Going to Taz!

[Red Zebra]

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.

 

[MuncyBob]

Sounds like a great trip...friends, camping and fun on the PT!

You'll probably be surprise on how fast it reverses, but you'll get used to it. If the treadles seem too sensitive maybe ask for the springs to be installed under them to "stiffen" them a bit. I would be sure to use all attachments you plan to purchase....and then some! Wouldn't suggest any wheeleis but I wonder if you can a PT Pucker going!?

 

[pajoube]

You will love the Tazewell area. Enjoy the trip.
My suggestions would be to go into the test area with open mind not clutterred with items to be looking for. Just get on and spend as much time as possible with the machine you like and all the attachments for that machine.
Let us know what you end up ordering.
Oh, I remember my first trip to Tazewell and the fun we had.
PJ

 

[Red Zebra]

Thanks for the input....I'm going to have fun! Never driven anything like a PT so it's part of the alure.

 

[MossRoad]

The best suggestion I can give for driving an articulated machine is this...

The wheels do not turn left and right, but the wheels on everything else you have driven in your life did.

When driving forward, aim the implement and do not look at the steering wheel. The tractor WILL follow the implement.

When driving backwards, aim the rear of the tractor and the rest of the tractor will follow.

It is a weird feeling at first, but after a few hours on the machine, it starts feeling comfortable. After a few days, it will feel very comfortable. And after a few years, it is like an extension of your body and you can whip these things around and really get work done increadibly fast.

Enjoy your trip and have fun. Say "Hi!" to the folks at Power Trac for us, too.

 

[stray]

I will suggest that you don't get the small bucket but only the large materal bucket. PT will want to sell you the small one but that's just so you'll come back and buy the large one later. No really, I never use the small one but I really think the large one is small enough and a good fit for a 422 or a 425.

 

[KentT]

I will suggest that you don't get the small bucket but only the large materal bucket. PT will want to sell you the small one but that's just so you'll come back and buy the large one later. No really, I never use the small one but I really think the large one is small enough and a good fit for a 422 or a 425.

I agree -- I have a rock bucket with teeth that never gets used. I'm thinking of cutting it down in size to make a grubbing bucket, or something, just so it would get used occasionally.

I'd also suggest that if you need to dig, that you add an aftermarket toothbar to the larger LM bucket. Aftermarket tooth bars (such as those made by Markham and others) work much better than the PT individual teeth and are easily removed and put back on. The individual teeth are not.

IMO, a new 425 with the improved wheel motors should push a LM bucket into dirt just fine if it had toothbar on it...

The money saved by not purchasing the HD rock bucket could be well spent by buying the PT forks, for example...

If you'll be doing ANY dirt work, I'd also recommend you try the minihoe. Have someone there demonstrate its use, so you can see its full potential. You may not find it that productive during your own short test drive (it takes a while to master it), but they're incredibly useful. Add a thumb to it, and you'll find all kinds of uses for it. I've found the minihoe and the grapple bucket to be my most heavily used implements, by far, but I'm still in the pre-construction phase. I have a couple other garden tractors for mowing and tilling, so it's the lifting and carrying stuff that my PT does most....

 

[MossRoad]

My large light material bucket will not fit through my 4' gate. My small bucket with teeth fits through just fine. Also, the LMB is weaker than the small bucket. I have bowed the large bucket carrying large loads of granulated limestone. Each attachment has its place.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Might want ot suggest a 3rd party purchase, like Lackendars.... Bigger bucket, heavier guage..... Not the only game in town but no reason to buy PT's...

 

[Red Zebra]

All great suggestions. For our (wife and I) purposes we need the brush cutter, minihoe (will add a thumb), forks, tiller, and a bucket. I'll look closely at buckets as well as the after-market ones. Hmm.

Just came in from laying out the camping gear in the shop. Will load Wednesday night. I know I'm forgetting something.....
This is why I do it early...so I wont forget...???

Jim