Power-Tracs are not cheaper in my opinion

[curly]

10 years ago the maintenance deal would have prolly made a lot bigger difference...but with a forum full of people to ask about repairs...that becomes less of a deal I'd suspect. At least for the forum savy folk.

 

[SnowRidge]

Owning an 1850 I am not sure what you mean by digging shallow holes. The one I am digging to put my wifes body in (a future move, not current) is being dug by the 1850...

I was afraid this thread would turn grave, but this is ridiculous!

 

[horse7]

Owning an 1850 I am not sure what you mean by digging shallow holes. The one I am digging to put my wifes body in (a future move, not current) is being dug by the 1850...

....

One thing on all of this. A bit of a shortcoming on the PT line is how the box blade attaches. In a 3 PT system you can tilt the blade, but on the PT this is not possible. Most people want to level, but I have some ditch cleaning and some unlevel places where tilting the blade would be nice. I ended up buying a 3PT adapter and doing a quick mod on it to raise and lower one side then bought a Woods Box Blade.... Don't use it like I thought I would but glad I did it.

Carl

Did you make your own digging attachment like a minihoe, or does PT sell something-- I did not see anything in their list of attachments that did more than a narrow trench (for the 1850). I would guess what you have can go 6' down, my need would be at most 48" but I could live with just 24" deep and 12" wide.

I can't see a box blade for ditches since they don't extend to the side like a blade can. But then I don't have any ditches; the blade I have is really only for snow (box is for the dirt). Driveway is slightly elevated in the field it crosses so drainage in ditches isn't an issue.

 

[IslandTractor]

Did you make your own digging attachment like a minihoe, or does PT sell something-- I did not see anything in their list of attachments that did more than a narrow trench (for the 1850). .

I think they sell minihoes for each size PT. Look at the PT price sheets, they are usually in the second column of implements. They are not cheap and the one for the bigger machines costs about $2K but they are available from the factory.

I like the idea of the minihoe but it is hard to make a comparison to a real BH. The minihoe is definitely better for doing small chores in a garden or trenching etc but way less efficient for serious hole digging and of course they can realistically not dig beyond a few feet down.

 

[IslandTractor]

10 years ago the maintenance deal would have prolly made a lot bigger difference...but with a forum full of people to ask about repairs...that becomes less of a deal I'd suspect. At least for the forum savy folk.

If you are handy with tools and not afraid of the word hydraulic, the folks on this forum are probably better than having a dealer mechanic. Parts are more of a hassle than with a CUT but as many have pointed out, PTs don't really have many if any proprietary parts beyond the body shell and implements so any local hydraulic shop can provide common parts. Folks on TBN can point you to discount internet suppliers of the bigger things like wheel motors.

 

[woodlandfarms]

PT does have a nice hoe attachment, but Ksimolo and I ( and i blame Ken for this) went with a third party Hoe that was stiffer, a foot longer, and a bit cheaper.

Here is a link to it in use (not partuclary deep and my wifes first time using it)

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Also a pic below....

 

[woodlandfarms]

I was afraid this thread would turn grave, but this is ridiculous!

I hate to bury this thread but a sad but true story is that the local police believe that there is someone buried on our property. The previous owner was a meth dealer whom did away with his business partner.

When I bought the property the cops swung by and told us to keep an eye out when we are digging around the property.

I just hope he has some money in his wallet so I can pay for some fuel.

Carl

 

[IslandTractor]

PT does have a nice hoe attachment, but Ksimolo and I ( and i blame Ken for this) went with a third party Hoe that was stiffer, a foot longer, and a bit cheaper.

Here is a link to it in use (not partuclary deep and my wifes first time using it)

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Also a pic below....

Boy, I saw your bush hog video and that looked kinda scrary. Lifting the cutter up to eye level with nothing between you and the blades while pushing over trees/bushes seems kinda dangerous. Don't you get hit by chunks of debris? Seems there should be a heavy mesh screen of some sort between the operator and the bush hog if it is to be used in that fashion. Besides eye protection I think I'd want a solid cup protector!

Despite the disadvantage of needing to back into heavy brush with a CUT, the way the bush hog pivots on the raised 3PT it clearly serves to block any debris from coming up to the operator station.

 

[SnowRidge]

Parts are more of a hassle than with a CUT but as many have pointed out, PTs don't really have many if any proprietary parts beyond the body shell and implements so any local hydraulic shop can provide common parts. Folks on TBN can point you to discount internet suppliers of the bigger things like wheel motors.

It's not quite as rosy as all that. There are some parts that are difficult, if not impossible to find elsewhere. Mower spindles, for example.

Most important, as far as I know, nobody has been able to find an alternate source for the tram (drive) pump. If there is one, I would sure like to know what it is. The tram pump is probably the most expensive part in each machine, except for the motor.

PT's lack of a coherent change tracking system can also be a problem, even when ordering parts from the factory. PT makes running changes as they produce their products, but there seems to be no customer accessible data as to which part number fits which product/serial number combination, and I'm not sure a formal tracking system even exists at Power Trac. Ordering parts usually requires answering a series of questions like, "When did you buy it? Does it have this or that on it?" Getting the wrong part is not unheard of.

Ideally, they would affix a control number, or something similar, to each product that would be unique for that specific combination of part numbers, but that would be too 20th century.

 

[SnowRidge]

Boy, I saw your bush hog video and that looked kinda scrary. Lifting the cutter up to eye level with nothing between you and the blades while pushing over trees/bushes seems kinda dangerous. Don't you get hit by chunks of debris? Seems there should be a heavy mesh screen of some sort between the operator and the bush hog if it is to be used in that fashion. Besides eye protection I think I'd want a solid cup protector!

Despite the disadvantage of needing to back into heavy brush with a CUT, the way the bush hog pivots on the raised 3PT it clearly serves to block any debris from coming up to the operator station.

Wow, that scared me too, and I do raise mine up to cut brush, but I never do it moving.

I can't say this is true for all PT models; it may not be, but if my brush cutter is raised up and fully curled back, the debris is blocked from coming back in a manner similar to the way it is blocked when a cutter hangs off of a 3PH.

I move up to the brush I want to get rid of very carefully with the cutter raised and at full curl, then I stop and carefully lower it, still curled, into the brush. I only do this if there is some reason I can't just keep the cutter on the ground.

I think that it would be too easy to make a mistake, such as uncurling the cutter, when charging stuff like that. If my cutter wasn't fully curled, I would expect to get debris coming back at me.