Hello all, I'm new to the site and have enjoyed reading all the info that is on here. I wanted to see what people thought about the Ramrod 1150 (track model) model, or ramrod in general. I've heard very good things about their new models and all of their attachments and lift capacities are great. I'm about to buy one, with 20 hours of demo on it. I'm ran it myself and am impressed with it's capabilities. Some of the hardware on the track assembly have been replaced with upgraded parts, as the factory parts are not as reliable. I would love any and all input on ramrods or other mini units. Thanks!
grlandscaping- I bought a ramrod 1150 last spring. There are quite a few posts here on lawnsite.com- you can view them by using the search menu. See if this link works (this is the first time I have tried this) http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread/t-58836.html
grlandscaping- I would stay away from the Ramrod diesel engine, unless they have changed the link between the engine and hydraulic pumps. I demoed one with the diesel engine last year. They have a belt-driven assembly that powers the hydraulic pumps (both belts broke within 2 hours). The gasoline engines use a drive shaft to power the pumps.
Thanks The one i'm lookin at right now is a gas engine, i assume you went with a gas engine too? Besides that, how has it held up for you?
I read your post earlier about the ramrod. What size should the axle be? I don't want to be sidelined with a broken axle, thanks bcx.
grlandscaping- yes, I went with the Kawasaki gas engine. I don't know the diameter of the new axle, but I can tell you this- The old axle had a smaller diameter where the bearing surrounds the axle shaft. The new axles have a larger bearing, and the axle shaft is the same diameter throughout the entire length. The machine seems to be holding up ok- I had hydraulic fluid leaks, which were repaired under warranty. I am still concerned about the axles- but only time will tell if they hold up. I really push the limits of this machine- I should probably be using something a little more heavy-duty. If I had to do it all over again, I would seriously consider the ASV RC-30. You might want to check out the posts and compare.
grlandscaping I too just demo'd a Ramrod 1150 with the Kawi liquid cooled. very impressive machine. also looked at a Toro dingo, nothing stands out about it other than the red paint and the higher price and tested a Thomas 25GT. The Thomas is a copy of the older series Ramrod, though little unit but I found it too be very tippy and hard to operate smoothly. Plus for the Thomas is the single joystick that operates the boom and bucket. Thomas pricing is close to Ramrod but is limited by only offering a Kohler air cooled engine.
Check out a finn or the new bobcat mt-51. Ihave heard nothing but bad reports on ramrod. Dealer support and same day parts is what you need. Or a dealer loner program. Down time is money.
G&S has a good point about RAMROD dealer support. The repairs for my 1150 took about 10 days- all because of parts being shipped from Saskatchewan, Canada. Have yet to here of a dealer that stocks Ramrod parts. I think Ramrod has some really good ideas, but the service is not up to par. Like the last post says-DOWN TIME IS MONEY!
Before you decide upon any of the stand ons, for the price, consider a Bocat 463, skid steer. If you install the 36" kit, it will get in tighter spots than the stand ons, and it will load an F-450 dump truck without building dirt ramps the elevate the bucket. You can install any implement that the stand ons will accept as well. This is the route we went, and thought it would do more that we needed to do and we got a considerable amount more with the package. Just food for thought
