Any way to make the tracks last longer?

[eaw46]

Hi guys my tracks have lots of rubber on them but its very old and dry and keeps chunking off. I have almost enough money saved to buy new ones but with shipping they are just a little too much right now. Is there any way to get some more life out of the ones I have? Thanks Eddy

 

[LanceRobson]

I've never driven or owned a half track but spent quite a few years around APCs, tanks and retrievers.

If the chunking seems to happen more on turns you could try to avoid single arc tight turns that put a lot of shear stress on the rubber and break tight turns into a series of short turns to give the rubber a chance to return to it's resting state. It may be that a continuous shearing force is tearing the rubber more than a series of shorter, less powerful stresses would.

Good Luck

Lance

 

[waayfast]

Well it could be a bit spendy but for a "quicky" you could try using automotive windshield urethane.Comes in a standard caulking gun tube. Can't remember the NAPA # right off.Air dry-so depends on weather conditions how long to cure.Could try it to glue together "chunks" so they would not fall off so quick.Once cured the stuff is pretty dang tough---your mileage may vary------.Hint:don't get it on your hands(best to use rubber gloves) or you ain't gettin'close to mama for a week or more. A very small dab can smear all over he//!We are talking ACRES of black goo!! LOL! If only money went as far as this stuff smears
Jim

 

[Westech]

dont drive on hard ball. Realy that might be it at this point. The rubber is degrading and not much you can do to stop it. covering the tracks with some sort of "gue" will just rub right off and be a waste of money. Just keep saving and drive it till the "tracks fall off" as the saying goes.

 

[cranetruck]

dont drive on hard ball. Realy that might be it at this point. The rubber is degrading and not much you can do to stop it. covering the tracks with some sort of "gue" will just rub right off and be a waste of money. Just keep saving and drive it till the "tracks fall off" as the saying goes.

I agree. From what I have learned about rubber is that the ozone and UV light will do an irreversible job on it.
The tires on my 8x8 are unique and even with all the extra "antiozonants" the military specifies, they do weather. My plan is to use them around town only and eventually get an additional set of wheels and (new replacement) tires for long distance driving.
In your case, just be careful driving, as has been suggested.

 

[poof]

I dont know the constuction of the tracks on your vehicle.. or the design..
ie, the Grouser depth.. but you might be able to remove every 4th or 5th or 6th track pad.. and not have the grousers make contact with the road surface causing damage..(to the road.).. then use the ones removed for spare pads on the worst of the worst..Keep your track tention up, makes for slicker turns.. do this along with no tight turns watch the driving habit in turns.. and like Westech says.. stay off the hard surfaces................. As a side note .i think i saw a post here on SS, where some one was giving away several tons of petrolium jelly
J.P.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

April 14th, 2010.

I believe that the unit in the OP above is a US WWII half track, and that the "tracks" are rubber moulded around two steel cables. What is happening is with age the tracks are finally breaking down mechanically and physically. The Israeli Army made the last tracks for these in the 1990's, so even "NEW" are going be about 20+ years old. Pretty much the options are: 1. don't use it, 2. 2 use it circumspectly, or 3. Blow the wad and buy new tracks, then keep the vehicle indoors in a protected environment as much as possible....
The flaw in the system is that the tracks were easy to make, not durable, like steel tracks. The reason was so they could run on roads and cross country without the problems steel tracks have with pavement.

Good luck,

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[nirvana]

not drive on them?

Drive only in straight lines? -tracks take the most wear on turns

Seriously though, once the rubber has dried out, its pretty much done. Armorall doesnt hurt any, but you cant really reverse the process. You need to keep the tracks tight, as that makes them wear a little less. Taking them off and rotating side to side or flipping them (if able) will help too.

 

[DDoyle]

One of the most significant enemies of half-track tracks is moisture.....much like rebar in concrete.

Once a crack in the rubber reaches the steel cable that form the core of the track, the cables begin to rust....the growing rust forces the rubber away from the track, widening the crack, letting more moisture in, and the cycle continues.

Soooo........this can't be stopped, but you may slow it by avoiding getting the track wet, and some folks advocate sealing the cracks with a rubber compound (similar to recommendation above) in order to inhibit further moisture intrusion.

Best wishes,
David Doyle

 

[Wolf.Dose]

sa****ightmare is somewhat correct, but he does not know the full truth of it.
The French Army used US Haf tracks up to the mid of the 90's at least for the second line.
The mashines and moulds they had were sold in the late 70's to a scrap dealer who sould the equipment to former Youguslavia. So the replacement of traces for the french Army was only possible over this scrap yard dealer. The Israelian Army also got their new (rebuilt) tracks only over the same source with the help fof the French Government (bring a used track, get a remoulded for it).
After Youguslaviva did not exist any more the supply of tracs for the half tacks of WWII is over and out. There is an other tire factory that made a lot of WWII tire sizes (Tigar), but after the liberation of the former Youguslavia never ever produced any tire any more. Many be the bombing destroided this factory which was so important for our vintage MV.
Hope this helps to understand the situation.
Wolf

 

[charlietango]

glad to say that I drove this half-track in Saskatchewan... its definitely in my books as a rare thing to accomplish! thanks again EDdy!

 

[B3.3T]

Unless some investor steps up and contracts for a new run of tracks in Israel or France, the future does not look good for any US Halftrack. I'd love to have one but this reason alone keeps that from ever happening.

 

[eaw46]

OK last fall I bought new tracks and have them stored untill one or both of mine break but wow at over 3K with shipping and duty and about 1500 miles in a set of tracks that adds $2.00 per mile to operating costs for this thing. I know they are just costly toys but again WOW. I think it will take me a week to change tracks and two more weeks to be able to move after doing it. Eddy

 

[battlecr]

I feel your pain! I bought a new set of tracks and boogies that I'll be putting on soon. I'm rebuilding the boogies right now. Tracks are not for the faint hearted. I'm trying to save for another set of tracks now. Good luck



Don G.

 

[bierman75]

I hear you on saving up for another set, they have gone quite a bit from when i bought mine 1 1/2 ago !! makes me wish i would have bought two sets.

 

[insanejecke]

I don't know much about tracks but i know when with tires i always new or old when i get them. i first wash them off really good with some purple stuff then i spray them down with baby oils and let them sit for a wile it helps with dry rot and also IMHO makes the rubber feel newer like lol meaning it feels harder but has the play in it u want. It might help like i said i dont know much about tracks.

 

[o1951]

I agree. From what I have learned about rubber is that the ozone and UV light will do an irreversible job on it.
The tires on my 8x8 are unique and even with all the extra "antiozonants" the military specifies, they do weather. My plan is to use them around town only and eventually get an additional set of wheels and (new replacement) tires for long distance driving.
In your case, just be careful driving, as has been suggested.

I have seen tire covers installed, owners claim helps a lot?