ASV30 vs ASV50

[dogdad]

The green tracks you see are really meant to be used at places like golf courses..drains well and don't need the grooved tracks.
Probably a good idea as far as getting that grappel for the ASV 50......keep in mind that if you get the RC50 you should go ahead and get the RC 60. The 50 is or will be discontinued.The RC 60 is taking its place. You should really call ASV direct as I did to answer your questions , Ask for technical department.

 

[IATreeguy]

Dogdad,

I had not heard of the 50 being discontinued. Will run that one by my friendly salesman in the morning. Having demo'd it I will say that the 60 is one sweet machine but it is definitely out of my price range. How do you get technical support department at ASV on a Sunday? If I can get the grapple under four foot wide I will have a winning combination plus have the standard interface to utilize other attchments.

Thanks for the feedback.

Is there a spell check on this forum and I can't find it?

[email protected]

 

[dogdad]

Sorry,,,the RC 50 will not be discontinued. The RC 60 has more engine and is turbo-charged. For more info,,call Rick Harris at ASV.

 

[IATreeguy]

My dealer had not heard of any change in the ASV lineup. The 50 is pretty much a stripped down version of the 60. The turbo is obvious but they have many small changes that enhance the 60. For example, side by side I noticed the heavier boom arms on the 60 this morning. About 5 grand difference in list price.

My dealer has been encouraging me to seriously consider the 60 ever since I first mentioned that I was looking for an ASV. The package of literature and DVDs sent by ASV also pointed out some of the more subtle but real differences between the 50 and the 60. Not so subtle was the difference in available backhoe attachments. Having demo'd the 60 I have to say that it was an incredible machine.

Meanwhile I continue the waiting and watching for an affordable 50 or 30. Are you still cleaning up from Katrina or have you expanded beyond that type of work? Thanks for the contact name at ASV. I also noted and appreciated your brand of choice chain saw shown in your original picture of your machine holding the log. I have a bunch of saws, trimmers and blowers of all sizes and every one is a Stihl.

 

[dogdad]

I am doing both. Still Katrina work out there. But i have also expanded.... dirt, gravel ,sloping,,,other things also. The machine has worked out well. It's easy making $90 an hour with the RC 30. I have also considered getting the RC60 or 70. But still thinking about it.

 

[elmnut]

Elmnut:

I was just looking at your RC50 with the green tracks. Talk to me a little about these. I looked at the DVDs from ASV yesterday. Most impressive. I can see where the green tracks would be the cats pajamas on turf. But will they function (at least minimally) for some work in tougher applications like pushing snow, working on a slope, or other places that are less than smooth level turf. Is there a performance or safety issue here?

The flip of that question is can one survive on turf with some judgement and finesse with the standard tracks. Yes I am still in the chase for an ASV. No final decision on the 30 vs 50 question. Either would work OK. More of a matter of what is available for purchase within my budget considering this machine will be an accessory and not the main feature of my operation. Some model of ASV will be in my shed in the near future.

One final question: If I go with the 50 I need a grapple no wider than 4 feet to rear load the dump box on the 2500HD. In your opinion would the following be feasible? Is the ouside width of the arms less than four feet? The grapple fabricator for ASV is 50 miles East of my location. They build custom units. It seems like the grapple for the 30 could be built on the standard mounting plate and used on the 50. Does this make any sense? Upgrading to a larger truck is not an option.

I appreciate that you posted the photo of your machine.

Thanks!

IATreeguy (born and raised in Livingston & Ontario County, NY)

The green tracks work in mud, snow, and on slopes, our unit will need a new set of tracks in March, I will not hesitate to purchase them again. I am not sure of the make of the grapple, but the tines on the bottom suck, next time I'll get the Faver or Quick Claw type made with high tensile steel. Vermeer Midwest had a listing on 3 demo units for sale in the treetrader.

 

[Leebo]

our unit will need a new set of tracks in March, I will not hesitate to purchase them again.

If you don't mind me asking, what's the price on replacing the green tracks?

 

[IATreeguy]

Asv 30 Vs Asv50

Lee,

Are you running green tracks on your 30 at this time? Are you as pleased as Elmnut (green tracks on 50) with the performance in all conditions? I am still looking for another airline pilot recalled with a 30 to sell reasonably!

Elmnut,

Will save your recommendation on the grapple. Thanks!
The Midwest Vermeer demo machines were the RCV model, just a tad larger than I can use.

 

[Leebo]

Mine came with standard tracks. You do need to be careful with your turns on soft ground. I think that replacement cost for RC30 standard tracks is $3000. I'm still trying to figure out how to check the track tension. According to the manual, one suspends a 50# weight about midway on the hypotenuse of the track and measures the deflection with a straight edge. The problem is that the rollers are spaced so that none of my weight solutions will fit between them. Maybe dogdad has a method. Tension seems fine but I'd hate to throw a track in the middle of the woods. I've done that on an M60 tank...no fun.:bang: I tried hard to get mine stuck in a foot of half frozen mucky mud last weekend and was unsuccessful...it just chugged through like it was on solid ground. A skid steer would be in there until August.

 

[IATreeguy]

Leebo,

Dogdad gave the name of Rick Harris at ASV for technical assistance. The 800 is on the <asvi.com> web site. Also there is an e mail address to contact ASV. Might be a good time to request the 2 DVDs if you do not already have them. The comparison DVD will caue you to wonder why anybody would consider any other brand. Your point of your inability to bury your machine is well documented in this DVD.

 

[John464]

One final question: If I go with the 50 I need a grapple no wider than 4 feet to rear load the dump box on the 2500HD. In your opinion would the following be feasible? Is the ouside width of the arms less than four feet? The grapple fabricator for ASV is 50 miles East of my location. They build custom units. It seems like the grapple for the 30 could be built on the standard mounting plate and used on the 50. Does this make any sense? Upgrading to a larger truck is not an option.

why use a bucket grapple? When I get a skid I would want something stream line like this

 

[John464]

 

[IATreeguy]

Your pictures are awesome! Looks like a clean set up but way too big for me. I am loading into a GMC 2500HD pickup with a dumper & 7' high sides. The clam grapple shown would likely open and spread the sides of my truck box. I also entertained the idea of the swivel grapple on the ASV 50. It could load over the side and through the back of the truck as you suggested. The ability to maneuver the teeth without moving the machine has some appeal.

However a smaller tine grapple with closely spaced bottom tines would have more versatility for hauling debris from a confined back yard to the street. One can pick up and carry the larger chunks. The teeth closely spaced as in the ASV unit for the RC30 would function almost like a rock bucket for carrying out firewood. I absolutely do not want to drag along anything to the job in addition to the mounted attachment.

Your pictures and comments are appreciated!

 

[Curbside]

John464
Where did you buy it or who makes that attachment? How much?

 

[John464]

John464
Where did you buy it or who makes that attachment? How much?

Not mine. Sure wish it was. I saved those pics from an ebay auction.

I'm currently looking into a skid steer as well. I want something that will lift high like the one pictured. That way I can weld high sides on a dump trailer and also load dump trucks like above. The higher it lifts the more wood you can stack in.

If you are doing residential work with narrow pathways I would recommend having your grapple attachment no wider than the machine itself. If its positioned like a bucket across the front you will need to cut smaller pieces. If its positioned long ways like above, as you can see, you can carry a much longer log.

The attachment above is very nice. It does not hang down like a branch manager grapple using up some of the precious lift height (Height to Bucket Hinge Pin). Due to it's design it actually can raise that height if you are grabbing near the near the end of it.

Ideally what I want in a grapple is exactly like the one pictured, except it would rotate to a horizontal position for loading over the sides. I have not yet found this sort of attachment yet, if it's even available, but I can tell you this is what our industry needs in a skid steer and grapple attachment.

 

[elmnut]

If you don't mind me asking, what's the price on replacing the green tracks?

I think they are around 4,000.00-5,000.00, not positve though.

 

[neighborstree]

i am not shure about the green tracks. but i know for my asv 4500's regular tracks are 8000 for both . needless to say . do not use the thing on the street. unless your charging like 100 per foot u have to drive lol. the tracks under regular conditions only last like 500 hours.. ive got 800 or so out of them tho, then they look like green tracks, BALD lol

 

[dogdad]

Nice pics 464,,,but in a situation like mine,,i don't think that would work well. The logs would be sticking out really far ,way out front making the load alot less to be able to pick up. Thats probably why I don't see any one using something like that.
As far as tracks lasting,,, I think it helps when the operator does not turn 360* on concrete like I have seen some do . This also saves lawns with what ever you are using. I do the forward turn a bit , back up a little in the opposite direction ,, then go forward again in the correct direction. This saves the grinding of the rubber. Hope i explained this in a right wayopcorn:

 

[IATreeguy]

Asv 30 Vs Asv50

Dogdad,

I concur and I don't even have a machine yet. That big grapple would be great in the right application but I tend to think a bit smaller would be appropriate for a "tread lightly " operation like mine. Yes I understand your non-pivot turn description perfectly.

Leebo,

Cruising eBay I found standard RC 50 tracks for $4100 and the green tracks were $5400 if I was reading the description correctly. Did not see prices for the RC 30.

So guys are you saying that the green tracks wear out faster AND cost more money?

John 464,

Your point is well taken on the elevation advantage of the grapple you have shown us versus the hanging style. If your business plan is focused more on the larger material than a unit like this would probably be OK. The pivot aspect would certainly increase the versatility of such a unit. (and the weight and expense), Meanwhile I am still shopping for my first unit. See below.

Neighborstree,

Nothing worse than a busted muffler? Sounds like you were most fortunate with no injury or substantial damage to the machine. Guess we don't think much about a track machine going bottom side up. Maybe we should! One of my operators barrel rolled (360 degrees) a Cat 613 self loading scraper working on a side slope, back in the mid seventies. He was wearing his seatbelt and suffered no injury. A through inspection of the machine and a new muffler and we were back to moving dirt.

 

[elmnut]

Dogdad,

I concur and I don't even have a machine yet. That big grapple would be great in the right application but I tend to think a bit smaller would be appropriate for a "tread lightly " operation like mine. Yes I understand your non-pivot turn description perfectly.

Leebo,

Cruising eBay I found standard RC 50 tracks for $4100 and the green tracks were $5400 if I was reading the description correctly. Did not see prices for the RC 30.

So guys are you saying that the green tracks wear out faster AND cost more money?

John 464,

Your point is well taken on the elevation advantage of the grapple you have shown us versus the hanging style. If your business plan is focused more on the larger material than a unit like this would probably be OK. The pivot aspect would certainly increase the versatility of such a unit. (and the weight and expense), Meanwhile I am still shopping for my first unit. See below.

Neighborstree,

Nothing worse than a busted muffler? Sounds like you were most fortunate with no injury or substantial damage to the machine. Guess we don't think much about a track machine going bottom side up. Maybe we should! One of my operators barrel rolled (360 degrees) a Cat 613 self loading scraper working on a side slope, back in the mid seventies. He was wearing his seatbelt and suffered no injury. A through inspection of the machine and a new muffler and we were back to moving dirt.

I would not say the green tracks wear out any faster, alot depends on the operator.