new production weasel track bands

[04mustang]

hello everyone. 
I'm farily new to the weasel world and haven't actually taken possession of my weasel yet. But after doing alot of research on here and other places I've come to the same conclusion as many of you have.....that there really aren't options for how to handle track repairs/restoration.

I have a manufacturer here in the US that I have worked on other projects with and they make urethane molds for conveyors. They are in agreement with me that the track bands are certainly a doable product.

Now my question here is, how large or a market is this? I understand that the weasel world isn't all that large, but are we talking about 20 people or 200 people that would need bands for tracks? My goal here is make an authentic looking product that a person can then use to restore their tracks. I would like to sell this as a kit with all the bands for the tracks and replacement pads that would be slightly different than oem on the track pads. 
My other goal is to come in a price below what the European makers are offering and without all the international shipping issues.

I would like to have as much feedback as possible on this.

Thank you,
Corey

[D.R.H.]

You asked for feed back, so here goes.

I remember reading about new tracks for the HalfTracks more than 5 years ago on the "G". One man spent a whole lot of time here in the U.S. and in China when he was there, actually DOING THE FOOTWORK to find a solution. The thread ran into multiples of pages in length, EVERYONE had an opinion but only this 1 guy put forth the effort. All the other guys were cheering him on from behind their keyboards, ready to pony up the cash when the time was right. When it came time to separate the men from the boys, the man who spearheaded the entire effort was left with his trouser flap blowing in the breeze. No one put their money where their mouths were and HIS efforts fell by the wayside.
The same thing has been happening with Weasel Track since I rebuilt my 1st. pair back in 2005, that's 15 years ago. Oh sure, there have been guys in Poland, Switzerland and even here in the U.S. who have built replacement track bands. But the pain and simple truth behind the effort is that there is NEVER enough demand to meet the overwhelming cost of manufacturing. This is the truth of the matter, but hardly anyone I have read about wants to or even can afford to shell out the big bucks for 100% accurate and functioning reproduction bands. The L.A.R. tracks resemble the originals and function well but at $14K, most folks have better things to spend THAT MUCH money on than some rusty W.W. 2 implement.
So 04mustang, You called me only to waste my time and ask questions about my solution, which by the way is finished and ready to install, when you already had something else in mind. I find it to be rude to say that, "that there really aren't options for how to handle track repairs/restoration" when several guys actually have found options. Did you think that I would not see this post of yours and not comment. As I told you over the phone, I had several guys cheering me on from the jeering section, wanting more and more pictures of my hard work FOR FREE. Perhaps I am just wasting my time again, perhaps I have just infuriated many readers with my neigh-saying and opinion. Good luck with your adventure, perhaps you can read through this mess, viewtopic.php?t=303806, by the time you're finished I'll be driving my Weasel in the snow.

[04mustang]

D.R.H.
I did not call to waste your time nor did I try to hide this post from you. I posted the exact same thing in the weasel forum.
And like I messaged you on that forum, I have planned to make my own versions but if you had something ready to go then I would just go your route and buy from you. But you never gave me a price or offered any more than some photos of your conveyor bands that are cut small and still need the clips slavaged from original bands. I would hardly call that an accurate reproduction. But thank you for showing me on here the kind of person that you are. I felt that we had a good conversation and I even told you what my plans were on the phone. So please tell me how I'm going around behind you and posting things about you. Look at the date this was posted. I created this post last Sunday. And we spoke on Wednesday.
You really need to grow up.

From where I sit, I dont see anyone making an accurate reproduction of original bands here in the US. So I see a need for it and will go my own way. If I only ever make a set for myself then so be it. Im restoring them for my track, and if I can help fill a need in a group where one doesn't exist then I'm glad to do so. You offered a solution and I didn't feel like it was good enough for me in my ventures. Im not stealing your idea. I have a US manufacturer here on the east coast that says they can make this and I am good friends with the owner of that company. End of story. And they will look like original track bands.

[M29]

Hello

I believe the first step if one desires to produce original looking weasel tracks for the masses is just do it and bear the upfront cost like the guys from Prague did. They even tested them you can see them doing it on youtube. Conveyor tracks are laborious to put together but really not complicated. Most that do them never address the road pad issue though. Bad road pads means broken pads and other wear issues. In my view a conveyor track with original pads really looks good get the road pad issue resolved and your good. Just my 2 cents!

DW

 

[OZM29C]

@04mustang This company many years ago put a lot of effort into developing a home grown OEM style weasel track.

http://www.carrolltech.com/

I note that they still have the Weasel in their website. Why not give them a call?