Steiner lawn tractor

[sandman2234]

OK, so maybe it isn't a tractor, but so close it seems like it. I purchased one last year, that was ten years old, sight unseen. It was a "non run" at an employee's only auction, but my friend had it running before I got there. It has it's problems, but all in all it is a pretty decent lawnmower. 4 wheel drive, hydrostatic, Kubota 23.5hp diesel, articulate steering, cuts 5' and up to 84" decks are available. Many more attachments than you would expect from a lawn mower. I got a pair of 60" decks, and a leaf blower for mine, and since then have purchased two 76" reel mowers (3 gang), and a 10KW generator. The reel mowers mow too close for my yard, so they are sitting out back doing nothing. One was for parts in case the other one broke.
I was recently contacted by another TBN member that uses Steiner equipment on his vast acreage, which is what promped me to write this post.
The question is, do any of you guys have Steiner lawn mowers, and which model? What attachments do you have for them, and what do you do with them?
Mine is a 1996 Steiner 525 and I mow about an acre of my 2.5 plus my MIL across the street has about 2 in grass that I mow every other week.
David from jax

 

[MossRoad]

Hey David from jax, Steiners are cool! You have any pictures to post of yours?

 

[JackIL]

I have had 2 Steiner 420s, a 430, and now have a Ventrac 4200. The Steiner brothers who designed the original Steiner tractors sold the company several years ago and formed a new company, Venture Products, to design and manufacture Ventrac equipment Ventrac. Great machines! I was first attracted to these tractors because when equipped with dual wheels, they can safely operate on slopes of up to 30 degrees.

JackIL

 

[sandman2234]

MossRoad,
Sorry, but I have never taken any pictures of my Steiner. Guess I can wander out there with a camera sometime in the near future. I had some of the generator attachment I purchased, built by a shop, using a Steiner generator as a pattern, and a Harbor Freight PTO generator head. I bought it to replace the Miller Bobcat portable welder (8Kgenerator) that I sold, but they got dumped in Sept when my computer died.
Maybe somebody can post some of theirs to hold you over till I get a chance to take some.
David from jax

 

[Bob_Skurka]

OK, so maybe it isn't a tractor, but so close it seems like it.

Sure its a tractor. Ugly and odd, but darn they work well, and they do it where other tactors fear to tread!

Like Jack, I also own a Ventrac (just as ugly as a Steiner). I looked at the Steiners, Ventracs and Power Tracs. In my case, Ventrac had the best machine for what I needed to accomplish, given that I have some other tractors for other tasks. But the Steiners were just as interesting and just as capable.

There is one model Steiner that I am particularly attracted to, and might get at some point in the future if I get rid of one of my traditional tractors. The UtiliMax is an nifty design. 1/2 UTV and 1/2 Tractor.
Steiner - Utilitmax: UM428

 

[dirtdude007]

Sure its a tractor. Ugly and odd, but darn they work well

i dont think steiners are ugly or odd, they are just about the coolest things out there. they look meaty and ready to work, a real mans machine. haha

 

[Bob_Skurka]

i dont think steiners are ugly or odd, they are just about the coolest things out there.

I admit that I love them (and Ventracs and Power Tracs too) but I still think they are ugly. But as they say. . .Beauty is in the eye of the BEERholder

 

[daTeacha]

I've got a sentimental attitude toward the Steiner and Ventrac since they originated not too far from here. I used a Steiner when working as a Naturalist -- the kind that wears clothes and leads nature hikes -- for MWCD. I made a mile long nature trail through the woods by simply driving the mower along where I wanted the trail to be. It worked great.

The Steiner attachment list is almost endless. The major drawback I have is that the FEL does not lift very high at all.

The 3 wheelers were interesting -- the single rear wheel did the steering, offering more maneuverability than the articulated 4 wheeler. You can get them in 2 wd also, and they make some pretty large ones for the commercial market. We have a big dark green one here at school.

 

[sandman2234]

Dark Green? Does that one fall under the Steiner name, or Ransomes?
For those not in the loop with Steiners, the ownership transferred overseas for a while, and the company produced machines under another name. Then they were bought out by Textron(?) and returned to the Steiner name.
I have a Ransomes walk behind that is too fast for me. I bought it from a guy with a limp that said he couldn't keep up with it, on his small yard. I figured it would be ok on my larger lot, but I don't use it, really prefer the Steiner.The walk behind is too much work for me, when I can sit down and do the same thing.
David from jax

 

[daTeacha]

The custodial supervisor calls it a Steiner. He's a cousin or something to the guys who started the company. The thing is probably 50% bigger than the usual red ones you see on college campuses or mowing some private lawn. I haven't seen it up close and personal, just from a distance.

EDIT: I just saw Vince and asked him about it. He said it's a Ransome, but they come down the same assembly line, just some get green paint and some get red. The green ones are supposedly for foreign markets or something like that. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[XmasTreeGrower]

Here's a couple of pics of my two workhorse Steiners that are used on our tree farm. One is a 1979 S-16 "Traction Master" that underneath it's even uglier sheetmetal, is basically the same tractor they produce today. It is normally equipped with a 48" mower that fits perfectly between the tree rows. As you will see in the pic, it also carries a front blade that turns it into a great snow plow when needed.

My other Steiner is a 1980 "Turfmaster", the predecessor to today's Utilimax. I use it primarily with the stump grinder attachment (superb by the way). Bob, it's equipped with a full hydraulic dump bed, making it a great all around utilty vehicle and firewood gatherer, as you have suggested. Attached is a couple of pics of the stump grinder attachment, and the Steiner in action inside the tree rows cleaning up stumps from last years cuttings.

Nothing inspires confidence like these machines in our constant off camber mountainside situations, and these Steiners have become my primary "go-to" machines. Just for contrast, I bought a brand new Kubota B1700 in 1998, and in 8 years time, it only has 146 hours. It gets used mostly for loader work, and loses out to the Steiners on most days.

Both machines are over 25+ years old, and are tougher than nails, requiring only routine maintenance with some occasional powerplant attention. Biggest aggravation I encounter is the carbureted Briggs motors loading up after you exceed about a 20 degree slope angle. Hope to solve this by finding the right deal on a diesel Steiner or Ventrac in the future. Tough to justify the big bucks though, when the old girls are getting the job done everyday!

Thanks
Bill

 

[Timber]

those are cool

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

We just got a bullitin that they have discountinued all models except for the 430 Max. The rise of the sub compact tractor has really killed steiner and ventrac.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

We just got a bullitin that they have discountinued all models except for the 430 Max. The rise of the sub compact tractor has really killed steiner and ventrac.

Wow that is sad news. Sub-Compacts, while very capable in their own right, are really not in the same class as the Steiners and Ventracs for dealing with slopes, rough terrain, or tight quarter work. I'm not knocking the Sub-CUTs, but the Steiners and Ventrac machines really excel in tasks that are not well suited, or even impossible to accomplish, with Sub-CUTs.

 

[sandman2234]

Having next to nothing in my 525 Steiner, I can't imagine paying what the first time owners pay for them, but considering what this machine has done for the last 10 years, it appeared to have earned it's keep. I don't even keep it exercised good with the less than 5 acres that it cuts every two weeks.
I replaced several hoses on it, and the last one (pump suction hose) should have been primed before starting it up. Caused some pretty bad pump squealing, which caused damage to the pump. It still runs fine in the low gear, which is what I am doing till I have time to pull the pump and have it repaired.
The original price paid for my Steiner was $23,000.00 back in 1996. I paid $501 for it last year. Most people think I got a pretty good deal, for a diesel lawnmower.
David from jax

 

[daTeacha]

I'll give you $502, sight unseen.

 

[sandman2234]

I wouldn't feel right selling you a Steiner with a bad pump, especially as much fun as these are to pull. I had to almost completely remove it when I put the suction hose on. Besides, the guy that actually purchased it for me has first claim to it, should I ever decide to sell it .
Thanks for confirming that it is worth more than I paid for it, although I already suspected just that.
David from jax

 

[LBrown59]

Anyone got the Bank /ditch mower attachment ?

 

[sandman2234]

Seems the bank mower is a pretty hard thing to find. I was told about one about a hundred miles from here, but it had disappeared before I drove down there the next day. No phone number available, so I had to make the drive. It wasn't all there, and still sold for $500. The guy that told me about it had a couple of pictures and it did look rough. Probably used to clear property instead of mowing a grass embankment.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Just thought I would mention this, since they come available so seldom...

eBay: STEINER TRACTOR BOOM MOWER LIST PRICE $7,000.00 (item 160058447811 end time Dec-08-06 04:28:40 PST)

Lots of money, but what a deal!!! Maybe he would take a little less and make somebody happy.
David from jax