Tires pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires

   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #1  

Roswelloperations

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Feb 8, 2010
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MA
Hi PT guys,

I've been looking at the power trac's for a few months now and am in the process of trying to get financing to purchase one for my small landscaping company. I appreciate all the good information and experiences that has been posted here. My main concern is being able to work on delicate lawns without damage. Based on JD-Beach's previous posts the larger 1430 tires reduce ground pressure from 5.something to 3.something which is a huge deal to me. The only concern I have is that my experience with commercial mowers tells me that the wider the tire the more twisting damage can occur when you take sharp turns. Has anyone had experience with this and what would you recommend for the least possible damage to finished lawns?

Thanks,
Dave
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #2  
Welcome to TBN! :D

I have a 2001 model year PT425 with turf tires. It is very gentle on the lawn. When you turn the steering wheel, the tires roll. They do not slide or twist at all. There are some videos on my website that show the tractor in operation across a lawn. Click on my tractor in my signature below and that will take you to my website. On the left is a link to my videos page. Click on that. There are all kinds of videos that show the PT in action, which shows how the tires roll. In particular there are 5 videos at the bottom pertaining to lawn mowing.

As I said, the tractor won't damage your lawn. However, the Power Trac mower deck wheels will damage your lawn. The front wheels of the mower deck caster and will not cause damage. The rear fixed wheel, however, will slide side-to-side due to the articulation of the tractor. This can be minimized several ways... by never articulating the tractor when you are stopped, by making wide sweeping turns, or by lifting the mower deck in tight turn situations. If they would put casters on the rear of the deck, this problem would be solved, I think.
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #3  
If you are not moving forward or reverse, turning like when swinging the stump grinder or minihoe can be tough on the grass. But if you are moving, it does not damage the grass.

Ken
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires
  • Thread Starter
#4  
thanks for the quick responses and for the welcome MossRoad :) , as a followup question, do any of you notice slight ruts in the lawn if you drive a bucket full of heavy material across the lawn? Something where it would pay off to have the weight spread over a wider tire?
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #5  
The fixed plastic rear mower wheels have always been a pain in the @#$.
I modified my mower deck and installed a Caroni caster wheel kit....to eliminate the problem of the OEM wheels dragging. After a while I downsized the Caroni caster wheels to a solid wheel to gain more clearance in front of the PT Bar tires. :)
 
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   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #6  
thanks for the quick responses and for the welcome MossRoad :) , as a followup question, do any of you notice slight ruts in the lawn if you drive a bucket full of heavy material across the lawn? Something where it would pay off to have the weight spread over a wider tire?
One pass. No.
Two passes. You can see where you went.
Three passes and the grass will pop back up after watering.
Multiple passes makes for a more pronounced path.
I find if I take a slightly different path with each pass the lawn will be no worse for the wear.

Of course, it also depends on the soil type, moisture, planted cover, etc...
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #7  
thanks for the quick responses and for the welcome MossRoad :) , as a followup question, do any of you notice slight ruts in the lawn if you drive a bucket full of heavy material across the lawn? Something where it would pay off to have the weight spread over a wider tire?

I agree with Moss on this one.

That said, I have a fine finished lawn where the only way to get to the flower beds and quite a lot of trees, etc. is across the lawn.

I had the exact same dilemma - how do I bring mulch and bark chips to the other side without mangling the lawn? A skid-steer would mangle the lawn (don't ask how I know this). Even a large lawn tractor will mangle the lawn (I know, I bought one of those as well).

I finally broke down and purchased my PT425. I put tractor tires on it because several places I need the extra traction.

Amazingly, the PT425 is very gentle on the lawn. As Moss said, 3-4 passes is no big deal at all. I ended up doing probably 100 passes to get everything done, and I tried to vary which section of the lawn I went over. I moved 15 units of bark chips over the lawn in 2 weeks. That's like 50-60 yards worth of material!

After a week of watering, you can't tell I was there.

It's the best solution I know of at this point in time! (Unless we find a way to put 'tracks' on it, e.g. Welcome to MATTRACKS rubber track conversions systems for 4x4 vehicles) But, that's another thread...

-Rob :)
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #8  
Hi Dave,
The big tires are very good for sand work on the beach. They work well on soft lawns as well. However, I think that the stock tires would probably be as good for lawn work. Stock tires would result in a nice price savings too. This machine won't tear up the lawn. Moss is right on the tracking. We move a lot of mulch with no lasting imprints. I keep the big bucket on all the time and fill it to the max.
 

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   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks again guys. For the work I do I'm sure you are all right, that functionally and for money reasons the stock tires are the way to go .......as cool as the big tires look:cool:
 
   / pt-425: big 1430 tires vs. standard turf tires #10  
The fixed plastic rear mower wheels have always been a pain in the @#$.
I modified my mower deck and installed a Caroni caster wheel kit....to eliminate the problem of the OEM wheels dragging. After a while I downsized the Caroni caster wheels to a solid wheel to gain more clearance in front of the PT Bar tires. :)

I got tired of the solid wheel hanging up on the bar tire so I moved the deck out approx 3". There are "extra" holes on the deck where the brackets attached. Unbolted the 4 bolts, rolled the deck forward a few inches and bolted it back up. Perfect fit! Now the deck solid wheels and the bar treads don't touch when the deck articulates through it's range of motion.
 
 
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