weld on grousers

[dmh]

I have a 450b loader and I could use more traction. Has anyone welded on grousers on the street pads and if so were did you buy them. New to this site, I have a 450b and love all the info, hope I can help someone.

[jtrichard]

i have welded grousers on street pads on a dozer you can find them on line BUT i would NOT put them on a loader its very hard on the undercarriage and it tears up the work area that's why them don't put them on at the factory

[Scottyb]

dmh,

For a temporary traction fix in the winter on snow and ice I did this on every third pad...
I used 5/8 hardened bolts and nuts, I think 2.25 inches long...

Without the bolts, this setup would not work for pulling logs in the snow. Once the bolts were installed it was impressive at the job.

Awesome traction for skidding logs however two problems for me...

Very rough ride on hard or frozen surfaces. Most of the time it was not a problem. I was working in the forest. Only when crossing frozen ponds and roads it was real rough.

Secondly, next time I will use shorter bolts as I had them a bit to long on the inside of the pads and the threaded ends rubbed on the rock guards. This made the hardened bolts very difficult to remove in the spring, and they are ruined for putting back on.

It is a very cheap solution to the traction problem but not recommended in the summer.

Scott

[dmh]

I use this crawler mostly out in the field for cleanup behind my excavator on brush cleanup. I thought at times a more aggressive pad would be helpful. I also understand the downside of being more destructive . How about a 3/4 inch weld on grouser? I like the bolt idea,would be hard on lowboy.

[JWB Contracting]

We put a full set of Dozer pads on are 450C loader cat. Works very well, but you do notice more difficulty with steering. Actually, I scavanged a set of tracks and pads out of the dumpster at work and cut the pads down to fit. Pads are about 50%. As its a C model with wet steering clutches it can take more abuse than the dry clutches that your 450B comes with. There is very little slip on hard ground. We only use it as a yard machine and the extra traction is nice when pushing around dead equipment.

I would start with a 3 inch long ice lug every 5th pad and see if you have enough traction. This is what we did to our 450C loader hoe to get some traction for winter. Too much traction is a bad thing, there needs to be some track slip otherwise you will have steering clutch slip.

[dirtguy34]

I welded Grousers in my 350 jd loader. Went to a local steel shop where I bought 1 1/2" tall by I think 3/8 or 7/16" thick { its been a few years} in whatever lengths they could shear, then I cut them to lengths I needed. I welded to center of pad with 7018 rod. Ive bent a few but haven't tore any off yet, But I use mine in the woods skidding trees for firewood. It works great for what I do. I can climb some hellasish hills. Works great in snow. But like the man said loaders don't come with grousers for a reason. there supposed to be able to spin / slip when in a bind, Like bucketing dirt, you just have to decide what your going to use it for.