Finally Pulled the Trigger on a PT 425!

[Clumber]

After six months of study I decided on a PT 424 plus numerous attachments. It should arrive next week. I thought long and hard about which attachments were necessary. I was surprised at the total cost, but I justified multiple uses through-out the year for each attachment.

We have 42 acres consisting of woods, pastures, fenced areas for dog runs, lots of cedar trees, mile long private road... The property needs lots of work. I know that I will need a larger machine eventually, but for now I rely on paying neighbors with large farm equipment to do the really big stuff. I wanted something now that was smaller and agile that my spouse could also use for gardening. Also, some of our dog runs (approx 1/8 th acre each) have tight areas that require a smaller machine. I think the PT 425 will perform adequately on snow removal on the road using the blower, sweeper, blade, and buckets. I plan to keep my Sears 24 HP garden tractor to do finish mowing on about an area about 1 acre around the house and dog runs.

My wife is not very mechanical. Her only understanding of tractors was watching my neighbors M-class Kubota. Trying to explain the concept and advantages of Power Tracs was as difficult as explaining the theory of television to a three year old. Eventually it sunk-in, I think.

 

[ArtMech]

After six months of study I decided on a PT 424 plus numerous attachments. It should arrive next week. I thought long and hard about which attachments were necessary. I was surprised at the total cost, but I justified multiple uses through-out the year for each attachment.

We have 42 acres consisting of woods, pastures, fenced areas for dog runs, lots of cedar trees, mile long private road... The property needs lots of work. I know that I will need a larger machine eventually, but for now I rely on paying neighbors with large farm equipment to do the really big stuff. I wanted something now that was smaller and agile that my spouse could also use for gardening. Also, some of our dog runs (approx 1/8 th acre each) have tight areas that require a smaller machine. I think the PT 425 will perform adequately on snow removal on the road using the blower, sweeper, blade, and buckets. I plan to keep my Sears 24 HP garden tractor to do finish mowing on about an area about 1 acre around the house and dog runs.

My wife is not very mechanical. Her only understanding of tractors was watching my neighbors M-class Kubota. Trying to explain the concept and advantages of Power Tracs was as difficult as explaining the theory of television to a three year old. Eventually it sunk-in, I think.

First of all - what is the difference between PT-424 and PT-425 machines according to Your classification?
Secondly, please formulate a concrete question?
Thirdly, believe TBN'ers. We may really help You.
Regards to Your non-mechanical wife

 

[Marks481]

Congrat! At least you are close enough (5 hours) to make the trip down there at least once. I was in CT when I bought my pt422, and bought sight unseen.

What attachments did you decide to get?

It is hard to know when to stop making your list of attachments... There just always seems to be one more that would be great to have.

Keep in mind that shipping on individual attachments is very expensive. I live 7 hrs from Tazewell, and it would cost about $300 for them to ship the $450 snow blade to me... I would have bought one, but not at those kind of shipping rates. So if you think you might need it someday, you mightwant to bite the bullet and add another attachmen to your list...

You want to throw an extra snow blade and LMB on your trailer for me when you get there?

 

[Clumber]

First of all - what is the difference between PT-424 and PT-425 machines according to Your classification?
Secondly, please formulate a concrete question?
Thirdly, believe TBN'ers. We may really help You.
Regards to Your non-mechanical wife

The 424 is a typo, should be 425. I really did not want to ask a question -- Just letting the helpful folks on this forum know what I finally decided to do. I have received lots of helpful advice here and reading through the archive. I like the fact that both the good and the bad are discussed here along with workarounds. Thanks folks!

Patrick

 

[cqaigy2]

The 424 is a typo, should be 425.

:confused2: I bet there really wasn't any confusion here.

Welcome to TBN and Congrats on the purchase!! :thumbsup:

Now the waiting begins.

 

[Clumber]

Congrat! At least you are close enough (5 hours) to make the trip down there at least once. I was in CT when I bought my pt422, and bought sight unseen.

What attachments did you decide to get?

It is hard to know when to stop making your list of attachments... There just always seems to be one more that would be great to have.

Keep in mind that shipping on individual attachments is very expensive. I live 7 hrs from Tazewell, and it would cost about $300 for them to ship the $450 snow blade to me... I would have bought one, but not at those kind of shipping rates. So if you think you might need it someday, you mightwant to bite the bullet and add another attachmen to your list...

You want to throw an extra snow blade and LMB on your trailer for me when you get there?

Tim, I will trade an LMB for your M1 Abrams turret. =:-0

I really bit the bullet this time. They are charging $655 to ship. I live 5 hours north of Tazewell just off I81. Here is the list:

PT 425 Tractor

T3233 60" Snow Blade
K164 Caster wheels
K147 Cutter Bar
T3239 Snow Blower
T3228 Power Sweeper
T3229 Spreader
T3424 29" Utility Grapple
T3026 48" Brush Cutter
T3317 Power Dumper
T3319 Mini Hoe
K175 Thumb
T3151 Forks
T3062 10 Cu FT LM Bucket
T3061 5 Cu ft Bucket
Short Teeth
T3293 Box Blade
T3325 4N1 Bucket
Custom T8 Attach Plate
QA adapter with 2" receiver hitch

 

[MossRoad]

Tim, I will trade an LMB for your M1 Abrams turret. =:-0

I really bit the bullet this time. They are charging $655 to ship. I live 5 hours north of Tazewell just off I81. Here is the list:

PT 425 Tractor

T3233 60" Snow Blade
K164 Caster wheels
K147 Cutter Bar
T3239 Snow Blower
T3228 Power Sweeper
T3229 Spreader
T3424 29" Utility Grapple
T3026 48" Brush Cutter
T3317 Power Dumper
T3319 Mini Hoe
K175 Thumb
T3151 Forks
T3062 10 Cu FT LM Bucket
T3061 5 Cu ft Bucket
Short Teeth
T3293 Box Blade
T3325 4N1 Bucket
Custom T8 Attach Plate
QA adapter with 2" receiver hitch

YIKES!!! I just drooled on my shirt! :drool:

Congratulations! :thumbsup:

 

[Marks481]

That should be a lot of fun.

If we get another 2' of snow this year, you will be ready (hence my desire for a LMB and snowblade). Last year, like an idiot, I didn't keep my bucket on the tractor, but had it in a shed in the backyard. No way to get it, had to shovel all that snow by hand. I am moving in a couple weeks, and the new place has a 300' driveway....

 

[Clumber]

That should be a lot of fun.

If we get another 2' of snow this year, you will be ready (hence my desire for a LMB and snowblade). Last year, like an idiot, I didn't keep my bucket on the tractor, but had it in a shed in the backyard. No way to get it, had to shovel all that snow by hand. I am moving in a couple weeks, and the new place has a 300' driveway....

I was also an idiot last year. Last year we had 40 inches in a 24 hour period. We were kinda stranded for a few days as my neighbors with large tractors had to dig themselves out first and tend to their livestock before digging us out. I have a large walk behind snow blower. When the snow reached 20 inches, I made several tunnels in the dog exercise areas so they could do their thing. The next morning there was another 20+ inches to deal with. This time the blower kept getting stuck and I had to man handle it a lot to make more tunnels for the dogs. I spent the next 2 days taking advil several times a day trying to recover. It was 2 days later when a neighbor finish digging out our mile long driveway/road. This situation has occurred three times in the last eight years. This year I decided that we needed a capability to dig ourselves out that did not involved manual labor. I am not a spring chicken anymore! I made a list of projects and capabilities that we wanted to achieve in 2011. That list drove the attachment list. The cost of these attachments was a real shock. (My purchase will keep Power Trac in business at least until February.) It would probably cost less to hire contractors to do those jobs in the short term. However, there has always been a little child inside that likes to play with tractors. As I enter my second childhood, I plan to have some fun. My spouse is also drooling about using the tractor to start a garden.

 

[Clumber]

Hey Tim, I sent you a private post regarding adding attachments.

Patrick

 

[3238dpw]

WOW! that is what I call "attachment rich"!
How much did all of that cost you? Or do you not want to talk about it i am just to lazy to add it all up.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Wow is right. Huge attachement list.. VERY jealous. And welcome to PT...

 

[Marks481]

The only thing that really jumps out is that the 4n1 bucket is the same size as the 5 cu ft bucket... I can't think of any time that I have used the 4n1 and wanted a regular bucket instead. I suspect that the small bucket won't get used much.

Oh, and you might consider adding a second PT425 to the list so you won't have to fight for seat time.

 

[tsteahr]

WOW! that is what I call "attachment rich"!
How much did all of that cost you? Or do you not want to talk about it i am just to lazy to add it all up.

Wow is right. That's over $14k in attachments, if I added everything up in my head correctly... About a $25k package all together?

Time for a barn to store everything...

Congratulations Clumber! Let the fun begin!

 

[PTWannaHave]

Congrats Clumber!

I have not pulled the trigger yet, in part due to funds and continuing research & investigation... (Most people do not want to drop these kinds of sums without doing their homework first! This forum is a great help!!)

I am currently leaning towards a 1430, but the total price may steer me to a 425... I do not plan on ever upgrading, as the financial hit would be too great. My 1st PT should be my last PT.

Assuming that I would be left wanting some with a 425, I would rather save my pennies longer and get a 1430. In any case, I would think that a 425 would make me happier and more versatile than a conventional CUT in the low 20's horsepower.

Look forward to your 'First 20 hrs.' review...! ;-)

 

[Clumber]

Congrats Clumber!

I have not pulled the trigger yet, in part due to funds and continuing research & investigation... (Most people do not want to drop these kinds of sums without doing their homework first! This forum is a great help!!)

I am currently leaning towards a 1430, but the total price may steer me to a 425... I do not plan on ever upgrading, as the financial hit would be too great. My 1st PT should be my last PT.

Assuming that I would be left wanting some with a 425, I would rather save my pennies longer and get a 1430. In any case, I would think that a 425 would make me happier and more versatile than a conventional CUT in the low 20's horsepower.

Look forward to your 'First 20 hrs.' review...! ;-)

Thanks to all of you for the advice over the last several months.

I started looking well over a year ago. I came to the conclusion early that I wanted a single machine with implements out front so I could, for example, mow under trees and tight spots without leaving the tractor. I also never liked the idea of looking backward while using a 3 point attachment.

I really like the Ventracs for what they do well. However, a tractor with snowblower, sweeper, turban blower, tough cut mower, v-blade, would come to $40+K -- too much cash without FEL capability such as a grapple. If Ventracs were a lot cheaper the ideal would be having a Ventrac and a PT. Winning the lottery is always a possibility.

The PTs seem to be a good fit for all the projects planned for the next 3 years. Eventually, I will need a stump grinder, tiller, and an auger.

It took a lot of convincing and positive comments from all of you to overcome the lack of a dealer support network.

I agonized for two months trying to decide between the 1430 and the 435. The 425 won mainly because my budget would support most of the attachments I needed now. The 1403 with same attachments would be $10K more than the budget. I also thought that the 425 would be a good size for my wife to use for her gardening exploits...

I recently took a look at a used Kubota B3030 with full cab that had a great price. Then I saw the following video: YouTube - B3030 Kubota Installing Front Snowblower

Installing the snowblower on a B3030 requires you to scoot under the tractor to install the mid PTO drive shaft and the base unit, then pick up the 300 lb blower and walk it to the tractor. Forget That!

Another negative thing about CUTs such as the B3030 (30 or below HP) is the hydraulic GPM is too low to operate most aftermarket attachments that could be used with the FEL skid steer quick attached adapter.

Here are the final numbers:


Power Trac PT425 with Attachments

PT 425 Tractor $10,450

T3233 60" Snow Blade $500
K164 Caster wheels $295
K147 Cutter Bar $180
T3239 Snow Blower $3,200
T3228 Power Sweeper $2,000
T3229 Spreader $1,200
T3424 29"UtilityGrapple$800
T3026 48 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************800 T3026 48******end_of_the_skype_highlighting"Brush Cutter $1,200
T3317 Power Dumper $1,600
T3319 Mini Hoe $1,300
K175 Thumb $150
T3151 Forks $400
T3062 10 Cu FT LM $450
T3061 5 Cu ft Bucket $370
Short Teeth $150
T3293 Box Blade $500
T3325 4N1 Bucket $1,400
Custom T8 Attach Plate $175
QA adapter /2" rec hitch $300
Shipping $655
VA Tax $1,331
Total $28,606

 

[Marks481]

My thanks to Clumber for letting me piggy-back on his order. After the 2' snows last year, I really wanted to get a LMB and snow blade, but the shipping on individual implements was too expensive. Worse then anything I saw in my 4 years of living in CT.

Clumber lives about an hour from me, and Kristie at Power Trac agreed to throw my order on the truck headed to Clumber's house.

Hopefully it gets here before the snow. I have a 300' driveway now.

Which reminds me; now I have to buy snow chains for my PT422.

 

[American Bulldog]

Enjoy the new machine Clumber. Should be some real fun trying out all the attachments.

 

[Clumber]

The only thing that really jumps out is that the 4n1 bucket is the same size as the 5 cu ft bucket... I can't think of any time that I have used the 4n1 and wanted a regular bucket instead. I suspect that the small bucket won't get used much.

Oh, and you might consider adding a second PT425 to the list so you won't have to fight for seat time.

My planned use of the 4in1 is to pull up small trees, posts, and rocks. We have many small trees to remove every few years. The trees can be pulled up with roots so they don't return later. Brush hogging leaves 4 inch stumps that are hazardus for people and animals. See this video of a 4n1 pulling up a post... YouTube - Mini Dingo 4in1 Bucket now @ The Rental Depot

I also wanted a bucket with teeth for digging, without the need for manually bolting them on when needed. I will report back on actual usage and success in the future.

 

[Clumber]

It was a dark and frigid night. The new PT 425 plus attachments arrived about 5:30 PM tonight. Wind chill was 19F. The tractor started after the 4th try. The fork lift was not loaded last... it was buried under the huge sweeper. The delivery person had to wrestle the sweeper and another attachment to get the forks. Several times when unloading one real wheel would be a foot off the round. Whew! The snow blower is massive. So glad that I did not buy the 1430. My three car garage is full with the tractor and implements taking up 2/3rd of it. I also have Tim's LMB and Blade. Everything made it ok. We are expecting warmer temps this weekend so I will begin to unpack the pallets. I took videos and will post this weekend. The Game is afoot!

Patrick