Buying Advice ASV Posi-Track

[bz1]

Anyone have any experience good or bad with ASV skid loaders? I'm interested in something like the 4810, 2810, 4500, MD70 or similar that have the long track on the ground with low ground pressure. I have a lot of soft ground on my property and I think these look to be ideal for my situation. They appear to have the ability to crawl through stuff that no other tracked skid loader can match. Thanks for any info.

[RobertN]

I have rented the smaller RC-30 in the past. It was an amazing machine. It was in wet conditions. Not sure on the bigger.

[bz1]

Robert, thanks for the feedback. I was at my local dealer today. He says the RC-30 is selling like hot cakes. People really like that machine. I think all the ASV's have ground pressure figures lower than any others. I need something bigger than the RC-30 and unfortunately the older machines that aren't made anymore have the most track on ground. I looked at a 4810 and a 2810. They are choice machines around here for any logging work when wet ground is involved and the power line companies use them for the same reason. That makes used ones hard to find because they get scooped up quick. I'm going to keep looking for one but I'd really like to know more about reliability and longevity.

[HHR]

I have had experience with an RC-50 and that thing had problems. Both tilt cylinders failed at 500 hours and the undercarriage is not tough enough for hard excavation chores. Parts were very expensive ($670 alternator) and the design and engineering of the machine is poor. It did work well for moving snow or driving over soft surfaces, but does not hold up to real world abuse. If you are looking at a tracked machine, the Mustang would be my first choice.

[RobertN]

Interesting; I have rented CAT's(262 I think) and they used the ASV undercarriage. I had not heard issues with them. I talked with the rental guys; they had held up well for them and the abuse rental stuff gets.

I have had experience with an RC-50 and that thing had problems.

[HHR]

The drive sprockets for the track like to loosen up and take out the hydraulic drive motor shaft. Keeping them tight is critical.
The cab lights use household halogen housings that do not hold up to vibration. The connectors fall off leaving you with one rear light to work by. Don't get me started on the vulnerable radiator or the poorly designed water pump.
Terex recently bought out ASV and moved most operations out east.

[tlbuser]

I had a 60 and moved up to a 100. Both of them have worked well for our application; clearing, excavation, toting stuff, landscape, etc. From my experience, three point turns and track rotation are the best way to add longevity to the undercarriage and what I've read, adding a mulcher is a bad thing. One of my competitors runs a 4810 (still using it), he was the reason I decided ASV was the way to go. After running his for a couple hours, I had to have one and still glad I did.

[bz1]

It's always interesting to see the range of comments on machines. I'm not sure how to sort out the bad experiences from the good. I suppose with any machine there are lemons to be had, and there are users who work them harder than most, and their are uses that some just can't handle. I have heard a number of comments about undercarriage parts not holding up. The comment about high parts cost is interesting since most I've talked to claim the parts cost are the lowest of any machine. My local CAT dealer says many of his customers buy undercarriage parts from the ASV dealer because they are much cheaper than from CAT. For something like an alternator I would think you could buy that at many places since the engine isn't made by ASV anyway. I have John deere and Mustang equipment and even for those I can buy things like alternators and starters from NAPA if I have to. I appreciate any input.

[Doug C]

I have a 2005 RC-100, only have a little over 500 hours but it has been a very good machine. Extremely fast and powerfull, makes quick work of tough jobs. Planning on running it many more years.

[bz1]

I just looked at an RC100 with about 1200 hours that had been used to mow powerline right of ways. The tracks are kind of beat up and missing a couple of internal drive lugs. The seller says you can buy bolt-on drive lugs to fix that easily. He also says he routinely buys used tracks because there are so much cheaper. He also says you can buy bolt-on cleats for the tracks to provide more traction. Anyone ever heard of these bolt-on drive lugs or cleats? He says that in his business there is no other machine he'd ever own since the others just don't hold up. Interesting. He has 3 of these machines including a brand new one he paid $70K for. Should I be intrested in a machine that has had what sounds like pretty heavy industrial service even though only 1200 hours?