Hydraulic winch and other general PT usability questions

[MossRoad]

I pick up my large, light material bucket. Then I scoop up my small rock bucket with teeth inside of that. Then I throw my pallet forks into that sideways. Then I put my saws, chains, tongs, gas can, etc. in that.

And off into the woods I go.

 

[ponytug]

I think until you have used a Power-Trac light material bucket as a powered wheelbarrow, it can be hard to understand just how useful it is. @MossRoad has shared stories of building/remaking baseball fields. I recently was doing a soil remediation project and it was taking me 10-15 minutes to move and distribute 12cu.yds of wood chips at a go.

I also love the fact that stepping in/out of the tractor is 8-12". It makes hopping on/off so fast and so easy, and the maneuverability in the woods is snake like.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

Someone on TBN took an old heating oil tank and fabricated an even larger light material bucket. Can't remember who, but it was pretty practice for the application.

I no longer own a wheelbarrow that functions.

 

[2manyrocks]

I pick up my large, light material bucket. Then I scoop up my small rock bucket with teeth inside of that. Then I throw my pallet forks into that sideways. Then I put my saws, chains, tongs, gas can, etc. in that.

And off into the woods I go.

I'm not grasping the significance of why you'd put your small rock bucket inside your light material bucket? Do you basically haul everything in the larger bucket and then switch to the smaller rock bucket to push debris out of your way? Then use the forks to actually move the tree trunks?

Reading another PT thread here, another PT owner apparently chose the mini hoe plus a thumb instead of a grapple for his tree work. Comments on that?

 

[MossRoad]

I'll second the ease of getting in and out of the machine. I don't step up into the 425. I sit down on it.

But again, it's the smallest of the frame sizes that they make.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm not grasping the significance of why you'd put your small rock bucket inside your light material bucket? Do you basically haul everything in the larger bucket and then switch to the smaller rock bucket to push debris out of your way? Then use the forks to actually move the tree trunks?

Reading another PT thread here, another PT owner apparently chose the mini hoe plus a thumb instead of a grapple for his tree work. Comments on that?

Yeah, I don't have a mini hoe or grapple. Wish I would have gotten one or the other at my purchase time 21 years ago.

So I nest everything that I might need into the large light material bucket and take it all with me just in case I may need it.

Honest to goodness, I have a video somewhere that shows me changing non-powered implements in less than 15 seconds without getting out of my seat.

A grapple or snowplow or mower requires hooking up or disconnecting a couple hydraulic hoses.

It's so easy to change implements that it becomes second nature VS dread on a 3pt hitch implement.

I have had days where I swapped implements maybe 30 times without even thinking about it.

 

[MossRoad]

The video is in WMV format so I can't open it on my iPad. It's on my website.

If you have a PC or something that can play windows media files, click on my little animated tractor in my signature. That'll take you to my website. There's a link to a page with a bunch of 20+ year old grainy videos. They might be of interest, or just fodder to laugh at me over.

 

[2manyrocks]

Your pictures on your website are helpful. I didn't know there was one hyd pump for the wheels and a separate pump for the PTO, for example. One thing I find hard to believe is how few pictures and information Power Trac has on their own website to help prospective customers decide on which models and attachments to choose from.

 

[MossRoad]

There are 3 pumps.

The tram pump for the drive system.
The PTO pump for motors on mowers, trenchers, brooms, grinders, etc.
And the AUX PTO pump that powers the steering, FEL arms, and the AUX PTO that operates the quick attach or other cylinders like the power angle on the snow plow, a grapple, etc.

 

[2manyrocks]

Indirectly, that brings up a concern for me. Over the years, my experience has been that the first major component to give trouble are small, air cooled gas engines. There is probably some kind of special engine to pump mount on at least one side of the engine that would make it difficult to replace the engine with something else. I'm not sure you could drop in a Harbor Freight predator in place of the Kohler, for example.