Attachement - Unusual uses

[BobRip]

I just thought of a couple.
Used trencher to dig a small pond. It brokeup dirt a lot faster than the minihoe and acted like a conveyor to move the dirt out of and away from the hole. On the same project I drove down in the pond and could not drive out. I turned on the trencher and it's pulling force helped get the PT422 out of the hole. I have also used the trencher to dig post holes.

I once used the forks to turn off a light switch. This is not recommend, but I was lucky enough to not damage the light switch.

Bob Rip

 

[smartguyz]

Hi guys,

1) Forks as platform for tank sprayer: I have used the forks as a platform to build a forward-mounted tank sprayer. Here it is - a couple of posts down


2) Forks as digging implement: used it and the PT425 as a 'giant with a pitchfork' to dig up some impressively large bushes while the PT was on the lawn. Using the mini-hoe caused the lawn to be torn up, since the mini-hoe requires you to apply 'reverse treadle' to dig. It worked fabulously - each of these shrubs was so big it took two of us a couple of hours to dig just one up. Using the forks, I dug about 12 of them out in about an hour! Wow.

3) Forks as auto body straightener: OK. This is a bit weird. I had neglected to close the hood of my truck properly and took off down the road. Suffice to say, at around 40MPH, the hood flew up and it was bent right around the spot where the hood is attached to the hinges. I was pondering how to fix this, and actually went to the wrecking yard to buy a used hood. I was going to sand and paint it (what a pain), and looked at the damaged hood again. The damage was actually pretty minor (akin to a bad parking lot dent), but if I could apply 'reverse pressure' to the hood at the spot where the hinge is attached, I could probably take out the dent. I ended up using the PT425 and the forks as a 'giant adjustable hydraulic lift' to hold the hinge in place while I applied downward pressure to the top of the hood. I was amazed when about 30 minutes later, I had succeeded in taking out 99% of the damage! WOW! This worked so well I returned the used hood to the wrecking yard!

4) 48" brush hog as 'shallow digger': I needed to clear a sloped area of all the ground cover that had been planted years before. Although I had applied vegetation killer, I still needed to clear the woody ground cover and smooth out the slope. I ended up using the brush hog to remove all the ground cover and 'reshape' the slope in about 1 hour. It would have taken a couple of days using hand tools and a lot of muscle. That brush hog is nearly unstoppable!

5) 48" power brush as snowblower: a year ago we had a 2-3" dusting of snow in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This is pretty unusual - I was able to use the powerbrush to clear driveways and roadway for our entire neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Rob /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[BobRip]

mlhunter, very good ideas. Thanks to all for their comments. Maybe I should have titled this non-standard uses or creative uses or 1001 ways to use your Power Trac. (I would buy that book, or maybe it's already here as Tractorbynet) There must be many many more uses. Please keep them coming.

Bob Rip

 

[wasabi]

In a previous post I mentioned a fondness for the trencher. IMHO it is one of the most under-rated, versatile attachments around.

A few years ago, just after purchasing the PT, we decided to terrace a south facing hillside for about thirty fruit trees. This meant creating six levels, each about eight feet wide and fifty feet long and about four foot above the one below.

Using the trencher like a paint brush, I would work my way acroos the hill, "wanding" dirt from the high side to the lower in front of the PT...and driving on the resulting path until I reached the end of the 50' row...then I lowered the box blade down and reversed course to smooth it out a bit while I tweaked the wrok with the trencher/wand. A few passes and it actually resembled a terraced road.

The trick worked so well we ended up terracing quite a few rows for blueberries, gooseberries etc...

 

[BobRip]

I agree. When I bought the trencher I wondered how I could justify the cost. Since then I have dug probably 200 feet of trenches for myself and probably a 1000 for neighbors and friends. I have also dug a pond with it for a neighbor. Hum, I still wonder how I can justify the cost. Seriously thought, it is great for breaking up soil and moving it a short distance. The power of the PT can be greatly enhanced by using mulitple attachments for any project. With most tractors this is difficult.

Bob Rip

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

This one's pretty lightweight but anyhoo...

On Dec. 1 we had a bit of a snow storm up here in Northern Washington. It figures that this would happen the moment I move here. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

So I have this rather steep driveway. The wife and I had left separately to attend an appointment and then go run different errands later. Although the cars made it up the driveway fine, I didn't think going down would be a great idea. Especially since everyone was going all over the place on the road (which probably had ice under about 3 or 4 inches of snow) and my wife had already planted her car in a ditch (needless to say, our plans for the afternoon changed after that). So I left the car at the top of the driveway. Unfortunately, the car was packed with groceries from our trip to Costco. Who the heck wants to lug cases of water bottles and other big bulky things down a slippery slope?? Not I! PT to the rescue!

The PT 425 went up that steep snow covered hill without a single complaint. I used the LM bucket to carry all of the groceries back down. Now there's an idea for a specialized attachment: all-weather grocery hauler! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

And for anyone that's wondering....the PT 425 never lost traction even once going up or down the hill even while I was using the LM bucket later to clear the snow. This thing is awesome. Now maybe I should get that snow blade after all.....

 

[J_J]

Are you using bar tires or turf tires?

 

[MossRoad]

So I take it your driveway is downhill towards your house. Gives meaning to the old, "Honey I'm home!" line when the car comes through the garage door. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I really like my turf tires on snow covered pavement. They seem to grip very well. However, when crossing snowy side slopes, I've noticed a tendancy to crab across the slope, and even slide sideways down it. If you get a chance, take it out in the yard somewhere with small slopes and try it out when you get a chance. Work up to progressively steeper spots and see how it handles. My wife always laughs at me because every year I take the PT out in the yard and drive around in the snowy grass. She thinks I'm nuts, but that's the only way to get an idea of how the thing will handle in different situations.

Also, don't attempt to do donuts on a PT. It doesn't work and you just go progressively faster until something grips tractions, then you get tippy real fast... SCARY! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[tracdoc]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Now maybe I should get that snow blade after all..... )</font>

PT ready, w/ snow blade attached? Check.
Operator ready, w/ Carhartt suit, gloves, boots? Check.
Snow falling heavily or otherwise? Aarrrgghhh!! Still waiting! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

JJ: I have bar tires. It being the Pacific Northwest the gound pretty much stays damp, soft, and often mucky, in a lot of areas. I've also found that turf tires have a tendency to get packed with snow.

MR: Yes, the house is at the bottom of the hill. I wasn't so much worred about smashing into the garage than smashing into trees or the remote electrical meter or the entrance posts right before the circular drive....I figure if I missed all of those the rock wall would stop me! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

tracdoc: I guess I've changed my mind about the snow blade already. The locals (make that the tow-truck driver that's lived here for 26 years and pulled the wife's car out of the ditch this a.m.) said that it doesn't really snow like this very often around here. I cleaned up the driveway yesterday and then cleaned the slush off of about 600 feet of roadway this a.m. since it was piling up at the sides and in the middle. Using the LM to clear snow is definitely more of a pain than using a blade but it does work okay...it wouldn't be my choice to clear a foot of snow given an option. The problem is that you have to get the angle of the lip right or you end up regrading the road at the same time---the blade with a rubber lip (or horse mat as pajoube would suggest) avoids this problem and you can angle it, which is desirable for serious snow clearing efficiency.

But it's nice to know I could always order a blade if I needed one! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif