How to Operate (or Drive) a Cat^® Compact Track Loader

Proper operation of the Cat compact track loader is one of the most influential factors in undercarriage wear and operating costs. While wear is to be expected, unnecessary wear can be mitigated by following the following guidelines.

1) Don’t Rush
Operating at the minimum ground speed required to complete the task will extend the service life of the track.

2) Watch Your Turns
Counter rotating a compact track loader—keeping one track immobile while operating the other—could lead to unnecessary wear on the tracks and other components. To help maximize the life of the compact track loader undercarriage, counter rotation should be used only when required—such as in very confined areas. Instead use gradual or three-point turn while slowly moving forward or in reverse.

Additionally, Sharp turns on abrasive material like jagged rock will cause premature wear to the track and roller wheels. Gradual turns will minimize cuts and tears and help maximize undercarriage component life.

3) Check the Slope
A compact track loader is ideal for use on slopes, but working perpendicular to the slope can cause faster wear to undercarriage components. You can reduce unnecessary side loading wear by operating up and down a slope rather than across.

4) Keep Transitions in Mind
A transition is any place you encounter a change in slope or elevation, such as where a level surface changes to a slope, or if where there’s a sharp difference in elevation between two surfaces, like between a curb and a road. If you must travel on transitions do so with the machine 90 degrees to the transition. Avoid working along a transition where one of the machine’s tracks is not fully supported by the ground. Without the full support of the ground, the track and roller wheels are subjected to side stress that could lead to track derailment or track damage

5) No Pressure
Applying enough downforce on the machine to raise the front of the track off the ground when back dragging can cause the machine to lose traction, spin the track and promote premature wear of the track and rear roller wheels. Keeping the full length of the track on the ground provides the most traction and takes advantage of the machine’s suspension.

You can get excellent results and maximize the life of your undercarriage by back dragging the floater arms using the float function

Along with following the above tips, keeping up with daily and interval maintenance minimizes unnecessary downtime and repair costs. Required maintenance depends on several variables, like severity of application, the jobsite substrate and even ambient weather. The following tips are applicable in general, but you should consult your Cat compact track loader’s Operation and Maintenance Manual (OMM) or reach out to your Cat dealer for specific practices.

1) Measure Undercarriage Wear
You should visually inspect your machine’s undercarriage daily. This involves looking for dents, bent track pads, leaks and wear to pins, bushings, sprockets and the rubber track.

Occasionally, a more thorough inspection of the undercarriage requires measuring track tension or individual components like the rollers, shoes, idlers, pins and bushings. For these measurements you’ll need tools like calipers, a measuring tape and depth gauges. This is also when consulting your OMM or local Cat dealer is required.

2) Clean and Maintain Undercarriage
Cleaning your Cat compact track loader’s undercarriage daily is a straightforward but extremely important routine for maintaining optimum performance.

It’s only natural that your machine will get covered in dust, dirt, sand and other debris during a workday. And, it’s only natural for these abrasive materials to slowly wear out critical components. You can remove debris from the undercarriage with a brush, shovel or even a power washer. This helps prevent the infiltration of abrasive materials into difficult to clean areas like between pins and bushings.

3) Make a Maintenance Plan and Stick to It
Many catastrophic failures can be prevented by keeping to a maintenance and inspection plan. Bushings aren’t worn away overnight, and metal-reinforced rubber tracks don’t tend to split without prior signs. The sole purpose of making inspections and interval maintenance routine is to catch issues before they become expensive downtime. So, consult your OMM and your Cat dealer to get ahead of interval maintenance, and make sure anyone operating the machine is looking out for signs of wear.