I broke it again.

[m5040]

The wheel motors are in fabricated "boxes" on the low profile machines I have seen. Fabricate new extended motor boxes to move the wheels wider apart without any additional stress. Fill the tires with ballast to lower center of gravity.

I think the Z-bar repair looks good if no impact shock in the future.

 

[MossRoad]

Metal reinforcement at the center should help resist future breaks since there may be some metal fatigue after the previous break.

I wonder if there would be a way to inexpensively fabricate some kind of outrigger axle support that would make dual wheels workable with the existing wheel motors?

It would be awfully cumbersome. But there's always a way to do anything.

Dual wheels on flat ground wouldn't be an issue. It's when you get the weight supported only on the outer edges of the outer tires that it introduces higher side loads on the wheel motor shafts.

There might be stronger wheel motors available in the same displacement that could handle the side loads. I'd guess you might have to modify the wheel motor mounting as well.

All kinds of fun things can be done with hydraulics.

 

[ponytug]

Metal reinforcement at the center should help resist future breaks since there may be some metal fatigue after the previous break.

I wonder if there would be a way to inexpensively fabricate some kind of outrigger axle support that would make dual wheels workable with the existing wheel motors?

The issue isn't so much bracing the motor mount as it is off axis thrust loads on the motor bearings. Dual wheels make an enormous increase in the thrust loads compared to single wheels. The 18XX series uses smaller wheels / tires to keep those thrust loads down. (Roughly 700lbf of static axial load per motor, plus safety factors puts one in the 2,500-4,000lbf range.)

There are motors with higher axial thrust ratings, but my recollection is that when I looked into them years ago, four high axial thrust motors for my 1445 were more than a new 1445.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

Ouch! $$$

 

[ponytug]

The wheel motors are in fabricated "boxes" on the low profile machines I have seen. Fabricate new extended motor boxes to move the wheels wider apart without any additional stress. Fill the tires with ballast to lower center of gravity.

I think the Z-bar repair looks good if no impact shock in the future.

Didn't someone here do that?

All the best, Peter

 

[ponytug]

Ouch! $$$

For the money, I figured I would rather buy an 1860 if I really needed the slope work.

So far it hasn't come up...

 

[MossRoad]

Didn't someone here do that?

All the best, Peter

I recall (I think) former PT owner JDbeach (sp) had a 425 that he wanted to use on beach sand. He needed larger tires to float over the sand. Larger tires would effectively gear down the unit and make it weak at slow speeds. He and PowerTrac made an arrangement for them to put larger displacement wheel motors on the unit. That effectively geared it back up again. (I think they were from a 1430). The larger motors took a different mount. I think a BOX was welded to the outside of the unit to mount each motor.

Also, I recall another member putting larger displacement motors on a 425. He got the mounting boxes from PT, I think. It effectively cut the top speed down quite a bit, but made it a mountain goat.

That brings me to the following:
I feel horrible. As I recall, that member passed away. He was a great resource and I think he also had a Simplicity tractor website. I cannot remember his username....

Found it. kentT

RIP Kent Thomas!

Here's a link to some of his videos on Youtube.

This one mentions the larger wheel motors:

2001 PT-425 with Kohler CH25 engine running 48" brush cutter. Wheel motors upgraded from 12.5ci to 22.7ci to increase torque. Wheels reversed and loaded with winter-mix windshield washer fluid and HydroSeal sealant to add stability

You can clearly see it's now wider stance with wheel boxes.

 

[MossRoad]

HERE YOU GO!

Great discussion and pictures. Thanks again kentT!

425 w.1430 wheelmotor boxes and 28.3ci wheel motors

Finally had an opportunity to snap a couple pics of my 425 in use, after upgrading the wheel motors. Here's a couple pics of its stance with 26x12x12 Deestone lug tires and the larger Surplus Center wheelmotors that come with brake drums/hubs:

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[ponytug]

@MossRoad Thank you, thank you!

Those were the two that I was thinking of. Kent T's 425 did some amazing slope work and chip moving as I recall.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

Ask me what I had for dinner last night...

 

[ponytug]

Ask me what I had for dinner last night...

Me, too.

All that I could recall was that one owner had used it on a beach with big tires, and one person (KentT) had used it extensively on slopes.

I use the lift and load capacity of my 1445 to have any regrets about not going another route, but if a slope mower came up for sale locally, I would take a hard look at it. (Well, OK, there's one for sale kinda near here, but that tractor has a rather ill defined back history, at least as far as I can tell... I don't have the time to take on a project that big.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[2manyrocks]

I remember reading through KentT's posts about upgrading his wheel motors due to the slopes he was mowing in the Smokey Mountains. If the OP's wheel motors have adequate power as they are, then perhaps the wheel mounts could be extended inexpensively to help prevent future rollovers. One thing about the PT frame is that it lends itself to that kind of modification.

 

[agjones]

Is the 425 more stable? I bought this 2422 with trailer and 9 attachments for around 5,000 dollars and not sure if they would work with a bigger unit or not.i think the 2422 is bigger than the 425, i actually have the 25 hp engine which makes mine a 2425. But to go bigger means all my attachments would have to go as well.

The 242x has significantly higher COG than the 425.

I use my 425 uneven terrain all the time never flipped.