Buying Advice PT1445 talk me off this fence

[cqaigy2]

There's also the decisions that gets made, do i really need to rake and mow every square inch of my property. In my case, mother nature made some of those decisions, and i've contentiously decided to leave certain parts alone. I mow based on safety and enjoyment. Whether or not it's a fire danger to structure or escape route is a big one, i mow trails for my wife and i to walk one and to a lesser extent, what i think is pleasing to the eye.

 

[ponytug]

Ken, that is why I went with the 1445 instead of the 1430. The 1445 has fail safe brakes as well.

All the best, Peter

When thinking of the PT's on slopes, I keep forgetting that most of you do not have tilting seats. That has to get a little uncomfortable if done for a long time. Besides the dual wheel capability, the other big reason I went with the PT1850 was the Brake Tender. With these hills and ravines, failsafe brakes are a nice feature. I guess I need a custom made PT.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

Brakes are something to think about, for sure. The PT425 doesn't have brakes. I haven't once wished I had brakes on it yet. But then, I haven't broken a drive hose or lost an engine on a steep hill yet, either, so who knows how that would go.
:confused3:

 

[ponytug]

This is super helpful Peter. 1000hrs is a good chunk of time to put in on any machine. This gives me some hope and puts to rest the idea that I would be waiting in anticipation for the next thing to break on it, which is honestly was the biggest thing holding me back. Although, that must have been a tough pill to swallow initially with the motors.

Sounds like 1000hrs well spent. I could not imagine building my own chipper, that is pretty cool man. I hadn't thought about using a 4in1 bucket that way, we have about 900 feet of rotted fence that needs to be pulled and reposted. Do you use the PT fence post driver?

Many thanks!!!

The motors failing I take responsibility for. Hydraulic motor manufacturers recommend for the first 15 hours of operation, do not exceed 50% throttle, and don't subject the motors to sudden pressure spikes, e.g. turning on the parking brake while in motion. I did not follow that advice, being ignorant at the time. For me it was a great ice breaker of getting over my fears of working on the PT. Just to be clear, I retrofitted a woodmax chipper to fit on a QA plate and be powered by the PT hydraulics with a hydraulic motor.

I LOVE the fence post driver. Charlie Iliff put me on to it. His advice was along the lines of "don't let anyone else know how easy it is". It is definitely a single purpose device, although I occasionally think of adding tools to it (e.g. a wood splitting wedge, concrete busting tip, or an auger that actually goes straight into the ground.) I can put an 8x8x8 fence post in two minutes. I probably average 3-4, including all of the futzing to line things up just right. Driving the post has the advantage over the auger of compacting the soil around the post, which makes the fence stronger. You would need to oversize the hole and add concrete to get an equivalent post. I figured that each post would need 2-3 bags of concrete. So...it more than paid for itself redoing the driveway fence. I still have some side fences, the arena, and the cattle shelter to do. My $0.02 is just be careful taking it out on a slope. It has a lot of weight, a long way from the QA plate. I have tipped the tractor on its nose more than once when the driving weight slid out, when it went under horizontal. (If you can't visualize it, do not worry, not a big deal and trust me, easily corrected.)

With the PT, I did 800' of three rail fence (~120 posts), 2x6 in a week by myself (levelish ground). Used the PT to pull the posts (trailer hitch), cart away the debris(forks), put new posts in with the driver, and used the LMB to hold a generator and an air compressor to put in all of the rails. Painting was the generator, and an air free paint sprayer, and a day. It took probably twice that to put in the upper fence, due to the slope, and working around trees.

I pulled posts with the trailer hitch mostly. I wrap a loop of chain around it, run two or three wraps around the fence post, and then lift. Takes a minute or two by yourself, faster with the super talented spouse.

For leaves, you might consider using a hydraulically powered blower to blow the leaves where you want them. (Not an official PT attachment. I wish. I would buy it in a heartbeat.)

All the best, Peter

 

[Toomanymaples]

The motors failing I take responsibility for. Hydraulic motor manufacturers recommend for the first 15 hours of operation, do not exceed 50% throttle, and don't subject the motors to sudden pressure spikes, e.g. turning on the parking brake while in motion. I did not follow that advice, being ignorant at the time. For me it was a great ice breaker of getting over my fears of working on the PT.

I am 100 percent sure, I would have done all of those things. Max throttle out the gate, let's see what it can do!!

Just to be clear, I retrofitted a woodmax chipper to fit on a QA plate and be powered by the PT hydraulics with a hydraulic motor.

Does not sound like a small feat to me. I changed a turn signal light on my car today, time for a beer!!

I LOVE the fence post driver. Charlie Iliff put me on to it. His advice was along the lines of "don't let anyone else know how easy it is". It is definitely a single purpose device, although I occasionally think of adding tools to it (e.g. a wood splitting wedge, concrete busting tip, or an auger that actually goes straight into the ground.) I can put an 8x8x8 fence post in two minutes. I probably average 3-4, including all of the futzing to line things up just right. Driving the post has the advantage over the auger of compacting the soil around the post, which makes the fence stronger. You would need to oversize the hole and add concrete to get an equivalent post. I figured that each post would need 2-3 bags of concrete. So...it more than paid for itself redoing the driveway fence. I still have some side fences, the arena, and the cattle shelter to do. My $0.02 is just be careful taking it out on a slope. It has a lot of weight, a long way from the QA plate. I have tipped the tractor on its nose more than once when the driving weight slid out, when it went under horizontal. (If you can't visualize it, do not worry, not a big deal and trust me, easily corrected.)

With the PT, I did 800' of three rail fence (~120 posts), 2x6 in a week by myself (levelish ground). Used the PT to pull the posts (trailer hitch), cart away the debris(forks), put new posts in with the driver, and used the LMB to hold a generator and an air compressor to put in all of the rails. Painting was the generator, and an air free paint sprayer, and a day. It took probably twice that to put in the upper fence, due to the slope, and working around trees.

I pulled posts with the trailer hitch mostly. I wrap a loop of chain around it, run two or three wraps around the fence post, and then lift. Takes a minute or two by yourself, faster with the super talented spouse.

This is great Peter, you have given me a battle plan, cannot thank you enough. Fences are expensive enough material wise, took me and some help most of the summer to do our font fence line. Would be great to get er done faster.

For leaves, you might consider using a hydraulically powered blower to blow the leaves where you want them. (Not an official PT attachment. I wish. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

All the best, Peter

Great idea! Not sure why PT doesn't have one

 

[Toomanymaples]

I've often thought about getting a 30" round single-blade deck off of a Snapper riding mower and mounting it underneath my Rubbermaid cart. Put a conduit or wood frame on the cart, a cheap tarp cut and sewn to fit, and power the deck with a hydraulic motor. It would make a good leaf pickup device. Just haven't had time to mess with it, and the sweeper works well enough to have never promoted me to pursue it.

Snapper has come up on a few of the landscaping sites I've been researching for ideas on how to deal with the leaves. I guess they are the one of the best mowers for suction power. If you ever get around to building it please post some pics. Would love to see it in action.

 

[MossRoad]

Speaking of headlights, as soon as you get a PT, ditch the factory sealed beams for some LEDs under the canopy/ROPS. Way brighter and pulls a lot less amps.

Also, the visibility of the front of the machine is so much more better than that of a tractor.

 

[Toomanymaples]

He means have a big friend sit on the back of the tractor.

:duh:

 

[MossRoad]

Snapper has come up on a few of the landscaping sites I've been researching for ideas on how to deal with the leaves. I guess they are the one of the best mowers for suction power. If you ever get around to building it please post some pics. Would love to see it in action.

They are tough, too. When I was a kid, my neighbor accidentally drove one off a 90' escarpment that is about a 70 degree angle. He jumped. The mower went 3/4 of the way to the bottom through trees and brush. He came over quite shaken and asked if my dad was home. We got my dad, the neighbor, another neighbor, and me. We climbed down there, picked it up, carried it over to the stairs, and carried it back up to the top. We set it down, he fired it up and off he went again. :confused2:

I'd have changed my shorts first. :laughing:

 

[woodlandfarms]

Do you mean when you stepped off the tractor?

Yup. And getting back to the tractor was brutal