Supertrak SK140TR-B Demo (AVS 100 too)

[jrizman]

The ASV with forestry package and head is well over 100K, as what I have been quoted. The one i ran was the PT100, i just forgot that in the title i see. Sorry. Its now hard to compare this 140 to others as its the master of its domain in my opinion. I agree "impressive" was my first thought.

The SK140 has the quick attach on the front and you can also still run low flow heads. Running the machine with other implements is obviously less taxing and thus less gph. You could easily run a cut to length system using this machine in my opinion. Hotsaw, shears, really anything due to the power its putting out, not to mention the weight of the machine.

The undercarrage of the steel tracked unit is pretty different than the rubber one, trust me, I inquired heavily about this. It would be nice if they would produce the Steel tracked unit without all the bells and whistles. That may be coming, u never know, im keeping my fingers crossed. For the projects I do here, our profit margins are too slim for this type of machine right now.

This is good discussion. I like seeing more of these machines out, it helps to bring the price down, the way i see it. I think that Cat needs to allow custom ordering so you can get a steel tracked machine with any options.

What was the air con like ? I wonder if ASV would now consider putting steel tracks on the PT100F ? If they can fit them on the Cat i can see no reason ASV could not . The $180,000 is a big issue for me as that's about $5 million in OZ .

 

[Eagleview]

Thank's for your reply . The thing i wanted to do with one involves having a log grapple on the rear . I could cut the trees off at ground level , spin around and grab the butt and skid it to a pile for burning . I think too much time is taken grinding up trees . I would be sacked from the job out here . If it took 10 minutes to fall a tree and mulch it , that would be 6 trees per hour @ say $160 per hour that's over $26 per tree . Is there room for a grapple or is there a rear door ?

 

[jrizman]

I wish i hadnt killed my batteries so i could have taken more pics.

The rear door opens as standard. the rear bar opens with a pin. You could easily put an additional push bar or even two, welded directly to the machine with pins for ease of service. i think you could do that with any of them. A bit of engineering and it would be plenty stout. if the winch can pull the machine mounted in this manner, I doubt youll be hauling 15K lbs worth of longs too often.

 

[cbturf]

I have a couple of questions too. Did both machines have the same tooth setup. I know Tom is all about the Viper teeth on the FAE stuff. Also you were not comparing apples to apples. The closed loop on the Supertrak will give you better mulching and the two speed motor on the head will give you a huge benifit also. I agree that it is a neat little machine, I tried Tom's big ole SK-300 back in the spring and it was not for me. It was really a slow lumbering beast better suited for big trees not the small stuff I was working, pretty sure that is not the case with the 140 though.

Once again I will inject myself into the price debate. If you have steady work and you plan to do this full time $100k is not much money over the life of a machine. If you get a better machine and spend only 1 hour more in a week working and not fixing you are much better off. Trust me I can tell you what breakdowns cost. A good machine is worth whatever they want for it if it will stay in the woods and not in the shop!

For me the math works out to less than three months of work to justify a $100k bigger machine.
$100000/$200 hour= 500 hours 500 hours/50 hours week=10 weeks!

 

[tlbuser]

I'm noticing that most of the guys here are runnng softwood areas. What is an average per acre timetable? What types of trees? I keep reading and dreaming about a mulcher but....especially times like today when it took 15 minutes to uproot a ***&& black gum tree.

 

[jrizman]

yeah, your right, as i stated, very different machines. Tom is trying to develop a self sharpening viper tooth (this machine had that). I was very impressed with the mulching ability of the ASV, however not the same for other parts of the machine. Cat has a nice drive system, very responsive hydraulics, i like that part better than others Ive driven (NewHolland, Deere, Bobcat, Scattrak and now ASV).

The 300 is crazy big. this seemed very small in the woods very quickly. The asv is smaller and you can feel it, but its turning radius leaves much to be desired. I dont really have a need for a machine this size right now, but if i did, I would be stoked to have one. its small enough while at the same time is a mean beast. much more nimble than a Timbco, but im not a really good operator at those. I have a lot of hrs in a skidsteer machine.

I think its very well priced for what you get, the upgrades were not put in for thrills, they were used to increase user comfort and control, as well as reduce fatigue. this is a very efficient machine. if you stall out the head, it gets going very fast (less than 3 secs), even the one speed head. Also, the ASV is not as friendly in the service dept (hydrolic window is good, but oil isnt so fun, nor is the air filter).

I have a couple of questions too. Did both machines have the same tooth setup. I know Tom is all about the Viper teeth on the FAE stuff. Also you were not comparing apples to apples. The closed loop on the Supertrak will give you better mulching and the two speed motor on the head will give you a huge benifit also. I agree that it is a neat little machine, I tried Tom's big ole SK-300 back in the spring and it was not for me. It was really a slow lumbering beast better suited for big trees not the small stuff I was working, pretty sure that is not the case with the 140 though.

Once again I will inject myself into the price debate. If you have steady work and you plan to do this full time $100k is not much money over the life of a machine. If you get a better machine and spend only 1 hour more in a week working and not fixing you are much better off. Trust me I can tell you what breakdowns cost. A good machine is worth whatever they want for it if it will stay in the woods and not in the shop!

For me the math works out to less than three months of work to justify a $100k bigger machine.
$100000/$200 hour= 500 hours 500 hours/50 hours week=10 weeks!

 

[jrizman]

I'm noticing that most of the guys here are runnng softwood areas. What is an average per acre timetable? What types of trees? I keep reading and dreaming about a mulcher but....especially times like today when it took 15 minutes to uproot a ***&& black gum tree.

I think you could do anywhere from 3-10 acres depending on your conditions. i would say you would chose different tooth setups for hardwood vs softwood, as you would grinding vs stumping etc. these machines make quick work of any stump.

 

[tlbuser]

I think you could do anywhere from 3-10 acres depending on your conditions. i would say you would chose different tooth setups for hardwood vs softwood, as you would grinding vs stumping etc. these machines make quick work of any stump.

3-10 acres per week? 40 hours machine time? Based on 80 - 140 hp machine. Not the stuff cbturf has been test driving

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Digdeep started it and I will add. Credit where credit is due. The guys at supertrak work hard and have a great tractor. BUT for that money I can buy 2 Cat 272C's with over the tire tracks, of course DENIS CIMAF heads and maybe a trailer. You will not outwork two tractor with one, not even that one. I also even bet I could give that supertrak more than he wanted with the CAT. I couldn't keep up but I would cut enough to make you go HHUUMMMM. Two tractors, you have a backup, two jobs at once. Just something to think about. I personally would like to run the Supertrak for about 3 hours and feel the power.

 

[cbturf]

Yet again Robbie's right. Unless you have zero breakdown time on the Supertrak the two machines would be more productive than one. Not to mention that you can be two places at one time with two machines.

I may sound like I am contradicting myself from the earlier post but I am not. I need big machines and that is how I look at everything, and I think that eve my man the "Robster" would agree that two of the Caterpillar skid steers will not keep up with that monster Tigercat, nor would they tolerate the super rough terrain that I am working in.