Terex PT80 Tracks & All Terrain Cranes: 3 Cost-Saving Scenarios for Your Next Parts Order

There’s No Single ‘Right’ Answer on Sourcing Terex Parts

Here’s the thing about keeping heavy machinery running: there isn’t one perfect parts strategy. Whether you’re buying Terex PT80 tracks or maintaining a fleet of Terex all terrain cranes, the right move totally depends on your situation.

I’ve been managing procurement for a mid-sized excavation company for 6 years. We run a mix of Terex and other brands, and my annual spend on undercarriage and lifting gear alone hits about $180,000. Across hundreds of orders, I’ve learned the hard way that what saves one shop money can burn another. This article breaks down three common scenarios—based on how often you run your gear and how much you can fix in-house—and gives concrete advice for each.

Here’s How to Figure Out Which Scenario You’re In

Before diving into specific advice, ask yourself these two questions. Your answers will pin you into one of the three scenarios below. Be honest.

1. How many hours do your machines rack up per week? (Is it 20+ heavy-use hours, or less than 10 for occasional jobs?)
2. Do you have a mechanic who can do track swaps and rebuild rollers? (Or does everything go to a dealer?)

Scenario A: High Use (20+ hrs/week) + In-House Mechanic

Scenario B: Moderate Use (10–20 hrs/week) + Limited Maintenance Capacity

Scenario C: Light Use (<10 hrs/week) + No Dedicated Mechanic

Read the one that fits you best—or skim all three for context. Each scenario is structured as: one-line summary, the TCO breakdown, a real pitfall I nearly fell into, and the bottom line.

Scenario A: Running Hard, Fixing In-House — How to Maximize Your Budget

One-line take: You’re better off buying high-quality aftermarket Terex PT80 tracks and stocking common wear parts. The savings add up fast, but you need to vet your supplier carefully.

If you’re running a Terex all terrain crane or a backhoe for 20+ hours a week, tracks and undercarriage parts are a recurring cost. In our fleet, a set of PT80 tracks lasts about 1,800 hours under heavy use. That’s roughly a replacement every 8 months. Over 6 years, I’ve ordered enough sets to watch the margin shift dramatically.

The Numbers: Why Aftermarket Often Wins Here

I did a side-by-side TCO analysis in 2023 for our PT80 undercarriage. I compared three vendors:

• Dealer OEM tracks: $3,800 per set (with a 6-week lead time)
• Brand A aftermarket: $2,450 per set (4-week lead, including shipping)
• Brand B aftermarket (budget tier): $1,990 per set (4 weeks)

If I went with Brand A, the savings on a single set were $1,350. Over three sets a year, that’s over $4,000 annually—a 35% saving. But here’s where people slip up. They see the $1,990 price and jump, without checking hardness or lug design. Brand B tracks wore 22% faster in our tests, meaning the cost-per-hour was actually higher than OEM. I dodged that bullet because our mechanic read the spec sheets carefully.

My experience is based on about 30 track orders over 6 years. If you’re working with a crane that operates in extreme rock conditions (I work mostly in dirt and gravel), your experience might differ. But the principle holds: when you have labour, you can squeeze value out of quality aftermarket parts.

“I knew I should test a sample set before committing to a full order, but thought ‘what are the odds?’ Well, the odds caught up with me when we got a batch of rollers with mis-drilled holes. That wasted a full day.”

Bottom line for Scenario A: Buy quality aftermarket tracks and rollers. Build a stock of 2–3 sets. Vet one supplier thoroughly and negotiate a volume discount. You get the best price and keep your mechanic busy.

Scenario B: Moderate Use, Limited Crew — The Goldilocks Zone

One-line take: Stick with OEM for critical drivetrain and crane components, but consider aftermarket for wear parts like track pads and sprockets—if you have time to manage two supply chains.

This is the trickiest scenario. Your machines aren't running hard enough to justify a huge parts stockpile, but downtime still hurts because you don't have a mechanic sitting idle. I lived this scenario before we scaled up. We ran a single Terex all terrain crane for about 15 hours a week, and our “maintenance crew” was two operators who also did basic fixes.

The Tipping Point: When Complexity Overwhelms Savings

In Q2 2024, I compared costs across 4 vendors for a crane swing gear. The OEM part was $4,200. An aftermarket part was $2,900—a 31% saving. But I calculated the total cost differently than I did a few years ago. Because we lacked a dedicated mechanic, the hidden costs were bigger:

• Time to research and spec the aftermarket part: 3 hours of my time ($150 value)
• Risk of wrong fit: If it didn’t match, we’d lose $2,900 plus a week of downtime (opportunity cost: ~$5,000 in lost revenue)
• No warranty backup: Another $1,200 if it failed early

All of a sudden, the $2,900 aftermarket part had a TCO risk of $8,350. The OEM part at $4,200, with a full warranty and guaranteed fit, was the more cost-effective choice. That’s counterintuitive—I almost paid less and ended up net-negative.

Honestly, I'm not sure why more people don’t talk about the cost of internal labour and downtime risk when they write about sourcing parts. My best guess is that people focus on unit price because it’s easy to compare. But the real cost is the time and headache.

The exception: For simple wear items like track pads or sprocket rings, aftermarket is safe. The failure mode is obvious (they wear out), and you can inspect them yourself. For anything with gears or hydraulics, I’d buy OEM in this scenario.

Bottom line for Scenario B: Use OEM for complex components (swing gears, pumps, cylinders) and quality aftermarket for wear parts. Invest in a good relationship with one supplier who knows your machines. Don’t juggle 5 vendors—it wastes your time.

Scenario C: Light Use, No Mechanic — Sometimes, OEM is the Cheapest Path

One-line take: Just buy OEM. Seriously. The time and risk aren’t worth the savings on a part you buy once a year.

If your Terex all terrain crane does a few lifts per week, or your PT80 tracks sit more than they roll, your cost dynamics are totally different. I calibrated this advice when I helped a municipal client analyze their Terex parts spending last year. They run two small cranes, maybe 8–10 hours a week, and contract out all repairs.

The $400 Mistake That Cost $1,200

I compared quotes for a dealer OEM hydraulic hose kit ($800) versus an aftermarket generic kit ($400). The client almost went with the aftermarket kit. But I spotted a problem: the aftermarket kit used crimped fittings that required a special tool to install. Their contractor didn’t have that tool and would charge $200 just to set up. Then the hose length was 4 inches short (mixing inch and metric systems). The contractor charged another $400 to source adapters. Total aftermarket cost: $400 + $200 + $400 = $1,000. Plus two weeks of back-and-forth. The OEM kit was $800, included all correct fittings, and was delivered in 3 days.

The 'cheap' option ended up costing $200 more plus two weeks of downtime. For a machine that only runs 8 hours a week, that downtime was manageable, but the headache was real.

Why does this matter? Because when you don't have in-house expertise, every non-standard part introduces a risk. The OEM part is designed to work. The aftermarket part might also work—but you’re paying to discover whether it does or not. On a spreadsheet, the aftermarket price wins. In the real world, the TCO of OEM often wins for low-use fleets with no mechanic.

Bottom line for Scenario C: Buy OEM. Period. The 20-30% premium buys you certainty, and when your volume is low, you can’t absorb the risk of a wrong part. Spend your time on other things—like finding better jobs for your cranes.

How to Know For Sure Which Scenario You’re In

Still not sure? Here’s a 3-step checklist. Answer honestly and you’ll find your match.

1. Count your weekly machine hours. Grab your logs from the past 3 months. Is the average per machine above 20 hours? Above 10? Below 10? That’s your main clue.
2. Assess your wrench capacity. Do you have a dedicated mechanic (even part-time) who can swap tracks or rebuild a final drive? Or is every repair a call to your local dealer?
3. Calculate your risk appetite. Can your operation survive a 2-week downtime if a part doesn’t fit? If yes, you can afford to experiment with aftermarket. If no, OEM is the safer path.

Quick reference:

• High hours + mechanic → Scenario A (buy quality aftermarket, stock up)
• Moderate hours + wishy-washy maintenance → Scenario B (mix OEM for complex, aftermarket for wear)
• Low hours + no wrench → Scenario C (buy OEM, pay the premium, sleep well)

I’ve seen people in Scenario C buy aftermarket tracks because they were cheaper, only to burn $600 on fitting costs. Don’t be that person. Know your situation.

Final Thought: Information Is Your Cheapest Part

The best thing you can do for your Terex parts budget is spend 30 minutes documenting your usage. Track your hours, keep a log of what breaks and when, and be honest about your own time. That data is worth more than any discount a vendor can offer.

An informed customer asks better questions and makes faster decisions. I’d rather spend 10 minutes explaining options than deal with mismatched expectations later. That’s why I wrote this—not to sell you anything, but to help you make a choice you can stand behind.