Just got back from Tazeville

[American Bulldog]

Good trip!!!

Beautiful part of the country to say the least.

Showroom was a lot nicer than I expected. They were really helpful and took plenty of time to show me everything. We went out and I was able to beat up several attachments. My initial thoughts were the 1460, and that is still what I want. I must say I am really torn as to what buckets to get. I think that getting them all is a little bit of overkill, lol.

I like the setup of the Deutz motor, the hydraulics, the controls, etc.

I like the turf tires as opposed to the bar tires, but I am a little disappointed at the tires they use. They use this one, which is only rated for 1710 pounds of load:

Titan® Tire catalog

In my opinion, this is the tire they should be using, which is rated for 2760 pounds:

Titan® Tire catalog

They said that if I wanted a different tire, I would have to get it on my own. Everyone let me know your thoughts. Is this something I should worry about?

I am kinda tired, so I will post more tomorrow as I think of it.

 

[thatguy]

did you go eat a Cuz's restaurant?

Brian

 

[American Bulldog]

did you go eat a Cuz's restaurant?

Brian

Actually no I didn't. Was only in town for like 3 hours.


Back to the tire question. The four turf tires combined have a max load of 6840 pounds, and the tractor has a GVW of 8000 pounds.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[J_J]

Did you get their attention about the weight of the tires, or was this an after thought. What did they say as to the difference between the max tire weight, and the gross weight of the PT.

 

[American Bulldog]

Did you get their attention about the weight of the tires, or was this an after thought. What did they say as to the difference between the max tire weight, and the gross weight of the PT.

They said that they have never had a problem..... Good thing that Good Year / Titan underrates their tires.

The correct tires to use are only $100 difference at list price. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[BobRip]

They said that they have never had a problem..... Good thing that Good Year / Titan underrates their tires.

The correct tires to use are only $100 difference at list price. Seems like a no brainer to me.

When you pickup something heavy, most if not all of the weight can be transferred to the front tires. This does not sound good to me, but what do I know. It's only temporary.

 

[MossRoad]

When you pickup something heavy, most if not all of the weight can be transferred to the front tires. This does not sound good to me, but what do I know. It's only temporary.

That's a very good point. You could get the entire weight of the tractor and whatever is on the FEL arms on the two front tires very easily on any of the PT models.

I lost one front tire when I spun it off the rim but that was due to it being low from thorn punctures. I have had many punctures, but no failures that I can determine.

How many of us with turf tires have had front tire failure due to excessive weight?

 

[Bob999]

I think your concerns are valid. Four ply tires just aren't up to heavy duty work and much more prone to punctures than heavier construction.

When I purchased my 1845 it came with 2 ply tires and they were very unsatisfactory. I ended up replacing all 8 with heavier construction tires and it has been a much more satisfactory experience.

 

[ponytug]

I'd ask them to put the other tires on. It won't cost much extra, and you will feel 100% better about it. I haven't found tires to be a weak link, but I went for the skid steer tires on my 1445 because Terry said the turf tires would be less puncture resistant for brush cutting. YMMV.

You might ask them to weld on chain hooks; several users have them and I regret not asking PT to weld them on.

While on the subject, PT is very amenable to customizing tractors, so if you have a wish list, go for it! They make lots of minor custom versions and some truly unique ones. My favorite was a PT water tanker that they had tucked away in a corner.

Toys: I mean buckets... It is hard to have too many... Well, maybe, but you have to think about what you are going to use it for and how often. For me, it is a simple cost/benefit ratio. I live so far from Tazewell, that I bought more implements than I thought I needed, and I have used all of them often, except the post driver, but it was bought for a refencing project that I haven't done. The few posts that I have driven with have been an absolute delight. I replace a bad section of three rail fence, four posts, in less than half an hour. It took perhaps a minute a post to put them in. There is a good reason why the highway crews drive guardrail posts, and don't dig holes with concrete, and it isn't that it is cheaper...

I have the 4N1, and the LMB, and I can often use a grapple. YMMV The 4N1 paid for itself in the first earthmoving job, while the LMB earns its keep weekly. The grapple would get used a couple weekends a year, every year, trimming trees.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

A comment on buckets... (applies to the 400 series).
I have the 10 cubic foot light material bucket and the 5 cubic foot rock bucket with teeth. I use the larger one 99% of the time. However, I have a section of yard with a 4' gate. The rock bucket is narrower than the light material bucket (it nests inside the large bucket when stored) and will fit through the gate while on the tractor, while the larger light material bucket will not fit through the gate. Also, the teeth really make a difference in hard soil, tough sod and large rocks.

Knowing what I know now... I would have gotten the grapple bucket instead of the rock bucket. It was the same size with more function. I still would have gotten the larger light material bucket, and even wish they made a larger one for light stuff like mulch.

Also, get the forks no matter what. They are infinitely useful. If you don't get PT made forks, get some other kind of forks, but get forks! :thumbsup:

 

[American Bulldog]

I'd ask them to put the other tires on. It won't cost much extra, and you will feel 100% better about it.

Chris said that they would not do the tires. I would have to do it on my own. I will probably go with the turf tires and replace them when they start giving me problems.

Thanks all for suggestions. I am pretty much settled on the grapple and the LMB, the minhoe, the trencher, the tiller, the snow blade, and of course the mower. I will probably just get slip on forks for the bucket. The fork attachment has an absurd price tag.

As for hooks and stuff I can do that myself. From my conversations with them they were not very amenable to customization.

 

[dchapman]

American Bulldog, I have a finish mower deck for a 1460 for sale on PTs used web page if interested .

 

[SpringHollow]

If nothing else, have forks made. Get an attachment plate and have it welded to a used skid steer setup or something. My guess is you will use them more than you think.

You should be able to weld an attachment plate onto any skidsteer attachment. If you can not weld, there are many near you who can. Just be careful about what pressure/flow rates they require and their weight.

Ken

 

[woodlandfarms]

I bought a bucket with a grapple from Lackender, not PT, so keep that in mind.

If you do a lot o grappling, the bucket and grapple attached IMO is only mediocre. I am in the midst of building a dedicated grapple, one with the sides open, and the bottom slatted (like a normal grapple, not a bucket with a grapple on it).

If you do not do a lot of grappling, the combo works good enough (has worked fine for me for 4 years, but not perfect).

I don't own any PT implements, but the buzz when I bought was that I could go 3rd party for the same price and get something heavier duty.

Carl

 

[smartguyz]

Also, get the forks no matter what. They are infinitely useful. If you don't get PT made forks, get some other kind of forks, but get forks! :thumbsup:

David is right - I bought the forks based on his input, and I use them nearly every weekend.

They are much more than 'pallet movers'. I use it as a platform for my Sprayer, my Chipper, and for a giant digging implement. It makes the Sprayer and Chipper into 4WD go-anywhere power equipment. I cannot imagine going certain places on my property without my sprayer and my chipper - but they weight several hundred pounds each. The forks lift them with ease. Look at my avatar - that's my sprayer. It's attached to my forks with 2x4s and some brackets made of solid oak. They come on and off in seconds. Same with my chipper/shredder. It goes anywhere on my property, sometimes over rough terrain. A LMB would NOT be an acceptable substitute - it is much easier and safer to move things with my forks.

It has popped out a number of really large shrubs and small trees all over my acreage. I even used them to fix a bent truck hood. They have paid for themselves many many times over. I have even used them for a temporary man lift on a couple of jobs. They are a really outstanding purchase, and I don't think that adding forks to a bucket would be anywhere near as good.

-Rob

 

[ponytug]

I have also found the forks very useful for moving things, including, gasp, pallets of materials.

Most of the other items, like the sprayers, I tuck into the 4N1 bucket, as it is more compact and I can strap it in and drive around the property with a very low center of gravity, and a good turning radius.

I have used the trick (MR?) of using the forks to pry recalcitrant brush out of the ground. (Think big 12' high x15' wide poison oak) The forks get right under, crack the roots, and you can come back when it the brush is really dead and chip it or brush cut into little pieces.

One thing to consider about 3rd party implements is weight. They may well be beefier, but it does cut into the lift capacity.

All the best,

Peter

 

[toy]

I have the pt forks for my 425 and you will be surprised at just how much you will use the forks, a real back saver. I needed to unload something when I first got my pt and it was tall and I didn't want to have it turn over so I built a light weight back for my forks. I was able to tie whatever it was to the back and steady the load it worked and felt a lot safer with it. I figured that I would cut the back off later and build a heavier one but that one has lasted several years and seems stout enough considering that the machine has a load limit and I don't lift with the back just steady the load anyway.

 

[MossRoad]

One more nice thing about getting the forks with the unit....

I had mine shipped to a truck dock in South Bend, In, a few miles from my house. We bought the PT425, large bucket, small bucket with teeth, 60" finish mower, 48" brush cutter, 60" power angle snow plow, forks and the loading ramps.

We took two pickup trucks to the loading dock and a gallon of gas (they ship nearly empty for safety reasons). I unpacked the forks and used them to move the two skids of stuff onto one of the pickup trucks. I then used the ramps to load the PT into the back of the other pickup truck and we drove everything home! :thumbsup:

The guys on the dock were pretty impressed. :laughing:

 

[American Bulldog]

I hear you all about the forks. The 1430 forks are $1900. The 1445 forks are $2000, and the 1460 forks are $3200. The first two are priced high, but the 1460 forks are just ridiculous. I ended up getting clamp on forks for now from:

Tractor Forks, Bucket Forks, Loader Forks by Bucket Solutions

They are a sponsor on this forum.

I got the medium duty for $449, and they threw in a stabilizer for $25. Free shipping as well.

If they work out good I might get the debris forks later. They look like they might be a really useful tool:

Tractor Hay Bale Spears

If the clamp on forks don't work well enough, I will get an aftermarket set of skid steer forks and weld on a QA plate. They are about half the price of PT's.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I would have to look at an old receipt, but the reason I went third party was due to the incredible savings, and the stronger build. Some of the PT accessories are way to expensive. The downside of this theory is that sometimes you have to pay two shipping costs (one for the PT and one for the accessories). I got lucky and the truck was rolling by Lackender so there was no real additional cost.

Carl