1430 Purchase (long)

[IrTxRx]

Saving money for 4 years (tractor purchase delayed by land purchase...but God ain't making any more land and I'm sure PT will make products for a while) and I'm ready to buy a 1430. Ya'll have answered almost every question I've had, thank you, but had a last few or just needed a little more reassurance.

GRAPPLE VS. 4N1 -- Going with grapple. Seems everone is amazed by this attatchment and have been a little underwhelmed by their 4n1. My biggest use will be brush clearing and piling so I've chosen the grapple. However, I do want to clean out a creek bottom and make a stock tank. Given what I've heard on this board, the PT does not PUSH very well. Will I be able to excavate my creek bottom (clay/organic mix) PUSHING to fill the grapple bucket vs PULLING to fill the open 4n1???

CUT BB VS. PT BB -- Planning on purchasing a used CUT BB and putting a PT plate on it. CUT BB are cheap, I like scarifiers, and the PT BB looks whimpy, I can't imagine it having the oomph I need on my hard-pack gravel drive.
Am I right, wrong, or any comments???

WHEEL TRENCHER - I need to run about 3K ft of water pipe for animals and would like to irrigate my yard. I have a little soil covering limestone or caliche clay, no nice loamy dirt. Plan on purchasing the wheel trencher (freezing is not an issue here). Has anyone use this attatchment and are you happy/unhappy??? Does it work as a mini rock saw???

MINI-HOE WITH THUMB -- I can't wait to see what all I can use this for!!!

BRUSH CUTTER -- I wish PT would fix the blade binding problem on their own, but can't wait to destroy little brushes.

ATTACHMENT PLATES -- $175 seems like a lot to me. I would like to get several blanks made locally. Has anyones' local sheetmetal/welding shop had difficulty doing this...Was it cheaper in the end???

TURF VS BAR -- I think I need bar because of the very sharp nature of the flint rocks I will be driving over, not because of any traction advantages. Comments???

Again, thank you all for your insight and experience.

 

[KentT]

Sounds to me like you've thought your implement purchase through very well, and matched them well to your needs.

Between a BB and the grapple-bucket, I think you'll have most of your "grading" needs taken care of. You can also loosen the soil with the minihoe, if necessary, before scooping it up with the bucket.

I also agree with with your choice for bar tires. Given the number of thorns and such in Texas, I'd suggest you also add Slime or some puncture sealer ASAP. It'll give you peace of mind and save possible frustration later on....

 

[woodlandfarms]

I may know of a used 1445. Lots of toys.. It was avail to me but I passed because someone in the group offered me an 1850 which I could not pass on.

But, through him and other people I found an alternate world of parts available. The prices were comparable or better, and a lot of times the product was much more stout...

I might suggest Lackendar Fabrication Lackender Fabrications your source for skid loader attachments Talk to Randy. I bought a hoe and thumb (a shortened version) his bucket and grapple along with a 3pt adapter and some small extras. The only downside is shipping costs are seperate from the PT from Tazwell. But I found a 3rd party shipper who would swing by and pick up the tractor and then go to Iowa on his way to Washington.. Saved some cash that way...

Extra plates can probably be made by someone else. I am buying a local bloxblade as well...

Carl

 

[BobRip]

I have a friend who made six quick attach plates. He gave two to his father and sold me two at $25 each. He had a shop do the fabrication and did not mention any problems with building them. This was for a 422/425. They were of excellent quality.

The PT pushes with the same force as pulling (somebody correct me if I am wrong). For the creek bottom, is getting stuck in the creek a concern? I have a fine clay silt in my creeks and have been stuck there. I try to use the minihoe for digging out creeks and don't drive into it if possible.

 

[IrTxRx]

Bob,
$25 to $50 a plate is more what I had in mind, thanks.

I will be doing the stock pond excavation during the summer... My creek goes comletely dry about every other year, so getting stuck should not be a problem. What I am worried about is once I get the organic detritus off the top layer, will the settled clay be too hard for the 1430 to push into to fill a bucket? I know some have said that the PT doesn't push as well as it pulls and it has been mentioned that one of the benefits of the 4n1 is that you can fill it up "backwards."

 

[MossRoad]

I think people are talking about filling the 4 in 1 bucket while going backwards in lose material, not hard packed dirt. For hard packed dirt, you will probably need teeth on a bucket. I think the grapple bucket comes with teeth, doesn't it? If it comes with the factory PT teeth, do yourself a favor and sharpen them. It makes a 300% difference in breaking up hard soil VS the blank teeth that came from the factory on mine.

 

[KentT]

MR,

My grapple bucket has teeth that are longer, yet narrower than the ones on the HD rock bucket. They're about 2" longer, but only about 2/3 the width...

They too, would benefit from sharpening, but I'm not sure the difference would be as dramatic as it is when you sharpen the ones on the HD rock bucket. I sharpened the ones on the rock bucket, but haven't bothered with the ones on the grapple bucket...

 

[Kendall69]

.....but God ain't making any more land

Not exactly true - The Pu‘u ‘O‘o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kīlauea added more than 544 acres (220 ha) to the Island of Hawai‘i
God's not done yet, with this beautiful Planet.

 

[BobRip]

Bob,
$25 to $50 a plate is more what I had in mind, thanks.

I know some have said that the PT doesn't push as well as it pulls and it has been mentioned that one of the benefits of the 4n1 is that you can fill it up "backwards."

That was my mention. The big benefit here if you are going up a slope forward you can fill backing up going down hill.

If the soil is compacted then use the potato plow (a fairly cheap attachment) to break up the soil. The minihoe can also do this, but I think the potato plow is better. Then use the bucket to move the soil.

 

[BobRip]

Not exactly true - The Pu‘u ‘O‘o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kīlauea added more than 544 acres (220 ha) to the Island of Hawai‘i
God's not done yet, with this beautiful Planet.

But costal areas are being washed into the sea.