Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | I purchased a used QuadTrac STX 450 on a retirement auction. I'm at least the 4th owner. I don't know of the first owner but it might have been used as a scrapper tractor since the dealer it originally came from does quite a bit of that. Owner #2 was a farmer neighbor and used it for conventional tillage. Owner #3 used it with a large soybean drill as he had another track tractor for his major tillage. I purchased it and use it for pulling a CIH 875 for Fall tillage and a 50' field cultivator for Spring tillage.
I've gotten along well with mine. The transmission coupler mentioned above did go out on me but the local dealer was able to replace it literally in the field. Someone along the line had added a homemade battery disconnect. Since the tractor uses a 12/24V system, they used a battery disconnect on the ground side of each battery. Their logic was fine but instead of buying proper cables, they bolted extensions onto the original cables. This resulted in corrosion and eventual problems for me.
One of my bogies leaked terribly. I went with the Quad Seal replacement style from an independent source. It is a better design than CIH had. I haven't had problems with any other bogies so most are the CIH style yet.
I did need to replace the tracks this Spring. I got them through a local tire shop. My Great Nephew as able to install them with a little help from some YouTube videos. These 30" tracks ran about $25,000.
The ride on the road is rough since mine is old enough that it has no cab suspension. Since our land is close, this isn't really a problem for me and I keep the road speed down as it only adds a couple of minutes to my travel time.
This is my first and only experience with a track tractor. I have little to no experience with a wheeled articulated tractor either so I don't have a good comparison between the various possibilities.
I've been happy enough with the tractor but it is plenty thirsty. It is also a bit noisy in the cab but by using my iPhone and Air Pods with noise reduction, I get along well.
Would I buy one again? I'm not sure. I'm not completely convinced that tracks are the complete answer.
Edited by tedbear 6/27/2026 07:16
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Caseih stx450
