Just discovered Power Trac and have a couple questions

[MossRoad]

BTW, the price difference is WAY more than it was when you did your justification. The 425 is now more than 2x the price of the 180. HP has remained the same. Would you have made the same decision today based on today's numbers?

Well, a dollar in 2001 is equivalent to the purchasing power of $1.46 today; a 45.75% increase. The PT425 was $8000 in 2001. It's $13,200 today. 50% increase would have been $12,000, so, yes, the price has outpaced inflation.

However, yep, I'd buy another PT425 today if I needed a machine. And my wife would get another nice car!

I need the extra HP to spin the larger mower deck and climb the hills with the brush cutter running and pulling logs with my tongs. I run about 1/4 mile with them and there's quite a few hills.

I need the ROPS and the steel canopy in my woods, and it's great for mowing in the sun (I'm quite bald).

Now that the 425 has larger wheel motors and a bit higher lift on the FEL than my 2001 model year machine, that would be handy as well.

Is the 425 worth $4200 more than the 422? You'd have to justify that to yourself.

425 has 8" higher lift height.
Dual steering rams.
Larger wheel motors.
3 more HP.
No ROPS/Canopy.
No oil cooler/fan.
I think they're back to using the Kohler engine in the 425, but we'd have to call to make sure (I need cold weather starting. My Kohler has never failed down to -5F)
I think the footwells are deeper, as there's a false floor in the 422 (I think).

With as much mowing and brush cutting as I did, I need that extra HP and oil cooling capacity.

Anyhow, it's a tough decision. Get a sheet and list your pro's VS cons. And don't do it with only the PT line of machines. Get out there and try some conventional tractors. When I was looking, I really liked the New Holland TC25D (I think that was the model). It was super ergonomic and I fit on it just right. The others that I looked at were uncomfortable, my knees hit the dash or steering wheel, etc... but, again, those were smaller tractors. You sit ON those. You sit IN a PT.

 

[agjones]

Fwiw, I use a $2500 mitsubishi 4wd CUT for mowing, 60 inch belly, 48 Inch 3pt mower, I've since added a brush hog 48 and even a flail.

A well cared for used CUT , w mower can cost not much more than the mower attachment combo for the pt.

I'm w the crowd on the 180 being an underperformer for your task list. A decent 422 can be had used eventually.

 

[GregS]

Thanks again for the info. I have test drove quite a few of the tractors on my list. I haven't tried out the PT, but likely will this summer. We camp down near the factory.


This question doesn't apply to just my thread. I also know that it would probably void a warranty and is unsafe. But...

I've seen multiple mention of the PT pucker. It seems that the lift ability far exceeds the lift limit. Would you be able to add a ballast box and lift heavier? If it's too much for the hydraulics, wouldn't the relief valve do it's thing and just not let you lift it? Just curious.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks again for the info. I have test drove quite a few of the tractors on my list. I haven't tried out the PT, but likely will this summer. We camp down near the factory.


This question doesn't apply to just my thread. I also know that it would probably void a warranty and is unsafe. But...

I've seen multiple mention of the PT pucker. It seems that the lift ability far exceeds the lift limit. Would you be able to add a ballast box and lift heavier? If it's too much for the hydraulics, wouldn't the relief valve do it's thing and just not let you lift it? Just curious.

A couple things about ballasting the rear. Yes, you could and then lift even more. However (don't you hate however?), a few things to consider....

The center joints of the machine between the two articulating halves will eventually not like that. If the joints don't fail, the metal they are welded to might. Then the machine breaks in half.

The wheel motors are only designed to handle so much side-load. Think about it. The shafts are horizontal. As you put weight on the machine, the weight pushes down, trying to push the wheel motors down, which puts side pressure on the motor shafts as they have to reach out into the rims and tires. The more weight, the more side-load, the more likely to damage the wheel motors.

Same thing happens when people consider putting dual wheels on the PT400 series. If you were on constant flat ground, it might never be a problem. If you get the outside edges of the outer wheels up on something, like straddling a ditch or quick change in side-slope, it puts tremendous forces on the outer edges of the tires, which transmits that load to the wheel motor shafts.

 

[ponytug]

There are a few owners that have put extra weight on the PTs, or filled the tires, and you do get more lift. At some point the lifting forces will rip out the cylinder ends from the steel frame, or bend the lift arms. Speaking with Terry once, he said that PT sizes the lift based on the wheel motor side loads on slopes. So, yes, on level ground, there is probably some additional capacity, but then the shell and arm strength comes into play. Also, lifting more will alter the center of gravity for slope work.

Personally, I would size it by what you normally need. For me, while I have had a few puckers lifting wet earth, but only one time when it was close to important. I had to lift full bundles of 8x8s for one project, and only from the truck to the ground, thereafter, it was a few at a time. Was it great to be able to do it? Yes. Did I have to do it? No. For my money, I could have split the bundles in half at basically no cost.

I think that the purchase decision is similar for all of us; you try to sort the routine tasks from the one offs, and total it up. For me, I had a couple of projects that by themselves paid the tractor, which meant that the day to day brush cutting, tool carrying, and general schlepping are fully paid off. The last is the most useful to me on the farm. I am always tossing tools, fencing supplies, chainsaws, a generator, and driving the tool shop to the work project. It is so productive, and saves my back so much strain.

People here have given me so many great ideas on how to use a PT for projects, which has certainly increased the utility of the PT to me.

It might help to think about getting the tractor to do the routine things and mentally pencil in contracting out the one offs. I live in an area with high labor costs, which tilts the decision toward purchasing more tractor. And some of the important attachments became apparent for me only after time, like adding a wood chipper. The joy of being able to excavate water saturated clay soil with a tractor to repair a blown main water line was, and is, enormous. Plus, it would have cost a fortune, $5,000+, to have someone else do it on short notice. 4n1 bucket paid for... The driveway fence paid for the post driver and the whole tractor. The one subsurface drain project paid for the whole tractor and for the chain trencher... the list goes on, but the tractor has way more than paid for itself.

Your slope is not that much, but I always encourage people to check it. You can get an inclinometer from HF for $5 on sale. If your slopes are as you say, it might pencil out better to look for a used low hour tractor. At our old place, we picked up a three year old used JD that had twenty hours on it, for about half off. Given the economy, used prices are probably going to be great buys in the near future.

Just my $.02....

All the best,

Peter

 

[Marks481]

I've seen multiple mention of the PT pucker. It seems that the lift ability far exceeds the lift limit.

NOt actually that bog a deal as long as you are paying attention. You notice right away when you are nearing the limit.... you learn if your rear is bobbling when you back up with a load of direct, you probably don't want to go driving down the road with your foot to the floor.

 

[BobRip]

I didn稚 see it mentioned, but the 425 has 40% more wheel motor torque than the 422. I would love to have that.

 

[m5040]

I didn稚 see it mentioned, but the 425 has 40% more wheel motor torque than the 422. I would love to have that.

Bob, Is there a way to look up the wheel motor torque of each PT?