Link to stump grinder project

[SpringHollow]

Works great and the sideways mount design is a much nicer to do it. The forward mount means you run the risk of tearing up the grass some from a lot of swinging back and forth.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

Some Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiwxyNaZcPE

I am officially scared! hahhaahaa

 

[joshlee]

Nice. My Ventrac stump grinder doesn't take the meat off a stump like that, haha. Of course the sizes of the machine are far different.

 

[joshlee]

Hi Mossroad, when I look for Power Trac stuff on Ebay, I almost always come up with nothing? Why is it there are plenty of Steiner/ Ventrac things on there, but not PT? That is, if I am typing in the right lettering.

 

[MossRoad]

Hi Mossroad, when I look for Power Trac stuff on Ebay, I almost always come up with nothing? Why is it there are plenty of Steiner/ Ventrac things on there, but not PT? That is, if I am typing in the right lettering.

My guess is that Power Tracs are just so great that no one is selling theirs!


HAhahahahaaa!!! OK, that's too funny, I just couldn't resist.
Ventrac and Steiner have been in the turf equipment business for quite a long time. They have dealers nationwide. There's 10 Steiner dealers within a hundred miles of me, and they've been around since the 70s. And, if you didn't already know, Ventrac was originally Steiner. They were the same family. Some sort of family rift, business decision or other event led to the split of the company. There are fewer Ventrac dealers near me, only three and all over a hundred miles.

Anyhow, Power Trac only sells factory direct. No dealer network. There just aren't many Power Trac machine out there to be sold, and, all joking aside, not many people sell them once they have them. They are fairly easy for someone with basic mechanical skills to maintain and modify and they are a love 'em/hate 'em kind of machine. But I still get a stupid smile every time I hop on mine.

Plus, they are a heck of a lot cheaper to buy than a similarly equipped articulated machine. The Ventracs/Steiners don't come standard with FEL arms. You can get loaders for them, but they are $$$$ extra. If you buy a Power Trac and know what you want and order all of your stuff at one time, the shipping is not so bad. However, if you only want one implement, you may pay almost as much for shipping unless you know someone that's going that way with a truck or trailer.

In the end, its probably just a matter of volume sales as to why you don't see any Power Trac stuff for sale compared to Ventrac and Steiner.

As for ability to do a job, the Ventrac and Steiner are better mowers than Power Tracs. But John Deere tractors are better at plowing dirt. And Boeing makes better airplanes. Its kind of hard to compare them apples to apples. You can buy better specialty machines for every task that a Power Trac does, but you'd have to buy a dedicated mower, a dedicated front end loader, a dedicated snow plow, a dedicated brush cutting machine, a dedicated tilling machine, a dedicated excavator, etc... VS the Power Trac can do most of those jobs well enough to satisfy a home or estate owner, or a business owner with multiple needs and you only have one machine to maintain VS all those specialty machines. That's why I bought mine. It does everything I need it to do to a level of satisfaction that I am quite happy with.

Hope that helps.

 

[joshlee]

Yeah, that sure did help, thanks. The 430max of mine is nice for allot of things (plowing snow/mowing grass especially), as it sounds like you already know there is definitely allot of restriction on the height lift. Like you said, the PT already comes with the front end loader. Also, even if I were to buy the loader attachment, they are so heavy and only lift a couple hundred of pounds.
Since we are talking about Steiner and Power Trac, the pivot pins on the PT lift are bolts with with a nylon lock nut, am I right? My Steiner has pins with no grease fittings or anything to stop the pins from rolling inside the mount holes. Therefore, obviously likely to wear the holes lose. Do the pins/bolts on your machine move at all when lifting a heavy load? If I remember right there are grease fittings on the PT 1430, but not the PT 425?

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. Just bolts through sleeves through (can't remember the name) round joints. I spray them with lube every 8 hrs. 13 years. no signs of wear yet.

 

[joshlee]

The 13 years sure did put it to the test, and I'll definitely keep that in mind with pivot points from now on. Thanks

Yep. Just bolts through sleeves through (can't remember the name) round joints. I spray them with lube every 8 hrs. 13 years. no signs of wear yet.