My 1990 PT1418 (serial# 143!) has lasted 13 years. I'm at least the 3rd owner, and it hadn't been maintained well when I got it. The frame is built like a tank, and I doubt that breaking it in half is a very common occurrence. In fact, I'd say that had to have originated from a manufacturing defect. Of course, you can break an anvil with a rubber mallet if you try hard enough. I've heard a couple of stories about traditional CUT's that have been broken in half from the weight and forces of a loader on front and a heavy backhoe doing heavy work on the back. So, anything's possible, just not all that likely.
The most maintenance/repair work that has gone into mine has been replacing hydraulic hoses, engine repairs, and electrical fixes. Mine is somewhat atypical though, because it's 13 years old and it has a Briggs and Stratton 18HP gas engine (the engine is about 2-3 years old).
I think it's safe to say that most small air-cooled gasoline engines last around 10 years with homeowner-type weekend use if you keep them maintained pretty well. The Kohler's are about $1500 (and the B&S in mine is about $1000), so out right replacing it after 10 years doesn't seem like such a bad financial proposition. (The Kohler's are used in a lot of commercial equipment I gather, so they probably will last even longer.) I'd say that air-cooled gas engines are typically cheaper to repair (because there's so many of them on small homeowner type equipment) than a small diesel. The small diesels will typically last something like 3 times as long (if properly maintained), but they also cost 2-3 times as much new, and I believe they're about 2-3 times costlier to repair. There are some distinct advantages to diesels, of course. They use less fuel, they typically have more torque (ie. they don't stall as easily under a load), and diesel doesn't explode as easily as gasoline vapors. Of course, that said, I don't recall ever seeing someone who was burned alive by a small gasoline engine in the newspaper. A gasoline engine takes more ongoing maintenance (ie. replacing plugs, carbuerator rebuilds, etc.), but almost all of this is something that anyone who is handy enough to need a tractor in the first place can probably do themself. I don't know if that's true with diesels, with the exception of replacing the air filter, etc. I expect it depends on the brand and model of diesel engine. (Perhaps some of the diesel owners will add some detail here.)
My personal opinion (and it's merely an opinion!) is that I'd prefer a diesel, but even the Briggs and Stratton gasoline engine in mine is perfectly acceptable for my needs. Put another way, a gasoline tractor is much better than no tractor! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I think one of the biggest problems you'll find with the Power-tracs is that there's no dealer network per Power-trac's mandate. The benefit is that you get the machine much cheaper (compared to some of the very similar Dingo-type loaders or other CUT's, for instance), but the downside is that you can't take it down to the local dealer for service, and there's no organized used market. IMHO, the lack of an organized used market hurts the resale value somewhat, however, do the calculations and you might still come out the same. In other words, if you bought a
BX22 package for $12K new, and sold it for $9-10K five years later, then that's the same depreciation loss as buying a Power-trac for $8K new and selling it for $5-6K (a greater percentage depreciation) five years later. The only financial difference is that you've tied up less cash in that 5 years. Just my thoughts, but I hope this is helpful (regardless of which way you decide to go).
HTH,
Dave
