Buying Advice 422 advice

[markpin]

Looking for a little advice...
I have a 2acre property with a 1 acre pond. I have been looking for a used 422 /425 to do some landscape projects such as a little regrading, tree planting, moving landscape boulders etc..and figured a machine like the pt would be perfect. Since I haven't found a used one, (please advise if someone knows of a decent one for sale). I may have to bite the bullet and buy a new one knowing it will not get the use that it deserves. I do not believe that in my limited use I would need anything more than a 422 with a few attachments such as stump grinder, minihoe (for tree planting) and a bucket . First question is advice on buckets ; thoughts on a 4 in one? I would like the occasional use as a grapple for brach pick up etc... But do no know if I can grade with it. Are ther teeth available with it? would also think a lightweight bucket would be useful for mulch, but perhaps the 4 in one would be ok as well for this.
Second question is if there are ROPS available for the 422?
Any advice is greatly appreciated
Thanks for the help.

 

[flattopp9]

I was fortunate enough to find a used 1430 and it has a 4in one bucket. I have a campground and use the bucket every day, it is so versitle and can't think of anything that could replace it. I buried a 8''culvert today with both the bucket and the minny hoe and couldn't have been happier.first time i used the hoe, a little tricky but real nice sub for a shovel. Happy hunting and the pt is really a great machine. Dale in wi.

 

[flattopp9]

Oh yea,i think there is a ropes on used stuff at pt factory site. Dale

 

[Marks481]

4n1 doesn't work well for grading. Doesn't work well for plowing. Works ok as a grapple.

I have one, probably would buy a grapple instead, and a LMB (light material bucket). 4n1 and grapple both have a small bucket.

Next recommendation (after all, it isn't my money): get a 425. The PT422 has a single steering ram, which creates a potential weakness in the design (two individuals on this forum have ripped the attachment point off the frame). Extra 6" of lift always would be nice; I always seem to be a bit short of headroom when emptying the bucket into a pickup or into my trailer. Consider that the rollover protection system (ROPS) represents an option $500 that you should buy if you get a PT422, so the price difference isn't as large as it seems at first. Ok, so it is still a lot, which is why I ended up with a 422. Like you, I couldn't justify it.

There is a used PT425 for sale on power-trac's homepage; keep your eye on their list, sometimes they have 2-3 for sale.

 

[KentT]

Unless you need the grapple capabilities to clamp onto something, you may want to forego both the 4-in-1 and the grapple bucket. Both are small, as stated above -- in fact they're the same size as the rock bucket.

The most bang for the buck, IMO, would be to get the light material bucket (LMB) then put an AFTERMARKET 48" toothbar on it. It would give you a bucket that's twice the size as the smaller buckets described abive, and the aftermarket toolbar would give you digging capabilitiy when needed, then quickly removed if you don't need it...

Power-Trac uses bolt on, individual teeth, for their buckets -- the aftermarket toothbar approach still allows replacing an individual tooth (make sure the design has that capability) yet you can remove or install the entire bar as one piece with only a couple bolts, rather than a couple dozen bolts used for the individual teeth...

I also "ditto" the comments about looking for a used 425 vs a 422. The newer 425s that have the additional lift height also came with stronger wheel motors, in addition to two steering rams and a ROPS already mentioned. IMO, the 425 has much more value when you consider all the differences...

 

[Clumber]

I think that the PT-425 is the sweet-spot in the PT series in terms of price vs performance. The Utility Grapple (not the grapple bucket) is the attachment that I used the most.
NEW
You will not regret having the Forks around either. The box blade is adequate for grading a gravel drive way -- has drop down scarifier teeth. The LMT and the snow blade round-out the basic utensils.

The 4n1 is very poor as a grapple, does not open wide enough. It is the least used attachment I have. You may want to consider the planter auger head with a wide auger vs the minihoe for planting trees.

Patrick

 

[BobRip]

I agree that the 425 is much better. The 422 really needs that extra wheel motor torque. I have the 4 in1, the grapple bucket, and the LMT. I rarely use the LMT. The 4 in 1 will load much fuller easily. It is used a lot. The grapple will handle a lot of brush. You can push down on a 6 foot pile and pick up 90% in one bite.

 

[markpin]

I think that the PT-425 is the sweet-spot in the PT series in terms of price vs performance. The Utility Grapple (not the grapple bucket) is the attachment that I used the most.
NEW
You will not regret having the Forks around either. The box blade is adequate for grading a gravel drive way -- has drop down scarifier teeth. The LMT and the snow blade round-out the basic utensils.

The 4n1 is very poor as a grapple, does not open wide enough. It is the least used attachment I have. You may want to consider the planter auger head with a wide auger vs the minihoe for planting trees.

Patrick

Thanks to all for the advice... I will keep looking for a used 425 in lieu of the 422 based upon the above recommendatIons. I saw one a couple of weeks ago, but I was a few days too late and it was sold by the time I saw it. I think the idea of the light bucket with a aftermarket bar sounds great. Is there any reason for the smaller bucket? Will the light bucket not handle a load of soil or other material? The mini hoe with a set of forks sounds like what I need to plant a few 6-8 foot spruces as well.
The problem I anticipate is not finding a decent machine...
Thank you all again for your time and advice.
Mark

 

[markpin]

Bob,
My thinking on the 4 in one is that when I drop an occasional tree, cut it up, etc... That I could use the 4 in 1 as a grapple to pick up the limbs and move them. I do not have a lot of this work to do so I didn't think I would use a grapple bucket and thought perhaps for the few times, the 4 in 1 would do...
Mark

 

[markpin]

4n1 doesn't work well for grading. Doesn't work well for plowing. Works ok as a grapple.

I have one, probably would buy a grapple instead, and a LMB (light material bucket). 4n1 and grapple both have a small bucket.

Next recommendation (after all, it isn't my money): get a 425. The PT422 has a single steering ram, which creates a potential weakness in the design (two individuals on this forum have ripped the attachment point off the frame). Extra 6" of lift always would be nice; I always seem to be a bit short of headroom when emptying the bucket into a pickup or into my trailer. Consider that the rollover protection system (ROPS) represents an option $500 that you should buy if you get a PT422, so the price difference isn't as large as it seems at first. Ok, so it is still a lot, which is why I ended up with a 422. Like you, I couldn't justify it.

There is a used PT425 for sale on power-trac's homepage; keep your eye on their list, sometimes they have 2-3 for sale.

Tim,
425 sounds like the way to go.. I will keep looking
Mark