Fargo, N.D. – The Case 8010 combine mounted on Quadtrac drivers was a major attraction in Fargo earlier this fall.
The preproduction unit was on display at the Big Iron show.
Farmers attending the equipment show wanted to know if they could jack up their Quadtrac in the fall and bolt two drive units to their Case combine. It was a fair question because the similarity between the combine drive and tractor drive is no illusion. The combine tracks are the same drivers used on the tractor.
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They have the same part number and the same 36 inch wide belts and all come down the same production line. They also provide the same advantages, which include improved traction and less soil compaction. Case said the track option on its combine reduces ground pressure by 50 to 60 percent compared to duals.
However, farmers thinking about putting their tractor triangles under their round-tire combine had better think twice. There are complications.
“The Quadtrac drive units are meant to bolt to the ends of a conventional tractor axle housing,” said Marvin Nicholls, general manager of Blight Equipment, the Case dealer in Portage la Prairie, Man.”Their gear reduction is built in as part of their design.”
He said a combine has planetary final drives at the ends of the axle tubes, which are geared to propel big round rubber tires rather than rubber tracks.
“It’s possible to put a tractor Quad-trac under an existing late-model combine, but it’s not as simple as people might want it to be. The original planetary gearing is all wrong. You need to change a lot of parts.”
Louis Melanson, combine product specialist with Case in Regina, said the planetary gearing can also be dangerous.
“If you ever managed to somehow bolt Quadtrac drive units to the original planetary units, which were designed for tires, the combine would be capable of travelling at speeds of 50 mph. We’re obviously not going to allow that to happen. That’s just inviting disaster.”
Case will soon sell kits so farmers who want Quadtrac drive under their existing combines can install it safely. However, Case doesn’t want to actively promote conversions. Its preference is to sell new combines that come from the factory with all the correct parts for rubber track drive.
That includes the special planetary gearing designed for the track option, which means a factory-ordered track combine cannot be switched to tires without installing a correct tire drive system.
Tom Borsa, Case representative for Western Canada, said a crossover yoke support and tubing holds the tracks in alignment with the combine.
“It’s a big C-frame assembly that bolts to the track units, and it’s definitely not the same as on the tractor.”
Three conversion kits will be available: planetaries geared for tracks, a special yoke kit and a shielding kit.
“The wheels and original planetaries come off and you install the new kits and the tracks.”
Details and kit prices won’t be known until February. But he said the total kit will likely cost about the same as the factory ordered option on a new combine.
Borsa said that with the kit, a farmer can save his wheels, tires and original planetaries to reinstall when it comes time to trade the combine.
Producers could also consider running tracks only in a wet muddy year and running tires in normal harvest conditions.
Nicholls said the price tag on the factory installed track drive is reasonable considering that it’s a Case backed option rather than an aftermarket product. Aftermarket kits can cost nearly as much as an original equipment manufacturer option.
“One producer up in the northern Interlake bought an aftermarket Soucy rubber track system this fall because of all the rain. That was $57,000 and his road speed is now limited to 13 mph because it uses the original planetary gearing,” he said.
“Our rubber track system gives you transport speed over 20 mph, plus full factory backup and support.”
The factory installed track drive option will be available only on the company’s flagship combines that have the CVT rotor drive and feeder drive: the 7120, 8120 and 9120. The track drive will cost $66,975.
The Quadtrac option can be ordered only on combines that have the $23,239 rear wheel assist option because steering can be an issue on track drive implements. All track implements want to go straight ahead – they never like to turn.
When the rear wheels also serve as drive wheels, they do a better job of steering the combine.
