Power Trac PT425

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Long Day of Fun

I went out to the little league park today to help with park clean up. Last fall, someone brought out a sod cutter and they cut up about a hundred big rolls of thick sod where the infield meets the grass. Then they threw their backs out trying to lift them into their truck(no laughing matter, the guy ended up having back surgery, ouch). Well, the sod rolls sat there all winter and actually grew back into the soil.

The small bucket with teeth made quick work of them. I scooped up two at a time and hauled them out past the center field fence and made a rather large pile about 10 feet square and 4 feet high. Took about an hour and a half and 50 trips back and forth. Worked great and didn't tear up any turf.

Came home and started clearing out behind my garage where I had my old 3pt stuff stored along with other stuff. Lots of soil, weeds and junk to move. Took out everything with the small tooth bucket down about 4 inches deep in a 10x24' area to replace with crushed limestone. Took about another hour and a half. Used the large bucket for the first time. Worked great for final leveling and back grading with the wide front edge.

Performed the 16 hour maintenance of cleaning and lube.

Got to play with fire and a hammer too(see post on bent forks).

However, the best part of the day was watching my 9 year old daughter pass her Orange Belt test for Karate.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac Dreaming

<font color=red>I might consider getting really meaty tires and an extra set of rims for working in the woods. </font color=red>
The same thought occurred to me for the 1845 this morning, as I tested the limits of the turf tire traction on a steep, damp, leaf covered hill. I was pulling out old fence posts with a cable noose hooked to my hook em up plate.
I also am a bit concerned about puncture resistance with the turfs in rough going.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

When I was at Power Trac, Terry Estep had in a set of grapple hooks from a 425 to be straightened. Apparently the owner had kept the pressure on when grappiing a log, and the hydraulics overpowered the grapple.
At some point did you roll the forks forward with the weight on them? I'd bet you needed the PT weight, plus the weight of the mower, along with some hydraulic help to bend the fork.
Glad to hear it straightened easily.

 

[marrt]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Well, here I was, ready to buy a BX2200, when I stumbled across this thread today. Read the whole thing. Very interesting. I have a few questions to those with PT425 experience:

- What about wheel spin? When the wheels spin, does just one wheel spin, one in front and one in back, or all four? Even if one or more wheels are spinning, is there still power going to the other wheels?
- Does PT offer Ag tires? If so, wouldn’t it be possible to use Ag tires for lawn mowing since the tractor’s articulation would keep the tires from damaging the lawn?
- How does the tractor ride over rough terrain? I have some rough areas to mow and am afraid the relatively small tires would mean that I would have to go very slow (this has obviously been a big concern with the BX as well).
- Can you put bigger tires on the PT425? Since all four tires are the same size, couldn’t you just get bigger tires to improve the ride?
- Do you keep both your feet on the pedals at all time? In other words, does the pedal pivot in the center?

Sorry for all the questions, but all the posts have really peaked my interest in this tractor. TX.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Marrt:
Mine is an 1845, which is bigger than the 425, but essentially identical configuration. Some of my experience translates, however.
-When a wheel spins, the other three all still pull. Each has a separate hydraulic motor.
-There are tire choices at PT, but what I saw at the factory mostly were turfs or R4, not full ags. I can't think of any reason why you couldn't put them on, however.
-My 1845 is good on rough terrain, despite smaller tires that conventional tractors. The machine not only articulates, but also twists, so the wheels are independent and don't transmit as much to the rest of the machine as a rigid tractor.
-I assume you could put bigger tires on, but one of the best PT charateristics is its slope capability, which would be reduced.
-The pedals are on a single pivoting bar, spring loaded to center. You only have to have the foot on the pedal you are pressing, but mine is comfortable with both feet on the pedals.
I am sure that the 422 and 425 owners will supplement with their experiences.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

The PT425 with turfs does tend to spin one wheel occasionally when I am doing heavy loader work, like pushing into tough turf with too big of a bite and too much foot on the forward pedal. As Power Trac recommends, let off of the pedal to get more power to the wheels. The foot pedal is for all practical purposes a shifter with an infinite selection of gears, not an accellerator pedal. If letting off the pedal doesn't stop the wheel spin, I'll bump the joystick to take a less agressive bite.

I chose turf tires because my main use will be for mowing my lawn(although I have yet to use my finish mower). While the articulation would prevent the AG tires from scuffing the turf, I don't have any experieince with the tread marks that they might leave. Maybe someone else does.

It rides great over rough terrain. I brush hogged some trails on my property that run across crop rows from an old corn feild. It was fine. My pickup truck has a worse ride /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif.

Bigger tires would change the center of gravity. It would also reduce the depth that you could dig as the loader only goes so far below the plane that the tractor rides on.

The pedal does pivot under the center console. If you push the right pedal down, the left pedal comes up and vice versa. One thing that I did notice is that the right pedal is farther away form the pivot point than the left pedal, which translates into easier pushing for the forward direction. I've attached a picture of the pedal arrangement.

As for being sorry for asking questions, don't be /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. How else are you going to find out?

I also considered the BX2200. It is a fine machine as well. I just decided that the PT425 was the right machine for my needs. Good luck with your hunt for the right tractor.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Well, I'll try the picture again.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

I guess I should have mentioned all of the times that I have had all four tires in good traction conditions and pushed against an immovable object such as a concrete sidewalk. The engine would bog down and I would let up before it stalls. I believe tires with more agressive tread or chains on my turfs would cure any of my minor traction problems.

 

[Brent_Griffith]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

marrt,

To the best of my knowledge Power-Trac has a choice of only turf and bar tread tires for the PT-400 series.

I got the bar tread and they do not damage the grass when mowing, hauling, etc.

Brent

 

[PTRich]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

One thing you will find on this site is we all like to answer questions, so don't be bashfull!!
I have the PT425 with bar tires, these tires are very wide and do not leave an impression in the grass unless it is muddy. I have a lot of lawn.
I would not put larger tires on this machine, I think it would raise havic with the hydrlic motors (like a 10 speed bike in the wrong gear going uphill)
I only keep one foot on the pedals at a time. When I take my foot off a pedal the tractor stops, and excellent feature for a weekend warrior.
When a tire spins you will not lose force on the other tires.
Rough terrain has not been a problem yet but when you go fast you do bounce around, I will someday upgrade my seat like others on this site have.

Please ask more questions! We realy do like them.

PTRich