jcb rubber track

[WV earth mover]

i guess xcmark could probably answer best about the single arm boom on the jcb .how well is it holding up ? do you feel like you need to keep it on the uphill side when going sideways on steep ground ? does the amount of overhang out the back make your frontend light going up steep slopes with an empty bucket? if it seems like i talk about rubber track alot its becuse ive been looking for about a year and cant make up my mind and my main requirement is a machine that operates well on steep slopes . I have had to rent a terex/asv 11 times over the last 2 years and think there great but everyone i talk to acts like the tracks are junk and says to get the steel rollers/idlers but they all seem to be much lighter in the front than say a cat 277b or terex pt80

 

[dave esterns]

well everyone knows im a big advocate of the new jcb skid steers.

the fact that most people thinking the monoboom being mounted on one side of the machine somehow has ANY effect on machine balance is a myth. that is a bogus claim! ask any physics professor (or jcb operator) and the last thing they would think is the machine would be off balance.

if u have 4000 pounds on the left side of the machine, and 4000 pounds on the right side of the machine empty (obviously the machine is set up this way empty). then put a 2000 lb load in the bucket, you will have 5000 pounds on each side of the machine. put the machine on a slope and the same rules apply. if the center of the bucket was where the boom is then one would have an argument, but as is the geometry of transferring the weight from bucket to machine is a non effect.

the jcb telehandlers have an offset boom, and they hold much more weight much farther away from the machine and have no problems. jcb always had the lifetime boom warranty, i dont know if they still have that or not. obviously if you are going to do nothing but pry up concrete with the left side of an 8 foot bucket all day you should probably get something else, not saying that any other machine could take that either.

i dont know if jcbs are good at going up a hill compared to others.

if you want a machine for doing real work, the asv track system is a joke. i will take steel over rubber and plastic any day.

 

[WV earth mover]

im still learning which members favor which brands i just saw the picture with xcmark's replies but thanks for the input ive never seen one of these machines other than photos and always liked the side entry method

 

[xcmark]

i guess xcmark could probably answer best about the single arm boom on the jcb .how well is it holding up ?

*2000 hours of use with several new operators , zero cracks on the any parts of the arm. The quick coupler had a few welds put on it in areas that I can honestly say the welds under cut the base stock and most likely was the cause of the crack . I check those about every 20 hours or so .


do you feel like you need to keep it on the uphill side when going sideways on steep ground ? does the amount of overhang out the back make your frontend light going up steep slopes with an empty bucket?

* you dont notice any weight offset because of the single side arm , the cab is offset also to help keep the load more centered . I dont see any draw back to the single side like all the hipe guys talk about on the net. The machine is very stable and sure footed even with 84" bucket I am running. If you max out the lifting power it doesnt pull the back off the ground unless you continue to get on and off the lift and curl 3~4 times. Mine has a heated cab and it is a nice feature having a side door to get out of it the load is up off the ground even if its just a few inches some machines you cant open the glass door.

if it seems like i talk about rubber track alot its becuse ive been looking for about a year and cant make up my mind and my main requirement is a machine that operates well on steep slopes . I have had to rent a terex/asv 11 times over the last 2 years and think there great but everyone i talk to acts like the tracks are junk and says to get the steel rollers/idlers but they all seem to be much lighter in the front than say a cat 277b or terex pt80

the JCB has a all steel bottom roller system , its not the smoothest system but I can tell you mine had its first parts put in by the dealer at 1600 hour. Most likey at that time its 2nd set of tracks but I can not say for sure , I didnt own it back then.

 

[Digdeep]

I was a Bobcat salesman for over 8 years and feel that offer an opinion with a bit of experience on track machines having personally sold over 200 of them, currently owning an ASV RC50 after careful consideration, and maintaining contact with many salesmen and Bobcat employees. I feel that my ASV ownership says something of what I think about how much of a joke the ASV system is. I can tell you with rock solid confidence that the operating cost of my undercarriage rivals and pretty much exceeds anything I experienced with the "all steel" undercarriages on the machines I sold.

How did the ASV/Terex work for you? That would be the first question I would ask. I would also ask the question on why you haven't seen many JCB CTLs in the market, and wonder why they really don't get talked about on any of the other sites on the web that talk about equipment. This would be the same for their skid steers and most other JCB products. I would spend some time talking to your local Terex dealer about your concerns since you already have a pretty good idea of how they perform since you've rented them 11 times.

Can you find a JCB to rent, probably not. I think that ASV has probably forgotten more about making track machines than JCB even knows. ASV/Terex has also just started shipping track machines to Sunbelt rentals which I doubt would happen on a whim (I've seen a few trucks on the freeway so far). I'm not sure about the size of Sunbelt anymore, but they used to be the fourth largest rental company in the US. They carefully analyze equipment before purchasing it. I must say something to the durability. I'm not aware of JCB having much luck in the rental industry, at least in my area. When you get a chance, try to get a demo of the JCB from your local dealer so you can compare the two machines. Good luck.

 

[WV earth mover]

Thanks for the reply dig deep , the only reel complant ive ever had with the terex is very small amount of bucket rool back with the boom down . The whole track being junk thing was always a mystery to me because we have put as much 125 hrs on a rental befor turning in and i never noticed any problems keep in mind that we were carefull to not abuse them like running up on big rocks and turning or counter rotating in loose gravel .

 

[Digdeep]

No problem. ASV (now Terex) has been making rubber track machines since the early 80s and making rubber track construction machines since the late 80s. Terex paid almost a half a billion dollars for the company in 2008 and they're still making them so they must be doing something right.

 

[dave esterns]

the asv is a high maintenance, smooth riding machine. if u got time and money, get one. i would never own one because i do not tolerate machines that need maintenance more than once a year.

 

[Digdeep]

the asv is a high maintenance, smooth riding machine. if u got time and money, get one.

And this is from your own personal experience owning one on your farm????

 

[KSSS]

the asv is a high maintenance, smooth riding machine. if u got time and money, get one. i would never own one because i do not tolerate machines that need maintenance more than once a year.

Next time the JCB boys call, you might want to ask them why when sitting in the cab of their CTL you cant reach the door handle to close it. I sat in one at ConExpo and tried to close the door and no dice. Unless you are part Sasquach you cant reach the door. I mentioned this to the rep who was walking around the machine with me. He did not have a response. He said that they blew that. Kind of a big goof I thought. How does a machine make it through a multi million dollar redo and THEN you find out that you cant close the door while sitting in the machine.

 

[dave esterns]

ah. so i looked into the door handle problem. that IS a serious problem! im not really convinced getting in and out of a jcb skid steer is easier or faster than a normal skid steer, but it would be safer. one thing i like about the jcb is the cab is completely separate from the machine. i would imagine that would be strategic as far as keeping the cab pressurized as the machine ages. it will be interesting to see if jcb changes the door when they release the rest of the lineup.

the problem is our bobcats have been such darn reliable machines, it would be hard to switch to another brand. basically, no major breakdowns in 8000 hours.

i would never own a track machine of any make. more maintenance and more problems. i've talked to enough people to know the snowmobile tracks on asv are expensive to run. ...and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out by looking at the different track designs the asv would take more time and money.

 

[KSSS]

The JCB no doubt is safer, hard to deny that. The cabs on these machines are designed as a separate pod then mounted on the machine. Thats why they are so tight compared to how previous models were built.

 

[Deereman]

We had a customer that had a 1110T jcb( I believe) and it stayed at the shop for the longest waiting on parts(And the customer)It came in two or three times for electrical probs and by the third time i loaded it up on his trailer and it just went back to his place and sat.It did run good when we loaded it up the last time engine wise.. I really was hoping they got it running right so I could try it out to see what it had.

 

[maddog]

looks like some are upset with the JCB SS, from what I have seen{and learned about} I'd own one. I do own a JCB mini ex and it is a great machine, I bought it used{private deal} and still feel they{JCB} stand behind it. I quess a good dealer can make a big difference in how well a transaction goes. I do have a bobcat dealer fairly close, but can say I wouldn't trust buying a roll of toilet paper from them. I'm not knocking bobcat, but if a person can't trust the dealer how could they trust the machine they're selling?

 

[Digdeep]

i would never own a track machine of any make. more maintenance and more problems. i've talked to enough people to know the snowmobile tracks on asv are expensive to run. ...and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out by looking at the different track designs the asv would take more time and money.

I sold (not just talked to people) enough bobcats to actual customers to know that the ASVs definitely aren't anymore expensive to run than the Bobcat undercarriage system, and the Bobcat system runs Rexroth drivemotors, Berco rollers and Bridgestone tracks just like 90% of the other OEMs.

I remember when everyone was sure that the Russians had a bad a$$ military (all you had to do was talk to somebody) only to find out that their diesel submarine force was only good for supplying shore power as generators, their missle systems didn't work, their fighters were marinal at best and they couldn't pay their solders..sometimes you just can't tell from looking. Good thing you didn't go into rockets OR science.

 

[dave esterns]

i have contacted some people at jcb about the door issue. we will see what they say.

word on the street is that gravel eats an asv track system alive?

when you say asv is not more expensive, do you also mean no more maintenance?

haha well im not old enough to remember anything about the big soviet scare from bak in the day.

what did you think about the jcb skid steer besides the door issue?

i know bobcat offers a steel track option, does anyone else?

 

[KSSS]

The cab was well laid out on the inside. Seemed like it would be comfortable to run. Next year it sounded like they would be going E/H controls. Visibility was good especially considering how bad it was in the older models. They discontinued the free life time warranty on the boom. Now you have to buy it. Serviceablity seemed decent. Overall it looked good, hard to compare since nothing else is built like that machine is.

 

[dave esterns]

the jcb rep said jcb is looking into the door issue, and will probably have another door handle soon on their new skid steers. i would be curious to see if when entering the machine if i would naturally close the door behind me as i enter the cab, because that is how i normally enter cabs on tractors, combines, skid steers, and trucks, etc. i never sit down first then close the door. but on a jcb skid steer that might be the way you would do it.

 

[KSSS]

You probably could but you still need to pull your self into the machine and with one hand pulling the door closed it seemed clumbsy to me.

 

[DGODGR]

I sold (not just talked to people) enough bobcats to actual customers to know that the ASVs definitely aren't anymore expensive to run than the Bobcat undercarriage system, and the Bobcat system runs Rexroth drivemotors, Berco rollers and Bridgestone tracks just like 90% of the other OEMs.

My experience is different than what you are saying here. I have rented ASVs, in the past, and have had derailment issues. I demoed a Cat 257 (has the ASV undercarriage) for about 40 hours. The machine was used for dirt grading, pipeline bedding (with sand), and spreading/grading road base. When I decided I did not want to buy the machine they took it back. A week later the dealer called and said that I owed them $5,600. One of the front idlers (plastic) had a hole in it. According to them both tracks were ruined so they wanted me to buy those too. I don't abuse machines. I have high hour machines (even VERY high hour) as evidence. I used this machine in the manner I would have any other. This undercarriage has serious limitations (just look in the manual) that would be a deal killer if I was looking for a tracked machine. Restrictions like no driving across slopes, or no turning on grade transitions. This would be a great machine for mowing lawns I guess but I digress. How can $5,600 in 40 hours be concidered anything but VERY high maintenance costs? BTW that money is exclusively an undercarriage cost. That's $140 per hour plus purchase price, normal PM costs of the machine, operator, overhead, and, if you dare, profit. It's unfortunate. I really liked the way the machine worked. It had a very smooth ride especially when you consider that it's a tracked unit.