Almost Ordered, BUT......Had another thought

[catsco]

This AM, I almost ordered a Powertrac, but was struggling with the pricing.

The 425 gets fairly pricey w/backhoe & loader, & the 'homeowner' version (422, I think) only has the mini-hoe.

So, at the suggestion of some others in a different forum, I looked at the Magnatrac 750. It looks really tiny, and doesn't have a PTO, which makes it pretty comparable to the Powertrac is some ways.

The loader only lifts 4', which is 4" less than the 422.

Backhoe digs to about 6', which is deeper than mini-hoe.

Price is $12,740 (plus about $840 shipping).

I'm considering this because of my steep hillsides on our wooded lot.

This all looks good, except that being seen on this little thing by the neighbors might be embarrassing! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Weight with the loader and backhoe is 1,925 lbs.

<font color="blue">OOPS--just noticed that the weight is about 2,000 lbs, tractor and loader only. Backhoe makes it heavier </font>

Comments or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark H.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

JohninCT has had a magnatrac for a while. He posted some observations and experiences a while back. Search for Magnatrac and you'll hit them. If he doesn't chime in to this thread soon, maybe a private message will find him.

 

[catsco]

Thanks, Charlie--

I found his posts. That's a MUCH bigger unit.

Mark H.

 

[MossRoad]

I guess it depends on what jobs you are intending to do with the machine. The magnatrac would probably be a much better excavator than a PT, but you wouldn't want to drive it across your lawn too often.

What types of jobs are you planning on doing?

 

[catsco]

Mossroad--

Mostly excavating, but not deep. After that a a lot of 3' or so trenching, I'll only use the machine to clear out dead trees for fire mitigation & miscellaneous small road and path bulding.

BTW--I really appreciate all your posts and your PT experience on your website!

My main concern is the hill climbing ability of the 422, which PT says is weak compared to the 425.

BUT, to save $2,000 at my income level and point in life I can work several hundred extra hours with the smaller machine.

From reading various posts, it seems that the current 422 may be comparable (in size, at least, if not HP) to older 425s.

What do you think?

Thanks!
Mark H.

 

[MossRoad]

I understand that $2000 is a lot of money and you need to maximize your bang for the buck. That is my top priority as well.

When I purchased they had three machines in the 400 series... I believe it was the pt18, pt422 and pt425. At that time, the frame was exactly the same on all three and the only differences were the engine. The 18hp model had no oil cooler and the 18 and 22hp models didn't come standard with the ROPs.

Today, I believe the PT422 and PT425 have some significant difference. That being the lift height and the wheel motors. The extra few inches of lift height would be nice, but doesn't concern me. What I am concerned and interested in is the wheel motors. They are supposed to provide a lot more torque, which could mean the difference between climbing a hill or sitting there looking at it. If the machine won't climb the hill, it doesn't matter how much we saved because we can't get the work done that we need to do.

With that said, I believe my PT425 is probably the same frame as the current PT422, but I am not 100% sure. Everyone here that has a PT422 is very happy with it. The Kohler engine in mine is limited to(as I recall) something like 20-25 degree angles due to the oiling system. I don't know what the angle limitations for the Robin engine in the PT422 are. I have no problem climbing 20 degree slopes with my turf tires as long as the ground is dry. On my steepest hill, I spin the tires before I lose any power. I have all sand, covered with leaves and turf tires, so I really don't know what the true capabilities are of that frame size machine. If I had better traction, who knows...

We've had these hill climbing capability discussions at length. I think most of us have concluded that a 25 degree slope in your hometown is probably a 25 degree slope in Tazewell, too. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Soil conditions and ground cover would be the only difference between the two sites. Measure your hills accurately figure out the degree of slope. Talk to the folks at Power Trac and ask them if the PT422 will perform on those slopes. By them saying it is weaker on the slopes than the PT425, I take that to mean not that it will climb the slopes, just a little slower... I take that to mean it might not climb the same slopes as the 425 at all, or, if you can climb the slope, you might not have any reserve power to do work on the slope.

Let's say you want to climb up a hill(not across) and make a cut into the soil, or push the bucket under a rock while you're building a trail. You're on an incline. The machine has to have the ability to push the bucket into the soil under the rock, as well as pull itself up that slope at the same time. The more torque that it can transfer to the ground, the better. That would apply on flat land as well.

 

[johara1]

i can climb a 2 to1 slope, with tha 422. i don't know what you have,remember any wheel loader works better down hill.the attachments for the 422 and the 425 are the same. with the eception of mowing i'll the 422 the edge because it's heaver than the old 425. (the engine is heaver than the kohler)i never run it wide open and it has lots of power,it will spin, not power out. a lot of things will out dig it but they WILL NOT cut your grass /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

I'm not currently a PT owner but have been around here for a while now. I think what MR is trying to say is good advice: if you have hills, you will probably be sorry if you don't go for the 425. A lot of people don't have hills and it seems they can get by with a minimum of equipment. I'm not one of those people. One of the biggest annoyances I have with my current lawn tractor is that unlike my neighbors, I have a pretty nice hill I have to get up. With the slghtest bit of moisture I often get stuck at the bottom of the hill while trying to mow. I have only been able to successfully use a plug aerator going up hill once so far and that was a few days ago and that was only after adding about 80# of suitcase weights on the back. Even then, the poor thing was really struggling to get up. I have a 23HP Kohler. Point: even a large engine won't do you any good if you can't get the power to the wheels AND maintain traction. So if you have hills, a 425 with power at each wheel and higher torque motors is probably the ticket BUT you might want to consider the traction issue as well or you may end up spinning your turf tires at the bottom of those hills (or worse: somewhere uphill).

I'm determined that my next tractor will only have some sort of 4wd or AWD system and it will have plenty of power. That's why I'm hanging out here.

And don't forget, it's not just what you want to do today. Think about the future. If you enjoy projects, then it is best to get a better tool. Again, all of my neighbors use their tractors just to cut grass. I use mine all of the time (plowing snow, aerating, fertilzing, seeding, towing a utility trailor) and would use it even more if it could do more (like dig). So I totally got the wrong tool for what I do. But then we have to compromise with the boss sometimes. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[MossRoad]

We need to do a PT roundup some day and get these models together for some camparrison. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I can only go by two things... my experiences, and the experiences of others. That's what makes TBN so great. Many folks with many tractors with many experiences. This summer, I'll measure the hill on my property and do some testing, up, down, across and with and without implements and post my results. The hill has a few steep spots, but the area I go seems more like the 15+ degree slope and not much more.