The Classic Machinery Network

Track pavers, would love to no if anyone has any experience with them, i.e pros & cons over wheeled pavers, we have the chance to buy one and are unsure if it is the right move thanks.

Hi Liam, Hailsham Roadways have a small one, Coppard had one and so did Nicholls Bros at one time. I think the drawback is they rut the stone a bit when turning and manoeuvring into the next pull. I'm sure someone on here will have more experience!

Thanks Clive, we had one on hire and it worked well just wounded why you don't see more.

Hi Liam,
When I was first involved with these things they were virtualy all Barber Grene machines on tracks.
Blaw Knox then took the lions share of the market and wheels were the order of the day.
I thought one of the main advantages was the ability to tramp them from job to job over short distances and avoid the transport charges.
Things have moved on since then, but both types seemed to work perfectly well.

I suppose if the formation is a little spongy then the tracks would be better (I know you shouldn't lay on soft bases.......but there are always exceptions )

Oh and on steep gradients the tracks would give better traction I suppose???

Any more thoughts Fred

Hi Liam
It all depends on what size machine you have the chance of buying.If it is a small paver for footpaths,drives or patching then there is no option but to go with tracks as there is no way that wheels can be fitted to such a small machine that will give the same amount of traction as tracks.On midi and large pavers it all depends on what you intend to do with the machine,if your main work is doing large repairs to a road with a fair distance between each repair then a wheeled paver is best as a tracked machine is slow when moving between repairs.For large new build work when laying deep heavy base courses on type 1 stone at full screed width then a tracked machine is the only option.There are a few pitfalls that can catch people out when using a tracked paver, the first being that tracked machines are more manoverable than a wheeled machine,the truth is that a tracked machine steers totally differently to a wheeled machine with a few inches moved in one direction at the front causing a lot more movement at the outside rear edge of the screed on the other side of the machine, so for example if you tried to lay round a small roundabout the result would be like a fifty pence piece.The next pitfall is to think a tracklayer will go anywhere on any type of surface but put one on subase that consists of poorly compacted large stones or crushed concrete don,t be surprised if you throw a track when some of these large stones get caught in the track.The biggest plus though of a tracked machine is if you have tipper drivers who cant release their brakes or steer in a straight line when being pushed then it does not matter as the machine will push them where you want.

Hope this helps

Thanks guys, we had a bitelli bb651c on hire last week to see what we thought, it was a very capable tool great pushing power and traction but travel speeds painfully slow.
We've decided to stick with wheels and have brought a bb650 to replace are bb642 will get some pic's when she terns up.
Heres one of the 651c

Can you please tell me what this red cylinder used for ?

eyadinuae wrote:Can you please tell me what this red cylinder used for ?

That is Calor gas used for heating the tarmac so the machine can process the tar while it is being laid.

Jeremy

Hi eyadinuae, the gas is used to heat the screed it stops the tarmac sticking and allows the paver to lay a smooth mat.