Crawlers are tracked vehicles. They are also often called tractor crawlers or track-laying tractors. Any type of tractor or skid loader that uses tracks can be referred to as a crawler. Crawlers have the continuous track that you might picture when you think of a large army tank, rather than wheels.

Many pieces of outdoor equipment like backhoes and tractors simply use wheels. But there are some situations where using a crawler with the tracks is a better option than using tractors with wheels. One of those reason is that crawlers are preferred in some situations is because of the amount of ground the tractor makes contact with as it moves.

A tractor with four wheels only makes contact with the surface on the bottom of each of those four wheels. The crawler has continuous contact from the front to the back on each side. That means the weight of the tractor is spread out over a larger area. A table sitting on the ground outside is more likely to push into the ground if it's sitting on one small spindle then if it's sitting on a large pedestal. This is the principle behind tracks--a larger surface means less sinking.

Using the tracks makes the tractor much better on soft surfaces than one with wheels. A tractor with wheels can easily dig into the ground and either gets stuck or make holes where the wheels sit. Whereas the crawler tractor with tracks has its weight spread out more evenly and moves less ground beneath it as it runs. It also gives more traction on things like snow, ice, mud or very loose and soft dirt.

The size of the track on the crawler will determine how well the force is distributed. A small tracked vehicle may have anywhere from 30 to 60 contact points. If you look at the track on a crawler it has the same treaded regions as you would find a wheel, but of course there are many more of them because of the size of the track. The more there are, the more traction the tractor will get.

Another benefit of crawlers over wheeled vehicles is that they don't compress the soil as much as wheels. When there's a need to not have the ground so tightly packed down in that area, the crawler will be the better choice. It's also a better choice for safety when the conditions are slick or loose. Not only will it get better traction so that the tractor is more efficient, it's less likely to slip or tip than one with wheels which means a safer environment for the operator. When tracks are used on something like a skidsteer loader or tractor, it's typically referred to as a multi-terrain vehicle because now it can be used on many different rough and uneven surfaces more safely.

Crawlers do have some disadvantages over wheeled vehicles. The biggest one is the maintenance required for the track and how much more often it is likely to have problems than wheels. Because of the larger size and necessity of more moving parts, crawlers require more maintenance and repair.

Photo Credits: C y r i l l i c u s

Originally posted 2010-04-05 03:11:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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construction, Handy Man, Tools

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army tank, backhoes, crawler tractor, four wheels, holes, mud, pedestal, skid loader, snow ice, soft dirt, soft surfaces, spindle, tracked vehicle, tractors, wheel, wheeled vehicles