Mowing Mowing on slopes

[pequeajim]

I am very interested in the PT 425. Thanks Moss and the rest of you for the very informative posts!

I own a 31hp gas Ventrac 4200 VXD and use it mostly for mowing. I am however going to be doing a lot of digging and clearing on my 5 acres of ground over the next few years. My primary use will still be mowing 3 acres of ground. I do not care if the cut is golf course perfect, but do want at least a good cut of the grass.

I live in Lancaster county PA and will be working on the side of a very large hill. 20 deg, and 25 deg slope.

I have a couple of questions about the 425. I thought I read somewhere that it is not as stable as the Ventrac? Would it be more stable than say a Kubota BX?

How does it cut compared to a VT?

Quality of build compared to the VT?

How about mowing up and down hills, power when the PTO is running, cutting up the hill? I'm concerned about only 25hp?

I LOVE the ability to raise the bucket pretty high!

Any thoughts?

 

[Bob999]

25 degree slopes are a bit beyond the capabilities of the 425. PT says the 1430 will do up to 30 degrees but when I visited PT and tried the 1430 on a 30 degree slope I was not comfortable--at least in part because of the lack of an emergency braking system. I ended up buying the 1845 and have never been sorry.

 

[MossRoad]

Welcome to TBN!

A fellow TBNer that goes by the name of Bob just went through the process of finding the best mower for his slopes. He bought a Ventrac 3000. Here's a link to his comparrison of a PT422 side by side to a Ventrac on his property. I think he made the right decision for his needs.

As for slopes in general, the PT425 that I have is rated to 25 degrees due to the oiling system on the Kohler engine. I was out brushhogging today and I have a hill that hits 20 to 25 degrees in some places. Brush hoggin down hill is, of course, no problem. Gravity is your buddy. Going up hill, I had to lift the brush hog just enough to get its wheels off the ground. This transferrs the weight of the brush hog to the tractor and really improves the traction. At that point, I never ran out of power, but ran out of traction with my turf tires not being able to get a grip on the sandy soil covered with chopped, wet sticks and leaves. Bar tread tires or chains would have helped in that situation. And the PT425s that they are selling now have different wheel motors than mine that are supposed to provide even more torque.

As far as stability, I can honestly say that I have never tipped over a PT425 or a Kubota BX, so I can't tell you which one is better. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I can tell you that I went on some very steep side slopes today that I would never take a conventional tractor on for fear of roll over. I wouldn't have taken my yard tractor there, either. The slopes are uncomfortable to walk on. I will measure them some day and let everyone how steep they really are.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of those slopes. I did, however, take some nice fall pictures. Attached is one of a small field that is about half an acre. It sits at the entrance to our property and evetually will be a small orchard. There was heavy grass in this field and I had to go at a slow walking pace to get through it. Funny how foot high grass is much harder to brush hog than 2 inch saplings /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Picture 2 attached shows the PT425 on our trailer chained down and about ready to go home. Notice the debris all over it.

 

[MossRoad]

Last picture for now shows a close up of the front of the unit covered with pine needles and branches.

One thing I like about the Power Trac design is that it is so low to the ground compared to other Compact Utility Tractors. It gives it very good stability. I have never felt uncomfortable on any slope that I have ever had it on.

The attachments out front are great. The brush hog kills everything before you get to it. On a conventional CUT I would have had to back into most of the stuff on our trails and that would have taken a very long time. Today, with the PT425, in about an hour and a half, I brush hogged about 1.5 miles of trails three passes wide, plus the 1/2 acre field in the first picture. Nothing had been cut since last year. In some places the weeds were 6-7 feet high, like in the videos on my Power Trac website. I took out several hundred 1-2 inch saplings and ground them into oblivion. I killed about 20 multi flora rose bushes that were every bit of 10 feet across and 6 feet high. They are no more. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif I can't even begin to imagine what a job the larger Power Tracs could handle. That would just be awsome! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[pequeajim]

Thanks Moss for the great replies! I have a Ventrac 4200 with 30 hours on it. Why would I consider something else?

Although I do a fair amount of mowing, (2.5 acres), I am now doing a lot of digging, cutting, moving, etc out in my yard. The hydraulic system on the 4200 does not seem to get the job done. I have the slip scoop and I really can't dig a lot more than soft dirt. It will lift some things, but is really more of a motorized wheelbarrel and not any kind of serious digging tool.

What is attracting my interest in the PT is it's ability to so some serious work with the accessories that you can buy. The ground clearance is terriffic (without having to put on a front end loader!).

The Ventrac is a great mowing macine and handles slopes great, but I can go up and down the slopes when I mow. I am curious about your comment of a limitation of 20 degrees because of the oil systems on your engine??

There is someone local that I am going to visit to see a 425 in person. In fact, i believe there are two people on here from my area and I hope to talk to them both to get their opinions.

My 4200 is so new, I'm sure I could get enought out of it with the deck, duals and slip scoop to buy a PT.

I just need to go through my own evaluation process.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Since you have the 4200, I think you would be well off investing in the full front end loader attachment, it will dig and recently Ventrac did a demo where they had a prair of 4200's dig a hole as deep as the tractors and then pile the dirt on the end of the hole and climb up the mound from the bottom of the hole. Pictures of the action are posted somewhere on TBN by JackIL who is a Ventrac owner and former engineer (?) for John Deere. He posted the pictures within the last couple of weeks, I think you might want to do a search to find them. The Ventrac will easily dig what you need dug. A guy about a mile away from me bought a 4200 and dug a small pond (about 30' by 40') with it.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, Bob. I saw those pictures, too. Looked pretty good. Nice deep excavation. Looked like one of the Ventracs had a front end loader on it and the other had a scoop or box type attachment.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> Thanks Moss for the great replies! </font>

I aim to please! (I also have a sleep disorder /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif).

The oil system on my Kohler is limited to 25 degrees. If you exceed that angle for any amount of time, the engine will not pick up oil out of the sump and will stop lubricating the internal parts. That's a bad thing. I don't know what the Robin engines are rated for. In the larger Power Tracs they have Deutz diesels. I know nothing about them.

What area of the country are you in?

 

[pequeajim]

Thanks for the input Bob. I know jack and he did send me the pic of the front end loader. It is not cheap and I am not sure that it has the digging power and hydraulic ummpf that the PTs do?

I tried to lift out some sidewalk slabs in the front of my house and neither my or my neighbor's 4200 could get them out of the dirt. I was suporised to say the least.

I wonder what the lift capability of the slip scoop is compared to a 425?