Best Mountain Tractor?

[wasabi]

Charlie,

Please don't apologize for the long post...you answered my questions and then some, for which I owe you at least a pop. If only I could get the equivilent value exchange for legal advice

Things are beginning to take an interesting turn...I finally got ahold of the fellow ByuBill recommended...had a long chat with him about his little dozer that ends up being about three hours from my place in NC....well, I proposed, and he agreed to consider, swapping a Jeep Wrangler (that I don't use anyway cause we've got two other 4X's, plus a mule) that I got in trade when I got rid of a another car I did'nt use much, for his neat little rig. I then called my lovely wife to tee up the (seriously, honey) idea of having BOTH a dozer and a tractor!!!!, (which has been soundly recommended by several veteran users) This way, if I make such decisions, I'll only have to beg forgiveness once. Without pause, she commented that she is now totally convinced I'm over the edge, but she has no idea how much a guy can be influenced by joining TBN. Little does she know I secretly aspire to becoming a "Fleet owner". I also told her we might use the dozer for clearing and to fix the roads and then maybe sell it when we're down to maintenance work. I think she was swayed by that infallable logic.

Now, with MChalkey's candor helping me to effectively rule out the EF, (mighty tho they clearly are), and Carver's too-quick negotiation dis cooling my 'boata fever just a tad, your and MossRoad's quiet lobbying may yet convert me to PT!. If they can work in a horizontal band-sawmill option, I sense a definate maybe deal, and I have yet to even drive one of 'em.

How 'bout them apples?

 

[wasabi]

Mark C,

I'm honored that guys like you with depth of tractor buying, operating and fixing experience would help such a greenhorn as me sort out the plusses and minuses of my decisions, so the least I can do is try to help keep it mildly entertaining.

Thanks for your opine, which, considering your "star" status and thoughtful decision making, is obviously worth far more than the .02 you ascribe to it.

All,

I'm off to meet the wife for an after-work bite (sushi, what else would you expect from me), with pics and specs of both the dozer and PT in hand. Wish me luck, I may need it...she may recommend (gasp) counseling!

Tomorrow we head to the Bearpen, so I'll be in the mud planting trees and berries til the end of the weekend (perhaps a break to run down the hill to see a friend who lives on lake Hartwell to fly-fish for stripers...he says it is hot!!)

I'll check in with you all Monday. Be nice to each other and stay safe!!.

Sabi

 

[bubenberg]

from time to time pt has used and or demo equipment for sale. i have purchased some and have been very happy with it, including the new paint job.

even a possibility to trade up can be discussed with chris at pt. i want a 1850 but can't let go of my pt425 because of some of the work we do, where most of the property is only accessable through 45 inch gates.

we load our larger mowers on our pt 425 forks and move them in sideways, including our acrease wing mowers. once in, we again are at 9-14 feet wide mowing passes.

As an example one property we mowe is 11 acres, with some obstruction, such as beds, trees, bushes and fences in less than 2 hours. the mowing quality is very professional (no visible clippings, nice stripping, or chess board pattern)

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

I've never had a dozer. Should be great fun, and undoubtedly the machine of choice for the initial work. You'll have to start posting to the construction equipment forum re slope capability, but I'm confident the pucker factor is still the limit.
Incidentally, I recommend against a tractor powered sawmill. My brother's Wood Miser has an onboard gasoline engine, powering not only the mill, but the hydraulics that load and position the log. I assume a tractor could power it, but it would tie up the tractor, which would be needed to bring the logs to the mill. Of course, that limit might not apply to a fleet owner, particularly if the dozer has a grapple adapter.

 

[MChalkley]

wasabi - You're welcome, I'm sure. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

You've obviously done a bit of researching, yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't have known how much of it I, Charlie, MossRoad, and others did before buying what we've got. If you're buying a PowerTrac or an EarthForce machine, you don't belong in a "me too" crowd anywhere, I can tell you that. And you can pretty much count on losing a good chunk of your productivity any time other equipment-conscious folks are about, because you'll spending a lot of time answering questions.

I don't know if you realize that I almost got a PowerTrac 2465 before I settled on the EF-500 - you probably do, but I don't recall your mentioning it. I think I lost some credibility here on TBN (which was hard for me to do, considering how little I had to start with /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif) when I made such a radical switch about 95% of the way into the decision to buy the PT. I sure took some ribbing for, I can tell you that. But, I had what I still think were/are very good reasons. Good enough that even the President and founder of PT suggested I might not be happy with one. It all depends on what you're going to do. I wouldn't recommend a PT2465 for your application, either, but the PT models MossRoad and Charlie are pushing you toward (gently, though, I must say, considering their fervor /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) would serve you extremely well, I think. Better than anything else at anywhere near the price, I'd venture to add. Ok, so now I've thrown in another .03 worth. I hope it doesn't add up to a wooden nickel.

 

[ewoss3]

wasabi, I don't know if you thought about it but after looking at the link you posted earlier http://mutualdevelopment.tripod.com/ and reading about the bearpen I could only think of two suggestions:
1. rops/fops
2. seatbelt

The heavy equipment operators that we hire every year to maintain our floodway banks and creek channel all recomended a tractor with a rops to me for steep inclines. They have 1 dozer out of 12 in their shop that they only use to flat ground and finish work due to no fops system. Two years ago they would not even traverse a slope that I regularly tackle with my Kubota L3010 during the mowing season. I think you might want to reconsider the dozer type before you buy

 

[couchsachraga]

Wasabi-I was in a similar situation-brush hogging, FEL work, skidding logs in mountainous terrane (Adirondacks of NY state), and trying to keep tractor and FEL purchase under 10k. I ended up with an earlier 80's Yanmar 336D (33 engine hp, biggest US import they had). The front tires have been reversed to allow for a wider stance (see images in Yanmar section). It seems sturdy enough so far, but I've only had it a month or so, and have done some FEL and woods work, but no skidding yet (still too much snow, and I don't have chains yet...).

Good luck on your search, keep an open mind, and read this forum! (best advice I can offer!)

Couchsachraga

 

[GlueGuy]

Roy,

Yep, those calculations are correct. The % slope is calculated by dividing the distance up by the distance forward. When you get over 45 degrees (which is 100% slope), then the % slope is over 100%. As you approach 90 degrees, you're talking inifinite % slope. (because the distance forward is approaching zero, and you know what happens when you divide by zero /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif)

 

[Darren]

Do some research on Unimogs. They're probably the Hummer of tractors. The ag models have 20 spd transmissions, 6 cyl Mercedes diesels providing 70 hp to the front or rear pto, a 3 pt lift capacity of 5,500 lbs., hydraulic remotes front and rear, and a 11 gpm hydraulic system flow capaicty.

Overall the machine is about the size of a mid to large sized compact tractor and weighs about 7,000 lbs. A cab is standard. The 20 spd trans provides speeds ranging from a creeper you can barely see moving to a top of 40 mph. The back deck is also handy for hauling all sorts of tools. Available attachments included a snow plow, FEL, backhoe, etc.

The ag "mogs" also have onboard air compressors that can be used to adjust the pressure in the tires in case you want to reduce the pressure for added traction and then reinflate later.

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy,

Yep, those calculations are correct. The % slope is calculated by dividing the distance up by the distance forward. When you get over 45 degrees (which is 100% slope), then the % slope is over 100%.

Yeah Glueguy..
I did some research on this and came to the same conclusions.

I was applying mechanical engineering trig to a civil engineering application...
My error!

Do some research on Unimogs.

Boy, I've seen a few of these. What a vehicle!!! But, what a price!!!