actual repair cost by hour usage of skid crawler undercarriage

[palmettobrush]

my pt 100s got 2000 hours out of tracks and around 1200 out of sprockets and havent put any bogies on yet the pt bogies are way better than the rc ones and i only paid 3900 for my tracks

 

[Bison]

Digdeep,

I'm in the market for an ASV RC50 or RC60...is your RC50 pre 2005 or 2006+? I'm leaning towards pre-2005 to take advantage of the lower weight (I want to run turf tracks)...do you have any advice on how to check out a used machine to determine undercarraige condition?

Tx!

Mark

You got to jack the machine up to inspect the axle roller brgs and boogies for play or dry.
For front and rear idler inspection you got to remove the tracks.
Track lug and wheel wear can be seen from the outside.
Be very wary if the owner has no detailed maintenance record.
Don't just take his word for it.Don't ask how i know this

 

[excav8ter]

Man, ASV and Cat's are pricey to repair. I am running my Takeuchi TL 130 with 2,300 or so hours on it. I have put three sets of sprockets on it, i am about to put my second set of aftermarket tracks on it, solideal "B" pattern and i wrecked a front roller while working a really steep slope. My cost so far is a pretty close estimate per hour. I am running real close to $2.43 per hour for under carriage repairs so far. I am an owner/operator so i am kind of careful, but you should also know that I sold my D-4C dozer about 3 months after buying my TL 130. I use the 130 for every thing from cleaning up after sewer and water installs, backfilling basements, to grading driveways, parking lots and sidwalks. In the winter it has a 6' snowblower on it. I love that machine. Cats and ASV's are nice but ridiculously expensive when it comes to track/under carriage repairs.

 

[McCaskey]

Higher track repair costs are typical to forestry usage. Turning on cutoff brush digs into the track. Debris get lodged into the undercarriage. Material in the track is impossible to see from operators view. As in picture below, debris can be quite damaging. Combined with continuous full throttle usage and major heat generation, forestry is really tough on any machine. After denting the oil pan with a branch, I welded some mesh over the access holes under the engine and pump.

 

[excav8ter]

Higher track repair costs are typical to forestry usage. Turning on cutoff brush digs into the track. Debris get lodged into the undercarriage. Material in the track is impossible to see from operators view. As in picture below, debris can be quite damaging. Combined with continuous full throttle usage and major heat generation, forestry is really tough on any machine. After denting the oil pan with a branch, I welded some mesh over the access holes under the engine and pump.

I know that type of work is going to be tough on a machine, but having rocks, gravel, mud and concrete getting in the tracks and UC is pretty damaging if not more so. $10.00 per hour for UC maintenance is crazy.
I am surprised that your oil pan was that exposed, aren't there skid plates under it? Mine has 1/4" skid plates under it from front to back.
I do enjoy seeing a well set up Cat or ASV doing forestry work... love to seethe wood fly when they get into a tree or heavy brush. :thumbsup:

 

[Bob Rooks]

I welded some mesh over the access holes under the engine and pump.

I feel your pain on the track issues, but I'm curious about the mesh you welded over the access holes. What do they access, and what do you do when you have to go in there?

 

[McCaskey]

I don't know why there are two 4" holes in the skid plates. They originally had rubber plugs, but they got mulched a long time ago. The holes are not convenient access to anything. I figured drainage. The expanded metal stopped the debris problem. In addition to denting oil pan, another stick pushed the wire connector off the oil sensor. The skid plates are heavy, I use a floor jack to drop & lift when cleaning out machine.

I also added some after market hose protectors to the undercarriage. They work well in stopping branches from damaging hose assemblies.

 

[tuckinlugz]

The holes in the belly pan are so you can access the oil drain plug on the engine without dropping the pans.

On mine I got a 1/4" x 3" plate and drilled a 1/2" hole in it. Then I got a 1 1/2" x 3" plate, drilled a hole in it, then welded a nut on it. Slide the skinny piece in, then run a bolt through it to squeeze it together. Then you can take it off later if you want.

On the TL130 $2.23 per hr x 2300= 5129. That includes 2 sets of rollers and 2 sets of tracks? Sounds pretty good! Do you think the TL150 would be the same? Maybe I should get one of those!

 

[tuckinlugz]

Hey I called about the ASV part number lited by Buck and they said it was $18,000+ retail but they would hook me up for $16,500 plus shipping, plus sales tax!!!!! So that would be $18 an hour just for undercarraige! WOW!!! Digdeep please tell us a part number and where to call for the $8,500 set!

 

[excav8ter]

The holes in the belly pan are so you can access the oil drain plug on the engine without dropping the pans.

On mine I got a 1/4" x 3" plate and drilled a 1/2" hole in it. Then I got a 1 1/2" x 3" plate, drilled a hole in it, then welded a nut on it. Slide the skinny piece in, then run a bolt through it to squeeze it together. Then you can take it off later if you want.

On the TL130 $2.23 per hr x 2300= 5129. That includes 2 sets of rollers and 2 sets of tracks? Sounds pretty good! Do you think the TL150 would be the same? Maybe I should get one of those!

Tracks for the TL150 will run a few more bucks because of the size of them... but i know some guys who run TL140's and are only a grand or so ahead of me in track expense and we run about the same hours per set of tracks. The Takeuchi's are great machines and our dealer is amazing. I had mine in for new sprockets last year and they gave me a new TL140 to try out for the day while they put my sprockets on.