Tracked barrow hard to steer

[richarderskine]

Help ! As per the title my little crytec tracked barrow is really reluctant to steer especially on paved surface with a load on. The amount of effort needed on the steering levers would give a gold medal winning olympic wanker a nightmare. I have tried adjusting the cables going to the gearbox , i assume these disengage drive or do they apply braking ?. On gravel it steers really well I would contact Crytec but past experiences werent great. Any ideas as im pretty clueless on how these hydrostatic transmissions work.

[Haironyourchest]

Not hydrostatic transmission, conventional.

 

The levers activate steering clutches in the gearbox.

 

Works on gravel not on paved.

 

My guess would be, there's too much sideways "sticking" (traction) between the tracks and the paved surface, for the torque of the machine to overcome. That's a fair load on the machine in the pic. Does it steer normally on paved when it's unloaded?

 

With power applied to only one track, that track has to overcome sideways resistance to push the whole shebang "sideways" to turn. That's a lot to ask of a 5.5hp (?) motor, even with very low gearing. If the ground is "slidy" like gravel, grass, etc, it can pivot sideways by sliding over the ground, or bringing the ground with it (gravel). But a paved surface can actually provide more resistance to sliding than a non paved.

 

I have a similar spec machine and also notice difficulty steering on tarmac. The marching tends to "judder" in the steer, like windscreen wipers on a sticky windscreen.

 

I also notice the clutch steering levers harder to operate under load. Can't say I've noticed a difference on surfaces.

 

I'm interested to hear thoughts about this from knowledgeable people.

[Mark Bolam]

54 minutes ago, richarderskine said:

Them amount of effort needed on the steering levers would give a gold medal winning olympic wanker a nightmare.

 

I bet I could steer it no problem.

[richarderskine]

Possibly but thats no use if you cant see where your going 😉🤓

[richarderskine]

1 hour ago, Haironyourchest said:

Not hydrostatic transmission, conventional.

 

The levers activate steering clutches in the gearbox.

 

Works on gravel not on paved.

 

My guess would be, there's too much sideways "sticking" (traction) between the tracks and the paved surface, for the torque of the machine to overcome. That's a fair load on the machine in the pic. Does it steer normally on paved when it's unloaded?

 

With power applied to only one track, that track has to overc

1 hour ago, Haironyourchest said:

Not hydrostatic transmission, conventional.

 

The levers activate steering clutches in the gearbox.

 

Works on gravel not on paved.

 

My guess would be, there's too much sideways "sticking" (traction) between the tracks and the paved surface, for the torque of the machine to overcome. That's a fair load on the machine in the pic. Does it steer normally on paved when it's unloaded?

 

With power applied to only one track, that track has to overcome sideways resistance to push the whole shebang "sideways" to turn. That's a lot to ask of a 5.5hp (?) motor, even with very low gearing. If the ground is "slidy" like gravel, grass, etc, it can pivot sideways by sliding over the ground, or bringing the ground with it (gravel). But a paved surface can actually provide more resistance to sliding than a non paved.

 

I have a similar spec machine and also notice difficulty steering on tarmac. The marching tends to "judder" in the steer, like windscreen wipers on a sticky windscreen.

 

I also notice the clutch steering levers harder to operate under load. Can't say I've noticed a difference on surfaces.

 

I'm interested to hear thoughts about this from knowledgeable people.

ome sideways resistance to push the whole shebang "sideways" to turn. That's a lot to ask of a 5.5hp (?) motor, even with very low gearing. If the ground is "slidy" like gravel, grass, etc, it can pivot sideways by sliding over the ground, or bringing the ground with it (gravel). But a paved surface can actually provide more resistance to sliding than a non paved.

 

I have a similar spec machine and also notice difficulty steering on tarmac. The marching tends to "judder" in the steer, like windscreen wipers on a sticky windscreen.

 

I also notice the clutch steering levers harder to operate under load. Can't say I've noticed a difference on surfaces.

 

I'm interested to hear thoughts about this from knowledgeable people.

 

[richarderskine]

1 hour ago, Haironyourchest said:

Not hydrostatic transmission, conventional.

 

The levers activate steering clutches in the gearbox.

 

Works on gravel not on paved.

 

My guess would be, there's too much sideways "sticking" (traction) between the tracks and the paved surface, for the torque of the machine to overcome. That's a fair load on the machine in the pic. Does it steer normally on paved when it's unloaded?

 

With power applied to only one track, that track has to overcome sideways resistance to push the whole shebang "sideways" to turn. That's a lot to ask of a 5.5hp (?) motor, even with very low gearing. If the ground is "slidy" like gravel, grass, etc, it can pivot sideways by sliding over the ground, or bringing the ground with it (gravel). But a paved surface can actually provide more resistance to sliding than a non paved.

 

I have a similar spec machine and also notice difficulty steering on tarmac. The marching tends to "judder" in the steer, like windscreen wipers on a sticky windscreen.

 

I also notice the clutch steering levers harder to operate under load. Can't say I've noticed a difference on surfaces.

 

I'm interested to hear thoughts about this from knowledgeable people.

What make is yours mate, mines is obviously labelled crytec but its a generic chinese job sold by loads of other companys. Also when you say your clutch levers are harder to operate do you mean a little more or death grip levels . Cheers for your input !

[Haironyourchest]

58 minutes ago, richarderskine said:

What make is yours mate, mines is obviously labelled crytec but its a generic chinese job sold by loads of other companys. Also when you say your clutch levers are harder to operate do you mean a little more or death grip levels . Cheers for your input !

 

"Casima" from Italy. Yeah I'd say harder to press the levers, but not super hard.

[richarderskine]

Yeah i definately have an issue i reckon. Theres not much i can find on youtube regarding the transmissions and the manual is only really an operators guide. No exploded diagrams etc. Its a pity because other than being a pig to steer its an amazing little tool. 

[Dan Maynard]

Have you got hold of the handles when it's running round? I have a muck truck which is wheeled, has no steering built in so when loaded like that you lift a bit on the back end and it swings pretty easy. I'm wondering if you need to lift a bit too, so it's easier for the tracks to slide.

[doobin]

33 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

Have you got hold of the handles when it's running round? I have a muck truck which is wheeled, has no steering built in so when loaded like that you lift a bit on the back end and it swings pretty easy. I'm wondering if you need to lift a bit too, so it's easier for the tracks to slide.

I have both. 
 

the tracked machine is too heavy for that, and the lack of a round thing (wheel) at the front means that even lifting it slightly requires a lot of effort- enough to bend the handlebars if loaded. 
 

Try it in the creeper box and see if the problem is still there or if steering gets easier.