Would you buy another PT?

[Frank Sorbello]

Having owned a 1999 PT-422 for 8 months now, my biggest regret is not buying a new PT-425. I bought a neglected machine in February. I have given it a lot of TLC. It is in much better shape now. There are some things on it I don't like. i.e. the Subaru engine hard starting in the cold, not enough weight in the rear of the tractor, and no local dealerships other than Tazewell.

I also have a Steiner 420. I like the PT more. I think I am going to sell the Steiner, and yes I would buy another PT.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Sell both and get a 1430....

And yes.. unless I won the lotto then I might be looking at a much more expensive beast.

 

[cqaigy2]

Ditto

 

[BobRip]

Having owned a 1999 PT-422 for 8 months now, my biggest regret is not buying a new PT-425. I bought a neglected machine in February. I have given it a lot of TLC. It is in much better shape now. There are some things on it I don't like. i.e. the Subaru engine hard starting in the cold, not enough weight in the rear of the tractor, and no local dealerships other than Tazewell.

I also have a Steiner 420. I like the PT more. I think I am going to sell the Steiner, and yes I would buy another PT.

My present PT422 does too well to buy another. If it dies I am getting a 425 though.

 

[MuncyBob]

This Bob agrees with ^ Bob. There are times I wish I had those few extra inches in lift height and a little more grunt power. Would love the 1430 but it sits too high for my applications.

 

[MossRoad]

I bought the PT425 in 2001. Once I decided on the 400 series frame size, I picked the largest engine size I could get. For a tractor (or any other piece of equipment for that matter) I can't see getting a smaller engine for any good reason. The fuel savings is negligible over the life of the tractor. The weight is pretty much the same. The wear and tear will be greater on the smaller engine given the fact that tractor owners (especially home owners) tend to push them to their limits more often than foreseen before the purchase. The price of the PT425 back in 2001, as I recall, was the same dollar per horse power as the PT422 and I got two steering cylinders and a ROPS included. These days, the PT425 has a higher lift as well, I believe.

Given everything I know today, my only hesitation on purchasing a new PT400 series would be the cold starting capabilities of the Subaru engine VS my Kohler engine. The Kohler has yet failed to start even down to -0F temps with the exception of a dead battery. I had to use some starting fluid and a jumper battery, but it started. And the few times I need it at those temps, I NEED IT. Maybe the new fuel injected Subaru will do better, but until I hear from someone that starts theirs consistently below 0F, I won't buy one with the Subaru engine.

 

[KMA]

I would've preferred the 425 for the dual steering rams, higher lift and overall "heavierdutiness", but I don't regret buying the 422 since the price difference was significant and I was able to get the attachments I needed. The stock Robin engine is not a good cold weather starter for sure. Since swapping in the EH72FI (the EH65 died...), that issue has been alleviated for the most part. I wish PT could have designed it to fit a liquid cooled engine since heat build up in the tub has always been a problem for me. The exhaust routing is part of it too.

Right now I can't fit (or afford) a larger tractor, especially one that does all the things my PT does. My current shed is 12x24, and it's filled with attachments, an ATV, a 61" ZTR, Honda mower, snowblower, and rototiller. The PT was my primary mower for several years and I've dug hundreds of feet of drainage. I've done so many projects that it has literally paid for itself a few times over. I don't use it quite as much as in the past since I have my Ferris for mowing and most of the new home projects have been completed, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Now if I can only keep the darn mice out of it! ullinghair:

 

[ponytug]

For sure.

Ditto about paying for itself many times over. Half the front fence paid for the tractor and post driver. :cool2:

All the best,

Peter

 

[BobRip]

If I did not get a PT I I don't know what else I would get to replace it. I would have to spend several times as much just to equal what I can do now. Also I have a big investment in attachments, which exceeds what I paid for the 422. I hate to loose that.

 

[Gravy]

Absolutely. I might even look into getting a custom 400 series with larger displacement wheel motors with real brakes and 3000psi reliefs. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Frank Sorbello]

Does anyone know why PT doesn't offer the the Kohler engine has an option anymore?

 

[Gravy]

Yes. Money.

Way back in 2004 when I bought mine, I asked that same question. IIRC, the explanation from the PT folks boiled down to Kohler deciding that PT didn't buy enough engines to qualify for quantity discounts, while Subaru Robin beat the Kohler wholesale price by several hundred dollars. The S-R is also a good bit more compact, making it easier and cheaper to design a tractor around.

The Robin engine can be nearly impossible to start when cold, and somebody at the factory needs to tighten the hose clamps on the oil cooler hoses just a bit more...

OTOH, some of the Kohlers have had serious problems with head gaskets and the valve train.

They are all built to a price point, and none of them are perfect. I'm thinking of trying to fit a Honda GX690 in place of my old Robin EH720D when the time comes...unless a workable diesel comes on the market.

 

[coolconnection]

Do you think any of those 2 cylinder air cooled diesels they sell from China would be any good? Wonder if it would be a good option when the time comes.

 

[woodlandfarms]

If money was no object, I would look at an AEBI, Aebi Tractors front rear implement carrier steep slopes land care, an AGT Tractors AGT - Agromehanika d.d., But my favorite (and one we almost bought) was a Carraro http://www.antoniocarraro.it/na

This all said, I love my PT. And these machines above, I mean parts would be impossible, so would repairs, and just to buy one is 80K at least...

 

[MossRoad]

Ahh, the dream machine.... if money were no object... :drink:

 

[MossRoad]

Personally, I like my PT425. I knew it would not lift high enough to load a pickup truck from the side, but I rarely take loose material away from my property. I bring it home. Also, a pickup truck was no longer practical for me, as I have a wife and 2 kids with friends. Even a quad cab pickup does not have enough seating capacity. So I bought an 18' car hauler trailer and towed that behind our van conversion, and now behind a Suburban. The car hauler trailer can carry the PT425 and ALL of my attachments if needed. I can load the trailer with loose material from the side with the PT425 if needed. I can unload the trailer with the FEL or forks by just driving right up on it. And the trailer can carry more than a pickup could anyway.

I really think the PT425 is the sweet spot for home use and small estate use. Couple that with a Suburban and a car hauler trailer and you can do just about anything. It was easy to volunteer the PT's services to our church/school and little league. I can take it to friends houses for an afternoon of fun (and beverages). I can take it to our rural property to do chores or gather firewood. It's just about the perfect machine for me.

Could there be improvements from the factory? Sure. But I can customize it myself as time and budget allows and tailor it to my needs, which may not be the same needs as the masses. I still cannot find another machine that can do so much for so little. It just plain runs circles around a conventional tractor of the same size doing the tasks I need to do. If I needed to pull, that's the only thing a conventional tractor of the same size would out-perform in. And most home owners/small estate owners do not plow dirt that couldn't be done with a tiller.

Just this weekend I pulled about 30-40 firewood trees out of the woods over to our landing with the PT425. They varied in diameter from 6" to 18". Some of the smaller ones were 60' long. The larger ones had to get cut into manageable lengths. But I just popped on the forks, chain up the tree to the forks, drag it out to the landing, pop off the chain and wrap it around the forks, use the forks to stack the logs and back to the woods again. Haul after haul, 8mph in both directions. In a couple hours I was done. Just like that. You can't drive a conventional tractor over that kind of terrain at those speeds in both directions. It just can't be done.

Pound for pound, the PT425 is pretty formidable. Yeah. Formidable

for·mi·da·ble

/ˈfôrmədəbəl,fôrˈmidəbəl,fərˈmid-/

adjective
adjective: formidable
1. inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

 

[cqaigy2]

Ditto:laughing:

 

[BAGTIC]

Probably won't buy another because I haven't worn this one out yet and at my age it looks like I probably won't.

My 425 is about six years old and has about 2600 hours on it. Is it perfect? No. It is very useful. I have had two wheel motors rebuilt (seals). I have had my share of flats on my turf tires but considering where I take it I doubt any other machine would have fared better. I have twice had problems with the electric solenoid not cutting off the gas supply and ending up with a crankcase full of fuel. I have replaced the ignition switch twice, probably should have kept it under cover. During recent record could spell there were a couple of minus zero degrees when I could not get it to start. Not because it wouldn't turn over but because the choke cable had frozen and would not move. When it thawed it started right off.

Hove both. Had teeth bar added to small one. The loader is good for scooping and loading but not for excavating. The tractor simply does not have enough weight to break packed earth. I resort to using the 'potato digger' to first rip the soil and the bucket to scoop it. I have 14" and 30" augers. They have been very useful for me on the farm. I wore out the cutting edges on the 14" one because of our rocky flinty soil. May get another smaller auger for planting nut (walnut, pecan) trees with their long taproots. The 14" make too big a hole hard to backfilled and water in. I have 48 inch finish mower. Wish I had gotten the 60 inch as those few extra inches would make it a lot easier to mow right up to foundations, walls, fences. 48 inch rotor tiller works about like most similar rototillers but better if hydraulic flow is reverse so tines turn upwards. I have always wondered if it would have been better to have gotten a powered landscape rake as it may have pounded less and been less prone to balling up with weeds. The rake is the most useless implement I have. Too few tines to rake leaves and grass and too weak for twigs, rocks, etc. I have added broadcast seeder, 55 gallon sprayer. trailer hitch, hydraulic boom chain saw. Trailer hitch is great for pushing a 16 ft flatbed trailer around the farm. Pushing lets me go places I could have never gone towing and I don't even need to hook it up. Slip ball under trailer coupling and tongue weight holds it until I drop it. Carries firewood, fertilizer, generator, tools, fencing, lumber, rocks, etc. right up front in plain sight. Front mounted hitch is GREAT. Handy parking boat trailer and hooking up Brush hog to farm tractor. All in all a very useful tractor.

The cramped engine compartment is a P.I.T.A. I don't weld but I finally found some one who said he could install a detachable floor plate in the engine box for clean out & maintenance and stifle the loud muffler. These are my two biggest complaints. Also wish wheels attached with studs instead of those damned little bolts. I am getting too old to squat on the cold icy ground when changing a flat.
If I were designing a version of my own it would be similar but it would use a bigger engine (38-40 hp w/ fuel injection?). Derated to 2400 rpm it would provide more net power at lower rpm with no more fuel consumption and longer engine life. An extra 100-150 pounds in the back would also help lifting. I can't quitter lift even the small round hay bales with mine and had to get an old farm tractor just for that and field mowing.

 

[ovrszd]

Personally, I like my PT425. I knew it would not lift high enough to load a pickup truck from the side, but I rarely take loose material away from my property. I bring it home. Also, a pickup truck was no longer practical for me, as I have a wife and 2 kids with friends. Even a quad cab pickup does not have enough seating capacity. So I bought an 18' car hauler trailer and towed that behind our van conversion, and now behind a Suburban. The car hauler trailer can carry the PT425 and ALL of my attachments if needed. I can load the trailer with loose material from the side with the PT425 if needed. I can unload the trailer with the FEL or forks by just driving right up on it. And the trailer can carry more than a pickup could anyway.

I really think the PT425 is the sweet spot for home use and small estate use. Couple that with a Suburban and a car hauler trailer and you can do just about anything. It was easy to volunteer the PT's services to our church/school and little league. I can take it to friends houses for an afternoon of fun (and beverages). I can take it to our rural property to do chores or gather firewood. It's just about the perfect machine for me.

Could there be improvements from the factory? Sure. But I can customize it myself as time and budget allows and tailor it to my needs, which may not be the same needs as the masses. I still cannot find another machine that can do so much for so little. It just plain runs circles around a conventional tractor of the same size doing the tasks I need to do. If I needed to pull, that's the only thing a conventional tractor of the same size would out-perform in. And most home owners/small estate owners do not plow dirt that couldn't be done with a tiller.

Just this weekend I pulled about 30-40 firewood trees out of the woods over to our landing with the PT425. They varied in diameter from 6" to 18". Some of the smaller ones were 60' long. The larger ones had to get cut into manageable lengths. But I just popped on the forks, chain up the tree to the forks, drag it out to the landing, pop off the chain and wrap it around the forks, use the forks to stack the logs and back to the woods again. Haul after haul, 8mph in both directions. In a couple hours I was done. Just like that. You can't drive a conventional tractor over that kind of terrain at those speeds in both directions. It just can't be done.

Pound for pound, the PT425 is pretty formidable. Yeah. Formidable

for·mi·da·ble

/ˈfôrmədəbəl,fôrˈmidəbəl,fərˈmid-/

adjective
adjective: formidable
1. inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

After a chest thumping proclaimation like this post I had no choice but click on the little tractor for video proof. Yep handy "little" implement. Nimble. Practical for light work. Variable in it's abilities. Formidable,,,, nope. Does just what it's designed to do with no fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

 

[MossRoad]

After a chest thumping proclaimation like this post I had no choice but click on the little tractor for video proof. Yep handy "little" implement. Nimble. Practical for light work. Variable in it's abilities. Formidable,,,, nope. Does just what it's designed to do with no fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

Sounds like someone has Corvette syndrome.