Buying Advice Request for T8 PT-425 Buying Advice

[Indetrendent]

Hi, I'm pondering a PowerTrac 425 purchase and have a few outstanding questions:

1. How fast (mph) can I expect a PT-425 to travel while mowing? Is it faster than a Kubota SCUT? Is cut quality the same? (Assuming sharp blades, normal, flat lawn conditions.) I have two acres of wide open and mostly flat lawn in Northern Virginia and 3 acres of cypress woods to tend. (Half an acre is on a slight slope of 8-10 degrees.) Would I be better off taking the money spent on the mower attachment and putting it towards a 60" Walk-Behind mower with sulky, a stander or a ZTR? I am really trying to avoid buying the PT-425 with the 60" mower, being unhappy with the mower attachment and having to unload it and also then buy a dedicated mower. I am pretty sure that I'll love the PT-425 for all things beyond the mow.

2. I have read that the PT clanks during mowing? Is the cause of this the floating of the mowing deck? Is it terrible?

3. I think I need the light material bucket and a plow. What is the best option to handle logs and brush piles that complements the light material bucket and plow? Is it the Utility Grapple or the Grapple Bucket, or 4-in-1 Bucket?

4. I have not seen many reviews of the wheel trencher. How does it perform?

5. Is the mini-hoe worth it? My concern is that it is so small and cumbersome that I could be done quicker by manual shovel for small jobs or by picking up a rental for large jobs.

6. Are owners of the latest version PT-425 with the Kohler Command Ch730-3208 engine happy with it? I have not seen too many posts on newer PT-425s, but I suppose that is a good thing.

Thanks for the help. I am doing the typical comparison of Kubota SCUT vs PowerTrac and have gone back and forth at least 10 times.

 

[ernemats]

Welcome. I have an older 422 and I have been happy with it. 20 years old and about 3,000 hours. I have the 48 inch mower, small bucket, mini hoe with thumb, flail mower and snow plow. Mower does decent job but not great, mini hoe is good for small jobs if not in a hurry, I have used it to dig about 500 foot of ditch 18 inches deep. I use the mini hoe to pick up logs for firewood cutting and also it is good for picking up brush. My advice is to go to Tazewell and try the tractor and attachments you are interested in, they let you try any attachments you are interested in.

 

[BobRip]

You could also visit someone near you who has a Power Trac. I am just west of Richmond about 2 hours from you for example. Others may be nearer. I have the trencher, minihoe, light duty bucket, grappling bucket and 4 in 1 bucket. Also 48 inch mower. Of course reading the website here will help a lot. For brush and picking up trees the grappling bucket is excellent.

 

[MossRoad]

Welcome to TBN!

Mowing speed depends on the condition of the grass you're mowing and the roughness of the terrain.
Do you have a thick, healthy, showy lawn? Or just a normal, non-irrigated lawn? Thick grass, you have to slow down. I mow my showy lawn at about 4-5 miles per hour when I'm taking off a couple inches. I have to slow down if it's taller. I mow the back non-irrigated areas not as often, waiting until it's 3-4" longer and I still mow at 4-5mph. There's no suspension, so if I go faster, not only do I get shaken up, the mower deck will bounce on the very uneven areas and you can notice it in the cut. In the flat areas, it rolls very smoothly.

Yes, the mower deck will clank on it's mount on hard ground and uneven terrain. Mine's been doing it since 2001. It's not bad at the lower speeds. The faster you go, the more it clicks and clacks. It doesn't bother me. The engine and hydraulics and mower blades spinning are way louder. Really, the only time I notice it is when I'm done mowing, the mower is turned off, and I'm flying across the yard at 8mph with the deck in float. I pick the deck off the ground a few inches and don't have to hear it. Again, it doesn't bother me at all. It's just a quirk of the machine.

I can't help you on the grapples or 4-in-1, as I don't have them. Looking back on my purchase, I bought the small bucket with teeth. I wish I would have purchased the grapple bucket. It's the same bucket with a grapple. I don't know if I'd use the 4-in-1.

Haven't heard about anyone with a CH730. I'd love to hear any reviews.

How much is the 60" mower deck these days? Mine was $1200, I believe. I'm still on the original spindles. 3rd belt in 18 years. 3rd set of blades. Not bad in my opinion.

I'd consider the pallet forks. They are cheap and really handy. Really handy. I move logs, firewood, telephone poles, dig bushes, larger rocks, other implements, landscape timbers, etc....

As for buying a 2nd mower.... like I said, if your have a show lawn, the PT isn't the best mower. But it an adequate mower. If you are super picky, get the 2nd mower.

 

[MossRoad]

I took these pictures of my lawn back in 2002 before and after mowing with the 60" finish mower. While I won't win any awards, I find the cut more than adequate with sharp blades and a little care in speed control.

 

[agjones]

Wheel trencher and engine, I don't have any time with.

My 425 is a very competent mower w the brush or 60" finish. The finish is tough, forgiving of terrain and surprises in the turf. I don't use the 60 inch much, and would sell or trade it for a 48"finish... Bc of mu needs and transport setup... It's not a great match for me.

The chain trencher is a beast and accomplishes way more than trenches for me. It's covered in other threads pretty well.

I have the 4n1 w teeth and utility grapple. The 4n1 is a great material handling and earthworks bucket. Tough, sized to the machine. Does ok w logs less so w brush. The weight and orientation of the utility grapple make it a real valuable asset to me. It keeps weight closer than the 4n1 and can grip an amazing array of shapes very precisely and with great visibility. I stuck a 2" receiver on top for even more range of use.

The mini hoe is the only pt attachment i wouldn't have bought if given another first buy. It's well made but at the PT weight, just not a very good digger for my needs. I just dropped it off at my welder fabber to teach it how to swing using a helac rotary actuator I found.

When you need a bh or excavator... Rent.

Swap to a suspension seat if you'll be mowing a lot...

Also, consider buying a blank qa plate and a male mini skidsteer universal plate then you can rent dingo style attachments from home Depot or wherever... Good match for size only a little bit slower (vs 10gpm dingo).

Of all the things that you could buy from pt vs adapt from a tractor the plow and light material bucket are the easiest and most available locally.

Good luck

 

[BobRip]

I have used the trencher for trenches of course and it does a good job. But it is also good for breaking up soil which you can then move with a bucket. It is difficult to did up packed dirt with just a bucket.

 

[Incline]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a 2018 model 425 w/the Kohler engine - here's a link if you want some detail CH73 | Command PRO | KOHLER

I have just over 100 hours and no issues. Starts easy, runs good, but there are times I wish it had more power. It's not uncommon to push it to the point of bogging down. As you can see by the specs, it's actually a 23.5 hp with certified power of 22.3. I don't know if the engine is actually less potent that older 25 hp engines since I've never had one to compare but generally, I think the motor is a good match to the machine and has been trouble free so far.

Mini-hoe - I have one and have used it quite a bit. I've used a shovel quite a bit as well and given a choice, I vote mini-hoe. Easy enough to hook and unhook. Renting or hiring for a big job is probably good advice but for a small to mid size job, it's capable enough.

 

[TinmanPT]

A little late to the thread, but I've got the 60" mower. Really, it will take any abuse you want to throw at it, cut is decent. Mowing with the PT isn't going to be the speed of a nice zero turn but for me $1200 addition vs $$$$ is a no-brainer especially since I enjoy my seat time.

My only gripe about the mower, and it's a bit of a big one, is the lack of rear caster wheels. They are fixed solid wheels and you stand a good chance of them biting in and tearing up the ground if you turn to sharp, especially if ground is soft. You'll find complaints about it here and there on the forum. One day I'll address it... no promises.

I've also got the utility grapple, the 4-in-1 bucket, and the mini-hoe. They all have their places.

The utility grapple is definitely the most used of these for me. From logs to brush piles to even piles of leaves, I've moved it with the grapple. I did bow out the back slightly but that was me excessively clamping with it and totally my fault. Has not impacted the usage but it can now scrape one of the rods on the arms just barely.

The 4-in-1 bucket I got with the teeth. Just watch people use any 4-in-1 on youtube, that will get you about set on that. You can move logs with this as well, but not as many/quickly as you can with the grapple.

The mini-hoe does dig but it's slow going. I think that is more for the lack of weight on the tractor. The combination of using the quick-attach lever with the regular control takes some getting used to. The welds on the teeth did not hold on 3 of the 4 teeth and need to be welded back on. With the thumb, it can carry some monstrous logs and hold them up for cutting down if you want. I've used it for chainsaw work more than anything else. I did rip out some yew bushes with it, which cost me two of those teeth.

For the plow, I really don't have complaints. I bought it with the "rubber" blade/scraper. I say "rubber" because it is made out of some reinforced near-indestructible material. I think someone on here said it was conveyor belt from the mines. It's pretty awesome for getting a drive cleared all the way down without damaging a driveway. For gravel I just backdrag with the plow which works pretty fantastic as well. I bought the rear wheels but have never used or needed them. I plow circles around my buddy and his ATV with this. It's so fast, I think I plowed out about 65 drives this winter for the fun of it (I did get some homemade apple pie and some homemade peanut brittle). I've got turf tires on my machine and that pretty much sucks for plowing. I picked up some tire chains on Amazon that are made out of recycled tires. Total world of difference and I just left them on for the summer. No damage to anything and really gives a bite when you need it. I put them on just the rear tires. You can push snow up high, throw weight down on to really clean a drive out and articulate side to side with the quick-attach lever. I've even used it squeegee out my garage after washing it out.

I bought my machine based on comments here without ever seeing one in person until I arrived in Tazewell. Moss was a big part of that decision and I've been nothing but happy with it. I was really amazed how beefy the machines are compared to what other machines I was looking at.

 

[CreativeGuy]

I love my PT 425 "Artie"
I have the 4-in-1 bucket which I think is great and is my most used attachment. I also have a homemade 3-pt hitch attachment and homemade box scraper. I added a receiver hitch to the back end with a small carrier (milk crate) that slides out of the hitch. I can't address mowing with the 425 as I don't use it for that. Though I would like to get a flail mower for it.

Cheers,Steve