Tires vs Tracks - How It Affects Your Choice of Attachment

In short: Tracks spread the machine's weight over a larger area, so the machine sinks less into soft ground and stays more stable even with a heavy attachment. Tires are faster and cheaper to maintain, but give less traction on soft or sloped ground.

What's the difference between tires and rubber tracks

A tire carries the machine's weight on a smaller area, a rubber track on a wider one. For the same machine weight, this means a tracked machine sinks considerably less into soft soil and keeps its traction on wet or sloped ground. A tire, on the other hand, rolls faster, wears more predictably and is easier to replace.

Rubber tracks instead of tires

If a tractor or loader is used on soft ground, for example in a field during rainy weather or on peatland, the wheels can be replaced with rubber tracks without having to change the machine. This increases stability and reduces sinking into the ground, which matters especially when working with heavy attachments.

• Stability with a heavy attachment: if you use heavy buckets or grapples on the machine, tracks give a firmer base, especially when the boom is extended.
• Ground protection: a track's wider surface spreads the load more evenly and leaves less of a mark on soft ground than wheels.
• Slopes and inclines: tracks give better traction on wet and sloped terrain than tires.

See the range on our tractor rubber tracks page.

When to stick with tires

• Hard, dry ground: on roads, yards and dry fields, a tire is faster and doesn't wear out faster than necessary.
• A lot of road travel: if the machine frequently moves between sites along roads, a tire is more comfortable and more durable.
• Maintenance cost: a tire is simpler and cheaper to replace than a rubber track, if wear is even.

Impact on attachment choice

A tracked machine sometimes allows a slightly heavier or larger attachment on the same base, since the machine stays more stable. On a wheeled machine working soft ground, it's better to choose a smaller or lighter attachment and avoid fully extending the boom with a heavy load. In any case, the attachment needs to match the machine's actual carrying capacity, not just its theoretical maximum.

Tell us what ground and which machine you work with, and we'll recommend a suitable solution for the wheels or the attachment. Get in touch via our contact page.