davesisk
Platinum Member
Hey folks:
I recently acquired a pretty nice Massey Ferguson 1220 w/FEL and only 300 hours for a great price. Just to put this in perspective, it's actually about the same length (tip of bucket to end of 3PH arms) and width as the PT1418 I recently sold to Ben, but it's much taller (top of ROPS is about 6.5') and considerably heavier (2200 lbs w/FEL versus 1200 or so of the PT). You sit up quite high on this thing...more potential pucker factor I guess. Btw, I'm really liking this 3-cylinder diesel. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Anyway, lo and behold, when I think all the landscaping work is pretty much done, my lovely wife cooks up some more things she wants done. As long as I have a machine to do it, I'm happy to oblige. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif We're now re-landscaping the side of the house, which involves ripping out more tree roots than I can believe can be packed into such a small area.
Anyway, I was quite disappointed to find that this large, relatively heavy CUT didn't seem to dig as well with the bucket as the PT did (no teeth, just a cutting edge). Why? Let's just say that articulated steering really has some benefits, one part being the ability to "wiggle" the bucket to dig or push into a pile. This CUT would spin all four wheels even with the diff lock engaged pushing against roots that really weren't very big. Huh.
So, after reading quite a few posts, I decided to order a bolt-on toothbar from www.markhamwelding.com. A 4' toothbar was $200 shipped, and I got it the day after I ordered it. Lots of large, medium, and small companies could learn a few things about customer service from these nice folks.
So, I bolted this guy on, and tried it out on this rooty area. Holy smoke. I can't believe what a difference that toothbar makes. It's like night and day...honestly. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif That is one of the best $200 I think I've ever spent. I could easily push the bucket under the roots, and rip them right out with not so much as a grunt. That toothbar cuts hard ground like butter. Remarkable.
Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is that in retrospect, I believe that if I had put one of these toothbars on my PT when I had it, it would have dug like a mole even with the large bucket (especially given it's wiggle ability via the articulated steering). In fact, it might have dug so well that I never would have needed the mini-hoe, since most of my digging wasn't very deep.
So, if you have a bucket without teeth and want to be able to dig with it pretty easily, definitely check out these bolt-on toothbars! There's a few places to buy custom-fit toothbars, but Markham seems to have the best price and the right attitude.
I have to admit this was a humbling experience. All this time, I thought that a machine's digging performance was a function of it's weight and horsepower, not something so simple as a $200 bolt-on toothbar. You learn something new everyday.
Enjoy!
Dave
I recently acquired a pretty nice Massey Ferguson 1220 w/FEL and only 300 hours for a great price. Just to put this in perspective, it's actually about the same length (tip of bucket to end of 3PH arms) and width as the PT1418 I recently sold to Ben, but it's much taller (top of ROPS is about 6.5') and considerably heavier (2200 lbs w/FEL versus 1200 or so of the PT). You sit up quite high on this thing...more potential pucker factor I guess. Btw, I'm really liking this 3-cylinder diesel. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Anyway, lo and behold, when I think all the landscaping work is pretty much done, my lovely wife cooks up some more things she wants done. As long as I have a machine to do it, I'm happy to oblige. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif We're now re-landscaping the side of the house, which involves ripping out more tree roots than I can believe can be packed into such a small area.
Anyway, I was quite disappointed to find that this large, relatively heavy CUT didn't seem to dig as well with the bucket as the PT did (no teeth, just a cutting edge). Why? Let's just say that articulated steering really has some benefits, one part being the ability to "wiggle" the bucket to dig or push into a pile. This CUT would spin all four wheels even with the diff lock engaged pushing against roots that really weren't very big. Huh.
So, after reading quite a few posts, I decided to order a bolt-on toothbar from www.markhamwelding.com. A 4' toothbar was $200 shipped, and I got it the day after I ordered it. Lots of large, medium, and small companies could learn a few things about customer service from these nice folks.
So, I bolted this guy on, and tried it out on this rooty area. Holy smoke. I can't believe what a difference that toothbar makes. It's like night and day...honestly. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif That is one of the best $200 I think I've ever spent. I could easily push the bucket under the roots, and rip them right out with not so much as a grunt. That toothbar cuts hard ground like butter. Remarkable.
Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is that in retrospect, I believe that if I had put one of these toothbars on my PT when I had it, it would have dug like a mole even with the large bucket (especially given it's wiggle ability via the articulated steering). In fact, it might have dug so well that I never would have needed the mini-hoe, since most of my digging wasn't very deep.
So, if you have a bucket without teeth and want to be able to dig with it pretty easily, definitely check out these bolt-on toothbars! There's a few places to buy custom-fit toothbars, but Markham seems to have the best price and the right attitude.
I have to admit this was a humbling experience. All this time, I thought that a machine's digging performance was a function of it's weight and horsepower, not something so simple as a $200 bolt-on toothbar. You learn something new everyday.
Enjoy!
Dave
