Goodbye Kubota, Hello Power Trac
- Thread starter MChalkley
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MChalkley
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Um, the end of this thread (for me personally) is kinda sorta under my latest post entitled "What a long, strange trip it's been..."
MarkC
MarkC
Griff
New member
New user here... been enjoying the many posts and ideas. Was wondering if your thought of adding a backhoe by mounting it to the custom attchment plate and using the hydro on the front was going anywhere. Currently have an Ingersoll 4016 that just can't do what I want (bought five years ago before I knew what I would really need it for). I'm looking to upgrade and the PT looks like the best all around machine for home projects. Currently attempting to feel out the 425 verses the 2422, saw your post and wondered if that would be an option on the 425. Could skip the drive-turn-dig-turn routine and just keep everything in front. Not sure if visability would be hampered by the front of the machine. I'll be visiting the facility this Saturday and is one of those things sitting in my mind. I could buy the 425 (more horsepower, $2K less) and buy a backhoe attachment later and mount it along your line of thinking. Just looking to see if this idea might work. Any further thoughts?
Charlie_Iliff
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Griff:
I haven't made any progress yet, since I haven't gotten the Power Trac yet. I am pretty confident, however, that I can put a digger on the front and make it work well. It won't be the equivalent of a backhoe like the one Mark Chalkley is getting, but for a replacement for hand pick and shovel work, I think it will be fine. The attach plate will be used mostly to carry it around, and tractor hydraulics to power it. The kit, based on a Cadplans design http://www.cadplans.com/index.htm
should be about $1800, and require a few days of welding and assembly. For digging beyond its capability, rental machines are available. I haven't set a time frame, since funds availability is not currently predictable.
Charlie Iliff
I haven't made any progress yet, since I haven't gotten the Power Trac yet. I am pretty confident, however, that I can put a digger on the front and make it work well. It won't be the equivalent of a backhoe like the one Mark Chalkley is getting, but for a replacement for hand pick and shovel work, I think it will be fine. The attach plate will be used mostly to carry it around, and tractor hydraulics to power it. The kit, based on a Cadplans design http://www.cadplans.com/index.htm
should be about $1800, and require a few days of welding and assembly. For digging beyond its capability, rental machines are available. I haven't set a time frame, since funds availability is not currently predictable.
Charlie Iliff
Griff
New member
I picked up an tip on something from another thread where I posted a similiar question (normally wouldn't do that, but am going to PT on Saturday and wanted to get some idea of what was possible). Check out http:// [url]http://www.northerntool.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=519693&prmenbr=6970 [/url] .
This came from Bryce under the 425 or 2422 thread. Perhaps we can move the discussion there? I called to get info on the unit. They will send what they have by postal mail. I'm too new at this to go about asking any really intelligent questions... I'll have to go through a few modification failures before I have any really good ideas. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
This came from Bryce under the 425 or 2422 thread. Perhaps we can move the discussion there? I called to get info on the unit. They will send what they have by postal mail. I'm too new at this to go about asking any really intelligent questions... I'll have to go through a few modification failures before I have any really good ideas. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Brent_Griffith
New member
Griff,
The NorthernTool unit is made by Lackender Fabrications. Their website is: http://www.lackender-fab.com/index.htm
It shows the different models and options and gives some background info along with pricing. You can get info e-mailed, faxed, or snail mailed to you from the site. FYI.
Brent Griffith
The NorthernTool unit is made by Lackender Fabrications. Their website is: http://www.lackender-fab.com/index.htm
It shows the different models and options and gives some background info along with pricing. You can get info e-mailed, faxed, or snail mailed to you from the site. FYI.
Brent Griffith
Charlie_Iliff
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The Chalkley Syndrome: Power Trac 1845
Since no one in the 21st Century has any responsibility for his own actions, it certainly follows that I can blame my writing a large check to Power Trac yesterday on the Chalkley Syndrome. That is a medical condition in which people with certain genetic or environmental predispositions become infected through TBN with an uncontrollable urge actually to buy the things they have been researching and listing on various scraps of paper - sometimes for years.
In my case, I started looking for a slope mower several years ago, to cut the areas in which an aging JD 2wd 950 and 6' Woods brush hog have been scaring us for years, following a couple of decades with a Farmall 300 and similar mower. I hit the Power Trac web site in June 1999, and got some brochures, videos, price lists, etc. and started dreaming, er... rationally analyzing the strengths of the articulated all-hydraulic universe. By the time I added up what appealed to me on their lists, it was clear I couldn’t afford it. I still can’t, so writing the check was definitely just a symptom of the Chalkley Syndrome, and not an act of my volition.
I bought an 1845, with a staggering list of attachments, and will get the shipment in a couple of weeks if I can manage to get the financing to cover the check. Otherwise, I guess I’ll get a visit from some investigator about a large rubber check written in Tazewell, VA.
Pursuant to posts from the aforementioned Chalkley, and from Steve Carver, I am working with W.R. Long in Tarboro, NC to select a 4-in-1 bucket, to which they will weld the Power Trac Quick Attach plate. Sophisticated electro-hydraulic control systems are in preliminary design stages.
Although it is appropriate that the syndrome be named after Chalkley, MossRoad is certainly a contributing antigen to the Syndrome, preceded, of course, by WellingtonPizza and others. I almost bought a 425, which is smaller but immensely capable, for the reasons Mossroad has listed, and particularly because of his posts, videos, and evident satisfaction with the machine. I felt I needed a 6 foot mower, however. (MossRoad’s 425 pulling a 60" Acrease will probably mow wider and at least as well, preserving he flexibility of the smaller machine, at a lower price, but part of the Chalkley syndrome is a totally unreasonable desire for more weight, power and expense.)
So here’s the rationalization - you’ll all like it except for the lurkers who are keepers of the family exchequers. With the 2002 prices, the 425 went up by a percentage reported in earlier posts. The diesel 1430 went down $2,000, however, and the 1845 went down almost $6,000. How can anyone pass up savings like that?
So, I drove 7 hours back to Power Trac, where I had visited in September, got the questions answered I’d forgotten to ask last trip, drove an 1845 and pushed gravel around with a 6 foot blade. Then I wrote a check for enough to postpone retirement at least another decade, and asked them to ship the machine and various miscellaneous attachments when the money is deposited. (As has been pointed out during Mark Chalkley’s own brief Power Trac infection before he came down with terminal Earth Force, Power Trac powered accessories are expensive, because they are hydraulic. They are also very heavily and well built, however, and I think should only be compared with high-end commercial implements. The rough-cut mower, for instance, was $2,900, which is too much. It will last way beyond my lifetime, however, and do finish mowing and everything short of stands of trees, thus replacing both a finish mower and a brush hog. And no, Mark, I don’t need a Brush Brute and Ammbusher. We cleared the fields on our property 50 years ago, and the appearance of your equipment in any “critical areas” land in Maryland would bring a swat team of regulators and environmentalists.)
Now, I just hope that it doesn’t snow before the shipment arrives, and then snows hip deep to a tall fella so I can see if Terry at Power Trac is right that the turf tires that I selected won’t need chains.
The price sheets on their website don’t list quite everything available at Power Trac. I could have gotten dual small diameter bar treads, as listed, or single bar tread or the single turfs I bought. I think I could even have gotten a 1445, which isn’t listed on the website and for which there’s no brochure. It would be an 1845 without a couple of bells and whistles. They don't negotiate on prices, but they will try to mix and match machinery to suit your needs.
Mark Chalkley, if you’re still reading this, I almost bought an electric/hydraulic valve that Power Trac bought for your project and still has on a shelf. I decided to try the 4-in-1 just with the auxiliary PTO already on the machine before I add anything. Economy, you understand.
If anyone has any questions other than about my sanity, I’ll be happy to respond. I’ll also report when I actually get the machine whether buyer’s remorse, a known complication of the Chalkley Syndrome, sets in.
Right now, however, I’ll pass on advice which I received two years ago from a Power Trac owner, and which I unfortunately ignored. If you visit Power Trac, don’t take a check book or credit card.
Since no one in the 21st Century has any responsibility for his own actions, it certainly follows that I can blame my writing a large check to Power Trac yesterday on the Chalkley Syndrome. That is a medical condition in which people with certain genetic or environmental predispositions become infected through TBN with an uncontrollable urge actually to buy the things they have been researching and listing on various scraps of paper - sometimes for years.
In my case, I started looking for a slope mower several years ago, to cut the areas in which an aging JD 2wd 950 and 6' Woods brush hog have been scaring us for years, following a couple of decades with a Farmall 300 and similar mower. I hit the Power Trac web site in June 1999, and got some brochures, videos, price lists, etc. and started dreaming, er... rationally analyzing the strengths of the articulated all-hydraulic universe. By the time I added up what appealed to me on their lists, it was clear I couldn’t afford it. I still can’t, so writing the check was definitely just a symptom of the Chalkley Syndrome, and not an act of my volition.
I bought an 1845, with a staggering list of attachments, and will get the shipment in a couple of weeks if I can manage to get the financing to cover the check. Otherwise, I guess I’ll get a visit from some investigator about a large rubber check written in Tazewell, VA.
Pursuant to posts from the aforementioned Chalkley, and from Steve Carver, I am working with W.R. Long in Tarboro, NC to select a 4-in-1 bucket, to which they will weld the Power Trac Quick Attach plate. Sophisticated electro-hydraulic control systems are in preliminary design stages.
Although it is appropriate that the syndrome be named after Chalkley, MossRoad is certainly a contributing antigen to the Syndrome, preceded, of course, by WellingtonPizza and others. I almost bought a 425, which is smaller but immensely capable, for the reasons Mossroad has listed, and particularly because of his posts, videos, and evident satisfaction with the machine. I felt I needed a 6 foot mower, however. (MossRoad’s 425 pulling a 60" Acrease will probably mow wider and at least as well, preserving he flexibility of the smaller machine, at a lower price, but part of the Chalkley syndrome is a totally unreasonable desire for more weight, power and expense.)
So here’s the rationalization - you’ll all like it except for the lurkers who are keepers of the family exchequers. With the 2002 prices, the 425 went up by a percentage reported in earlier posts. The diesel 1430 went down $2,000, however, and the 1845 went down almost $6,000. How can anyone pass up savings like that?
So, I drove 7 hours back to Power Trac, where I had visited in September, got the questions answered I’d forgotten to ask last trip, drove an 1845 and pushed gravel around with a 6 foot blade. Then I wrote a check for enough to postpone retirement at least another decade, and asked them to ship the machine and various miscellaneous attachments when the money is deposited. (As has been pointed out during Mark Chalkley’s own brief Power Trac infection before he came down with terminal Earth Force, Power Trac powered accessories are expensive, because they are hydraulic. They are also very heavily and well built, however, and I think should only be compared with high-end commercial implements. The rough-cut mower, for instance, was $2,900, which is too much. It will last way beyond my lifetime, however, and do finish mowing and everything short of stands of trees, thus replacing both a finish mower and a brush hog. And no, Mark, I don’t need a Brush Brute and Ammbusher. We cleared the fields on our property 50 years ago, and the appearance of your equipment in any “critical areas” land in Maryland would bring a swat team of regulators and environmentalists.)
Now, I just hope that it doesn’t snow before the shipment arrives, and then snows hip deep to a tall fella so I can see if Terry at Power Trac is right that the turf tires that I selected won’t need chains.
The price sheets on their website don’t list quite everything available at Power Trac. I could have gotten dual small diameter bar treads, as listed, or single bar tread or the single turfs I bought. I think I could even have gotten a 1445, which isn’t listed on the website and for which there’s no brochure. It would be an 1845 without a couple of bells and whistles. They don't negotiate on prices, but they will try to mix and match machinery to suit your needs.
Mark Chalkley, if you’re still reading this, I almost bought an electric/hydraulic valve that Power Trac bought for your project and still has on a shelf. I decided to try the 4-in-1 just with the auxiliary PTO already on the machine before I add anything. Economy, you understand.
If anyone has any questions other than about my sanity, I’ll be happy to respond. I’ll also report when I actually get the machine whether buyer’s remorse, a known complication of the Chalkley Syndrome, sets in.
Right now, however, I’ll pass on advice which I received two years ago from a Power Trac owner, and which I unfortunately ignored. If you visit Power Trac, don’t take a check book or credit card.
pajoube
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Re: The Chalkley Syndrome: Power Trac 1845
Have enjoyed reading your posts. I will be a new PT buyer in another year so any comments suggestions after you receive your new PT will be greatly appreciated. I must say that you made a very large leep going with the 1845, you must have a large area to work.
I am most interested in your comments regarding any modifications you will be making.
Paul
Have enjoyed reading your posts. I will be a new PT buyer in another year so any comments suggestions after you receive your new PT will be greatly appreciated. I must say that you made a very large leep going with the 1845, you must have a large area to work.
I am most interested in your comments regarding any modifications you will be making.
Paul
Charlie_Iliff
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Re: The Chalkley Syndrome: Power Trac 1845
Paul:
The first two three mods are planned. I mentioned the 4 n 1 bucket in the post. I think it will be a bit more flexible than the grapple bucket available from PT. My first additions will be a 2" hitch reveiver on the back and an adapter to put 2" hitches on the quick attach. The latter is available from Power Trac, but I save $130 by welding up my own. I plan then not only to use them for various trailers, but will be mounting an electric winch on a 2" adapter, which I hope will pull logs, etc. to the machine as well as pulling the machine out of anywhere I might contrive to get it stuck.
I'll post when things arrive.
Paul:
The first two three mods are planned. I mentioned the 4 n 1 bucket in the post. I think it will be a bit more flexible than the grapple bucket available from PT. My first additions will be a 2" hitch reveiver on the back and an adapter to put 2" hitches on the quick attach. The latter is available from Power Trac, but I save $130 by welding up my own. I plan then not only to use them for various trailers, but will be mounting an electric winch on a 2" adapter, which I hope will pull logs, etc. to the machine as well as pulling the machine out of anywhere I might contrive to get it stuck.
I'll post when things arrive.
pajoube
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Re: The Chalkley Syndrome: Power Trac 1845
Thanks for the info - I like the idea of the winch on a plate. What do you mean by placing an adapter for a 2" hitch on the quick attach? Would you not need to weld the hitch on the plate?
I have not done much welding but like the idea of doing some adapting on my own. Thats half the fun being innovative.
Paul
Thanks for the info - I like the idea of the winch on a plate. What do you mean by placing an adapter for a 2" hitch on the quick attach? Would you not need to weld the hitch on the plate?
I have not done much welding but like the idea of doing some adapting on my own. Thats half the fun being innovative.
Paul