PT-425 PROS & cons??

FOURTEEN · Jun 15, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

 And the Hemi doesn't guzzle gas? 

 No, not at all, considering that it is a 4200# wagon with over 340HP, 3800# towing capacity (it tows the PT-425 or 3000# of mulch effortlessly), plenty of room and comfort, and will do 0-60 in about 6 seconds!!


 What kind of mileage do you get with the Hemi?


 27+ cruising at 55MPH, 25+ cruising at 65MPH, and ~20 in mixed driving! (This Hemi has the MDS system which allows it to cruise on 4 cylinders!)

PS: The wheels on the Hemi have not been reversed! They are just ordinary 22" X 9.5" chrome wheels!!

If someone already has a pickup, hauling a PT-425 with it is an option, but otherwise getting a trailer is a much cheaper and more convenient way to get the job done!


 In an earlier post you mentioned a new ATV, what did you get? 

 Arctic Cat DVX400.

Tractors4u · Jul 4, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

That is good mileage for that engine. I never would have imagined it wold have gotten that type of mileage.

Nice Artic Cat!! Is it hard to keep the front wheels on the ground?

tracdoc · Jul 7, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

FOURTEEN said:
PS: The wheels on the Hemi have not been reversed! They are just ordinary 22" X 9.5" chrome wheels!!

LOL! ...just "ordinary" ol' wheels...right!

FOURTEEN · Oct 26, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

At 308 hours the left rear wheel motor began to leak oil!

Removing the wheel motor involved removing the wheel, removing 4 bolts, and disconnecting 2 hoses. Power Trac replaced a bearing and installed a new seal for $80. A cheap and easy repair!

PS: Since this failure was on a rear wheel motor, which is very lightly stressed, there is no evidence that this was a result of reversing the wheels!! I continue to unconditionally endorse wheel reversal!!

MossRoad · Oct 26, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Hey! Glad to see hear from you again.

IslandTractor · Oct 26, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

FOURTEEN said:
At 308 hours the left rear wheel motor began to leak oil!

Removing the wheel motor involved removing the wheel, removing 4 bolts, and disconnecting 2 hoses. Power Trac replaced a bearing and installed a new seal for $80. A cheap and easy repair!

PS: Since this failure was on a rear wheel motor, which is very lightly stressed, there is no evidence that this was a result of reversing the wheels!! I continue to unconditionally endorse wheel reversal!!

Even if it was related, $80 for 300hrs or so of wide stanced more stable tractor is a very good deal.

pajoube · Oct 26, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

FOURTEEN said:
At 308 hours the left rear wheel motor began to leak oil!

Removing the wheel motor involved removing the wheel, removing 4 bolts, and disconnecting 2 hoses. Power Trac replaced a bearing and installed a new seal for $80. A cheap and easy repair!

PS: Since this failure was on a rear wheel motor, which is very lightly stressed, there is no evidence that this was a result of reversing the wheels!! I continue to unconditionally endorse wheel reversal!!

did you send to PT for them to repair or did they send the parts and you repaired? I have a slight leak in my left rear wheel.
PJ

RegL · Oct 26, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

pajoube said:
did you send to PT for them to repair or did they send the parts and you repaired? I have a slight leak in my left rear wheel.
PJ

DITTO! Small leak left rear of PT1430 at about 630 hrs. Would like to know what the turn around time was for PT to do repair. I will probably have to wait until things slow down a bit as the pt is staying pretty busy right now.

FOURTEEN · Oct 27, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Thanks, Moss!!

""Even if it was related, $80 for 300hrs or so of wide stanced more stable tractor is a very good deal.""

I think so too! Also safer, and looks 'cool'!! It's not as easy to take corners on two wheels though!!

""did you send to PT for them to repair or did they send the parts and you repaired?""

YES!! (Just kidding! I sent the wheel motor in via UPS for PT to fix.)

""Would like to know what the turn around time was for PT to do repair.""

About a week.

PS: With one of the hoses loose I pumped a couple of quarts of oil out to get fresh oil into the closed loop.

BobRip · Dec 16, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Bringing this to the top.

ddonnell · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Quick aside,

Does reversing the wheels and the subsequent wider stance increase or otherwise alter the turning radius of a 425? I'm wondering how this would affect mowing around trees etc..

Phils · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Reversing the wheels affects the stability positively. I cannot believe that such a small added stress would affect wheel motors or seals. Not having done this myself, I don't expect it would make a significant difference in turning radius. MR can verify.

It affects whether or not the PT will fit into the back of a standard pickup bed negatively.

It's easy to try, easy to put back to the original configuration.

NOT easy enough that I want to reverse them and undo the reverse those 3 or 4 times per year that I haul the PT somewhere to do work for someone else.

Phil

MossRoad · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

If it increases your width 4" it will probably increas your turning diameter that much.

Bob999 · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

MossRoad said:
If it increases your width 4" it will probably increas your turning diameter that much.

Wouldn't it increase the turning diameter by at least twice the increase in width?

KentT · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Bob999 said:
Wouldn't it increase the turning diameter by at least twice the increase in width?

Half the increase in stance goes to the INSIDE of the turning radius, not the outside.

The tractor still articulates just as much as before, and when articulated, the inside wheels are now 2" closer to the center of the circle... the outside wheels are 2" farther out on each side of the circle, for a total of 4"...

Bob999 · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

KentT said:
Half the increase in stance goes to the INSIDE of the turning radius, not the outside.

The tractor still articulates just as much as before, and when articulated, the inside wheels are now 2" closer to the center of the circle... the outside wheels are 2" farther out on each side of the circle, for a total of 4"...

I guess it depends on what controls the rate of turn and it would be interesting to have actual measurements. My theory was that the inside diamenter would not get smaller when the wheels are reversed. In order for your theory to be correct the inside turning diameter would have to be 4" smaller after the wheels are reversed.

KentT · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Bob999 said:
I guess it depends on what controls the rate of turn and it would be interesting to have actual measurements. My theory was that the inside diamenter would not get smaller when the wheels are reversed. In order for your theory to be correct the inside turning diameter would have to be 4" smaller after the wheels are reversed.

The rate of turn is caused by the maximum articulation of the tractor, which remains unchanged.

kmaz · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Hey guys I too was wondering what it would do to the turning radius ...more specifically if the articulation would be more, less or the same when articulating the mini hoe to dump

Kris

J_J · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

kmaz said:
Hey guys I too was wondering what it would do to the turning radius ...more specifically if the articulation would be more, less or the same when articulating the mini hoe to dump

Kris

OK, Some of you math experts jump on in this discussion, and figure the standard turning rate with the current angle, and then push out the width another 4 in and publish your findings . Is it the same, or will the turning radius be longer, or shorter? I am guessing longer.

KentT · Dec 19, 2006

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Can't do it with math, but I'll say from experience that the outside of the tightest circle that you can turn is roughly 4" larger -- which really isn't that noticeable....

With the wheels reversed, when you articulate the tractor, the inside wheels actually come a bit closer together than they normally would, turning a tighter circle. (The determinant of how tight a circle is the degree of articulation, which remains the same.) The body of the tractor itself will track in roughly the same circle it would have before reversing the wheels. The inside wheels travel a circle that is smaller -- the outside wheels travel a circle that is larger. I stand by my assertion that it increases the radius of the circle by 2" and the diameter of the circle by only 4" ...

The effect of widening the track (i.e. stance) is not the same as lengthening the wheelbase of the machine....