Alright I couldn't stand it and made a few more calls yesterday and found some more skids to look at.So today went to work played sick ,and then me and the wife went on a road trip. Got up to the dealer to look at the unit i called on ,and we went out on the lot and stated looking at what he had.couple of 180's and 190' starting at 15K and goes up.Then he tells me about the 170 hes got up front.I thought all the ones up front were new ones so i didn't even bother lookn at those. So we went up front and I couldn't pass this one up. Here's the details. 03' ls 170 high flow hydraulics, new tires, wieght kit, cab,w/heat and wiper foot controls, machine runs awesome!has turbo on the motor.loader is tight.bucket is in awesome shape. Oh yeah and it only has 784 hrs. on it.The dealer hit it off with my wife as they are all into horses.He showed me his books and he is not makn much on it.I got it for 16,500.00$ A friend of his has a nursery and he owned it along with some other machines.Said it set in his storage building alot,and he didn't need it anymore.The dealer told me he dropped his prices on a bunch of his used units to clear out some of the lot. I think I did good compared to other units I looked at with no cab,high flow,wieght kit,at the same or higher price. Here's a link to some pics I took today after we did some paper work. http://community.webshots.com/album/562060013qkfraC?vhost=community
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Looks good!
You will have a heap of fun scooting around in it when you get home with it!.
sandhills-elect
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You will have a blast with that machine, sure is nice to have a cab and heat. Keep the oils changed and service at intervals or more often and it will last forever. Good luck don't have to much fun.
skidsteer.ca
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Thats a better choice by far for the few bucks more.
I'm putting a hi flow kit on my 160 and I'd love a few pics of yours. Was wandering if the pump is mounted to the motor mount and belt driven still on the 03.
Also there is a optional heat shield on the exhaust manifold I need to make, a pic or two would be handy there as well.
Enjoy your new loader
Ken
Well as soon as I get my money transfered around I will go pick her up.I know i am excited. already called a place about a set of tracks for it.I have to get out in some fields and work on a fence row.Man it is soft right now with all the rain we have got so i will definatly need them. I will definatly take some pics for you when i get it home. I told the wife when we get it home it is going right into the shop and I am going to go over it and make sure everything is lubed,greased clean and maybe even wax it before i go out and work it. I am so pumped!!! thanks guys for all the help and advice. I'll talk to you later Aaron
LOL waxing it!
I was like that when i finished re-building my 743. I was super careful not to mark the paint, but naturally a stick here and there scratched it up. I slid in the mud and took a small section off at the base of my main decal, about 1-2" square, not so bad bit when it was an un-marked section it really bugs you. Over time you won't be too worried about little things damaging the paintwork, but when its new (or new to you) it really gets to you.....
Try and stay away from really boggy patches, not that you will get bogged but you will tear the grass to shreds.
Its a very good idea greasing everything, you may even want to change the engine oil and filter. Then you know how many hours till you need to replace it.
skidsteer.ca
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My ls 160 needs wheel spacer for tracks or the rims flipped valve stems to the inside. Yours ia likwly the same. Just so you know, most track manufactures want 3" inside the tire to the frame.
I can send you a set of our tracks for 1150.00 plus freight out of Wi . If your interested see the track page on my website
http://www.skidsteer.ca/tracks.html
Ken
mllud
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The previous owner of my new holland Didnt do as ken said .he ran loegering tracks without proper clearance. you wont have any paint to wax around the wheels I am envious of your new loader I think I was just a excited when I got mine and it was all in pieces. skid steers are amazing machines mike
skidsteer.ca wow those look real nice.They look the same as the one I planned on getting.I don't think I can get them from you as a cheap as i can from the guy here.I won't have any frieght charges.He is located about 40 miles from me.If you want to give me a qoute for a set shipped to me thats cool. I'll send you an e-mail.
skidsteer.ca
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Earthwerks Unlimited
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I got mine out of Wis. from Tracks Plus.com aka Fisher-Barton Products. They are called light weight tracks as they weigh only 250 lb. per side for 12" wide tires. Ask for Sue and tell them Jeff from Earthwerks Unlimited in Michigan sent you---she may be able to help you on shipping costs and maybe a discount. The tracks offer superior floatation to all the others I have seen. I used them in Mississippi and New Orleans cleaning up Katrina which were a must. I could go where a 250 Bobcat the size of mine with Loegering tracks couldn't. You can turn your wheels around to get the extra width you'll need. Keep in mind the downfall with any tracks is that they widen the overall track of the machine which seems logical---what most forget is that the bucket then is about 2" too narrow at each side so you can't get along side a building and drive down it without the tracks scraping the wall---DOH! The other thing with tracks of any type is that they raise the vehicle about 3/4" to an inch. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you try to run your bucket flat to the ground---the rear of the bucket will be up more than the height of the tracks. Also, you might want to consider a rear bumper like I made. The rear door for my LS185.b is over $400 so the $100 I have in mine is cheap insurance. The black things are semi trailer rubber bumpers. The rubber bumpers are mounted to fabricated brackets which are welded to a flat 1/2" x 8" deep thick plate also welded to the machine. The plate got bent up backing into stumps down south so I had to reinforce it with a length of 1-1/2" x 3" U channel running the underside of the plate. The plate makes a nice step to fill the fluids. Also, the tracks are covered by black colored ABS plastic full fenders I made to keep the machine looking new as the tracks tend to throw up stones and mud. In Katrina-land they lasted about 3 hours with everyhting known to man used to build a home got caught around the tracks and ripped the fenders off little by little. Geeze that was $500 down the drain. Here's a cut and paste picture of it. http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/308...99e/ps/ENTRY/EDITENTRY?foneblog=1200173411809
I definatly like the bumpers you made.I think they look pretty good.I like the fender idea also.how much did those mirrors vibrate?Looks like a neat idea.especially when you plowed snow. I was just thinking the other day about the bucket not layig flat with the tracks.For what i am doing moving manure ,and hay balesis when i will need the tracks so beiing real precise when grading for me won't be an issue. here is the tracks i am loooking at.1160$ tell me what you guys think. http://www.equipmentmarketinginc.com
her try this link it should work www.equipmentmarketinginc.com
Earthwerks Unlimited
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Those are the same ones I suggested that I have. I bought my first set from that guy on eBay. He's just a few bucks less than MSRP. But he may get you on shipping which he usually charges $200 even if it costs him much less---that's why I say call the manufacturer and they may be able to save you shipping. Sometimes the mfg. won't ship from their plant in Wisconsin to his customer, so you end up paying shipping from the mfg., to him, then back to you. Someone has to pay for the all that freight---guess who! YOU! The first time around I saved myself $200 and drove the 6 hour round trip to Indiana and back to Michigan. The second time, I bought directly from the mfg. which is right across the lake from me (not really but they're closer than having it shipped all the way to Indiana then back to me in Michigan). I sold so many sets of these tracks in Katrina-Land that I have "dealer status", though I'm not actively selling currently. That's why I suggested calling Sue who knows me at TracksPlus.com Do yourself a favor and laythe tracks out flat and shoot marine-grade grease insdie the pockets of the tracks where the bolts go, and around the bolts. The dirt will get in there and is a bugger to chisel out when you have to shorten the tracks whe they get slack. I show a track adjustment/installer that I made from a trailer tongue jack. I also use a hydraulic cylinder modified to fit a Port-o-Power instead of the jack. http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/308...d7d/ps/ENTRY/EDITENTRY?foneblog=1200189520935 That same company TracksPlus.com / ComponentsPlus.com was working on a rubber-faced steel track. Don't know if it was ever released. The mirrors didn't vibrate much as I made the mounts fairly stout---but they went bye bye when Katrina debris ripped the fenders off. I don't plow snow with it as a rule--just the 1,500 foot private road I'm on. The mirrors have been replaced with a backup camera bought from Walmart for $99 called a "license plate backup camera"---there are guys on the Net re-selling these same units for $200! My machine is a bit taller and longer than yours so it's hard to see sometimes--comes in handy! Also, a buddy had a LS170. He put 12" wide tires on it that I gave him instead of the 10"ers. I looked pretty cool and had much more floatation. It raised the bucket rear even without tracks as the 12" tires are a little taller---BUT--if you were thinking of doing this, you'll need to go with 12" wide tracks, not ones made for 10" tires. BTW, my tracks measure a full 16-1/4" wide. And with taller tires and tracks --or just taller tires alone you'll get more ground speed to whiz around the farm ;P Before I had the bigger machines I had a New Holland L555 (superceded by the LS170 years later) that I made tracks for out of 1/2" x 2" bar stock custom bent at the steel supplier and welded at a buddy's welding shop. I used 3/8" 9600 lb. logging chain. I had about $400 into them. I used then for a year then my other buddy put them on his LS170 and it made it like a mini dozer--or like a mosquito on a pond it "floated" so well. He was with me cleaning up Katrina and could not have gone two feet without getting stuck---nor could I without tracks. If you're handy you might want consider making your own. The only downfall is if they get loose (not tight between the tires) they can run or "peel" themselves off the tires in heavily loaded turns--if not kept tight. Happy Motoring!
Earthworks, I wasn't sure if they were the same or not.The price i got was $1160 ,and picking them up.He is only about 45 min. from me.I did get some qoutes from others ,but they would cost more(tracks and shipping) than what i can drive over and pick these up for.I thought about making my own tracks out of chain and flat steel.I can do it ,but it's not worth the time right now.My friend has a 751 bobcat with the chain and steel plate type tracks and he told me it turned his into a dozer. I will go with these for now.I like the installer you made.I might have to do something similar to get mine on when i get them. were all the pics in that folder from katrina? I really couldn't get over the fuel tanks pushed out of the ground! talk to ya later Aaron
skidsteer.ca
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They will drop ship to the customer for the dealers, I have had it done and the rates are usually quite good. most quotes have been between 75 and 200 to all but one location I have checked on. You can pick them up in Watertown to if you want. I took a tour of the factory in Nov 06. Anything that can be made with a press and die they make.
If you have a dealer that close who's markup is reasonable, you might as well go that way. His cost per set for shipping will be lower because he gets several at a time and if you need a part someday he right there too.
I use a 5/8 bolt with the head cut off, threaded end machined to a taper to align the pin holes when joining the track. Use the taper to pull the holes in alignment, then clamp the pads down on the strap with a vise grip. Then you can take out the tapered bolt and put the proper pin in without the track pulling apart.
Ken
Earthwerks Unlimited
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Ken what do you think of my design using a trailer hitch jack to install/remove/adjust the tracks? I smell a p-a-t-e-n-t coming!
skidsteer.ca
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I missed that link. I sure that would work just fine. You need something that pulls on the last pad on each end of the track if your making a dedicated tool.
I had a logeuring rachet tool but it was not much help because the ends had to be too far apart, I actually find the 1" ratchet straps better then that.
One thing nice about these tracks is they are not so friggin heavy you need a crane to handle them.
I pull the ends up with 2 ratchet straps, get the ends up on top and between the tires then put the ratchet hooks one on top of the fron tire and one on top of the rear tire and run the strap below the track so it hold each ends up for you.
Pull them snug, then once I get the ends together so I can see any hole I pull them with a tapered punch like this
and the hold them with vise grips like this
Then I switch to my tapered headless 5/8 bolt
pound it in and that pull the holes into perfect alignment, clamp with the vise grips once last time and switch the tapered bolt for the track pin
When you pull with the jack does the end pads stay pretty level? Most tigheners I tried twist the pads down which prevents you from getting the track tight.
I like you idea with the jack, if the hooks were made right to hold the pads straight, it would work really well.
Ken
