Does my PT Mow as good as a Ventrac or Steiner?

[pequeajim]

Yes, I had PT replace the cheap wheels that shipped with mine about a year and a half ago. They sent me the hard rubber wheels that I guess you have now. I did not know that they are now shipping them with all new mower decks. I only had my deck to compare to.

Lightweight? Not in quality, but in overall weight, yes the Ventrac and Steiner decks are heavier and tend to "cruise" like a big sedan rather than bounce around like the PT desck does. Build quality, the PT decks are like tanks, no doubt.

 

[pequeajim]

You may notice the more even look of the Ventrac/Steiner cut. This is due to that big anti-scalping roller in the rear.

Makes for a nice looking stripe.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

When I was looking for a mowing tractor I tried PT, Ventrac and Steiner. I think your general observations are right on target, and I also think the PT is the most versitile of the bunch. If I had been searching for a Swiss Army Knife type do-it-all tractor then I would have bought the PT. I looked at the PT422 (a guy near me has 2 and brought one out to my property) and found it very lacking in its slope ability. It didn't climb well enough to compete with the Ventrac 3000 and it wasn't to the cut quality of the Steiner 415 or the Ventrac 3000. Again, I was only comparing cutting quality and only on my land. My land does not have the open spaces I saw in your photos, I've got small steep areas, compound curves and lots of landscaping to mow around. So for me the choice required the ability to turn tight and mow while climbing steeper inclines, it also required a compact machine and the PT422 is much larger in size, doesn't turn as tight, and doesn't handle the slopes as well as the Ventrac 3000. (BTW my feeling is the Steiner is as good on the slopes as a Ventrac, but is not laid out as well and the Ventrac 3000 with rear engine make a better mower than the Steiner with the front engine JMO).

Again, each of us has our own uses. I already had compact tractors to do other tasks so I was not looking for loading, digging, mowing, & landscaping tractor. I was looking for a slope mowing tractor.

 

[pequeajim]

Good observations Bob and right in line with what I determined before I bought the tractor. In fact, I believe that you had an un-biased thread going at the time that did a comparison of the tractors. That actually helped me to make a decision of buying the 425. With no PT experience, I was a little hesitent about it's mowing capability. I was able to get in touch with a fellow PT'er within 30 minutes of my house and he let me try out his 425. The tractor does not climb the hills quite as fast as my 4200 did, or mow on quite as steep a hill as the Ventrac with duals, but I was willing to accept that, if the actual cut of the deck was good, and it was. I mowed some of his grass and was very satisfied with the cut. I have some pretty steep hills here and just have to mow a little differently than I did with the 4200, but the cut is great!

You are right about the Steiner. The Ventrac is just an all around better driving tractor than the Steiner, and the controls are much more easy to use.

My choice has worked really well for me like yours did for you. The 425 has already proven it's worth in all of the landscaping tasks I have been able to do and the cut is very acceptable.

I'm happy. Thanks for the comments. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Jim!

 

[MuncyBob]

I agree with the comment on the rear wheels, I never noticed it much until lately...seems I need to cut grass between thunderstorms this year and the ground is still a bit spongy. The plastic rear wheels will tear up the ground a bit if you're not careful. Casters on the rear or perhaps rubber tires rather than plastic may help? I'm thinking about a pair of rubber tires thinking the round edge of the tire will do less damage than the unforgiving edges of the plastic wheels.

 

[pequeajim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm thinking about a pair of rubber tires thinking the round edge of the tire will do less damage than the unforgiving edges of the plastic wheels. )</font>

That's what I did. I picked them up at TSC. It makes a big difference.