My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y.

[BKBrown]

Hi John,

I have had two 4231s both Gas Liquid Cooled - I had no problems with the first one and only traded it in on the 2nd one because I heard that the EPA was not going to approve the Briggs/Daihatsu engine and I wanted to have the same engine - I'm sure this one will outlast me.

Everyone who sees this tractor work is amazed what it will do ! I keep the brochures in both of my vehicles and some on the tractor to hand out.
You'll find some of my Ventrac pictures on the forum if you look.

Hope you get your Ventrac soon !

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Hi, BKB. It appears that, by and large, Ventrac purchasers are enthusiastic ambassadors for the brand. I take that to be a good sign.

Dissatisfied purchasers seem to be few and far between. From what I have read, the major trouble spot in recent years seems to have been the turbocharged Briggs/Daihatsu Diesel engine.

During my pre-purchase research, I have seen pictures of your tractors in action, e.g., in a thread about snow removal and fitting chains to your Ventrac. As I recall, you needed to fashion a half-inch or one-inch Lexan spacer for each of the front wheels to allow for adequate clearance. The use of chains has been one of the issues I have considered, due to the slope of the driveway. The consensus of the group is that chains will probably not be necessary.

Best,

JJM

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Response from Femco re Weatherbreak Enquiry

I have heard back from Femco as regards that company's weatherbreaks.

My initial enquiry was:

Hello,

I am in the process of purchasing a Ventrac Model 4500Y articulating garden tractor and attachments for dealing with snow. I wonder if one of your company's weatherbreaks would be a good physical fit.

Attached is a brochure that contains the physical dimensions of the tractor. Please see p. 2 for some of the physical dimensions.

Very truly yours,

[JJM]

The response is:

Good Afternoon,
Unfortunately I don't believe we have anything that would work with that one.
You might be able to try one of the universal weatherbrakes but I am still not sure it would work for that particular tractor.
Sorry,

[Femco Employee]

I have replied as follows:

Hello, Ms. [Employee].

Thank you for your response. Once I have the tractor in my possession,
I will take some detailed measurements to see if one of the universal
versions will fit reasonably well. If you do not mind, I may ask for
your further comments after I have taken those measurements. If there
are some key measurements that I should take, I would be grateful for
some guidance.

Very truly yours,

[JJM]

 

[BKBrown]

John,
I have used chains on all 4 wheels and the problem on the first 4231 was clearance to the frame in the rear - I did make some 1/2 lexan spacers to solve that clearance problem. We have quite a steep hill on our road that gets icy and the chains kept the tractor from sliding or spinning. The newer 4231 has more space between the tire and frame - the spacers are not necessary. I'm not sure about the 4500 spacing. I would guess that unless you have steep hills or icy conditions the chains won't be necessary. If you use the chains - I highly recommend making sure they are TIGHT with good rubber or spring tighteners. I found for me, the easiest way is to take the wheels off and let the air out of the tires - put the chains and tighteners on- and air up to proper pressure. That gets the chains tight. Taking the wheels off might not be the best for everyone, but works great for me. I use the extra set of dual wheels and tires for chains so all I need to do is change out wheels when the chains are needed.

Hi, BKB. It appears that, by and large, Ventrac purchasers are enthusiastic ambassadors for the brand. I take that to be a good sign.

Dissatisfied purchasers seem to be few and far between. From what I have read, the major trouble spot in recent years seems to have been the turbocharged Briggs/Daihatsu Diesel engine.

During my pre-purchase research, I have seen pictures of your tractors in action, e.g., in a thread about snow removal and fitting chains to your Ventrac. As I recall, you needed to fashion a half-inch or one-inch Lexan spacer for each of the front wheels to allow for adequate clearance. The use of chains has been one of the issues I have considered, due to the slope of the driveway. The consensus of the group is that chains will probably not be necessary.

Best,

JJM

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Thank you for your further comments, BKB.

If one traverses the paved driveway from the road, one must negotiate an incline, then a decline, and then a second incline. The first incline's slope is ~ 7°. The slope of the decline is similar. The slope of the second incline is ~ 14°, and it has an S-curve on it.

Last winter, one of my neighbors lost traction on the first incline (the only one with which she has to deal),. She was driving a front-wheel-drive sedan. Her car slid backwards, at an angle, off the driveway, and almost off the shoulder and down into a dell. She called a tow truck. The (large) tow truck was equipped with chains. Its wheels spun out and gouged the blacktop while it was trying to pull the car back onto the driveway, but the driver eventually succeeded.

Your suggestion to partially deflate the tires makes excellent sense.

One question I have is what it the proper procedure for putting the tractor up on jackstands? I suspect that with the oscillating and articulating frame, it might be a bit tricky. I do have four heavy-duty jackstands, two heavy-duty trolley jacks, a couple of bottle jacks and scissors jacks, and four heavy-duty ramps. It should be fairly straightforward to get the tractor up on the ramps simply by positioning the ramps properly and letting the tractor pull itself up the inclines, but that obviously does not move matters along if one wants 360° access to one or more of the tires, or if one wants to remove one or more of the tires.

 

[BKBrown]

This may not be the "recommended" method, but I use down pressure (tractor hydraulics with an implement attached) to lift the front or something solid like a cinder block under the 3-N-1 on the rear and then put the jack stands under axles. With a plow or any attachment on the tractor hydraulics will easily lift the wheels off the floor. Any good floor jack will also lift the wheels off and allow jack stands under the axles. It is best to do only front or rear and leave 2 tires on the ground. Unless you are going to use only 3 point attachments on the rear - I recommend the 3-N-1 hitch for the rear. Ventrac Three-N-One Adapter Accessories

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

The Eagle has Landed.

 

[joecoin]

You look happier than a itchy pig rubbing against a rail fence

 

[BKBrown]

GREAT John,
I have a question about the lights on the ROPS - Are they facing forward for a reason ? You have headlights and unless you are always going forward, you will want light behind you. I wish my garage was that well organized. I'm sure you will enjoy your machine ! I did not see a set of dual wheels or a mower ???
Keep us up to date and more pictures !

 

[murphy1244]

That Garage makes mine look like a junk yard. Nice collection of toys you got there.