Rborist!

[squisher]

Heh a guy from Ramrod just contacted me as I had requested info awhile back off of their website. Denniss someone a rather from their factory. He's giving me really high pressure saying that I can save a bundle of money if we seal a deal before the new year (yah two days). Telling me that I can get nearly ten grand off of the list if I buy one of their 06 machines that have been working around the factory or something? As an example he's quoting me $19,700 for a tracked 25 horse kubota diesel with a hydraulic cooler and standard bucket. Good/bad/ugly what's up. I didn't really want to buy one until I'm rolling steady this spring but he says it will be like 10 to 13 thousand more for the same machine by then. I'm not one to be pressured into a deal and the numbers that he gave me without this 'special year end pricing' seemed really high. I guess what I'm looking for is what are the prices for these ramrod mini-skids tracked/wheel with a diesel.8)

[Hobby Climber]

Can't help you regarding prices. As far as high pressure sales goes... its not a deal unless you've done your home work, have the money and need that item right now! You should not need someone to tell you its a great deal, you should know already if its a great deal!

Let the product sell itself.

Just my thoughts.

HC

[Thor's Hammer]

Nah its not 'Just' a high pressure deal. I'm a Ramrod distributer, and on my last dealer letter they had a bunch of ex factory working stock at great prices. And I do know that the prices are going up soon.

I think list on the tracked diesel is about $27k

[Rborist1]

I just talked to Squish on the phone.

[squisher]

And gave me some great info, thanks again Craig. So I'll probably be smart and upgrade my old chipper before getting myself a fancy brush/log mover. So what about a good log cart.:D

[Old Monkey]

Does he sound that hairy over the phone?

[squisher]

Does he sound that hairy over the phone?

Didn't ya know, all of us Canadians are that hairy.:P

[Rborist1]

Squisher,

You need one of these before you upgrade your chipper..............:P

[squisher]

Nice, if you watch instructional DVD's on there can you write it off.:)

[Rborist1]

I ran that idea past my wife before I bought it on boxing day.................let's just say that she keeps me honest! :)

[TreeDr]

you suck

[MasterBlaster]

Why isn't the screen centered up with the pic above it?

[Rborist1]

Why isn't the screen centered up with the pic above it?


It's off by a little bit cause I moved the stand over a little bit because of the wood stove. I guess I should rehang the pic. 60" of screen sure makes watching TV and movies lots of fun. The clarity is unreal. Now I just need a HD sat receiver. Pioneer hit a home run with this plasma screen for sure!

[Paul B]

nice rig G... good for those cold Alberta winters!

[Rborist1]

Good for Hockey watchin too! 8) The super bowl party is gonna be at my house this year if I am still in the country.

[Paul B]

you watchin the junior hockey yet? next game, sunday at 330 am. and whaddya mean, still in the country, you going somwhere?

[Rborist1]

and whaddya mean, still in the country, you going somwhere?

Might turn into a snow bird for a couple - 3 weeks in Jan, not for sure yet though.

[Paul B]

roger that. thought you were insinuating a move. cant understand why anyone would leave the promised land (AB), at the moment anyways.

[Rborist1]

cant understand why anyone would leave the promised land (AB), at the moment anyways.

You got that right! :)

[Canuck]

sshhhhhh

[Rborist1]

sshhhhhh

;)

[Jonseredbred]

8) The super bowl party is gonna be at my house this year if I am still in the country.

just leave the doors unlocked, we can still watch the superbowl without you.
Hell, we might clean up after ourselves too!:D

[squisher]

Well talks will resume, but on my terms. A quote of the message that I sent to Ramrod:

Hello, I had inquired nearly a year ago to get pricing and info on a mini-skid. Anyhow the time wasn't right for me then to buy one (despite what the high pressure salesperson who contacted me thought). I am looking for pricing and availability on a 950g. I am not looking for someone to get ahold of me and high pressure me. I make my own decisions. I'm not kidding the salesman was so high pressure that I have been reluctant to contact you guys again, but this is the product that I want. I am spiteful and hotheaded though and if I receive the same sales treatment as last time, there will be no sale I can guarantee that!!!!

Yes see even I am not always a nice guy :evil:

[pantheraba]

Yes see even I am not always a nice guy :evil:

Dang, squish...just send them a picture of that mutt...they will GIVE you the machine. :P

[squisher]

Ha some days I'd trade 'em no problem. :D





Jk'ing ole Gunth, he's a pain some days but heh he's family now.........I guess.

[Newfie]

Good luck with them getting back to you now.

[vharrison]

I miss rborist!

[squisher]

Good luck with them getting back to you now.

Well they're the one's selling sh-t, if they don't get back to me I won't buy nothing from them no loss on my behalf. The salesman was brutal last time I won't be putting up with that.

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Hey Squish, talk to Dave at TNT, he sorted my 905 out for me. A thoroughly nice chap to deal with.....and no, he didn't pay me to say that.

[MasterBlaster]

I miss rborist!


He doesn't miss us.

[squisher]

Hey Squish, talk to Dave at TNT, he sorted my 905 out for me. A thoroughly nice chap to deal with.....and no, he didn't pay me to say that.


It's just the border thing is all, I mean you would think that I could buy one directly from the factory(here in Canada Saskatchewan) cheaper than buying one that's been exported to the States and then brought back into Canada. But who knows?

Heh normally I'm quite tolerant of salespeople I realize that's their job. But I asked this guy repeatedly to knock off the high pressure sales and he still wouldn't let it go. Schmuck.

[squisher]

He doesn't miss us.

And apparently still has the logging vid!:what:


Frigging Canadians.

[MasterBlaster]

Yea, that sucks for sure. After all that traveling and it gets stuck with him.

[The Branch Doctor]

And apparently still has the logging vid!:what:


Frigging Canadians.

That's what I've been saying all along.:D

[okietreedude]

Was the price quote in US dollars or canadian? It sounded high to me as I bought a Vermeer 600tx (track machine w/ 25h kuboda deis) for 20K tax and all. It only had 7 hrs on it too.

[squisher]

Price quote from the original post was cdn dollars.

I'm open to and interested to know costs and experiences with other mini's too.

[brendonv]

Although they aren't made anymore, I can't complain about my Thomas. Looking at the Ramrods at the TCIA show, I was not impressed to much. One of the main things was the externally mounted hydraulic cooling fan on the side of the machine, made of plastic. If that was on my Thomas it would have gotten ripped off by now. Also, a secret source was telling us one of his clients had both the Ramrod and Thomas, and the client said the Thomas out performed the Ramrod. If you can find a used Thomas, I'd consider it, I wouldn't trade mine for anything. Gas+oil and go.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c351/Brendonv/Tree%20Work/Vanderbilt01032.jpg

[squisher]

Maybe I should order this kit!:D

http://mini-skid-steer.com/

[Jonseredbred]

Go for it!!

[Canuck]

Hey squish. Craig is a ramrod dealer you know.

[squisher]

If he coughs up the tape I'll deal with him :D . Jk'ing. I just wonder how he could sell it to me cheaper than the factory? I'm gathering prices though and I'll definetly give him a call. Last I had talked with him he was just getting into it and so wasn't sure if it had worked out for him or not.

[chucky]

Craigster is back? Where's he been? Frozen in a snowbank, or down in Calgary "Flames"? LOL!

[MasterBlaster]

No, he's not back.

[Old Monkey]

Is the Chuckster back? Where's he been? Did he get abducted by a group of buxom female aliens to help repopulate their planet?

[squisher]

Looking at the Ramrods at the TCIA show, I was not impressed to much. One of the main things was the externally mounted hydraulic cooling fan on the side of the machine, made of plastic. If that was on my Thomas it would have gotten ripped off by now.

Brendon was that an option or something? Here's a link to a machine I've been drooling over and it looks quite well guarded to me. Maybe a guard was off or something?

http://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=5923279&GUID=98bf97f87edc4d53824ce6524f03ce6b

[Thor's Hammer]

The 905 mounts its Optional oil cooler on the side. On the 950 its completely guarded in. Thomas copied the early 800 series ramrod to get their design. Its not even in the same league as a 950.

[chucky]

Is the Chuckster back? Where's he been? Did he get abducted by a group of buxom female aliens to help repopulate their planet?

Funniest thing about that, OM, is my stepdad long ago wrote a book about pretty much that same thing. It was called The Girls From Planet Five. I actually in junior high school wrote a book report about it. Needless to say, the teacher was less than impressed by it! :O

[squisher]

The 950 Ramrod is standard width of 42"s but can be made 36"s wide with narrower tires, anyone here have any thoughts on this?

[sotc]

id rather the 36 so you could squeeze out the small gates

[Thor's Hammer]

We were going to outfit them with duals, like the small stump grinders. That way it would only take 2 minutes to go from wide to narrow.

[okietreedude]

vermeer has a track model. more stable in my opinion than tires. a friend of mine has a tire model and has put his on the side 3-4 times. I have yet to tip mine. maybe its the way he uses his (carelessly). though tracks might do a bit more turf damage, im glad i have them.

[squisher]

We were going to outfit them with duals, like the small stump grinders. That way it would only take 2 minutes to go from wide to narrow.

Which tires were you going to go dual with? It's my understanding that the narrow tires aren't 'turf' tires but a lug style either air or solid? Would it be much of a pita just to have two sets and changeover to the narrow when needed? I mean narrow to wide we're talking a six inch difference I'd think most of the time I'd get by fine with 42" but only the odd time need the 36"?

[Skwerl]

Squishy, it's not a great picture but look at the difference in the front wheels of the Vermeer 252 and 352 stump grinders. The 352 has the dual wheels, it takes about 3-4 minutes to pull the two outer wheels and make it the same width as a 252 in order to get through a 36" gate.

http://www.vermeer.com/vcom/EnvironmentalEquipment/Model.jsp?PrdlnID=3610&ModID=10301
http://www.vermeer.com/vcom/EnvironmentalEquipment/Model.jsp?PrdlnID=3610&ModID=53253

[squisher]

Cool thanks Brian. What I'm wondering though is with the standard 42" width on the ramrod you can get 'turf' tires which aren't very agressive but as a single set look like they'd be real easy on lawns and as I said would work fine for me most of the time. So with duals I'm assuming it's two sets of the 'skinny' tires which have more of a lug pattern and according to Ramrod's website can come either solid or air. So that's why I'm wondering about either having two seperate sets as most of the time the 42" width with turf tires would be fine but I would like the ability to get down to that 36" width if need be, but I don't nescessarily want to be running more agressive duals most of the time. That's why I'm asking here trying to cypher the ultimate tire set-up for a 950 Ramrod.

I understand that it would be much easier to just bolt on and off a dual style set-up but am concerned with lawn damage that the dual tires might cause. I'm sure for normal driving it's more contact area so less psi, but I'm more wondering about turning with the dual set-up, will it tear up lawns?

[squisher]

Ok here's a pic of the available tires I hope it's big enough. The 'turf tire' are the standard tires for the machine and there website says they are 8"s wide. With these tires the machine is 42"s wide. The narrow tires are 4"s wide and give the machine a overall width of 36"s. The rim offset must be different or something as you would think it ould make the machine 8"s skinnier but apparently it's only 6"s. You can see in the pic the difference in tread design. I don't think I would want to be cruising around all the time with the skinny tires on?

[Skwerl]

Of those 4, the turf tires would be the easiest on grass. The solution is just to bid extra on any backyard job with limited access, enough to hire somebody to hump the wood out of the back yard.

[squisher]

Ok I've double checked my e-mails and have a correction to make the 4" tires are available to make the machine 32"s wide however that works and apparently there are 6" wide tires which make the machine 36"s wide. I've got to find out what style the 6" wide ones are. Still any help advice for fingering this out would be apreciated. It's past the speculation stage now just got to iron out the final details :D .

Dave Mr. TopNotch if you're coming on here at all check your pm's eh!

[Thor's Hammer]

Squishy, just get the 8 inch turf tyres. really... how often do you need to be 36" wide? if its regular, get the 6 inch tyres. we ran the 905's on 6"ers and the 950 on 8 inchers.

[squisher]

Ok I can get 6" or 8" turf tires on the 950. The 6" will apparently put me 36" wide? The 8" 42"s wide, however that works out? I'm assuming there must be some differences in rim offset?

Also I'm wondering do all the new BMG's come with a bollard or does it have to be ordered that way?

[Skwerl]

The wider stance will give you much more stability on slopes. How much of your work is on sloped areas vs back yards behind 36" gates?

And around here, we look for alternative access if necessary. It's not hard to remove an 8' fence panel giving you plenty of access for those big jobs.

[squisher]

Yah I'm leaning towards the 8" tires. Just trying to get the proper set-up the first time round.

[sotc]

yes justin, mine came with the bollard and i didnt ask for it so must be a new standard

[squisher]

Cool, thanks Willie :thumbup:


:D :D ear to ear man, ear to ear!

[lumberjack]

Indeed it is standar, as well as the dogs under the heeling plate.

I'd go for the 8"ers, that's what I'm running and it's rarely an issue.

[squisher]

Yah I'm going with the standard set-up which will make the machine 42"s wide. I beleive I'll be able to live with that and I don't want to be overly tippy, when I'm learning and get ramming with it I don't want to be flopping to easy.:D

[lumberjack]

Brendon has rolled his once, I'm on my 4th I believe, about 250 hours I've put on the machine making for nearly 300 total.

No real damage thus far, the muffler is a bit dinged, but otherwise....


A GRCS makes a handy tool for rolling them back over when you can't get a truck to them.

[brendonv]

Good choice with the standard 42" IMO. Indeed I did tip it once, almost shat myself too. Any skinnier than 42" I personally think there will be problems. I've had lots of close calls that would have been flops if I was skinnier.

Good luck, they are fun!

[lumberjack]

Been man! Been! Bean(s) make you fart, more.

[squisher]

:D Well ships late this week or early next week, thanks y'all for all of the advice.:D

[Burnham]

:D Well ships late this week or early next week, thanks y'all for all of the advice.:D

Wow! Go gettum, Squish!

[Frans]

Is the Boxer the only unit with expandable tracks?

[Thor's Hammer]

Yes. Boxer or Prowler.

[squisher]

Damn sometimes I wish I lived in the states, I like the looks of this :big-tongue4:

http://treetrader.com/cl/default.asp?action=addetail&adid=16876

[top hopper]

Squish,

get your tires filled with foam, otherwise plan to pack 3 or 4 spares with you.

[Paul B]

cant you buy it and bring it up?

[squisher]

Squish,

get your tires filled with foam, otherwise plan to pack 3 or 4 spares with you.

Heavy units in particular? Or just for any chipper that size with single tires?




cant you buy it and bring it up?

Paul, pita in my opinion. Either buy it sight unseen and have it shipped for a small fortune. Or go get it and spend a fortune going and hauling it back as well as time. And then if something goes wrong, warranty? Also I have no passport :/: , but I will soon.

[Paul B]

gotcha.

[top hopper]

Heavy units in particular? Or just for any chipper that size with single tires?





Paul, pita in my opinion. Either buy it sight unseen and have it shipped for a small fortune. Or go get it and spend a fortune going and hauling it back as well as time. And then if something goes wrong, warranty? Also I have no passport :/: , but I will soon.





Hahahahaha-


for your mini! Not the chipper

[squisher]

Lol, I was wondering what the hell you meant.

Thanks for the advice on the mini, hadn't even thought of a spare damn what was I thinking. I don't think it shipped today so it's time to fire off a quick e-mail methinks. Thanks again.

[top hopper]

If your ordering a BMG from Dave at TNT, he should be able to hook you up with some foam filled tires. I got mine from him, and let me tell you, I cant remember the last flat tire I had on the mini. Been over a year. Before that, with air filled tires, there were jobs that I blew every tire within a few hours.

[squisher]

Well where the hell were you last week? :D

Jk'ing thanks for the head's up.:thumbup:

[sotc]

wow john, that sucked! good info there

[okietreedude]

tire - shmire....go w/ trax! Ive had mine almost a yr and have yet to get a flat.

[squisher]

What machine are you using a Vermeer? How have the tracks been on lawns?

[okietreedude]

yes, ive got a vermeer. on the lawns, you have to be somewhat careful or youll tear the sit out of it. large corners or several up/backs. i also do a lot of backward driving - straight in & straight out (back).

if its really wet, i stay off.

ive had it a couple of places that if id have had tires, id have been stuck big time. I do work at an industrial plant thats nasty dirty and the dirt can be deep at times.

a friend of mine has the vermeer w/ tires and hes tipped it sideways 3-4 times. dont know if its because of the tires, but its what im guessing.

here's the mrs. on mine shortly after purchase.

[squisher]

Nice!:thumbup: