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WC MN | We just got a 450CT. It has 1800 hrs and tracks had been replaced just prior to the sale. A tree farmer owned it so it spent most of it's life spading trees out of the ground. Dealer told me his cost on Soliddeal (sp?) tracks are $1,200/side. That was cheap enough for me not to think twice going to a wheeled machine. We still have snow on the ground and I was grubbing trees out last weekend after pushing a 1/2 mile trail out to where I was working. No offense, but I think that would have been a stretch for a wheeled machine. Plus, the wide stance makes working the hills much better.
Had a 450CT3 been available, I might have considered that. I thought I bought mine "right" from a dealer because it was off color and he took 4 machines on trade so he was looking at getting out of them. He did have a 440 CT3 but he wanted another 30% on price. The biggest upgrades in a CT3 from CT is pressurized cab and slightly more engine torque. Keep in mind these are 90 horse machines so unless you know how to use 90 horse that point is likely moot. The cab might be worth it. I get snow and dust coming in the window gaskets so......
I will say I was disappointed in the ride. I have quite a few hours in rough terrain on a 4520 ASV (115 horse) cleaning up CRP and plowing. The ASV track system is quite a bit smoother. HOWEVER, price redoing the undercarriage on an ASV system vs. bobcat/case and you may "accept" the fact that it's not quite as smooth. Case has solid steel idler and bogies whereas ASV uses suspended rubber coated ones. There is not even a comparison to a wheeled machine. Tracks float over so much more. I have a bad back so I am extremely sensitive to jarring and this has been my observation going across a chisel plowed field.
Rock and concrete will tear up any track system. ASV's tend to be a little sensitive to mud and gravel as well. The rubber coated idlers take the brunt of the damage.
You probably know this but the 450ct is quite a bit wider than the 440ct. A 440ct will fit on a bobcat/car trailer. A 450ct will NOT fit between the wheel wells so if you are going to haul it around you should have a deck over of sorts. For this reason, the resale value on 450ct's are actually quite poor so you can get significantly more machine for less money. My 450ct is 84" to the outside of the tracks. A 440ct is exactly 10" less than that.
The key to those Case track machines is to keep the final drives cool and change the oil in them regularly. They are quite expensive to replace ($5,200) or repair ($1,200). Be sure to ask when and how often the oil has been changed. If they look at you funny simply walk away. Sure, they could be ok but I wouldn't take that chance. Mine was changed every 300 hours or roughly 1x a year.
And yes, the Tak's are "the best". Terex is making the ASV's now and I would put them up there too if you are looking new. I bought a case for dealer support and ultimately price. I plan to pick field rock with mine. My 450 has a ground speed of 8 mph. The new Terex's are like 13 and the old ASV's are like 11 with the two speed. If you have ground to cover, it does make a difference.
There was a guy on here with a CAT 287B in the classifieds. IT's too bad he didn't want to work with me on the price when I was looking at one. Those are pretty good too. I would have opted for that over the Case just for the ride alone even though the undercarriage is more expensive to maintain. I see that guy has lowered his price now. He just put a new set of tracks on that machine. http://agtalkplus.com/?q=node/39463 I'd think a good price would be in the 25k for that machine. That actually has the ASV undercarriage as CAT was running them for a little while. People get spooked buying used track machines because of the horror stories so the resale in general is fairly poor.
And before we get into the tracks vs wheel debate that I know is coming, as long as one knows what they are getting into I say buy the tracked machine if you are in the field with it a lot. If you are concrete or asphalt, I would rethink it but most of us aren't.
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Has anyone operated or owned a case 450ct skid steer?
