Power Trac PT425

[RobS]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Great picture David, fine looking family you've got there. I take it that's 23 in the background? You should take up mint farming like all your neighbors down that way /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Yep. That's 23. I like it now that they put up the gardrail. It keeps people from falling into our field, dumping trash along the roadside and accessing our property off of the old railroad grade.

 

[kcook]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Wow those are tall weeds, are you going to post them on your site?

KCook

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

David
I've been following your 425 posts for a while and I think I'm convinced that I want a Power Trac instead of a conventional tractor like a BX. Our new house will be finished by the end of the month, and hopefully soon after, I'll be in the market to buy. (Although when we added up all the little "won't cost much" extras on our house, it was quite a $$ shock, so I approach the wife with caution when discussing equipment purchases at this point). I had a few questions about the 400s that I hope you won't mind answering when you get a chance.

- In your review on your web page you mention that the joystick is a little touchy. I also noticed in the Power Trac video that it looked that way as well. Any comments on this now that you've used it more? Did you ask the Power Trac folks about it?
- Is there really a need for two different buckets? I'll probably only be moving mulch and dry dirt so I'm thinking all I really need is the larger bucket and maybe the box blade.
- How do you set the cutting height on the finish mower, and does it float? Our new yard is an old field that has been farmed the same direction for a long time so it has lots of ridges. I don't want the mower deck lifting up every time the front wheels roll over a rise.
- You also mentioned in your review that the space around some of the filters looked a little tight. Have you had the chance to change them yet?
- Finally, I noticed on the Power Trac web site that they lowered the price of the 422. If you add the canopy to the 422 it's still $1000 less than the 425. I'm wondering if a 25 hp Kohler really worth a thousand bucks more that a 22hp Robin?

The primary use will be mowing and landscaping. Will also use it to clear the occasional snow we have here in Southern MD, and I may eventually want the brush mower to clear some of the underbrush in our wooded areas. I've really enjoyed all the Power Tracs posts and have been dreaming up my own set of mods while thinking about working on the new lot.

Regards,
Scott F.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Yes, I will eventually post them there as well. However, we all know the quickest way to the masses is right here at TBN /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[PTRich]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Scott F.

I hope you don't mind me putting in my two cent's. I've had my pt425 for over a year now. I have been very happy with it. Yes the hydralics are very quick, they are also very percise, once you get used to them they make for very quick work. I have a small bucket with teeth. I like this bucket because I do a lot of digging. The smaller bucket is great for digging. The teeth are excellent for a couple of reasons. You can pick up very large logs with them, much heavier than the advertised lifting capacity of the machine. If you have material on your lawn or driveway you need to pick up you can use the teeth to keep the bucket just of the grass or gravel without doing any damage.
I have driven my PT425 places where you wouldnt think of driveing a regular compact. I drive straight into my drainage trench to clear it out. I dropped two large red oaks on a pile of stumps and brush from clearing my back lot last year, I drive my tractor (carefully) on the pile and pick up logs and back off the pile. Because all four tires are wide and the tractor turns so well this is relatively easy. When I fall into a hall I just turn the machine all the way in one direction and drive out.
I have had such big logs on the bucket that the rear tires where 2 feet in the air, the machine still felt secure. I realy think you would have a hard time tipping this machine over but I bought the pt425 because of the roll cage, and the Kohler has a good track record around here. The rain cover is amazing, it is large and plate steel. I mounted two lights on the top and have mowed our medow in the dark with pouring rain, you stay almost completly dry and visiblity is great, because the mower is in front of you the grass is not pushed down by the tractor before it is cut.
The front mower does float on it's own 4 wheels. My lawn is also very uneven in places and this is a nice feature. The brush hog also floats. I don't know if MossRoad has much experience with the small bucket yet but it is pretty neat, because it is very deep and the top is open quite a bit you can put almost double the capacity of the bucket in the bucket, like an overloaded pickup.
Money is tight right now But I hope to get the stump cutter and brush hog this spring. I also would like to get the power rake and grapple bucket the following year.

Good Luck PTRich

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

I think PTRich said it pretty well.

I only have about 14 hours on it so far. About 2 hours of small tooth bucket loader work, 2 hours of brush hogging, 6 hours of snow plowing, 15 minutes of awsome forklift time and the rest is goofing around time and warm ups on really cold days. I still occasionally move the joystick in the wrong direction, but it is becoming second nature as I spend more time on it.

I have only used the small bucket with teeth so far. It digs into the sod very well, even with the turf tires(did you see the videos on my web site?). The large bucket hold twice as much, and I plan on using that for moving mulch, compost and other light materials if we ever move out to our property(probably in a few years). If I ever had to do a larger excavation, I would probably use the small bucket to tear everything up and stockpile it to the side, then switch to the large bucket to haul it away. It only takes 20 seconds to change buckets (did you see the video on my website?). I am also thinking of fabricating a graple for the smaller bucket for grabbing branches and other large awkward items.

I haven't used the finish mower yet, but to adjust the cutting height, you pull a lynch pin and change some spacers on the front wheel support. I'll try to take some pictures in the next few weeks, as the finish mower is burried in the garage right now. I've seen more conveneint methods for changing mowing heights, but really, how often do you change mowing height? I haven't changed it on my Simplicity for 6 years! And it does float. Since it is attached to the loader arms by the quick attach, all you have to do is put the joystick in the float position and off you go. Another owner that I talked to said that sometimes it does not float up fast enough when approaching very steep hills, so all he does is bump the loader arms up a little until he starts up the hill, then puts it back in the float position.

The picture of the trail that the brush hog cut is going with the grain in an old field. When I went across the grain, the brush hog just went up and over the ridges with ease. Its height is controlled the exact same way as the finish mower, so I don't think it would be a problem, although I would have the lot leveled by a pro with the proper equipment. It would be worth it in the long run.

I have not had to change the filters yet, and I keep eying them up and awaiting that day. I'll be sure to post my opinion as soon as it happens. Other owners say it is not that bad, so I'll defer to them for now.

As far as the price per horse power ratio, here is a link to a much earlier thread where I did a the math <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=other&Number=95809&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=pt425%20pt422&Match=And&Searchpage=0&Limit=50&Old=allposts&Main=91187> how much bang for your buck </A> These were based on the prices that I had at the time.

Hope this answers some questions. Feel free to ask more as you think of them.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Rich,
Thanks, I'll take all the two cents I can get. I was thinking about teeth on the bucket, but from looking at the price sheet, it seems they only offer the tooth bar for the 45" bucket. Decisions. Decision.

Do you have the 48" or 60" mower? I'll only be mowing lawn height grass with it so I assume it'll drive the larger deck without too much effort.

Scott

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

Thanks David. Yes, I did see the videos on your site. You're right about setting the mower height. Mine stays at 3.5" all the time. I will most likely have the lot leveled eventually, but I'll probably wait until the fall for more optimum grass seeding (maybe by then I'll be able to get a tiller attachment and do it myself /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif). I wish PT made a landscape rake attachment. I was also thinking about the spring tine rake for dethatching, but I guess I ought to worry about getting some grass to grow first.

Scott

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 4\' Brush Hog Works Great

I've never had to dethatch my lawn. I try to cut it often, and never pick up the clippings. This way, they are small enough to decompose. Of course, my lawn doesn't look like a nice estate either /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. I just like to keep it green and a uniform height in front of the house and where people notice it. Fortunately, most of my lawn is on the side away from people traffic. I don't have to water it or use weed killer or fertilizer on it over there either. I only maintain about 5000 sq. ft. for looks.

I would imagine that you could adapt a 3pt rake with a quick connect plate. You would have to drive backwards, maybe? Don't some of the rakes reverse like a rear blade? You could attempt to push the rake instead. This would still gather all of the debris, you would just get tire tracks in your wake. After all of the debris was gathered, you could rotate the rake and drag it for the final passes.

Might be worth looking into.