Help me spend my money!

Rocketman · Jan 28, 2003

Ok guys...I've been looking to buy a tractor to work my 15 very rugged acres. I looked at the BX (used a friends for a weekend) and did not feel it was stable enough. Then I found Magnatrac and was already to place an order when someone told me about the PT - very impressed with the PT website info. How about some input from you experienced PT owners!
My primary use will be clearing cedar with a secondary use of cutting in trails/road and a little backhoe work. The land is rugged and rocky (80% accessable by Jeep). I will not be mowing with the PT.

MossRoad · Jan 29, 2003

Without knowing much about your property, its sounds like a dozer might be better for the initial task of clearing than any tractor. Then, once you get everything roughed in, a tractor would be used to maintain it. More information would be helpful for us to help you spend your money /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Charlie_Iliff · Jan 29, 2003

<font color=red>My primary use will be clearing cedar with a secondary use of cutting in trails/road and a little backhoe work. </font color=red>

I have to agree with MossRoad - that sounds more like dozer work initially. Once the big stuff is cleared, however, I think my PT1845 would do well. If your plans for the property are fairly firm, you may want to consider hiring a large dozer and operator and getting the major work done fast. For grading trails initially, nothing beats a big machine with tilting dozer blade and an experienced operator.
If you plan to cut the trees instead of pushing them down, the bigger PTs should do fine for skidding or winching them. I've not used my Power Trac in that kind of service, however, except to put the occasional log on a trailer with a lifting boom and skidding tongs.
Where are you located?

deadstick · Jan 29, 2003

I've just finished clearing 1.6 acres of my property of Cedar trees (about 40-50 in total). What I did was use a chainsaw to cut them down to a 1-2ft stump. After it rained (the theory here was that the soil would be looser to work with) I used my PT-425 and small bucket with teeth to push them out of the ground. The larger ones required me to dig around the roots first before starting to push. Luckily, the cedars here in Dripping Springs Texas tend to keep their root base close to the surface, though some of the ones I pushed out had roots 10ft long or so.....

Do I think I had the right tool for the job, not really. To be honest I could have done with a larger machine. But that's all I had and I wanted to do the job myself....

Now in your situation, if you have alot of cedars on that 15 acres I would be wanting me a bigger machine....

davesisk · Jan 29, 2003

If you want to buy a dozer to do it yourself, here's two resources:

http://www.northerntractor.com Here's a Chinese dozer that's 6600 lbs for $15K...sell it after you're done and buy a Power-trac for the rest!

Or, you could just start with the big honkin' PT-2445...it's a pretty heavy machine I believe...

HTH,
Dave

Rocketman · Jan 30, 2003

Dripping Springs huh.........Howdy neighbor! I live near Boerne.

Magnatrac was my first choice (may still be).....I was just put off by the <3mph speed.

I have requested information on the PT2445 - as it is in the same price ballbark as the Magnatrac.

I read in some earlier threads about an PT1800 having difficulty on a slope (with a load). As many people offered similar responses (hydraulic over pressure bypass or something). I was wondering if this is a common issue.....can PTs handle working on a slope?

davesisk · Jan 30, 2003

Hey Rocketman:

I'm actually in Raleigh,NC, but that's fine...consider me a virtual neighbor! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Dave

JohninCT · Jan 31, 2003

I have the Magnatrac 6000 and am pretty satisfied with it overall. It is a pretty powerfull dirt machine for its small size. It is constructed pretty ruggedly and like the Powertrac it is a simple design that is pretty easy to maintain yourself. Repositioning the machine when digging with the backhoe is simple with the hand track controls levers.

I will admit that THE most frustrating thing about the Magnatrac is the slow speed. Trying to move stuff from here to there seems to take forever, even in overdrive. I have a small property (3 acres), so this is something that I felt I could live with. My land is pretty flat, but the Magnatrac has a low center of gravity and seems pretty stable.

I do at times wish that I had a PowerTrac. I like the quick attach which Magnatrac does not have. I also like their vast assortment of hydraulic attachments which are very reasonably priced. In fact, I'm looking to buying a Powertrac stump cutter to attach to my Magnatrac. I bought the Magnatrac with the intention of working pretty much only in the brush/dirt. Although I do bring it on the lawn area of the yard, as you might expect, the tracks will do a number on the lawn if you aren't careful. I'm getting the nonmarking track shoes so I can do some work on/around my driveway.

There are pros and cons to everything. And as people have said before you can't expect one tractor to do everything well. The Magnatrac is a real good dirt/woods machine. The Powertrac is a better all around machine... "the swiss army knife of tractors" /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Sorry for the lengthy post. If you want anymore Magnatrac info... email me.

John