Combines JD 9000 combine rubber tracks

there are some custom cutters in my area who use the gilburt and riplo rubber tracks. thay have had no trouble out of them. Before they had the deere tracks, but only for a short while. He told me that they were the worst investment he ever made. Not that they had mech. trouble, but that they were not designed right. couldn't turn on hard ground.. Instead of going over a rice levee, the deere tracks wanted to go through it. I think they needed a leading edge on the front instead of being flat. Also they run two Brent 774 tracked carts. The frame broke about 3 or 4 times last fall. Engineere came and redesigned them for free.

A friend of mine in North Central Oklahoma bought the Deere tracks so they could finish harvesting their wheat last summer. Northern Okla. got pounded with a lot of rain during harvest. He said the tracks helped if it wasn't too muddy. When Okla. red soil gets saturated NOTHING will go through it. I lived there for 7 years.

My Dad farms in South Central Kansas and they've had a couple of wet years too. He finally bit the bullet and purchased oversized tires this winter after getting tired of badly rutted fields. There's a discussion called "Tires for Mud" on the Case IH thread that started Nov. 1. I'd like to get some more input on the topic of how to get through muddy fields and minimize compaction when it's not muddy. It seems like tracks on combines have so many disadvantages (high cost, slow speeds on roads, difficult turning, and high wear) that oversized tires may be more attractive. Any input appreciated.