Should I be a PT owner?

[jfh230]

I have 14 ac of heavily wooded property on the top of a mountain. Not much grass to cut unless you count what grows on the gravel drive /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif The drives are about 1/3 mile long but not terribly steep. I need a tractor to maintain the drives, snowplow, move dirt/stones, play pick up sticks with the trees, do a little digging/trenching and all the other fun things you guys talk about. In short the PT425 looks like a good machine especially in changing out the implements quickly. It sounds like a terrific piece of equipment with many positives.

In reading through the posts it becomes obvious that you are pretty much on your own in taking care of and repairing these machines. The quality controls of late seem a little dicey and the company doesn't appear to stand strongley behind their product if its a big fix item. The warranty dosen't seem to cover much and pretty much sends you to the individual manufacturers of all the differrent components. There is no dealer to drop the machine off to for repairs. I have also gathered that the manual is not great. This is not meant to sound so negative, but it is just the feeling I have gotten from reading the 20 odd pages of posts. These negatives also play into my weakness.

I am not a motorhead by any stretch of the imagination. I am not totally inept either. I have built houses, repaired computers, taken appliances apart (please note that I am not mentioning putting them back together again /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) and put my kids Christmas presents together late on Christmas eve. I just don't have much experience with engines and the like. I'm ok if I have a sounding board or reference manual to troubleshoot with but the pt sounds like your out on your own. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.

I have read through all the posts here and am amazed at the wealth of knowledge and generous sharing that goes on in this board. I would like to ask if some of you could be brutally frank with me about whether I have what it takes to own a PT.
For the non-expert mechanics what is the fall back position in fixing these machines? Or should we just stick with the big colors?

Thanks
Jack

 

[Bob999]

<font color="red">For the non-expert mechanics what is the fall back position in fixing these machines? </font>

Most people with some equipment end up doing minor maintenance--oil, air, fuel filter changes, lubrication, checking fasteners for tightness, keeping the tires inflated and dealing with the occasional flat. Unless you have a local mechanic who will service a PT for you, and have lots of money because things like basic lubrication are required each 8 operating hours, you have to do these things with PT.

Major problems are much less common and most people will turn to a professional for help. If you buy from a dealer the dealer is the professional you turn to. With PT there is a service person available to you on the telephone who can assist you in determining whether there is a major problem and what it is. You are the "responsible party" and the final determination of the problem and the approach to fixing it is yours. You have to be the case manager for the major problem--identify what system is causing the problem (hydraulic, engine, electrical, etc), identify a professional who deals with these problems, and manage getting the machine to and from the professional.

 

[jfh230]

Thanks for the reply Bob999.

The regular maintenance chores I am comfortable with and I sure don't have lots of money to spend on a local mechanic.

The major repairs are my concern. How responsive is the pt service department to your calls? Will they take the time to walk you through to troubleshoot the problem? I guess my real question is are the pt service guys as good as the members of this board in helping you out?

Thanks
Jack

 

[Bob999]

<font color="red">How responsive is the pt service department to your calls? </font>

Terry Espey is the service department at PT. He has been, in my limited experience, readily available by telephone and knowledgable and helpful. On the other hand, don't try to contact him by email or expect that he will call you back. I have not had any serious problems so I guess I haven't really tested the system but my impression is that Terry is and will continue to be a good resource for information if problems arise.

Your original post recognized <font color="red">The warranty dosen't seem to cover much and pretty much sends you to the individual manufacturers of all the differrent components. </font> If you understand that I think your expectations of PT are likely to be realistic and that you will likely have a satisfactory experience.

 

[bmac]

Jack,

Your concerns have been posted here on several other occasions by folks with similar apprehension. I spent almost a year on this forum learing about the PT. Got all of the literature and videotape from PowerTrac. Was almost ready to buy (in fact, was ready to schedule a trip to Tazewell) when I got cold feet for the reasons you cited. In the end, I bought a New Holland as I wasn't comfortable being the diagnostician and mechanic. Yeah, i could handle the routine maintenance stuff, but the prospect of a big problem scared me away.

Now, having said that, I am still intrigued by this machine and there are days when i wonder if I made the right decision. The day I spent over an hour getting my backhoe back on (the first and only time I did it) was one of those days. It was so traumatic that I dread the day when I have to remove it again. Also, when I used my bushhog for the first time and spent the day turned around looking behind the tractor to see what i was doing. Then, I think about the PT owners who connect and disconnect their attachments in 25-30 seconds. who have all attachments right out in front of them. I think about how much I could have saved by buying a PT (or the number of attachments I could own had I spent the same amount in Tazewell).

But, in the end, dealer support and readily available attachments made the purchase of the NH right for me. I just realized my limitations in both time and experience and decided that I would always be a little uneasy with the PT for fear of a mechanical problem.

I continue to follow most of the threads on this forum as the experience and cleverness of the PT users here is nothing short of amazing to me. You can't find this type of information in any book. And the PT owners are extraordinarily good about answering your questions and aiding in the troubleshooting of problems.

Only you can decide how much responsibility you are willing to accept. This forum is filled with true PT disciples who make PT ownership look like a breeze. And for them, it probably is. And they will do anything they can to make it easy for you as well. PT's are amazing little machines that are powerful, versatile and well-built. But you will have to decide if it is the right machine for you.

 

[MossRoad]

Excellent advice from Bmac /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Don't rush into any purchase. Test drive as many tractors as you can and compare the heck out of them. Also scrutinize the dealers, as they are the ones that you will have to deal with. In the end, buy the machine that you are most comfortable with, wether that be ergonomically, functionality, servicability and compatibility with your budget AND stomach for possible repairs.

I had no major problems with my PT. It is now out of warranty(except the engine has a few months left with Kohler) so I am now officially out there on my own /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If I develop a problem I have to repair it. If I had a dealer, I could pay them to repair it, but I don't care to ever do that. The PT425 is a very simple machine, as far as components go. It has an engine, a few pumps attached to the engine, 4 hydraulic motors for the wheels, a TON of hoses and fittings and a TON of joints. 6 hydraulic cylinders and a few electrical components. 1 valve bank and some tires and a few square yards of plate steel round it out. Of course I missed a few things, but it is no more intimidating to me than a nice lawn tractor. If anything ever fails and needs to be replaced, I'll unbolt it, plug the hoses, remove it, have the part repaired or replaced and put it back together. Since I enjoy this kind of work, it is no big deal to me. Some folks are just not comfortable with these types of repairs and some folks just don't want to do this. I'm not being critical of them at all. I personally can't stand to wash my car, so I take it to the $6.00 car wash. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Some folks would call that lazy... I call it a choice. Hey, it's America, right? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyway, after thoroughly researching your tractors, whatever unit you decide on, you will be the one that has to live with it. Get the unit that suits you best in all aspects. You won't be sorry.

 

[jfh230]

<font color="red"> experience and cleverness of the PT users here is nothing short of amazing to me. You can't find this type of information in any book. And the PT owners are extraordinarily good about answering your questions and aiding in the troubleshooting of problems. </font>

You have hit the nail on the head so to speak. The dealer is the security blanket for when you just can't figure out what the devil is happening. This forum and the factory is the security blanket for PT. I for one would like to see the forum and factory integrated as the support team. And that could be a simple as getting someone from PT (Terry?) to join and contribute to TBN here.

Thanks
Jack

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

<font color="red"> And that could be a simple as getting someone from PT (Terry?) to join and contribute to TBN here. </font>

Maybe someday someone from Tazewell will contribute here, but don't hold your breath. Last I heard, Terry still didn't have a computer, so e-mails to him have to be read by someone else and passed on. (Terry does answer the phone when available; if he doesn't return a call promptly, call him again.)There are some people down there who know about TBN and look at it, but not on as regular basis as we'd like.

 

[bmkar]

Welcome Jack,
It appears you're really thinking this through...You must not like "surprises", either...I had a couple "surprises" when I received my 422, but worked through them with no regrets...
One more "exercise" for you, to help put your mind at ease, would be to "interview" potential help for the things that might scare you right now...A Kohler shop, for example, that services lawn care equipt. could be a good resource for the simple engine electrics on the PT... A skid loader repair shop could handle the hydraulic stuff, too, as an example. Find a few of these places around town and hang out/talk with the repair guys(at the back door, if possible)...there is probably a guy working at home on this kind of stuff in the evening that he does for a Name Brand during the week.
If you can find 1 or 2 repair guys, your confidence will rise dramatically and like many owners before you, you probably won't even need them(though they're not perfect from the factory /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) ...

On a comparative note, I've found access to electrical stuff, easier on the PT over my Cub Cadet, engine adjustments are easier on the PT over the Cub, fiters about even ease of access, and mechanics easier on PT than CUB...The Cub had some "mystery modules" that I had no idea of what they were(semi-conductor/epoxy potted), while the PT...simple switches and connections and no mystery modules.

Good Luck! This part is fun, too /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[pajoube]

If they ever show up for posting here is another shot of moving rock and dirt.
PJ