Mobile Track Solutions gets more power to the ground

The MTS 3630 Duplex Drive tractor on display during ConExpo 2026. (Photo: Chad Elmore)

Mobile Track Solutions (MTS), the manufacturer of “Construction Grade” tractors and scrapers in Elkader, Iowa, has two new machines and one flagship machine on display at its booth in the Festival Lot during ConExpo-Con/Agg. Between those machines there will be five axles supplied by German drivetrain specialist NAF.

MTS first coined the term “Construction Grade” with its model 3630 tractor platform, available in wheeled and tracked variations as well as the gooseneck style 3630 Switchback. A 3630 Switchback will be on display in Las Vegas, along with the company’s latest machines: the 3630 Duplex Drive tractor and the all-new 775 hp 3775 tractor.

“The 3630 platform has been a fantastic machine,” said Phil Rausch, Sales Manager, MTS. “We’ve built a great reputation off of that tractor, and we have no plans to slow down or discontinue that series. However, to further separate ourselves from the conventional scraper-pulling tractor market, we’ve spawned the 3775.”

The extra horsepower installed in the 3775 tractor means contractors can get more done with fewer machines.

“Our current tractor, the 3630, can pull any of our scrapers from the smallest 20 yard up to our largest scraper, which is a 38 yard,” said Rausch. “With the 38-yard scraper, in some soil conditions, you may need a little bit of assistance, such as with a push Cat, to help really squeeze every bit of material you can into the bowl. With the 3775, the operator has the horsepower needed to independently fully load a 38-yard scraper in heavier and harder packed soils. There’s a big value add to a larger scraper with more capacity and cutting out the costs associated with an assisted load. The new 3775 will make that possible.”

Mobile Track Solutions’ new 3775 scraper tractor has made its debut at ConExpo 2026. (Photo: MTS)

The increase in horsepower required beefing up the axles installed in the new 3775 tractor, a task that was given to NAF Axles North America Inc., the Illinois-based office of German axle supplier NAF.

“It’s a good niche for us, this kind of product,” said Till Kieser, Senior Sales & Business Development Manager, NAF. “One thing is the high loads the axle can take in combination with the high input torque. We’ve seen that machines in forestry and construction and ag are growing more and more in the horsepower class as well as from loads. There are not many axle producers who have these kinds of solutions for so many different applications.”

For 3775, MTS and NAF engineers spec’d the SAP 99, the largest of NAF’s rigid axles. It comes with heavy-duty outboard planetary drives and is compatible with tracks or single- and dual-wheel configurations. Designed to handle high horsepower engines (up to 780 hp) found in scraper tractors, farm tractors and forestry skidders, the axle uses advanced gear technology sourced from the automotive industry and adapted for use in heavy-duty applications. NAF said the configuration leads to higher efficiency and extends service life when compared to the manufacturing processes and gear tooth qualities normally used in the heavy-duty sector.

Stopping power comes from enclosed internal service and parking brakes for low wear under high braking conditions.

The SAP 99 axle from NAF. (Illustration: NAF)

The axle beam itself is cast and optimized for high load capacity using state-of-the-art simulation technology and is equipped with heavy-duty wheel bearings.

“The main problem with scraper tractors is that for the heavy power from the engine to be brought to the ground they’re using big tires or dual tires and even track systems and that combination can destroy the planetary drive in the axle,” said Peter Illig, head of Sales and Marketing, NAF. “We have a heavy-duty solution that is strong enough to avoid any kind of damages. It’s a long life and good heavy-power solution, to give OEMs like MTS the opportunity to create high power and bring it to the ground.”

The equipment built and sold by MTS is available and supported by a network comprised of 25 Caterpillar dealers worldwide. While the company’s previous models are adapted from an existing articulated farm tractor, the 3775 is a clean-sheet design that will be built by MTS in Iowa.

“We’ve been successful in the product development phase of our scrapers and tractors and we’re applying those same principles that we’ve learned the last 15 years to this new tractor,” said Jacob Bickett, Design Engineering manager, MTS. “We’re working to get the principles right out of the gate, and then we can alter the tractor for specific applications. We can do bells and whistles and custom engineered solutions for pulling other implements when our customers and our dealers see a need for it. There’s really nobody in the industry that is building a tractor of this size that is willing to do custom solutions that tie the tractor to earthmoving.”

While each tractor built by MTS is a production machine, the company is equipped to handle a high amount of customization for its customers and dealers. The same will be true for the 3775 tractors when they get out in the field.

“A lot of big ideas get thrown around on the engineering side and the sales side, and from the dealers too,” said Bickett. “They’ve been instrumental in bringing us non earthmoving applications that they have need for. They’ll say, ‘you guys do this, put these parts together a little different, and give us a solution to solve a problem in forestry, mining or utility work.’”

ConExpo stands:

Mobile Track Solutions

Festival Lot, F17013

NAF Axles NA Inc.

South Hall, S84107

This article originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Power Progress.