Going to Taz!

[ponytug]

Dear Jim,

You might want to check out my recent Tazewell trip report for ideas. I asked in advance to drive the 425 and the 1445 on their hillside test area. They brought both out, and let me try the 1445 with mower and then fired up the 425. While it went up the 20 degree slope, it was clearly running flat out. Since I have almost nothing less than 20, I didn't drive it. On the test area at the factory, I tried out the 1430 as well. If you are considering the minihoe, I would recommend that you try the trencher. I was amazed at the difference between what the minihoe could do in expert hands versus the trencher.

My main advice? Keep only your toes on the treadle and keep both your left and right toes on the treadle at all times. Start with a moderate throttle and work up.

Since it "steers" about the middle, if you turn the wheel while it is stationary, it will pinch inward. It seems odd, but unless you are getting yourself unstuck, you don't have to do it often.

I expected it to have a steep learning curve, but I found it very easy to drive. Steering, accelerating, adjusting height and curl as I went after the gravel pile? That has serious rub-your-tummy-while-patting-your-head problems. Personally, I was a klutz, but I can see that it would get better with practice.

I would recommend that you take a camera for the maintenance class, and photograph the bleed valve, and anything else you need to know. I wish that I had.

Oh, and go for the donuts on the slopes. I still can't believe how solid the 1445 felt.

All the best,

Peter

Scheduled test driving and the maintenance class on Friday 13th... .

I'm zeroed in on the 425 but may test drive others for comparison. If all goes well I will order it late July with a handful of attachments needed for our projects on the homestead.

About 7+ hours drive but I'm combining with visiting some friends and a camping trip on the way home.

I've never driven a PT so I'm open to suggestions for my test drive to put it through paces and get a good feel for what the machine will do...to help me finalize my buying decision.
Wheelies? burnouts? slalom course?

Seriously, any input appreciated.

 

[PTOuser]

Tomorrow's your big day Red Zebra. I'm headed down south on I-64 Monday the 23rd myself to compare the 422 with the 425 and to look at several T8 attachments. If I decide to buy PT, I plan to go back for the maintenance training when I show up to haul a PT home. Ask the PT folks if they have a list that documents weight of their T8 attachments. The snowbear.com trailer I have can handle the 422 or 425 but attachments will have to ride in my Frontier Crew Cab so I need to estimate what I can haul with the 6000 trailer loaded with the PT (- SnowBear Trailers.

 

[KentT]

Tomorrow's your big day Red Zebra. I'm headed down south on I-64 Monday the 23rd myself to compare the 422 with the 425 and to look at several T8 attachments. If I decide to buy PT, I plan to go back for the maintenance training when I show up to haul a PT home. Ask the PT folks if they have a list that documents weight of their T8 attachments. The snowbear.com trailer I have can handle the 422 or 425 but attachments will have to ride in my Frontier Crew Cab so I need to estimate what I can haul with the 6000 trailer loaded with the PT (- SnowBear Trailers.

I have a Dakota Quad (i.e. Crew) Cab, so I understand your size constraints. The PT attachments are not as heavy as traditional 3-pt attachments, so the weight in your truckbed will not be the limiter -- it'll likely be the physical size of them. That depends on which attachments you're interested in...

The 48" rough-cut mower takes up a lot of space, for example and you need to plan on putting it either on the bottom and stack stuff on top of it, or put it on the top of a stack and strapping/chaining it down well. The 60" finish mower is wide but not long (i.e. deep). It will fit lenggth-wise in my bed, but only with the tailgate down. I can put other attachments in beside it, resting up on one side of the mower deck housing, however. On both the finish and rough-cut mower, the QA plate and hinged mounting bracket stick way up above the deck. But, if you remove the "stop bolt" on each side, you can tilt the QA hitch over to the side of the bed, giving you a lot more space to work with. My boxblade and landscape rake are not factory, so I can't speak to the factory-made ones.

You can also stack the buckets. The HD rock bucket easily fits inside the light material bucket. The grapple bucket (based on the HD bucket) will also fit inside the LM bucket, though not as comfortably due to the grapple arms. But, still I've hauled the mini-hoe inside the grapple bucket which was inside the LM bucket... I understand the forks will also fit in the LM bucket, but I'm not sure if they'll fit in the HD or grapple bucket.

Bottom line is that you'll be able to physically haul more than you may think, and weight will likely not be the limiter. The factory folks have a lot of experience loading these things, they're very helpful, and they certainly know some tricks on how to load a lot of stuff in a limited space...

 

[MossRoad]

When I received mine from the truck dock it had the 60" mower attached to the PT425. Then there was a skid with the brush hog on it. A second skid had the LMB with the small bucket nested inside it and the forks were nested inside that and the snow plow was on that skid as well. I also ordered the ramps from Power Trac and they were stapped to the top of the skid with the buckets and plow on it.

I used the quick attach to load the buckets into a friend's short bed pickup, then the forks to load the brush hog. Then the plow into my pickup, tossed the forks in the buckets, grabbed the 60" mower and backed up the ramps into my truck. Slid the ramps under the PT, lowered the mower, strapped everything down and went home. Piece of cake!

The next year I bought a car hauler trailer.

I can take all my attachments anywhere, with ease. There is still 3 or 4 feet behind the PT in this picture.

 

[Red Zebra]

I'm back. Great trip. Everybody at PT was very nice and helpful. I first met Terry for a tour through the showroom and maintenance class. (PTOuser, take the class while you're there before you test drive. It's very informal but tons of info on how the PT works that will help you understand what the machine is doing and how you can best apply its power.) Then got passed to Chris for the fun.

Chris gave me a check out on the functions...a quick demo, then gave me the controls. Within minutes of sitting down on the 425 for the first time. I did some donuts and figure 8s forward and backward to get a feel.
I started laughing and hooping....I'm sure he thought I was nuts. Anyway, he let me hook up to attacments on the trailer that I wanted demo.

Both machines are extremely well built...like a tank. I decided will go with the 425. I tried the buckets, brush cutter, mini-hoe, tiller. Will likely add the forks and a spare plate or two for my own projects. The auger will be a likely addtion at a later date if the wifey wants fences after we get the house built and begin getting a handle on the homestead.

PTOuser, Your Frontier will not have a problem pulling the 422 or 425...esp if you have a late model one with the 4.0. The 3.3 will easily pull it too. As others have said...space will be an issue for the implements. But as stout as they are there is no need to baby them....get them securely in the truck and they will ride.

A few pics from the trip.

1. Barney look alike...holding his one bullet....met him the night before getting
to Taz.
2. Taz sign coming into Tazewell.
3. PT sign.
4. PT 425.
5. Very unique landscaping outside of Taz.
6. Repairing flat half way home...luckily found the screw, pried it out with
my Cold Steel shovel, and plugged in place.
7. The culprit for the flat.

 

[Red Zebra]

BTW....The 425 comes with a Robin engine now. (Is this old news?) Terry said they dropped the Knohler for the Robin in the 425 and now the Robin is on all the gas powered PTs. He did not (would not?) give specifics other than saying it best met their design specs....etc.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Very cool. What are all those boxes on the property? Some sort of ground bird house I assume.

Also, for the 425 owners. is that a new exhaust system?

 

[KentT]

Very cool. What are all those boxes on the property? Some sort of ground bird house I assume.

Also, for the 425 owners. is that a new exhaust system?

That's the normal exhaust system on a Robin engine in the PTs. (PT makes that exhaust -- it's not stock. ) They have a different engine and pump mounting configuration from the Kohlers. The Kohler mounted more in the middle, with the variable displacement tram pump on the front of the engine and the other two pumps on the rear. The battery and exhaust were also on the rear...

The Robin engines are mounted all the way at the rear, with all three pumps on the front, with the battery mounted up over the pumps, ...

 

[KentT]

Both machines are extremely well built...like a tank. I decided will go with the 425. I tried the buckets, brush cutter, mini-hoe, tiller. Will likely add the forks and a spare plate or two for my own projects. The auger will be a likely addtion at a later date if the wifey wants fences after we get the house built and begin getting a handle on the homestead.

Thanks for the report back!

IMO, if the 425 will meet your needs, that frees up $6K (compared to the 1430) that can be better spent on attachments. You can buy a lot of attachments for $6K... The 1430 attachments are also more expensive, but there's not as big a jump in price as there is on the base tractor itself...

Did you try the 425 on any slopes?

What did you think of the mini-hoe? It's my favorite attachment, though I've used the grapple bucket more...

Which bucket(s) did you decide to go with?

Now, to the big question -- when do you pull the trigger and order it?

 

[Red Zebra]

Woodlandfarms, those were chicken/rooster "houses". If there was one there were fivehundred. I only got the one shot...there were many more to the left.
How'd you like them for a neighbor.? I know it's not PT related but that's a lot of chickens..."don't care who you are!"

KentT....Love the minihoe! You can dig with it, add a thumb and pick stuff up...Its a back/time saver whatever you do with it!

Will probably send the $ this week or next for a delivery to the door by late July +/-.

I looked closely at the big bucket...they admitted it can bend/bow in the middle if carrying big stuff or excavating. Looking closely at the bottom side I think a 3/8 x 3" flat stock underneath, welded across the existing braces would firm that up WITH another 3/8 x 3" flat stock bolted on as a tooth bar (just weld on teeth of your own design) and it would be plenty strong. Comments?

As a side note: I did not finalize my decision to buy until I got home...I was feeling guilty about spending $ on something that was so much fun! Does that make sense to any body else? I told my wife how I felt...she said "you are not backing out of this!...I want a ditch dug for drainage, footers for the english garden walls, rocks moved, brush cut, mulch, etc, etc, etc!"

Now guys, as I see it the PT will best help me accomplish those tasks! (Am I a lucky guy or what !!!?)