Tracked excavators can take on all sorts of tasks, being deployed in waste management, construction, forestry, mining, demolition, river dredging and anywhere material needs to be shifted as efficiently as possible.
Read More (Crawler (Tracked) Excavators - An Overview)
Tracked excavators can take on all sorts of tasks, being deployed in waste management, construction, forestry, mining, demolition, river dredging and anywhere material needs to be shifted as efficiently as possible. A typical tracked excavator features a bucket mounted on a hydraulic boom that is controlled by a operator seated in a cab which sits on a rotating platform beneath the tracked base of the machine. Tracked excavators are usually a heavy-duty alternative to wheeled varieties, boasting better traction and power. But while large tracked excavators may be the stalwarts of the market, there are also tracked mini excavators that use their diminutive forms to squeeze into places other machines cannot venture.
Large tracked excavators from companies such as Hitachi, Liebherr and JCB offer a range of advantages, including hydraulically mounted cabs for improved angle adjustability and visibility, full seat suspension for operator comfort and steel tracks that are sturdy and durable. Heavier and louder than wheeled excavators, they cannot take to the tarmac but offer superior performance on uneven rough surfaces. The boom and bucket combination is preferred for most excavation work, but other attachments are often available, and some used units will come with these included. Mini tracked excavators can weigh under a tonne and be built with fold-away rollover protection so that they can fit through doorways while also offering narrow track configurations for further improvements to accessibility. The ability to expand the footprint of these units once they are in the working area is also available on some models, improving stability in an impressive manner. Mini tracked excavators will utilise rubber tracks in many cases, which not only helps to reduce the noise levels produced by their operation but also makes maintenance more affordable.
When buying a crawler excavator on the used market, the integrity of the undercarriage is very important and will usually be mentioned by the seller in order to help raise the asking price. Wear and tear to this surface is inevitable because of the environments in which this type of machinery will have operated, so do not be dissuaded by it. Also check the number of hours that the excavator has on the clock, as well as the state of the bucket, blade or other attachments that are affixed to the boom.
Tracked excavators of all sizes may be offered with a zero tail swing body, which in essence means that the body will not protrude over the footprint of the tracks, no matter what degree of rotation it has been oriented in by the operator. Zero tail swing excavators are ideal for operating in narrow areas where space is limited, although this type of design can limit their capacity and reach when compared with other models that are not so restricted in their dimensions and can thus use larger counterweights.
Tracked excavators make a good second-hand choice because of the affordability associated with used purchase as well as the reliability that can come with a machine that has been properly maintained by its previous owner.