M813A1 Rear Wheel Tracks

[Electric Bob]

Aloha from Hawaii,

I'm new on the site and am looking for a military manual for the rear wheel track kit for the M813A1. We purchased the track assemblies for our 5-ton M813A1 and wondered if anyone knows the military designation number for this kit and if there was a manual for it anywhere.

Thanks, Electric Bob

 

[jatonka]

Well, looks like you have us all stumped. I know of buckling track sections together and then installing on dual tandem trucks, but I never was aware it was a military authorized kit with a manual. It was a redneck way of getting through a swamp. We put duals on the front axle too. That Idea did come from the military, WWII CCKWs sometimes put duals on the front end to stay up in sand and swamps

 

[Electric Bob]

M813 Rear Wheel Tracks

Aloha Jatonka,

The yard owner where I rent has a fully operational M35A2 Deuce and M813A1 5-Ton. He also has a M543A2 Wrecker and M37 Weapons Carrier that are still being restored. The Deuce and the 5-Ton are used regularly to haul loads throughout the Big Island of Hawaii in conjunction with his boom-truck service. He purchased the rear wheel tracks from a mainland supplier because we deliver fuel, generators, batteries and solar panels to a cellular re-transmission site located at 9000 feet on the backside of Mauna Kea, and when it's wet, we really need the added traction, particularly coming down the mountain over open ranch land.

I've attached a photo of the disassembled track components. In the top of the photo you can see the "road" side of one of the track components, below it the tool to draw the links together for connection, and in front, the inside of the track component that inserts between the dualies.

If any one has any information I sure would appreciate it.

Mahalo, Electric Bob

 

[emmado22]

Post a pic, then we can assist you. First I've ever head of it though on a truck... I did see some rubber tracks on some Q37 radar trailers we loaded on a C5A aircraft that were headed to Kuwait several years ago.

 

[Electric Bob]

Aloha emmado22,

I thought I did attach a photo in my post using the "Attachments" icon. Is there another way to post a photo in these forums?

 

[emmado22]

No idea on that stuff.. Any #'s or anything pinted in the rubber itself????

 

[wehring]

M114 track

This is M114 track. SECO in Augusta GA used to sell a kit for the rear of the M35. These sections bolt together and you must custom fit the last section for your application for length. $60 ea section is going rate.

Justin

 

[Electric Bob]

Aloha Justin,

Thanks for the info, this is exactly what we have. We noticed that the bolt-together links have a steel plate embedded in each end. When you "custom fit" them for the particular truck (M35 or M813) I assume that you must grind-off the rivets of the track bars, removing a few, to get the correct length; are there steel plates embedded in the rubber track at each track bar to maintain connection strength when they are custom fit for each application? The track sections are 32" in length each, totalling 256" for eight sections. It appears that the distance around the rear dualies is about 248". Do you happen to know what the normal "slack" should be for a correct fit? Is this 8" of slack acceptable, or should it be fit more closely?

Thanks for the great support here on Steel Soldiers, Electric Bob

 

[jollygreen]

hey electric bob did you figure out your prob yet?? i would like to know what you came up with if not i have a idea for the m35 but if have solution already ill just shut up

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

The track for trucks was often used by the 101st Airborne they are not like the armored vehicle track but a rubber set that is tightened in between to duels to keep them on. I don't think the tires will hold up well to that track as armored vehicles often shed chunks of road wheels from loosened track and on pnematic wheels and tires you may wind up cutting holes in the tires.

 

[wehring]

Track

Don't know the specifics but maybe this will help. Yes you grind the rivets to "adjust" the length. No there is no internal strength member in the rubber. It has a fiber core to it but basically it is conveyor belt type material. The guys at SECO in Augusta, GA told me once before to air down the tires, put the track on then air the tires up again to tighten the track. I do not remember a length but the 4" spud in the center of the track will be sufficient to keep the track on the tire with some slack. You need enough bite from the friction of the tires to turn the track. Since there in no sprocket/hole relationship to pull the track belt you are relying completely on friction.

Justin

 

[Electric Bob]

Aloha to everyone on Steel Soldiers,

Particularly those that assisted with these tracks way back in 2008. We custom fit the tracks (apparently M114 track segments) to an M813 and they worked like a charm. They are a bitch to get on and off and once we had them on, we left the truck up on the mountain for a few months when we needed it in the winter. The owner now wants to sell them because up in lava land we need to have someone walking along to ensure that no big lava rock chunks get caught in between the track and tires. They'd be great for sand, mud, swamp, but they're more trouble than they're worth for us where the whole island is lava rocks. Let me know if you're interested, the owner wants to get rid of them because we're moving and it's just one more item to move. I'm attaching a photo of the tracks mounted on the M813A2.