PT 180

[MossRoad]

Your math lost me. Sorry.

 

[groundcover]

I wouldn't count out the mini skid either. My Ditch Witch has 4.3 psi footprint. Handiest machine I own !

 

[MossRoad]

Let's say you have an 8" x 4" contact area on each of 4 tires.
8" x 4" = 32 square inches on each tire
32 square inches times 4 tires = 128 square inches.

1525 pounds divided by 128 square inches = 11.9 pounds per square inch.

The only way to cut that in half to achieve your desired 5.5 PSI would be to either double the width of the tire or double the length of the contact patch by putting on much taller tires, or some combination of both.

I can tell you with certainty that if you put taller tires on a PT180, you will lose an incredible amount of power at the wheels. You'll gain top speed, but you may not be able to get the machine to move with a load. You will NOT be happy with the performance, and god help you if you need to go up even a slight hill with a load. It just won't work well.

We had a member here that did put larger tires on a 400 series PT, which raised his top speed but lowered his torque. However, he then put on larger displacement wheel motors to lower his speed and gain back his torque. He had sand on a beach that he needed to traverse, thus the larger tires were needed for flotation. As I recall, it was a one-off that he paid Power Trac to do and was kinda pricey.

 

[agjones]

If you have a lot of French drainage digging coming... Definitely consider the trencher. It's an amazing worker.

The terex/asv 25 and 30 hp models of compact track loader, are the smallest sit-in skidsteers, 3.3 psi on the ground. Very capable.

 

[SpringHollow]

Nice looking skidsteers but twice the price of a PT. Are tracked machines still maintenance intensive relative to wheeled machines? I suspect they have gotten a lot better over the years given the popularity.

Ken

 

[agjones]

Definitely improved over the years... These tracks are pretty long lived,when run primarily on soil. 1000h or so + replace a bogie wheel / bearing here and there along the way. Pretty easy to maintain. Expensive upfront, yes. I mentioned bc of the low ground pressure and availability as a rental.

There are a few things that wheeled skidsteers are better than tracks for, imo, but not many in my work world.

The terex/asv units are much faster than the miniskids. Using an adapter plate, I run pt 4xx attachments on mine.

 

[SpringHollow]

Do they tear up grass when turning etc?

 

[agjones]

Not much, especially w a skilled operator with a good plan. There are specific lawn tracks that some guys run for even lower ground pressure and less turf wear. Never used those. Specialists swear by them

 

[agjones]

Not much, especially w a skilled operator with a good plan. There are specific lawn tracks that some guys run for even lower ground pressure and less turf wear. Never used those. Specialists swear by them

 

[agjones]

Not much, especially w a skilled operator with a good plan. There are specific lawn tracks that some guys run for even lower ground pressure and less turf wear. Never used those. Specialists swear by them