Power Trac

bubenberg · May 1, 2002

Charlie,

this guy needs help and i think we should help him, would you and MossRoad take the lead, if you guys think it could be mutaully beneficial. here is what he wants on lawnsite:

Okay, TURF will pay $
It's Jim Kendrick, publisher of TURF Magazine.

I received a bunch of great responses to the post (above) which Chuck has been gracious enough to keep at the top of this page.

Problem: we're still not getting enough equipment lined up from manufacturers to do a steady "field test" thing going in the magazine.

My new pitch: Please ... consider a piece of equipment (or more than one) that you or your crew uses frequently. Write me a few paragraphs about how good it is .. or what flaws it has -- what you would suggest to the manufacturer as improvements.

Next? Get me a photo of the gear or your truck, your dog ... whatever. We want to -- immediately -- start a new column in TURF called (you'll hate this) "Talkin' 'bout MY gear".

For everyone used, I'll pay $50 -- which you can do in less time than a mow. If you can, e-mail it to me at jkendrick@turfmagazine.com or send to TURF, 374 Emerson Falls Road, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 att: Jim

This will probably kick the manufactures into motion too ... so I can get you folks some new toys to play with.

Thanks!

Charlie_Iliff · May 2, 2002

Re: Turf Magazine and Power Trac

Hans:
Of the Power Trac users on the TBN board, I am afraid that you are the only one really positioned to do the type evaluation that Turf is looking for, since I think you are the only professional. I know from looking at Lawnsite periodically that there seems a real division between those who primarily mow grass, and those who do landscape construction, although a few do both. There is still another division between that and the maintenance and light agricultural work that I do, and once again to the clearing and dirt work that Mark Chalkley does. I think that the magazine wants comparisons useful to the mowing and landscaping professionals, for instance comparison of the PT 425 system to the Dingo for overall utility, or to a dedicated front mower or ZTR for cut quality, etc.
Although it would certainly be time consuming, I'd suggest that Jim Kendrick spend time reading the posts here, and then direct any quesitions he wishes, including asking if he can quote any posts in his magazine. There probably is a lot of information that would be useful to him, not only about Power Trac.

bubenberg · May 2, 2002

Re: Turf Magazine and Power Trac

thanks charlie,
i will contact jim and tell him of our existence, just maybe we will get some more coverage, the power trac users on lawnsite are not very forthcoming.

MossRoad · May 2, 2002

I agree with Charlie. You seem to be the only one using the PT in commercial use. You really seem to have a great grasp of the mchine's uses and how they relate to money in a business. You also have way more experience with other types of equipment than I. However, if he ever wants an objective review from a homeowner, not a professional, I'd be glad to give it.

bubenberg · May 2, 2002

MossRoad, thanks for the comeback, with your permission and your statement of availability as a super pt home owner and test pilot, i would like to forward your corr. to jim.

thanks again

MossRoad · May 3, 2002

That would be fine with me.

bubenberg · May 3, 2002

great, thank you for the permission. hope something good will happen out of all of this.

hans

ohiolawnguy · May 3, 2002

hey this is my firt visit here, thanks for making me aware of this place hans.

we bought our pt 425 in 1999, and use it constantly. we are in the lawn care/landscaping business, and decided to purchase the power-trac after checking out many other types of machines

By the way hans, i will be sending my evaluation of the Pt-425 to jim kendrick sometime this weekend. i wanted to do it sooner, bt with working almost 70 hours a week, not much time has been left for busy work.

my only real complaint that i can make about the pt-425 is the time it takes to properly service this machine. heck, we weren't even aware of the grease fittings underneath the plate under the steering for almost a year.

i have been to the power-trac facility twice now, and power-trac does seem to be well organized, and here to stay.

bubenberg · May 4, 2002

kevin welcome aboard,
mohammed, chalie, mossroad, how many are we now .... enough to start at least an articulated tractor forum?

kevin i think i am still missing one grease point underneath in that front part. the one grease point that i had to take that plate off each time, we just modified this week by cutting into both plates were they join and permanently screwed in a grease fitting. i know i will pay for this lazyness... or my knuckles of either hand will get it when operating the grappler bucket in a hurry.

the next rainy weekend look up as many posts related to our business and our favored pt ... make comments when and where ever appropriate. we can all learn from each other.

thanks again for joining us here .... a bunch of hard working, at times very opinionated (like me), knowledgeable people, almost as brand loyal as the site we first met.

hans

MossRoad · May 5, 2002

Hey, welcome aboard!

I've started to keep the right sized wrench next to my grease gun and spray lube can. It takes me about 20 minutes to half an hour to service the machine every 8 hours.

I've put in a greas fitting in the bolt that is under the plate that is between the operator's legs. It works well. I'll take a picture of it when I get a chance.

I was thinking of putting extensions of the three grease zerks under the left side plate right out to the plate, but you still have to remove the plate to grease the ball joints in the linkages, so it is not worth it. Maybe some slotted zuess?? fasteners would work instead of the threaded bolts. I'll research that to and post in the appropriate thread.