Ordered a new 425 last week

Highridge · Dec 15, 2006

Cool! I want another PT now!

J_J · Dec 15, 2006

I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

BobRip · Dec 15, 2006

J_J said:
I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

I would not be surprised if they upgraded the wheel motor pump as well. You would think a few hundred would cover all of this. Of course there may be some engineering cost to this. Maybe the next ones will be cheaper. I am really looking forward to see how this works. My biggest concern is if the PT is now wider than the attachments. Everybody should call PT and see when this will be available as a standard model. Maybe it is already. Let's give it a month and see how JD really likes it.

Bob999 · Dec 15, 2006

J_J said:
I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

JJ. There is not necessarily a direct relationship between cost and price. In this case the buyer was willing to pay a price that was up by 25 % and none of us really know what the cost to do it was.

I suspect that there may have been somewhat more involved than some are speculating. For example, it appears to me from the picture that there are case drain connections on the front wheel motors that I don't believe are installed on the standard 425.

BobRip · Dec 15, 2006

Bob999 said:
JJ. There is not necessarily a direct relationship between cost and price. In this case the buyer was willing to pay a price that was up by 25 % and none of us really know what the cost to do it was.

I suspect that there may have been somewhat more involved than some are speculating. For example, it appears to me from the picture that there are case drain connections on the front wheel motors that I don't believe are installed on the standard 425.

Bob999, you are basically right, but there is another perspective. The price different between the PT 180, 422, and 425 is around $2000 to 2500 (I believe). PT figures if they add another one, the should charge about the same difference. Judging from the response here they seem to have struck a note that rings with demand for a different product. I have been hoping for a product that will work with my existing 422 attachments and yet is a little more powerful than the 425 or maybe the 425 is enough. This is probably my last tractor purchase (or at least last one for 10 more years) so I had better get it right. Large wheels for the swamp and soft surface, more torque to get push dirt better appeal to me. Interesting discussion. Somebody should call PT next week and get their view. They may never make another PT425 with wide tires, or they may start a new series after they see how much this one is liked. Sorry for the long thread.

JD-Beach · Dec 15, 2006

Concerning the 25% price increase, ... I'm sure that PT's cost for the upgrade was somewhat less. Sometimes one has to "throw money" at a company to nudge them off of their path of comfort. The do-it-yourselfers could probably do this for less money. Terry explained that the wheel motor mounting plates had to be changed and the muffler had to be modified to clear the larger tires. I'm not sure about all the hydraulic issues. PT did a nice job of modifying the owner's manual (with a ball point pen), updating the booklet with the proper part numbers, and I'm thankful to them for the extra effort. To the best of my knowledge there were no pump changes.

2deeskip, thanks for the compliments on the photograghy. ... taken with a digital canon rebel XTi, ... another hobby. One day I'll show you guys a picture of a whale that I took breaching right here at the beach ... within 10' of a kayaker ... it made the front page of the local newspaper. I emailed a few hi-res photos out to Kristie for PT's use. (by the way ... Go Steelers!)

Bobrip, yes, I think this would do well in the swamp. ....My advice, ... don't wait 10 years or to 2010, ... life is short, stretch and reach. Call PT and get one ordered. ... and you're an EE too, ... a VT grad? ( I'm a Penn-Stater)

I wonder if PT would consider installing on of the new Kohler 30 HP liquid-cooled engines?

Perhaps one should simply consider the installation of larger tires without the wheel motor change-out?

Tomorrow my friend and I will be installing a sand fence at the beach. ... using the post-hole auger. (a sand fence at the beach is a "snow-fence" for you northern types.) I'll measure the overall width of the tires and compare that to the bucket width. Also, my friend with the Kubota 2320 will be there with his new toy. ... we'll have some fun.

BobRip · Dec 15, 2006

JD, lots of pictures please.

MuncyBob · Dec 16, 2006

Yes, lots of pictures...esp with a nice camera as that!!

and

WE ARRRRRRRRRRRRR PENN STATE!

kmaz · Dec 16, 2006

Hey jd-beach, congrats ont the purchase!! I too just received my 425, love it. Even better than I expected. My brother is an equipment operator and despite its limitations he was equally impressed.The hoe and the 4 n 1 bucket are nothing short of amazing. he said the bucket was built stouter than the one on their cat skid steer. Regarding the padding of the hose openings, it looks to me like yours has been done at the factory, at least in the front where they enter the tunnel. Is this correct?

Kris

JD-Beach · Dec 16, 2006

Whew, what a great day on the beach. ... 60 degrees, sunny, no breeze and a full tank of fuel. The post-hole auger worked extremely well, cut our sand fence down from a case to a six-pack! ... (In all seriousness, I refrained until the job was just about finished in order to keep from tearing up the house, the deck or the machine!)

Kmaz, the padding at the hose openings ... yes factory job.

Farmall, got some good pictures, ... and ... yeah, WE ARE!

BobRip, on the width of the tires relative to the buckets. The outside dimension of the tires is 49.75 inches, the large bucket is 48.5 inches wide and the small bucket is 45.25 inches wide. ... so, yes, the tires are a bit wider than the buckets. ... I cut a path thru a pile of sand today and the tire width did not create a problem. The tires gripped very well in the sand and kept me on top of the sand at all times.

I love this machine. A few comments, ... that throttle needs to be reversed. ... and the small bucket does not drop far enough to empty it completely when full of sand. ... and .... The mini-hoe is going to take some practice.