First year report

[woodlandfarms]

I had an email from someone asking me what I thought of having a used PT after a year...

I got about 120 hours on it, mostly grapple and mowing, a bit of forklifiting, tree stump digging and backhoeing. I need a sprayer, trencher, rake, post hole digger and if I was loaded I would make a seperate grapple and bucket rig. Mine is fine, but there is an extra level of efficiency that the plain grapple has.

My costs.... I have around $500 into hoses, Same in oil. I have nearly $600 tied into the tire repairs. From first trying to fix flats normally, to then adding metal stems, to then abandoning the metal stems and going with tubes with a protective metal cap around the valve stems. I am not done with the third operation and I will be adding to the tire cost. I have a 5 gallon bucket of Gemplers sitting and waiting. I spent maybe 400 on tools, and then the tombstone welder. I built one implement (my tree shovel) for $400. I think I am running 1.6 gallons per hour of Diesel... I think.....

Misc repairs... Tiny Tach (world best PT upgrade) $60. Lights, Mirrors, $100, Cylinders - $100. Outstanding is the PTO activator and an electrical gremlin. Oh, the Gas guage in the tank, $50....

Oh, and if you have never seen them, This is what my tractor looked like before.....

 

[woodlandfarms]

And how it looks now. Oh, I forgot the steering controller... That was I think $150 with shipping..... And the broken fuel hoses ($2).

And one more thing left that is major is that the bushings and bearings between the two haves have failed. I have to pull the tractor apart and replace. Hmmmmm... Scary......

 

[cqaigy2]

Wow, I had no idea what your original machine looked like. I just want to say that you are a very brave man to take on that project.

Though, from reading your prior post, I'm not surprised that you would. You seem to be willing to take on all kinds of things.

The people here in the PT forum definitely share a trait or traits that let them go forward and not shy away from something they may not be familiar with.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I did not take this project on. Essentially Ken Simolo did, via Power-Trac. There were two 1850's on ebay being sold together from a landscaping firm, one parts (mine), one working. Ken took them to PT when he bought them, and figured it would make financial sense to him to have PT put the money into bringing the parts tractor back to running level. I cannot say wether it was lucrative to Ken, but he offered the machine to me at a fair price and I jumped. Will always owe Ken a big debt of gratitude.

 

[BobRip]

And how it looks now. Oh, I forgot the steering controller... That was I think $150 with shipping..... And the broken fuel hoses ($2).

And one more thing left that is major is that the bushings and bearings between the two haves have failed. I have to pull the tractor apart and replace. Hmmmmm... Scary......

Nice looking machine.

 

[toy]

Iam glad that you have got her lined out looks good. On the way to this state of your machine I bet that you have learned a lot and looking back on it you should have a lot of self satisfaction. Hope you enjoy it for a long time to come , when a person has some sweat in something it seems to mean more to them at least to me it does.