OK, here goes, new guy with long question.

[MuncyBob]

I'm guessing your patience will start to wear thin as warmer weather arrives and the number of projects increases! I wish I would have known about the PT years before i bought it...but hey, it was good exercise!

 

[jbman]

You sure have that right. Even now, almost daily as I go around doing chores I look at things and think ... when I have that PT.. or IF I had that PT.... Other times I think I am just being a little rediculous and I can get by just fine without it. I am a bit embarrased to say I have had the PT website bookmarked for almost 2 years now. I have been reading here on and off for months. I need to pull the trigger already.

I'm guessing your patience will start to wear thin as warmer weather arrives and the number of projects increases! I wish I would have known about the PT years before i bought it...but hey, it was good exercise!

 

[KentT]

While I would like to seem like I am wise and patient, my patience has more to do with being a tightwad at this point in my life than any real wisdom. But I sure do appreciate the thought.

At least you have no preconceptions about tractors that prevent you from giving the PT an objective evaluation. For example, I went the traditional SCUT route before I found out it didn't work for me at all.

I bought a used 2000-model PT-425 instead, which uses the same wheel motors the PT-422 uses now. Now, I'm finding those wheel motors do not have the torque I need to work where I want to work...

I'm saying all that to point out that you should look closely at your needs and intended uses, before you forego the new PT-425 with its higher torque wheel motors, in lieu of the PT-422....

Some of your defined tasks were: Pushing, Pulling and Dragging

The torque of the wheel motors directly impacts your ability to do any one of those three tasks. These are not tasks that the PT is good at, to begin with, in comparison to a traditional CUT or SCUT. A PT is a quick, maneuverable tool-carrier. It lifts and carries things quickly, and with agility. It doesn't pull, push or drag anything particularly well...

 

[jbman]

KentT - until you actually came out and made those statements about the abiltiy of the PT to push/pull, I don't think I was paying much attention to that. I appreciate your frank comment. I do think that that the power for pushing/pulling is important to me. Of course what I consider a fairly powerful pulling machine may be different from those of you used to tractors etc. This does definately give something to look at closely when I go up for a demo. Thanks again. - Jim

 

[pajoube]

As has already been said I would go with the 425. I have only a little over an acre but keep the 425 more than busy. I have put just under 600 hours in 3 years so you can see the amount of land you have really does not matter as much as the projects you have planned.
If you have not already done so look at my post "why I bought a 425" and also click on Mossroads video shots. Will give you some ideas of what this machine can do.
Nothing wrong with a 422 and the thought of additonal attachments for the extra 425 money comes into play. I bought additional attachments a year after the tractor purchase so that I could see what was really needed. With your being so close to tazewell a drive down there will save you the shipping costs.
Good luck in the decision making process. half the fun is in the research.
PJ

 

[jbman]

Pajoube, funny you should mention your 'why I bought a 425' - that's the final thread I went through before deciding it was time to get off my bum and finally post to this group!. Now I gotta tell ya, I don't have anything quite that heavy duty planned, but it was interesting to go through all your pics and descriptions to see what all can be done with the 425. Thanks for taking the time to post all of that. Also enjoyed Mossroad's video postings. Those are the kind of thing that have convinced me a PT is what I want. Thanks - Jim

 

[MossRoad]

KentT - until you actually came out and made those statements about the abiltiy of the PT to push/pull, I don't think I was paying much attention to that. I appreciate your frank comment. I do think that that the power for pushing/pulling is important to me. Of course what I consider a fairly powerful pulling machine may be different from those of you used to tractors etc. This does definately give something to look at closely when I go up for a demo. Thanks again. - Jim

I'd have to agree with KentT. The PT is fast and nimble, but lacks brute force to the wheels. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes it a tool that excels at some tasks compared to a CUT and is lacking in some tasks when compared to a CUT. For example: in a pulling contest a standard CUT of similar size and weight will win due to the gearing. But the PT will run circles around it in tasks like moving mulch, gravel, post hole digging, plowing snow, etc... The CUT will excel at jobs like pulling heavy manure spreaders, or ground engaging tasks like plowing dirt and forcing a toothbar into rock hard ground and stump pulling. A PT with a mini hoe will excell at digging small holes quickly.

The real, true beauty of the PT is the ability to toss attachments off and on at a moments notice. It is nothing to switch attachments 10, 15 or even 20 times a day. CUT owners with 3pt hitches dread changing implements and would definately not change them several times a day, despite what you may hear. You can mow your lawn, move yards of dirt, transplant some roses, till the garden, lift a pallet out of your truck, dig some post holes, mix some concrete, trench some water lines, brush hog your trails, etc... all in one day with one machine with little to no advanced planning required whereas a CUT owner with a 3pt hitch will have to plan his or her chores in accordance with what implement they currently have on the tractor and do they really feel like wrestling with another implement today? Having owned both types of machines, I can honestly say that there is no way in heck and just about not enough $$ on earth to get me to EVER go back to a machine with a 3pt hitch again!

With that said, you really have to decide what tasks you want to accomplish. You need to consider jobs today, tomorrow, next year, two years, five years and lifetime. For instance, we needed to cut in a road and do some heavy excavating, plus once or twice a year field mowing. We bought a very large, old, used, beat up IH tractor loader with the intention of cutting in the road, relocating the spoils, contouring the area around our future barn and mowing the field and tree seedling rows twice a year. Our plan was to get rid of it and step down in size to a maintenance type machine when those large tasks were completed. We did just that. Or future plans for our tractor are mowing, trail maintenance, landscaping, snow plowing and small scale forestry work like hauling logs out of the woods for firewood for the family. The PT425 fits those tasks perfectly.

If my plans included dirt plowing large areas, a different machine would have been a better choice. While a tiller on the PT425 would be great for gardens and such, I don't think it would be good for food plots, or crops.

So, really take your time, decide what you want to accomplish, and buy a machine that fits your monetary budget and your time budget.

 

[jbman]

Oh excellent write up MossRoad. I'd have to say the sentence that hit the nail on the head was " Or future plans for our tractor are mowing, trail maintenance, landscaping, snow plowing and small scale forestry work like hauling logs out of the woods for firewood for the family. The PT425 fits those tasks perfectly. " Bingo. That's pretty much exactly the kind of thing I am looking for it to do. Plus, I am really, really tired of trying to dig holes here with a shovel. Talk about a lesson in futilty. I want that mini-hoe.

Your post was a great description of capabilities. I am sure there is no perfect tractor for every task, just as there is no perfect all around vehicle of anykind. But, I think from what you tell me here, the PT is going to give me the highest percentage of what I need. I know just from the types of things I do everyday, that I probably wouldn't use the PT for the same task 2 days in a row. So the ease of implement change would seem to be a major item of importance. At this point it still looks like I'll have to take a very close look at the 422 and 425 and see a demonstration of their power difference to make that final decision.

Even though I have been reading here for a while and have learned a bit, these posts that are specific to me are a great help. I have learned things I never considered very carefully. I very much appreciate the time you are all taking to help out someone you don't know at all. My sincere appreciation to you all.

Jim

 

[BobRip]

jbman, Power Trac will let you test drove both machines and play around with a pile of gravel. Use a bucket to push into the pile with each machine. Climb the piles if they are not too steep and see how it works. I think this will help. Drive both machines long enough to heat up the tranmission so the oil thins out. You could let one warm up while driving the other.

By the way, the 4 in1 bucket allows you to fill it going backwards and forwards. They way you never have to load it going up hill. Worst case is flat. I find this a good work around, actually for any machine.

May the Force (of gravity) be with you.

 

[jbman]

Thanks for the tip BobRip - not being familiar with tractors, it naturally follows I won't really know how to test a tractor. You are now the second person that mentioned the temp of the oil having an effect on performance. I am off to scan the site here to learn more about that. Thanks once again - Jim