The Beast

[Walnut Beast]

Absolutely things can happen 😂 But in general no they don’t have problems with them coming off even on the steep slopes that’s a fact. A friend of mine sold ASV and was the number one and two dealer in the nation for years. Would by 10 machines at a time cash. And yes they had a service department. I’m well aware of the problems and if they where owners lack of maintenance ( not adjusting track tension or greasing.) or neglect on anything else. Even when everything is under warranty on the machine for two years or 2000 hrs I still need to do maintenance 

[Walnut Beast]

The biggest issues they had several years ago was some bad batches of the torsion axles that had to be replaced 

[nativewolf]

The biggest issues they had several years ago was some bad batches of the torsion axles that had to be replaced

I think anyone that has followed your post on ASVs should know that you are well versed in the good and bad of the suspension systems on that brand.  You bought so I'm sure you are confident you will be ok.  I'm just curious as to the mulcher head you'd run.  I'm partial to FAE but I've sold ours, it was actually the subsoiling/mulching head- pto powered.  Took too big a platform and our 20k lb tractor was just getting beat up pulling it.   Sold the tractor with it.   I'd like to have a CMI 250 but $$$$$$$

[Walnut Beast]

Very nice!  Should be a great mulching unit, what head will you put on that?  Do you have any issues with rock?  

I love that screen, hope the cameras are easy to replace or fix the lenses. I'd love to have something in our skidsteer , one of my big gripes.

Probably leaning toward a Prinoth head that takes varies teeth. Cutter teeth that you can sharpen and various carbides for rocky soil and different conditions. You can run both on the head and some do. A friend that bought two PrimeTech dedicated mulchers said I think your going to regret buying the Prinoth. So I’m deciding on FAE sonic head also. It’s got some new type of electronics that work with your machine like a transmission on the head when it gets loaded. He said it works awesome. The Dennis Cimaf company has been sold after he passed and bought a couple times since and I heard the quality is not even  close to what it was. You definitely want to make a good decision on these heads of this caliber range when there 36-42k 

[nativewolf]

Very nice!  Should be a great mulching unit, what head will you put on that?  Do you have any issues with rock?  

I love that screen, hope the cameras are easy to replace or fix the lenses. I'd love to have something in our skidsteer , one of my big gripes.

Probably leaning toward a Prinoth head that takes varies teeth. Cutter teeth that you can sharpen and various carbides for rocky soil and different conditions. You can run both on the head and some do. A friend that bought two PrimeTech dedicated mulchers said I think your going to regret buying the Prinoth. So I’m deciding on FAE sonic head also. It’s got some new type of electronics that work with your machine like a transmission on the head when it gets loaded. He said it works awesome. The Dennis Cimaf company has been sold after he passed and bought a couple times since and I heard the quality is not even  close to what it was. You definitely want to make a good decision on these heads of this caliber range when there 36-42k

Didn't know he'd passed on, he really pushed the state of the art in heads.  A cimaf head on an excavator was a popular choice for many.  I also didn't know about the FAE sonic, have to read up on that.  Like you said, a $40k decision that will go a long way to keeping you happy or not.  We've got rock everywhere, all sorts.  Some is pretty soft, then a streak of igneous rock that will shatter teeth.

[Walnut Beast]

There is a guy down In Oklahoma that has a new system that FAE claims he stole or copied from them of there sonic system and his company is Mastodon.com. The system he has looks pretty impressive with a small touch screen monitor that goes in your cab with various information and adjustments. The 160cc Parker pump acts like a variable transmission on a and a new tooth design he has a patent on. He said he backs his head and will put it up against anything. I might have to take a trip down there. The owner Patrick is proud, confident and firm on 43k on the head and monitor. 

[mike_belben]

I'm guessing the head uses a variable displacement motor that reduces displacement (straightens the swash plate) as the drum speed falls off?

[Haleiwa]

For that price you could buy two Virnigs and set them up with different teeth for stony or clean conditions. My experience is that the first set of teeth doesn't last as long as the second (good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment).  If you really want to see sparks,  hit a piece of steel.

[treemuncher]

ASV's float when others don't. They are more maintenance for sure but they flat outperform other track u/c's imo. I've spent a fair amount of seat time in both. The old models like the 4810 were known for losing tracks, but I never had an issue with the newer ones.

I purchased a 4810 new maybe around 2003 or so. I experienced 7 track derailments in the first 70 hours of ownership. Needless to say, I was *pithed. Try getting a track back on in a swamp or a steep hillside - it really SUCKED. The manufacturer finally sent me an anti-derailment kit that solved the inner derailments, for the most part. Nothing but constant track issues and it cost more to rebuild that UC than a D6. 3 sets of tracks in a little over 2k hrs. You had to be very careful how and where you ran that machine. Sharp flint rock and rubber tracks don't mix well, or any rock for that matter. The machine made me a lot of money but it was a real maintenance hog. Like a boat, the best days of my ownership were purchase and sell days.

It was a stout machine with great lifting capacity and low ground pressure. I could do things with that machine that no other machine could attempt when it came to swamp work. I also knew it as the "PITCH & PUKE" machine because I got sick to my stomach in that thing so many times. Watching a wall of green in front of you falling to the ground endlessly while traversing over rough terrain would always bring out my motion sickness.

I've run some of the newer ASVs and they are much improved. If they could side hill up to 30-35 degrees, they would be a much better machine.  But, for my line of work, they are too small and not well suited to forestry abuse. If I was looking at small machines, if the track system is better than it was, I would add them to the shopping list and start reading specs.

[Walnut Beast]

 

 

 A guy out on the other end of the state runs 4 ASV RT 120s, Prentice mulcher, and two big excavators. What I hear from guys that run multiple smaller machines vs one dedicated is the speed and productivity they are getting jobs done 

[Walnut Beast]

Nativewolf this is a Prinoth head that I’m leaning toward on a Lamtrac 6140 or 70. It’s a bite limiter that will take teeth to sharpen and carbides. It I was in rocky terrain this head wouldn’t be the one. It would be a different rotor that would take some different variations of carbides

 

 This is Prinoths dedicated machine the Raptor 800. 640hp C18 CAT

[sawguy21]

 Snow is it’s own beast to operate in with a light crawler. Long ago but not too far away I worked in a sawmill that used a nearly new 1010 Deere crawler/loader with forks as a yard machine. Load the deck with logs and move packs of lumber out to the yard. The mill was on a side hill with the log deck at ground level and the tail section up about 10’ in the air. Backing away from the mill with a pack of lumber, the back of the crawler would ride up on the snow. I’d only be able to back up maybe the length of the machine before I would have to go ahead a bit to bring it back down. Jockey around like that 3-4 times before I could get far enough away from the mill to turn and travel forward.
  Tossed the slabs down into a KB-6 dump truck. Even with triple side chains on, that was a job to get over to the slab pile and back.

Wow, a KB-6 dump truck? How old are you?