What would you do with 100,000.00 mulch it?

[DickInDixie]

Look at asv pt 100 forestry machine and look at denis cemif head or if your in rocky conditions look at magnum cutter with rock teeth. Then buy the biggest leaf blower they make and blow machine out 2 times a day . Buy extended warrenty its well worth money

Very good advice - the cleanfix fan is approx. $3,000 dollars (pneumatic timed self/manual reversing fan) it does work a bit better than constantly having to blow the radiator out - as this does it for you.
And an extended warranty? WELL WORTH IT!:thumbsup:

 

[DickInDixie]

OK I fail to see the logic in your advice. Mainly in the leaf blower and extended warranty.

I am of the opinion that you buy a machine that is BUILT for the PURPOSE of MULCHING. If you get the right machine you do not need an extended warranty. If you get a machine that is built for mulching you will have enough cooling capacity to work all day and you can just blow out when you get back to the truck at the end of the day. When you are working on a 500 acre job you can be up to a mile or two away from the truck. These machines do not exactly burn up the mountainside when you have to go back in the middle of the day to blow out a couple of times. You will make twice the money if you get the right machine and you will spend twice the money if you get the wrong one. Tons of guys on this site have gone down the ASV road and almost as many have wished they had gotten a real forestry machine to start with. Where he will be working is a very dry dusty place and at some pretty high altitudes as well, an ASV will not have a prayer working out in NM. Everyone who knows me also knows that I have been running out in NM for right at three years now. The rocks are brutal, the dust is crazy and the high altitudes and almost no humidity for most of the year make it a very tough environment for a mulcher.

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The Extended warranty would be in any Consumers best interest, ESPECIALLY if they are buying for personal use - and not "working" the machine for profit. Personal use machines tend to sit for periods of time - we all know what happens when things "just hang around johnny homeowners house". They usually have a few issues when put back to work.

 

[cbturf]

The ASV is not the ideal machine for anything other than moving dirt. Even with a few guards an ASV is NOT a forestry machine. Sean's post tells you about the type of work he will be doing and he is not looking for a machine for recreational homeowner use. He has 500 acre of pinyon-juniper meadow restoration and another 100 of pine. Probably ponderosa but if it is doug fir he will be in some pretty hard stuff. Anyone who takes an ASV into a 600 acre job will regret that choice.

My point about the extended warranty is "why even bother with a machine that you are more confident that it will break down??" As a consumer you are betting that the machine will be broken down and the repairs will cost more than the cost of the warranty. I am confident that my machine will run and make me plenty of money, breakdowns cost you a whole lot more than the cost of the repair. Damage to your business image is huge, there is NOTHING more embarrassing than standing in front of your customer trying to explain why you still are not working after being on a one week job for ten days. Loss of productivity, the bill keep coming whether you are broke down or not. I am yet to meet a banker, insurance agent or any other creditor who will just patiently wait until you get back to work.

There are way to many things to consider other than just "what machine is cheapest" if you do not think about things like percentage of uptime and the costs related to buying an underperforming machine you will not survive long term in this business.

 

[treeman40]

why not contract the job out. sit back and let someone else deal with break downs<and get paid . the mulching busines is pretty tuff.

 

[AX MAN]

If you depend on an ASV to clear the acreage you are considering. You will fail. Your profit will go towards lost time and repairs.

 

[necontractors]

Just throwing this out there my local bobcat dealer came by today with a skidsteer machine 100hp with steel tracks and a fecon head that is built for bobcat only. he told me that the unit would run right about 100k he also said that cooling problem is a thing of the past and that the unit would only have to be blown out one time a day. looks nice with a 3 year warrenty 1 on the head. I just want to know if any one has worked with this unit. and is it any good.

 

[QwikDraw]

Bobcats T320 has 92 HP...if your salesman said 100 hp, he was lying...

 

[necontractors]

Bobcats T320 has 92 HP...if your salesman said 100 hp, he was lying...

Your right 92 HP is exact I just get excited, but what about the machine have you herd anything good or bad about it.

 

[WestshoreConstruction]

Bobcats T320 has 92 HP...if your salesman said 100 hp, he was lying...

Ted your really down on Bobcat these days EH Yeah the Bobcat is 92hp Kubota same as the Tak Same engine actually. V3300 Kubota I thinks.

 

[WestshoreConstruction]

Your right 92 HP is exact I just get excited, but what about the machine have you herd anything good or bad about it.

I'm gonna respectfully decline to answer this one in fear Ted's gonna blast me LOL JK Ted im not trying to pick on you. I've had two of them, they had a few small problems at first (I had one of the first T320's sold anywhere) Software related (SJC controls and traction management). They couldn't figure out the control problem so they replaced the machine with a spankin new one after I put 500 hrs on it and it was fine...... Then one of my operators backed into a drainage ditch and the rear door (1/2" thick) pushed waay in and a bolt went through the fuel filter (Retarted location) and she burnt. I havent replaced it yet as I have two other skids a S330 with tracks and a little guy. I put out the moola and got a dedicated machine for mulching and use the 330 for really small jobs or for cleaning up. I know Ted loves his Tak and if they would bump the hp up to the 100hp or so mark and flow up to around the 45 gpm or 40 gpm closed loop and around 4500 psi I would probably have one too. Biggest problem is... No dealer support here, same as ASV.