Would you buy another PT?

[MossRoad]

I quoted Brin because he and I have running ribbing session for the past year or so, that's all. We're having a good laugh.
Let's you and I have a good laugh, too. Some day, perhaps, we'll meet for a beverage and shake hands, eh?

 

[ovrszd]

No worries here. Just following your lead.

 

[MossRoad]

We'll need some formidable beverages. :laughing:

 

[BobRip]

I have been looking forward to replacing my PT 422 with a 425, but the 422 is doing too well. I don't think it has been mentioned, if I get a 425 I can use my same attachments. I have as much money in them as in the 422. Also I don't really think that there is another machine that will do what my PT does.

 

[DT86]

...Its a cool machine. Problem is that your built in puckerometer will fail way before the tractor will...

The first PT I ever saw had the dual wheels and a post driver mounted on it, thought it was cool so I looked them up online and couldn't believe they are made just up the road from here.

I'm a steep slope junky. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than bush hogging the nastiest mess of briars off a hill side.

 

[woodlandfarms]

The first PT I ever saw had the dual wheels and a post driver mounted on it, thought it was cool so I looked them up online and couldn't believe they are made just up the road from here.

I'm a steep slope junky. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than bush hogging the nastiest mess of briars off a hill side.

Then you better go buy one. Nothing is funner than stepping off your machine and tumbling down the hill... Or worse, getting off, going down the hill to deal with an issue and then having to hike back up to the machine. The realization of what a 30 or 40 degree slope is like is an eye opener. But based on your 9540 could you put dualies on? That would be a slope mowing machine. Wouldn't want to lift anything up but...

 

[cqaigy2]

I have to admit, i was put off when i first saw one. You know, not a real tractor, looking like a golf cart etc. After tipping up on two wheels using a couple different tractors i decided to look these over better. Now i'm glad i made the decision to get one. On top of the stability, the articulation and it's ability to climb up and over logs, it is by far the best fit for what i need it to do. I love my "little" PT.

 

[MossRoad]

I, too, was worried about the ground clearance when compared to conventional tractors. But what a lot of folks don't realize is not only does it articulate left and right, it oscillates between the front and rear sections. When you encounter and obstacle, like a log, you can drive the left front tire up on it, and when you turn the wheel all the way to the left, it closes the gap between the two left tires to where they're only a few inches apart. Since the bottom of the unit is essentially entirely a skid plate, you just slide over stuff. I've only hung it on a log one time in 12 years. It was a wet log and my turfs peeled the bark off of it. The far side of the log was also a drop off, so I couldn't push down with the FEL to raise the front up enough to back over the log. So I grabbed the chainsaw, cut a chunk of log, put it under the mower deck, lowered the mower onto it and pushed myself back off of the log. :thumbsup: And, again, I was in a place that I never could have gone with my IH. It was deep into the woods between narrow gaps in trees on a sandy ridge with a too steep side slope for that big tractor. If I was just dedicating the machine to the woods, I'd get larger wheel motors for more torque and tires with larger tread, and, perhaps tire chains. But for now, its the perfect do-all machine for my varied chores.

 

[KMA]

Where was I being nit picky???

I meant you were being nit picky by basing most of your disagreement with Moss's post on his use of the word formidable. My response to you was to show that the word "formidable" (using the definition provided by Moss) could be considered correct... using your own words.

My opinion is based on it's configuration. I believe my Yamaha Rhino has more underbelly clearance. It appears to be a very capable machine on relatively level and smooth terrain.

Your comparison to the Rhino makes absolutely no sense whatsoever...

I certainly do not think my tractor is formidable. I never made any comparisons between either of my tractors and the PT. Would you like to have that comparable discussion between my tractor and your PT??

I'm confused again. What would the discussion be about? Whether your tractor would be better than mine for what I need it to do? You would certainly lose that one. Unless you meant you wanted to discuss which tractor is "formidable", but that would be silly since you just admitted that you don't think yours is...

So you agree then that formidable might not be the right descriptive word for the PT?

No I don't agree. If you re-read my previous post I said that it could be a word used to describe the PT, it just wouldn't be the first one that comes to my mind.

Listen, we are all relatively intelligent people here. When someone who is not a PT owner posts his opinions in the "Would you buy another PT" thread, their motivations are going to be suspect. If you don't own one, why come in here and debate which words should be used to describe it? IMO, the "tone" of your response sounded condescending, whether intentional or not, and my guess is that you believe your tractor is a "real" one, and the PT is a neat "little implement".

TBH Moss' use of the phrase "Corvette syndrome" doesn't sound too far fetched to me. :thumbsup:

 

[BobRip]

Most of my neighbors have tractors. They borrow my services for my PT many more times than I borrow theirs. The attachments are reasonably priced and effective. They are easy to swap out and I will often change attachments several times during one project. I never did this when I had a conventional tractor.

For pulling and plowing a conventional tractor is superior.

 

[IslandTractor]

Tractors were designed for pulling. PT type work vehicles really don't pull much and are more focused on operating an implement attached to the front. It may be a technicality but I don't really think of PTs as tractors any more than I think of the big front end loaders as tractors. Regardless, I'd love to have a PT with about six implements to supplement my tractor.

 

[KMA]

Most of my neighbors have tractors. They borrow my services for my PT many more times than I borrow theirs. The attachments are reasonably priced and effective. They are easy to swap out and I will often change attachments several times during one project. I never did this when I had a conventional tractor.

For pulling and plowing a conventional tractor is superior.

Tractors were designed for pulling. PT type work vehicles really don't pull much and are more focused on operating an implement attached to the front. It may be a technicality but I don't really think of PTs as tractors any more than I think of the big front end loaders as tractors. Regardless, I'd love to have a PT with about six implements to supplement my tractor.

I think you guys have it exactly right and that the PT really isn't a tractor in the conventional sense. I use the term for simplicity. There are absolutely situations where a CUT would be much more useful than my PT. I bought mine when building a new home and used it to put in hundreds of feet of drainage, spread many, many tons of top soil for the lawn, spread many, many tons of stone for the driveway, spread many, many yards of mulch, plant all my trees and shrubs, cut down about an acre of brush, mow 3 acres lawn weekly, put in a small vineyard, move large stones to build a 50 ft retaining wall, several other misc projects, and even snowblow. It paid for itself within the first year, including the attachments.

There were definitely times a CUT with the right attachments would have been a big help, but in general it would have been much slower at lot of these jobs. The PT excels at spreading dirt/stone/mulch in a way that is fast and minimizes the work needed by hand. It is also better at brush cutting and mowing in most scenarios. Those are the things I spent the most time doing. If I lived on a farm, the CUT would be a better choice if I could only pick one... albeit much more expensive than my PT.

 

[IslandTractor]

I think you guys have it exactly right and that the PT really isn't a tractor in the conventional sense. I use the term for simplicity. There are absolutely situations where a CUT would be much more useful than my PT. I bought mine when building a new home and used it to put in hundreds of feet of drainage, spread many, many tons of top soil for the lawn, spread many, many tons of stone for the driveway, spread many, many yards of mulch, plant all my trees and shrubs, cut down about an acre of brush, mow 3 acres lawn weekly, put in a small vineyard, move large stones to build a 50 ft retaining wall, several other misc projects, and even snowblow. It paid for itself within the first year, including the attachments.

There were definitely times a CUT with the right attachments would have been a big help, but in general it would have been much slower at lot of these jobs. The PT excels at spreading dirt/stone/mulch in a way that is fast and minimizes the work needed by hand. It is also better at brush cutting and mowing in most scenarios. Those are the things I spent the most time doing. If I lived on a farm, the CUT would be a better choice if I could only pick one... albeit much more expensive than my PT.

I mostly agree but I think a tractor is better at mowing larger areas while a PT is better for smaller areas that require maneuvering around houses, trees etc. If I think about brush clearing I would probably choose a 40hp tractor over a PT but would chose a PT over a 25hp tractor. Tough for a PT to keep up with 6ft implements on a CUT or a CUT with 2500+lbs of lift capacity.

One other thing, I would definitely choose the PT for just about any task that required traversing a slope of more than about 12 degrees.

 

[brin]

OK Doc...Go buy yourself a PT and all the implements...If you don't, I will talk to Moss about taking up a collection to help you afford it....

 

[KMA]

I mostly agree but I think a tractor is better at mowing larger areas while a PT is better for smaller areas that require maneuvering around houses, trees etc. If I think about brush clearing I would probably choose a 40hp tractor over a PT but would chose a PT over a 25hp tractor. Tough for a PT to keep up with 6ft implements on a CUT or a CUT with 2500+lbs of lift capacity.

One other thing, I would definitely choose the PT for just about any task that required traversing a slope of more than about 12 degrees.

Yes, for mowing large fields the larger tractor is better. If you are mowing a typical lawn with the same size deck (e.g. 60") then I'm convinced the PT425 is faster, especially if you have any slopes, soft areas, septic fields, etc that would be impacted by heavy tractors or AG tires. As you mentioned, you can get closer to things and even under bushes or low trees. A 72" deck on a bigger tractor would speed things up, but not much if there a lots of obstacles... again, in a farm/field type scenario it would win out. I'm a fairly busy person and extra time is hard to come by, so I ended up buying a commercial, 61" ZTR mower that will cut a typical yard faster than both the PT and tractor put together. Same thing with brush cutting... you can get close and under things, but if it is a very serious job (e.g. lots of small trees, etc) then yes, the extra power of a tractor would be very useful. If you are just knocking down tall grass/weeds twice a year, the PT gets it done pretty efficiently in my experience.

I guess if we pick out certain scenarios it's easy to make one look better than the other. In my situation, which I don't think is all that uncommon, the wide turf tires and articulating steering allows the PT to be very soft over the ground when mowing and doing work. Where I live there are springs and soggy areas all over (hence the reason for all the drainage I mentioned in an earlier post), and my PT gives me a decent chance to "float" over them without getting stuck or creating ruts. A CUT would have torn my lawn to shreds, especially early on when I was trying to establish the new grass. These are some of the big reasons landscapers have bought PTs over the years. Actually, I kind of think of my PT as a cross between a Dingo and a tractor. :2cents:

OK Doc...Go buy yourself a PT and all the implements...If you don't, I will talk to Moss about taking up a collection to help you afford it....

lol :applause:

[edit]
Adding some before and after pics showing some of the work my PT has done.




You can't really see the lay of the land in the overhead images, but it slopes down (varying from about 5 to 20 degrees in different parts) from the house to the stone wall in the middle of the photo. In the back of the house, it slopes up at about a 25 degree angle before flattening out and getting much less steep. There is drainage in the front across the yard between the wall and "vineyard", along the entire driveway all the way up and in front of the wall in the back yard, and there is a large swale added the far right near the tree line. I also added a bunch to the septic system in the front yard between the wall and house.

 

[MossRoad]

I mostly agree but I think a tractor is better at mowing larger areas while a PT is better for smaller areas that require maneuvering around houses, trees etc. If I think about brush clearing I would probably choose a 40hp tractor over a PT but would chose a PT over a 25hp tractor. Tough for a PT to keep up with 6ft implements on a CUT or a CUT with 2500+lbs of lift capacity.

One other thing, I would definitely choose the PT for just about any task that required traversing a slope of more than about 12 degrees.

I'm going to make a few points about mowing. There's no cruise control on a PT. There isn't one on most small tractors, either. But a geared tractor you can set the throttle and just drive along. As long as the large area if basically free of curves and obstructions, the tractor would be a good choice. However, most yards are not flat and free of obstructions. They have trees, flower beds, fences, curves, etc... and the PT excels at that. I used to mow a little league that had 4 ball diamonds. My PT425 did just fine mowing that when the Kubota was in the shop. For really large areas, you'd just purchase a tow behind 60" self powered mower and tow it behind you offset to one side and have a 110" wide cut with an overlap of 10".

 

[SpringHollow]

Let's also remember that PT is a brand and not a model. My PT has an 8' brush hog on it. Having said that, it uses much more fuel than a geared tractor doing the same job. However, if it is on a steep slope, you will have cleaner shorts with a PT.

As has been said many many times, the PT's are excel at doing lots of things easily. There will likely be equipment that will do an individual task better than a PT.

Ken

Ken

 

[IslandTractor]

Let's also remember that PT is a brand and not a model. My PT has an 8' brush hog on it. Having said that, it uses much more fuel than a geared tractor doing the same job. However, if it is on a steep slope, you will have cleaner shorts with a PT.

As has been said many many times, the PT's are excel at doing lots of things easily. There will likely be equipment that will do an individual task better than a PT.

Ken

Ken

To add to your point, there is nothing that compares in efficiency and flexibility to that PT425 plus five or six implements on the special trailer kit. I would imagine that can easily be towed by an SUV so it really is the Swiss Army knife of tractor tools as far as flexible and compact is concerned.

 

[MossRoad]

To add to your point, there is nothing that compares in efficiency and flexibility to that PT425 plus five or six implements on the special trailer kit. I would imagine that can easily be towed by an SUV so it really is the Swiss Army knife of tractor tools as far as flexible and compact is concerned.

Yeah, the Swiss Army knife is a good analogy. I think its more like a Leatherman tool. I have an 18' car hauler trailer. I can easily put my 60" finish mower, 48" brush hog, large light material bucket, small toothed rock bucket, pallet forks, 60" power angle snow blade and the PT425 itself and more all on the same trailer and take it to a job site. Since you can change an implement in under 15 seconds without getting off the tractor (30 seconds more and a hop on and off for powered implements), any PT owner will tell you that its actually fun to change implements. You get a little smile every time you operate that quick attach. Its nothing to change implements 15-20 times in a day when doing landscaping work. I do that a lot with my forks and buckets. Its just like folding in a blade on the Swiss Army knife and opening another one. I love this machine's concept.

 

[IslandTractor]

Yeah, the Swiss Army knife is a good analogy. I think its more like a Leatherman tool. I have an 18' car hauler trailer. I can easily put my 60" finish mower, 48" brush hog, large light material bucket, small toothed rock bucket, pallet forks, 60" power angle snow blade and the PT425 itself and more all on the same trailer and take it to a job site. Since you can change an implement in under 15 seconds without getting off the tractor (30 seconds more and a hop on and off for powered implements), any PT owner will tell you that its actually fun to change implements. You get a little smile every time you operate that quick attach. Its nothing to change implements 15-20 times in a day when doing landscaping work. I do that a lot with my forks and buckets. Its just like folding in a blade on the Swiss Army knife and opening another one. I love this machine's concept.

Exactly. Do you even need to dismount to remove or secure a new attachment or is there a hydraulic lock on the tool carrier?

I want one. I'm gunna buy another lottery ticket!