Mowing Power Trac Mowing Performance

[MossRoad]

That is a beautiful picture!

<font color=blue>I've used a tool that measures degrees. It can be used to truss angles i believe. Anyway ... i mounted to the tractor and it read 20 degrees</font color=blue>

Is that the steepest part? Looks like very thick, healthy turf. Glad you figured a way to get around it for now. It helps all of us out.

 

[PTRich]

Reds:
There should not be any down pressure from the arms, call power trac and tell them you have down pressure when you are in float. Love the driveway, I have a long one and plan to put grass on both sides like yours but I need material so it is on hold.
PTRich

 

[Reds]

Thanks MR ... the grass is pretty nice out front and pretty horrible out back.

Heres the picture i was trying to post earlier. It shows the angle better.

I think there are a couple places on this hill that are steeper ... if you go by feeling. Especially down in the drainage ditch. The protractor read between 20-22 degrees. So based upon your earlier comments ... that a 40 percent grade??

I can't take credit for the work around ... it was someone from TBN that suggested raising the deck. I believe it is i that should thank you guys for taking the time to think about my problems and answer my questions. So ... thank you everyone!!!

 

[Reds]

Thanks PTRich.

Is there a break in period with these tractors where maybe the hydrolics should loosin up over a period of time?

Does anyone think that the problem is the grade of the hill or is the tractor designed to handle this stuff? I haven't noticed down pressure on flat ground just on the slope I'll have to pay more attention next time.

 

[marrt]

Reds, I visited the PT factory this week (more on that later). While talking to the PT folks, I asked about your problem. As I began to describe the problem, the person I was speaking with finished my sentence with “and the front tire on the upper side will begin to spin.” Seems PT is well aware of this behavior and it is considered normal. I was told that when it occurs, one should simply “bump” the hydraulics to apply lift pressure on the deck, which puts more weight on the front tire to get traction again (as described previously in this thread). Once one is past the area causing the problem, simply put the lift back into float position and keep trucking.

Anyway, the key take-away from my perspective is that this behavior is normal and is a known side effect of the PT design. While somewhat annoying, this behavior is offset by all the other positives of the PT design.

 

[bryce]

STEEP!!! Hang a plumb bob from the ROPS and measure it on the flat and on the grade. This will give a very close slope measurement. Do you have a PT425? Why did you get the 48" mower as opposed to the 60" mower? How does the speed compare with a regular garden tractor? Does the PT bounce a lot when going fast on ground that has little bumps, like a lawn? When off the lawn and onto dirt, how much does it bounce? Does yours have enough power to mow tall grass, or does it bog down? How tall is the machine? Rober6t

 

[Reds]

Thanks marrt. Its interesting that when you talked to them this was considered normal behavior, but when i talked to them earlier they acted somewhat surprised that the wheel would lift off of the ground. What you describe is exactly the solution to the problem that i have come to ... with the help of others. It still seems to me that more weight in the front end of this machine would solve this minor problem. And yes while annoying, the added abilities of this machine over my garden tractor definitely "outweigh" this annoyance.

 

[Reds]

I used a protractor attached to my PT422 with the 60" mowing deck and the slope measured 20 degrees. Which, if i understand previous posts here, means a 40 percent grade. I never had any problems with my GT when cutting this hill. Now this was my first tractor/hill cutting experience, so this is all i have to compare with. My previous tractor was a 25hp Simplicity Legacy with a 60" deck and as far as quality of cut, riding comfort, power while cutting tall grass, there is no comparison. Cutting grass is what this machine was designed for and it wins hands down ... imho. Speed for the two is the same at 8mph, the PT422 is definitely noisier engine wise and mowerdeck wise. The Legacy deck was suspended from the frame while the PT deck rides on the ground. The Legacy cutting radius was much tighter than the PT422. Both tractors have enough bounce to them that when moving fast across bumpy ground you'll slow down. The PT is different beacuse the front moves independently of the rear which you will feel on bumpy ground.
On the other hand the PT422 makes an ok Simplicity Legacy. The Simplicity Legacy would make a very poor PT422.

 

[MossRoad]

The Simplicities have a great cut, don't they. Nice striping pattern like a ball park.

 

[Reds]

Yes they do. My neighbor, who upon seeing the PT for the first time gave me the ugliest tractor award, doesn't think i'll be happy without the stripes.

I was very happy when i moved a weeks worth of mulch in a few hours, when i planted three trees in a couple hours ... without swinging a pick.