Buying Advice ASV Posi-Track

[ASV HD 4500]

My Friend,
I bought an ASV HD 4500 also. Live near San Antonio deep in the woods and had it painted and delivered from Tennesse for a total of $15000. It looks showroom new and tracks are 80%, no blowby, no leaks. All controls work great. Found an operators manuel on ebay for $45, but can down load it on the net. Go to UTube and type in Shoot Out For 80Hp skidsteers. You should find ASV, John Deere, New Holland and a T250 Bobcat. ASV beat every machine in every competition from hill climbs in sand, going through mud, going up steep hills and bouncing over, going over a road of logs. ASV beat them all and has that patented undercarriage. Cat bought 29% interest in 1983 and later more. They eventually put that system on theirs. ASV I believe quit making their machines in 2012, but Terex sells them and works on them. Luckily I have a dealer 8 miles away and they will come out. There is a lot to learn about these machines and things to watch out for. They call them high maintenance, but it's the only machine that has a self cleaning undercarriage. Doesn't mean you can take that for granted. Also has an easy get to swing out radiator and oil cooler to air clean or pressure wash. Clean them clean!! Also I am looking for a nice small bull dozer. I missed a nice John Deere at the auction. A 450 C with brush guard and it seemed the trany slipped a little. That's a $5000 rebuild and another $5000 rebuild for the undercarriage if needed. It went for $6500. Make me a real good deal on that 350 and find someone to deliver it to the 78101 zip code area near San Antonio tx. and we can talk. Thanks. Ernie

 

[ASV HD 4500]

My dealer sells new ASV tracks for around $4000 for the pair. For just a couple hundred extra, best to stay with quality. If you go to the net and type in operators manuel for your ASV that will cover some on axles and for sure planetaries. Maybe you can download the maintenance manuel. Good luck! I am going to do alot of my own work like keeping the tracks tight. That and keeping the radiator and oil cooler free of dust, dirt and debree is high priority.

 

[ASV HD 4500]

Go to UTube and type in "Shootout For 80Hp skidsteers" Should bring up ASV against 3 others. Quite impressive for ASV. I only know about the HD 4500 and 4520. The 4520 has a whopping 115HP. You can break things with that power. People that have owned them have done a little welding hear and there, but still with common sense you have a great machine. ASV's new are very expensive. You are right, they are the smoothest and lightest on the ground machine made. My ASV HD 4500 has had no issues. Trying to learn more and more on how to fix myself. Mechanics are $90 to $110 an hr. + mileage + running back to get parts. Get a trailer for 14000lbs or learn to work on them yourself. Good luck. Ernie

 

[ASV HD 4500]

How much for the John Deere 350? Wow, I was born in Hibbing Mn. and raised on a farm in Akeley Mn.. Did two years in the VA in St. Cloud Mn. and some in St Paul. Lived in Burnsville and Minneapolis. Drove Greyhound Bus from Chicago to Minneapolis 491 miles every other day for years. Girl friend was from Virginia and waited for the school bus when it was 40 below. Where are you from? A beautiful state, especially the north.

 

[ASV HD 4500]

The RC 100 is 100Hp. and now they make one that is 105Hp. The older ones like mine ASV HD 4500 is 81Hp and the 4520 is 115Hp. ASV is the best, but CAT did buy into them in the 80's and later again in the 90's. They did use the same undercarriage as ASV. My friends just bought a CAT 277 and like it, but to me it still will not perform like the ASV. Now Terex has ASV and can work on any. The older engines are John Deere and any Deere or Terex dealer can work on them. New tracks are about $4000, but they are wide. Yes, by all means keep the slack out of the tracks. Pretty simple fix. These machines can be high maintenance if you don't keep the tracks clean and the radiator and oil cooler clean. Also a simple fix as both swing out from the back. I use mine for pushing brush, taking out tree's and digging a stock pond. I bought a Grapple Root Rake bucket from Pallets.com and love it. Only $1595 delivered. You can actually rake backwards with it from fence lines. I paid $15000 for mine with a new paint job and delivered. You can find these from $10000 up, but make sure there is no blowby. Rebuilding the engine is expensive. Oh, the ASV is the only machine I know of that you can actually reverse the seat and foot controls and reroute the hydraulics to the back through the cage and use as a tractor with a 3pt hitch and power take off. Any machine can be a gem or a ton of trouble. Research them all and try any you can find, but go to Utube and type in "Shoot outs" for your HP machine.

 

[ASV HD 4500]

Well I just bought an ASV HD4500. This machine has 80 hp John Deere Power Tech 4045engine and weights about 8500 lbs. I hope I made a good choice. I bought it because it is one of the ASV machines that has less ground pressure and more ground clearance than any tracked skid loader out there. I feel I got a good deal. This machine has 1800 hours and is very well kept but needs new tracks. Anyone know a good place where I can possible find used tracks. I don't put many hours on my machines since they are just farm use so I just need serviceable tracks. Thanks.

I also have a ASV HD 4500. i have a newer John Deere engine, but machine has over 3000 hrs. on it. That is equivilent to 2 mo's. work on a Const. crew at 8hrs. a day. My left side undercarriage was tottally redone and new track. If you want a used track I will sell the other side for $1000. It is at about 50%. Good for Farm work. I bought mine simply because it will beat any machine made in hills, mud, over logs and smoothness. Go to Utube and type in compare 80Hp skidsteers. ASV beat them all. Used to be affiliated with CAT and Now Terex. Get parts through any dealer. John Deere Engine any Deere dealer can work on. You can also reverse the seat and foot rest and use as a tractor. Of course you have to buy the 3pt. attachment. I have a $1595 Grapple Root Rake bucket I just purchased new and delivered and it is pretty neat. I have taken out some pretty big stumps, but you have to know when to back off. Good machines and I paid for mine $15000 painted, new decals and delivered from Oklahoma to Texas. Back lights work, but front do not. That is an easy fix. All filters, oils and hydraulics are up to date and very clean. Not one tiny leak and this thing roars at 2500 rpm. Can push over good size trees just by raising the bucket and I have had some big loads over head and hasn't even tried to tip. I have no idea how I would get the track to you. It is the same size as the 18inch on the other side, but width wise it is 17"s. If you buy an aftermarket make sure it is 18"s wide, 220"s long and weighs 265lbs. The tracks are molded Rubber with Kevlar reinforcement. No steel at all. It has two rows of internal drive lugs. Good luck. They are bad looking machines to begin with and the weight without loader is 7500lbs, with loader: 8500lbs.. It goes 6MPH I own a ranch and I bought mine for a stock pond, clearing land, building buildings. plowing, shredding, road building. It does a lot and I would never have a wheeled loader. Not where I live in the sand or mud. Ground clearance on these are 16"s. Almost as much as my Can Am 800 mud machine and it floats over the mud. I would have bought a cat same HP, but $20000 and they still ride rough, but parts are plentiful. 1st it's ASV, CAT, NEW HOLLAND and then what ever you like. We all like what we have and if we don't we learn only from experience. May be good for one, but the other a nightmare. These do like to drink diesel, lol. EO

 

[King of the Road]

I have been looking for a used skidsteer and wasn't familiar with the ASVs.
I have seen several recent sales of the 4810 POSI-TRACK in the $6,500-$10,000 range and that sounded cheap. I found this thread via Google.
Any feedback on the low sales prices?

 

[Northern Specialties]

I'd guess they are getting to be older machines, if the u/c isn't to far gone that might be an ok price, but everything wears out eventually and when your talking machines that old your may have to get creative for replacement parts/repairs.
ASV HD 4500, what proximity to Akeley did you grow up in? I'm North of 11th Crow Wing a few miles......

 

[rodbuilder]

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 interested in a machine that has had what sounds like pretty heavy industrial service even though only 1200 hours?

I realize that this is a REALLY old post but the lugs you're talking about are called "Larry Lugs". You just drill holes and bolt them on. When the bogies go South on you replace them with the aluminum ones! OH - and the comment earlier about a $650 alternator. C'mon people who is ANYONE dumb enough to pay $650 for an alternator? SERIOUSLY!!! Take the thing to an auto/electrical shop and have it rebuilt! There's a shop in Peru, Illinois called Peru Auto Electric that will do the job for about $75!!!!!!!! Ditto for the starter!

And anyone who knocks an ASV is doing so because he beat the snot out of his, because you can't beat the ASV machines. I've owed a RC30 and an RC50 and they are awesome machines. You can tear up an army tank if you don't treat it like you're supposed to.

 

[HD 4520 owner]

I have the fifth ASV HD 4520 that was produced. Bought it brand new and I am still using it daily. To me I believe it is the best track loader that has ever been produced. I still had the original engine oil cooler and radiator in it. Actually everything in it is original except the auxiliary PTO. And yes I'm still on the original set of tracks. The machine is in the air right now tracks are off it because I have thrown 12 lugs and need to replace the tracks. The engine says John Deere but it is actually produced by Cummins. I will own this machine until I cannot find parts for it ever. Once I do need to get parts for it. I have a bucket and grapple I have the six way grouser dozer blade I run a brush hog with it post hole digger. And every other attachment that can be used for that machine. For peace of machinery. I have to say I love it. It might be old but it is very trustworthy. Well worth the money if you can find one. And with the availability of parts and the manuals for them you can keep that machine running for a lifetime.