get more slippage pushing into a gravel pile than into a pile of sod blend.
  3. Riding on hard surfaces like concrete/asphalt is WAY better than lugs. You still get a little chatter, but it is significantly reduced. Also, I have not noticed any residual marks on the surfaces from making turns.
  4. Turns still need to be swept wide as any tight turn will dislodge grass, soil, clay; however, it will generally only disturb the top surface and not gouge very deep into the soil like the lugs. So basically, you generate a pile of dust and fines as opposed to solid chunks of dirt using lugs.
  5. On clay surfaces, I was very surprised at how well it grabbed, which I guess kind of makes sense seeing how much surface contact the tracks make. Sort of like racing slicks. At first it seemed a little counter-intuitive to me, but my brain finally wrapped around it.
Wet Conditions
  1. For general hauling grip is very good. I have been up 30* grassy slope when wet, and it performed better than I expected. The slippage was certainly more noticeable, but I never encountered a scenario where I felt like machine was going to slide back down hill on me. If you go slower and give the machine time find it's footing then it can get up without much slippage. But if you try to try to move too fast, then you WILL spin the tracks.
  2. For scooping from dirt piles, expect about the same performance as climbing an incline. To prevent slippage, I learned to get a full bucket either go into pile 2 or 3 times, or to tilt up bucket as encountered resistance. Now this may be standard practice anyway :)
  3. As you would expect, tight turns on wet soil will screw things up quick, but mainly stems from the deep depression from the machine weight displacing the soil as opposed to the type of track.
  4. On clay surfaces, you're gonna get that slick film and it will slip pretty bad. This is how my brain normally envisions clay surface, which is why the drastic difference in grip on dry clay threw me off.
Other Stuff
  1. The wider track (250mm) has not caused any noticeable problems with operation. I do see one small area near the front idler about 2" long where the paint seems to be rubbing off a bit more, but I cannot say for sure that it's the wider tracks doing it.
  2. In general, I can see a noticeable reduction in lawn damage using the turf tracks.
  3. I have not had any issues with the fit. They are 250x72x45, as opposed to the 230x72x45 that comes with machine. They tension as expected with plenty of room for future adjustment.
If I see anything else notable, I will put it out here.
Click to expand...
Thank you for a well thought out and very clear post, I appreciate the feedback on those tracks!
 
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