All good Questions,
Are we talking mini stand on machines? or sit down machines?
As for Minis
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Do they tear the grass up less?
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Yes, no question,
watch Brendons Video again -- Skip to about 1:22 you can see some turf disturbance. If he had a track mini there would be ALOT more. Remember some tracked minis have a much more aggressive lug pattern, dingos have the least agressive tracks I have seen, short of the slick tracks Ramrod has, see pic I posted for nuttin special.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BMAttachments2010?feature=mhum#p/c/70DBEF32E922129B/2/GUkXhs03FVI
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Are they less stable?
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No *,
* a 36" wide machine will be less stable than a 42" wide mini(duh), they basicaly have the same foot print and if you foam filled the tires which adds an extra 2~300 pounds at ground level makes the wheel more stable than a track. The type grapple and design of the grapple hanger will also effect stability. Grapple style/design will determine where the load has to be carried, the higher the loader arms are under load the less stable any machine will be. ALWAYS CARRY THE LOAD WITH THE ARMS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. Extra important when it comes to Articulating loaders.
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Do they leave more or less ruts because the weight is distributed less?
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This is a good question, maybe a bit misleading if the goal of the question is to answer which drive system creates the least damage to a clients lawn. Ruts is pretty negative term, repeated trips with either system will tend to compress the soil. Regarding minis: the minimal "rutting" that may occur on a soft lawn from a wheeled machine, is much easier to accept/repair than the peeling or tearing of the lawn when a track turns to sharp. Wheels simply can turn sharper than the tracks
My experience in MN: mostly flat yards, started running wheeled minis in 98, at the sale of my company I was running 4 minis(+other equip) doing over 1.5 mil in residential cutting work.
Running multiple minis for over 11 years, I doubt Top Notchs reputation for great service would have continued to grow if I had been rutting lawns repeatably. I tried a couple track machines and for my customers lawns I would not let my crews run them.
Some History and my perception of the evolution of a "Rut Story" as it apply to wheels versus Tracks.
Before there were minis there were just the 30HP to 100HP wheeled skidsteers. These machines averaged a weight of 6000#s B4 loaded, they definitely Rutted lawns. So they came up with Track systems which produced far less ruts. This train of thought has been passed down to the minis , but there is a huge difference. The minis weigh in at about a 3rd the operating weight. So the wheels on a mini do not RUT like the conventional thinking of a fullsize skid.
You will hear this train of thinking at most all the dealers as they try to sell you the biggest track mini they have. Wheeled minis are out of favor because of this, watch a dealer roll his eyes or try to disuade you when you request a wheeled mini demo.
