nater
New member
Sorry it has taken a while to post my initial review of the PT422, but I thought if I held off for a little bit, I could also post some issues, and get your feedback on them, as well.
Ordered the whole package, with overnight delivery, on a Wednesday afternoon, and no kidding, by 7am on Thursday the delivery guy was parked out in front of the house just itching to unload it and head back to VA. Our order included the 422, bar tires, canopy, 48" tow behind trailer, 48" finish mower, 48" brush hog, stump grinder, big and small bucket with teeth, 60" hydrolic blade, 60" rake, core plug aerator, 48" boom lift, forks, post hole digger with 12" auger and an extra quick attach plate. I must tell you it was an impressive site to see all of that equipment on the delivery trailer. As he was unloading it all into the garage (Filled one WHOLE side of the garage!!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif), a group of eying neighbors began to form across the street. (It was GREAT!!)/w3tcompact/icons/king.gif
Of course heading into the office was NO LONGER in the plan for at least that morning, so I jumped on the machine to see what it would do. Keep in mind that I bought ALL of this site-unseen, and based it off of all your recommendations, and especially, Moss's website.
First thing that needed modification was the seat stop on the slide adjust. Being 6'3", it just felt a little on the cramped side. Found that by simply loosening the nut on the right front side seat mount, the L-bracket stop could be swiveled out of the way, gaining at least an additional 2" of rear travel on the seat. This REALLY helped a ton, and it I fit perfectly.
First thing to try was the 48" finish mower. I didn't go with the 60" based on your recommendations related to hills and the power reduction. Don't know if that this was the best decision. The mower does a GREAT job, basically as good as any I have ever seen, but the edge trimming aspect of the 48" falls short. Since it is only as wide as the tires on the machine, there is no trimming overhang. This makes it very difficult to get into the arched landscaped areas. Guess that is why they make weed wackers. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Next up was my first try at digging with the bucket. This was where I really first felt that I may have made a mistake with this machine, or I was just not cut out to be a "digger-Dan". I could not dig up enough dirt to even cause concern for the worms. I stopped and went to re-re-read the forum posts on how you guys recommend to dig and found the wiggle technique. Worked great!! I am not the diggin master, but I can now hold my own. I can't recommend enough to purchase both buckets, and the teeth for the small one. I have used them more than I EVER thought I would. Have moved well over 100 tons of pulverised dirt and I can't even estimate how much mulch and woodchip piles have been relocated with the PT. The large bucket is awesome for back grading, and you can get a differnent look and performance depending on the angle of the bucket when you drag it back.
<font color=red>Issues with bucket:</font color=red>
1. When carrying a FULL load of dirt downhill in the big bucket, there is a very annoying squeal that seems to be coming from the front wheel motors. I have re-greesed everything and changed the hydrolic filter, but it the noise is still there. I made sure the parking brake (Another issue below) wasn't rubbing against the wheel. Anybody have any suggestions, or have you experienced this. It drives me nuts!!
Next came the mighty brush hog. We have about two acres of wetlands behind our property, with 6' weeds and nasty hawthorne trees. My wife watched my head into one side of this jungle and dissapear. She said all she could see was weeds and trees falling down and flying everywhere. In a couple of minutes, she saw me appear coming out on the other side. This piece of equipement is AWESOME!! It needs to be treated with the utmost respect, as it has power beyond belief. You truly need to take EVERY safety precaution when using this!! It easily shreds up to 3" trees, cutting them off at the ground and basically mulching it up. I am now on my THIRD set of blades!
<font color=red>Issues with brush hog:</font color=red>
1. The discharge path from the mower PACKS the front of the machine with debris. This is especially a problem with the front left wheel. The hydrolic motor well is packed so tight, it is hard to get that stuff out of there. Need to put something in the way of that opening or change the discharge path to the side.
2. The front tires pneumatic tires on the brush hog, and basically all of the attachements, SUCK. I had gone through 4 sets of repaired tires, using PT's suggestions to over-inflate, and changing the down force, but nothing worked. Finally, I had PT send me the poly filled tires, and have NEVER had any problem since. I then had a local tire shop change ALL the tires to poly fill and could not be happier with the results. I believe that even though they are physically heavier, PT should just include poly-filled tires as standard.
3. The blade mount configuration causes the blades to hit the extra bolt heads everytime you engage the PTO. I always engage it at the lowest RPM, but the blades still suffer quite an impact.
Next up was the stump grinder. To be honest, this does the job, but I should have held off on this as I we don't have enough stumps to justify this. It worked great for the 30-40 3"-7" stumps we had, but now that they are gone, it will not be used. If anyone is interested in purchasing this, please let me know.
<font color=red>Issues with stump grinder:</font color=red>
1. I know this has been discussed, but the rotation of the blade kicks everything back at the tractor and the operator. Not a huge issue, but really need to be careful with the angle of attack.
The plug core aerator is really worth every penny. We have all clay and really needed to get some moisture into the ground. Additionally, after heavily coring the entire lawn, I put down about 1 inch of pulverized soil over everything and the core holes ended up being filled with the new soil. The plugs are at least 3+" deep and the unit is built to last forever. Each spindle has easy to reach greese zerks.
The boom lift has been tested on EVERYTHING that CAN move in our house. It has been another tool that I can't live without.
Amazingly, I have not tried the forks yet. Not terribly exciting, but I will let you know if any issues arrise.
The 60" rake has been used so much that the tines bend in multiple directions. It is awesome to be able to sink the teeth into the ground an inch or two and pull back across the yard. It has provided a very effective way to get grass seed into a clay bed. NO complaints with this.
<font color=red>Overall issues and observations:</font color=red>
1. The stearing wheel is WAY to thin for this type of machine. I got a speed ball (clamp on type) and this has made all the difference in the world. Without it, my hands would hurt after a couple of hours of use.
2. The engine is LOUD! I would love to hear if someone has been able to quiet it down. Not sure how much is muffler and how much is just plain engine noise.
3. After several flat tires, from those darn Hawthorns, I filled the tires with Slime. I recommend doing this right away.
4. NOTE: The hour meter advances WITHOUT the engine running. If you leave the key in the one position, the hour meter is advancing. I must have left the key in the on position before we went away for a weekend and.......just an excuse to do the early filter and oil changes. PS: Running Amsoil synthetic now./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
5. Under lower RPMs, when you accelerate, it sounds like a BB or ball bearing is rattling around in the wheel motors. Has anyone else had this?
I will try and post some of the pictures taken over the last two months, and keep you up to date. Planned modifications will be starting soon, so I will post those as well. Thanks for your continued assitance, encouragement and advice.
Nate
Nate
Ordered the whole package, with overnight delivery, on a Wednesday afternoon, and no kidding, by 7am on Thursday the delivery guy was parked out in front of the house just itching to unload it and head back to VA. Our order included the 422, bar tires, canopy, 48" tow behind trailer, 48" finish mower, 48" brush hog, stump grinder, big and small bucket with teeth, 60" hydrolic blade, 60" rake, core plug aerator, 48" boom lift, forks, post hole digger with 12" auger and an extra quick attach plate. I must tell you it was an impressive site to see all of that equipment on the delivery trailer. As he was unloading it all into the garage (Filled one WHOLE side of the garage!!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif), a group of eying neighbors began to form across the street. (It was GREAT!!)/w3tcompact/icons/king.gif
Of course heading into the office was NO LONGER in the plan for at least that morning, so I jumped on the machine to see what it would do. Keep in mind that I bought ALL of this site-unseen, and based it off of all your recommendations, and especially, Moss's website.
First thing that needed modification was the seat stop on the slide adjust. Being 6'3", it just felt a little on the cramped side. Found that by simply loosening the nut on the right front side seat mount, the L-bracket stop could be swiveled out of the way, gaining at least an additional 2" of rear travel on the seat. This REALLY helped a ton, and it I fit perfectly.
First thing to try was the 48" finish mower. I didn't go with the 60" based on your recommendations related to hills and the power reduction. Don't know if that this was the best decision. The mower does a GREAT job, basically as good as any I have ever seen, but the edge trimming aspect of the 48" falls short. Since it is only as wide as the tires on the machine, there is no trimming overhang. This makes it very difficult to get into the arched landscaped areas. Guess that is why they make weed wackers. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Next up was my first try at digging with the bucket. This was where I really first felt that I may have made a mistake with this machine, or I was just not cut out to be a "digger-Dan". I could not dig up enough dirt to even cause concern for the worms. I stopped and went to re-re-read the forum posts on how you guys recommend to dig and found the wiggle technique. Worked great!! I am not the diggin master, but I can now hold my own. I can't recommend enough to purchase both buckets, and the teeth for the small one. I have used them more than I EVER thought I would. Have moved well over 100 tons of pulverised dirt and I can't even estimate how much mulch and woodchip piles have been relocated with the PT. The large bucket is awesome for back grading, and you can get a differnent look and performance depending on the angle of the bucket when you drag it back.
<font color=red>Issues with bucket:</font color=red>
1. When carrying a FULL load of dirt downhill in the big bucket, there is a very annoying squeal that seems to be coming from the front wheel motors. I have re-greesed everything and changed the hydrolic filter, but it the noise is still there. I made sure the parking brake (Another issue below) wasn't rubbing against the wheel. Anybody have any suggestions, or have you experienced this. It drives me nuts!!
Next came the mighty brush hog. We have about two acres of wetlands behind our property, with 6' weeds and nasty hawthorne trees. My wife watched my head into one side of this jungle and dissapear. She said all she could see was weeds and trees falling down and flying everywhere. In a couple of minutes, she saw me appear coming out on the other side. This piece of equipement is AWESOME!! It needs to be treated with the utmost respect, as it has power beyond belief. You truly need to take EVERY safety precaution when using this!! It easily shreds up to 3" trees, cutting them off at the ground and basically mulching it up. I am now on my THIRD set of blades!
<font color=red>Issues with brush hog:</font color=red>
1. The discharge path from the mower PACKS the front of the machine with debris. This is especially a problem with the front left wheel. The hydrolic motor well is packed so tight, it is hard to get that stuff out of there. Need to put something in the way of that opening or change the discharge path to the side.
2. The front tires pneumatic tires on the brush hog, and basically all of the attachements, SUCK. I had gone through 4 sets of repaired tires, using PT's suggestions to over-inflate, and changing the down force, but nothing worked. Finally, I had PT send me the poly filled tires, and have NEVER had any problem since. I then had a local tire shop change ALL the tires to poly fill and could not be happier with the results. I believe that even though they are physically heavier, PT should just include poly-filled tires as standard.
3. The blade mount configuration causes the blades to hit the extra bolt heads everytime you engage the PTO. I always engage it at the lowest RPM, but the blades still suffer quite an impact.
Next up was the stump grinder. To be honest, this does the job, but I should have held off on this as I we don't have enough stumps to justify this. It worked great for the 30-40 3"-7" stumps we had, but now that they are gone, it will not be used. If anyone is interested in purchasing this, please let me know.
<font color=red>Issues with stump grinder:</font color=red>
1. I know this has been discussed, but the rotation of the blade kicks everything back at the tractor and the operator. Not a huge issue, but really need to be careful with the angle of attack.
The plug core aerator is really worth every penny. We have all clay and really needed to get some moisture into the ground. Additionally, after heavily coring the entire lawn, I put down about 1 inch of pulverized soil over everything and the core holes ended up being filled with the new soil. The plugs are at least 3+" deep and the unit is built to last forever. Each spindle has easy to reach greese zerks.
The boom lift has been tested on EVERYTHING that CAN move in our house. It has been another tool that I can't live without.
Amazingly, I have not tried the forks yet. Not terribly exciting, but I will let you know if any issues arrise.
The 60" rake has been used so much that the tines bend in multiple directions. It is awesome to be able to sink the teeth into the ground an inch or two and pull back across the yard. It has provided a very effective way to get grass seed into a clay bed. NO complaints with this.
<font color=red>Overall issues and observations:</font color=red>
1. The stearing wheel is WAY to thin for this type of machine. I got a speed ball (clamp on type) and this has made all the difference in the world. Without it, my hands would hurt after a couple of hours of use.
2. The engine is LOUD! I would love to hear if someone has been able to quiet it down. Not sure how much is muffler and how much is just plain engine noise.
3. After several flat tires, from those darn Hawthorns, I filled the tires with Slime. I recommend doing this right away.
4. NOTE: The hour meter advances WITHOUT the engine running. If you leave the key in the one position, the hour meter is advancing. I must have left the key in the on position before we went away for a weekend and.......just an excuse to do the early filter and oil changes. PS: Running Amsoil synthetic now./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
5. Under lower RPMs, when you accelerate, it sounds like a BB or ball bearing is rattling around in the wheel motors. Has anyone else had this?
I will try and post some of the pictures taken over the last two months, and keep you up to date. Planned modifications will be starting soon, so I will post those as well. Thanks for your continued assitance, encouragement and advice.
Nate
Nate
