Dirty Pictures

[MuirView Design]

I'm going to sticky this thread for posting all your dirtiest and muddiest WIP construction pics, so make sure to take lots of them this season.

[GreenBoy]

This should be a good thread. Always fun to see the hard work that goes on to create the final product

[SCgreenscapes]

Last years pics, but just to get something going...

[MuirView Design]

This was a dirty job. Grinding, sawing and chiseling out about 700 SF of pointing...in 98 degree weather......uphill in the snow :hurt: (the worlds most annoying smilie)

[sancraig]

Heres some from last year.....

[JZap]

Hey Rusk! Show those pics with all the tarps! lol the dirtiest jobsite for sure. I have to look through mine as well.

[joeymaze]

Patio job from last year. This was a really cramped yard. All the soil had to be brought out to the front through a 6 foot gate.:frusty:

[Ground effects NH]

This was a dirty job. Grinding, sawing and chiseling out about 700 SF of pointing...in 98 degree weather......uphill in the snow :hurt: (the worlds most annoying smilie)

Oh, I thought you had a pet goose.

[mpickel]

This is a recent one...

[Dountman]

Got yourself a little moat there.

[chesie]

I hope you marked the irrigation pipes before you cut:tape2: All that water from rain or did we hit the main line? LOL

[mpickel]

The first two were ripped out by the mini-ex, but the rest were marked before cut. All seven lines go to the front yard, never seen it done like that where the main goes to the back yard, then all zones run from there...

[SCgreenscapes]

The first two were ripped out by the mini-ex, but the rest were marked before cut. All seven lines go to the front yard, never seen it done like that where the main goes to the back yard, then all zones run from there...

A good sign of an amature. Nothing wrong with it functionally, just waste money on pipe and is a nightmare logistically down the road finding hidden pipes.

[bcwsport]

My kind of dirty job;)

[MuirView Design]

Just found this one from last spring. What a mess.

[bcwsport]

Wow, those are some cool boulders. Were they cut level like that?

[danf]

These aren't too dirty, but got started on the bulk of this one today. Made darn good progress today, should have it wrapped up tomorrow or Thursday. I'll have to remember to take the camera with me. I've been in the habit of remembering the camera every day but the final day of jobs here lately. :rolleyes:

[GreenBoy]

Heres a few from our season so far...been miserable especially these last few weeks.

[cgland]

Uugghhh! That's the worst! Good luck with that

[lawnkid]

Greenboy we had that same scenario on Friday except we had about 8" of water in 2 areas. We used two submersible electric pumps connected to a 2" line. Took about 30 minutes to drain. Then we scraped out the mucky stuff, added a little portland to dry it up, compacted a bunch of 3's and 4's to stabilize, put a layer of geotextile down and then base above that. It worked out nice and I feel good about the stabilization. I hope you guys made out too. Too bad I forgot the camera

[GreenBoy]

It was pouring both those days just soaking wet. We had to push those jobs back a few days...
One will be done tom and the other is a large one that we are working on over the course of the summer.

I'll try and remember my camera too so that I can post finished pics too.

[zedosix]

Last fall digging in mud for my armourstone. Fun times for all involved.

[SCgreenscapes]

How do you like that ASV. I rented one off and on this past season (PT-70) and like it pretty well. Just wonder what others think.

[zedosix]

How do you like that ASV. I rented one off and on this past season (PT-70) and like it pretty well. Just wonder what others think.

For situations like this it works wonders. I put over 300 hours on it this season. If I could do it again I would spend the additional 12k or so and go for the pt60. This one is a bit underpowered, but does the job. I am very happy with it overall. My gehl would not of moved in that mess, it would of been stuck within one minute of working.

[GreenMonster]

We have an SR-80, which is the next chassis size up from the 50/60. Sounds like maybe the SR-70 to 80 may be similar to the PT-50 to 60. I had figured I was gonna get the 70 until I tried it and found it to be seriously underpowered. So, I reluctantly tried the 80 (same motor, only turbo-charged) and it was like night and day.

As far as the machine goes, it is an extremely fast and agile machine. We also have a Bobcat T190 and the ASV will absolutely work circles around it. Its a great machine for moving large amounts of material -- say for a lawn installation with large amounts of fill and loam. I like the large size of the SR 80 because it is large enough to lift and carry any pallet of materials we use, and also can handle quite large boulders. The machine has great floation AND traction. two things that can be hard to get out of one machine. The ASV will work in places where other track machines will not. The T190 would get very bogged down in the pictures that Andy posted.

Now, here's what I don't like about the machine. It's had far more issues than the Bobcat. First, the hydraulic drive lines are on the outside of the machine, against the chassis, behind the tracks. Well, the way they were routed at the factory, they rub against the chassis, which leads to premature failure. We've had it happen on both sides and it is not an easy fix. They are custom hoses that have to come from the factory, the tracks have to come off, the drive has to come off, and it is expensive to fix. ASV stood behind the first side completely, but only partially this past summer on the other side after Terex bought them out.

The other issue with the machine is undercarriage parts are very expensive. We had a front idler go this summer, and by the time it was replaced, it was $1500. If it had gone to the dealer, that price probably would have nearly doubled.

We've had other little annoying issues as well, such as blowing fuses and an ignition failure. The ignition failure happend moving snow a few years ago, and I was in the middle of a private road when it happened. I called the dealer and they said "Oh yeah, there was a recall on that. We can come pick it up the end of the week". I'm sure you can guess what I had to say to them.

So, I describe the machine as a female. Real finicky and moody, but hard to live without. I would hope that most of the problems that we've had are engineering issues/bugs that didn't get worked out during R&D, and maybe the machine was released a little too early. However, it's really hard to lose the machine in one to two weeks spurts during the summer. I'm gonna have to look at the new ASV's REAL hard before laying out the cash for another. I'm pretty convinced already that my next machine will be tires with loegering bolt on tracks.

[HRLand]

GM, have you looked into the Bair cast aluminum replacements for the idlers? I installed one last year, much cheaper I have to think it will last much longer. Even has a grease fitting!

[SCgreenscapes]

I have been using a PT_70 all season an it is the best of all that i have driven. i tried the PT-60, but it would not pick up enough weight. the PT=70 picked up a 4k boulder and caried up a big hill earlier this season. One of these brand new with no cab (basic machine) was $40k. how does that compare to others that you guys have priced? it seems to work very well after a few hundred hours. the only beef i have with it is when you are doing a lot of grading work and the hydrolics heat up, the servos get hot and the pilots are slow to respond to small gestures. other than that, it seems to do really well. I rented the RC-85 and it was nice and strong, but just seemed to be too bulky for the small areas we use them in. it would be better suited in an open area doing heavy grading. My second favorite of all that i have rented was the Deere 322. it was a good unit, but the tracks were skinny and it would rut up the yard in a hurry where the ASV seems to just float across the top.

[danf]

The delay in joystick response on the drive side happens on the Green Monster machine all the time, especially when you are trying to do something with a bit of finesse. It's especially bad when it's cold. I can't say I've noticed it much when it's hot, but that machine hasn't been in a situation to be hot in a couple of months.

Mark's description of it as a "female" is putting it nicely, especially since it's acting up again. :rolleyes:

[SCgreenscapes]

the servos are located right under the right pilot control in a tight area and after being run for a while, they get hot and there is a slight delay. its not terible, just enough to be frustrating when you are trying to finesse.

[MuirView Design]

Couple dirty pics from fall that I came across today.