undercarriage brand reviews

[notmeu]

Hello again all, I am looking to purchase a set of 350 chains, pads, and sprockets. I was curious if anyone has purchased a set of Berco, Trek, or Valuepart undercarriage? They all seem to have the same warranty and they all seem to be made overseas. I was told that Valuepart was once owned by John Deere. Does anyone have a set of anyone of these chains that has been running them on their dozer for a couple years and has had good or bad luck with them? Thanks in advance!

[DBCSteve]

I am very happy with the new Berco chains and pads I put on my 450C two years ago. Also installed new sprockets at the same time.

[notmeu]

Thanks for your feedback, it is much appreciated!

[Al Swearengen]

Berco SALT a couple years back also. No problems. However, if done again, I would go with JD sprockets because the finish grinding on the Berco sprockets were not pretty; rough edges in the saddles...not smooth at all. I had to dress them down with a grinder.

[Lavoy]

On a two cylinder or any other or the old Deere crawlers that does not work for a daily living, I doubt there is a difference Maybe on the bigger stuff, there might be a difference, but even than, I am skeptical. I don't sell any Berco any more, the price had gotten way out of hand.
Lavoy

[notmeu]

On a two cylinder or any other or the old Deere crawlers that does not work for a daily living, I doubt there is a difference Maybe on the bigger stuff, there might be a difference, but even than, I am skeptical. I don't sell any Berco any more, the price had gotten way out of hand.
Lavoy

That's one of the biggest reason I started the post. The Berco 350 undercarriage was almost 500.00 more than the Valuepart undercarriage! Trek was in the middle. Of course some dealers are cheaper than others for the same products. We all have to make a living!

[KenP]

deleted

[Lavoy]

I am actually quite suprised it was only $500 difference.
Lavoy

[LeonardL]

I have used Berco tracks on a lot of different machines besides Deere and have had good service from their products. I sure do not want to step on Lavoys toes but Deere here in MO would sell "Serefa" aftermarket tracks. They were always competitive with the other brands of tracks. They were Italian made the same as Berco and may very well be made in the same factory. They may not even be around anymore. It's been a few years sense I last bought a set of undercarriage from them.
I have however been told by a couple of local contractors that they didn't have as good of service out of the Korean made tracks. But... Here in this Rock that we call top soil may have had an influence on the track wear. Plus the fact that these guys are running these machines on a daily basis. So, I would see what Lavoy can do for you as I'm sure he would be the best bet anyway.

[Lavoy]

Berco is good quality, no doubt about it. All Deere undercarriage from the 80's somewhere til fairly recently was made by Berco. My beef with them has been pricing. Last time I checked, new Berco 350 rollers were about $50/each higher than the other brands. On a $400 D8 roller, that might be a non-significant difference, especially if the Berco provides longer wear. On the old girls we are working on, I doubt most of us will ever find out, we just won't put enough hours on them.
The other beef I had was with their sprocket rims. The last several sets I brought in cost me close to $100 each to have them machined so they could even be installed, the quality was that poor.
Lavoy

[Paul Buhler]

When I was looking to work on my 420, Art Seeger , the owner of the company linked below, was very pleasant, knowledgeable, and willing to help me out. His prices seemed fair as well. Ultimately, I was able to deal locally and saved shipping costs so went that route.

Give him a call. He's located in Tom's River, NJ. Paul

http://www.sriparts.com/index.html

[notmeu]

Berco is good quality, no doubt about it. All Deere undercarriage from the 80's somewhere til fairly recently was made by Berco. My beef with them has been pricing. Last time I checked, new Berco 350 rollers were about $50/each higher than the other brands. On a $400 D8 roller, that might be a non-significant difference, especially if the Berco provides longer wear. On the old girls we are working on, I doubt most of us will ever find out, we just won't put enough hours on them.
The other beef I had was with their sprocket rims. The last several sets I brought in cost me close to $100 each to have them machined so they could even be installed, the quality was that poor.
Lavoy

Thanks Lavoy on the input reguarding Berco. I think i'm going to try out Valuepart's undercarrage. Like you said no matter what I buy I'll never put enough hours on it to wear them out in my life time. I would have to think the set I have on know are probably the originals anyways.