I have had a 1430 since 1999 and I have been very pleased with it. I have 10 acres of hilly, heavily wood land. The 1430 has done everything that I have asked of it. I use it primarily for clearing tees, landscaping, filling in gulleys, grinding stumps, grading my driveway, clearing snow, clearing underbrush, cleaning flower beds, cutting trails, moving dirt, hauling mulch, digging up shubbery, etc. In addition, we have a lot of very large rocks. I'm amazed at the size of rocks that I have moved around with the 1430.
I have had very few problems since I purchased the 1430. Trash in the fuel tank was fixed in about 15 minutes. Broken bolt on the foot pedal, worn fan belt, burned out light bulb. Simple things that are easily fixed. I have seen no need to make any modifications. I have the bar tread tires and would recommend them particularly if you have any creeks or muddy areas. I have never been stuck and have used it for pulling out my truck numerous times. The tractor is easy to work on. I tried finding filters, etc., locally but found that I could get them easily from Power Trac. I always perform the maintenance as recommended by Power Trac.
It always starts regardless of the temperature. It is easy to work on. I am impressed with the manufacturer and his response for delivering parts when needed. I have had the tractor in some pretty precarious situations and have had no fear of it turning over which is the main reason that I selected this tractor. Many of the problems that I have read about with the other tractors, I have not experienced.
This tractor is perfect for me. Once I became familiar with its operation, I was really impressed with how I could simply push over trees and the put the bucket under the roots that were exposed and just pop them out of the ground. I find that the roll over protection is indispensible, particularly when dead limbs are in the trees you are pushing over. The articulation allows you to get into places that you could not with a normal tractor or skidsteer.
In the future, I intend to purchase a rough cut mower, finish mower, grapple attachment for my bucket, and mini-hoe. I frequently use all of the attachments that I have purchased and now find that they all are a necessity for me particularly the adjustable forks.
When I originally went to Tazwell to purchase the tractor, I was really interested in the 425; however, after driving the 425, I realized that there was not sufficient room for my feet when operating. After driving the 1430, I was sold on it. There was much more room, it had a high lift height and would lift more weight. The spec. say that it will lift 1200 lbs., but I believe that it lifts more.
This tractor really doesn't belong to me. It is my wife's. Make sure you take her with you when you purchase it. There are a lot of advantages to this arrangement. I can buy attachments as gifts for her. Smart, huh?
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