Ventrac 4500 Engine Opinions

[phil1841]

The wife and I have recently purchased our retirement home on 30 acres out in the country in North Mississippi. The house and finished shop are on the front of the property situated on a ridge which drops off pretty good on either side. On the back side of the ridge, the majority of our place is flat bottom land chock full of nice hardwoods. We recently took a 10ft long 2x4 (straight as we could find) and measured the slope in a number of places going down the ridge using a digital protractor and found a number of slopes in the 25-27 degree range. All of the areas we checked need to be mowed or perhaps brush hogged. We'll eventually cut some trails in the flat ground for dog (and people) walking and will need to keep those clear during the growing season as well. Additionally, we have probably 2-3 acres of open land which will need a little mowing or brush hogging every once in a while.

We've been thinking about the Ventrac as the best option for us to mow the areas around the house and front of the property. Knowing this will be our home as we get into our "later years" we think it's a good idea get a Ventrac as it appears to be a very safe and secure option for slope mowing. The wife enjoys mowing and is pretty adamant our Hustler ZTR will not work - and she's right about that. So, we're looking at the Ventrac with either the axle extension or dual tire option to use for keeping the area around the house and shop nice and tidy and keep the walking trails mowed.

So, the question for all of you Ventrac guys and gals is what engine would be best for us? At first, my gut reaction was --- tractors need diesel engines - right? But reading thru everything I could find online the last couple of months makes me think the gasoline engines are a good option with more HP and engine torque. Would really appreciate any pro's and con's you may offer on the question. We have a Ventrac dealer about an hour drive from us and planning to go see them in a couple of weeks. Would be great if we could get a unit to test drive on our place, but at a minimum we'll drive one at the dealer.

Thanks in advance to any thoughts you may have to help us decide.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

Seems to me it depends on how long you plan to keep it, price difference and an honest assessment of how well you do maintenance.
The diesel will run forever and generally requires less maintenance. The gas engine may need a replacement many years down the line before the rest of the tractor is worn out. But a replacement gas is probably only about $3000 if you need it. It will also probably require maintenance more often than the diesel. The diesel will undoubtedly have higher resale.
You should try to demo both as the diesel will probably be noisier and you may just like the feel of one better than the other. On your demo try to get a load on them not just doing loops in the parking lot.
Bottom line IMHO it's personal preference and pay me now or pay me later.

 

[johara1]

The 4500P is made to operate at 30 degrees continuously and they are very easy on gas with fuel injection. To the point of being as enonomical as diesel here with fuel being more per gallon than gas. I mow some very steep places, zero turns are killers in wet grass on a slope....... Jim

 

[Old Red]

You likely will not wear it out whatever engine you get. I like both engine types, and really like the idea of fuel injected for a gas type engine. Get whatever suits your budget best.

 

[prs]

If diesel, your choice is made and the guys with diesel are happy and NOT complaining about a bit of horse power sacrifice. Mine is the Kubota Gasser which is supposed to be the strongest. It is carbed and an older design that is well proven. I run the big 7' wide contour mower in some pretty tough field fescue as well as the lawn and my land is STEEP where I exceed 30 slope often. The duration I am supposed to operate this engine on the very steep slopes in any one direction is limited, but the limit is VERY generous such that I would never be going in that one direction for that long. Running the tough cut is no strain at all on the engine or slope-ability.

prs

 

[johara1]

I did have one engine go on a Ventrac from working too steep, a very costly lesson learned. That is why I have the 4500P, up, down or sideways 30 degrees continuous ...... Jim

 

[JackIL]

You are making a wise choice in Ventrac for the type of property you describe. Duals are a must for slopes of 25 degrees or more. The width with duals just matches a 72" deck which is probably the size you will want. The new 72 inch with hydraulic tilt is a gem. That deck weighs over 550 pounds which is more than 100 pounds more than the previous 72 inch deck, so tilting it by hand could be a challenge. The contour deck is wider (84") but is really intended for mowing on golf courses where the height of grass is relatively short. The contour deck being a rear discharge design does not perform as well in longer grass as the 72 inch side discharge.

You are also observant in noting that the Diesel has the lowest horsepower and peak torque of any of the engines offered by Ventrac. For average terrain mowing that is OK, but for slope mowing you will appreciate the maximum amount of horsepower and torque you can get. I have the 32 hp Kubota Gasoline and am very pleased with the performance on my property with slopes up to 30 degrees.

I also recommend you get arm rests and the hydrostatic foot control pedal options since you will be mowing slopes. Hook your elbow over the uphill armrest when mowing a side slope--it helps keep you upright in the seat. I use the foot control and hand control simultaneously. The foot helps the hand and the hand helps the foot so neither tires out. On slopes your hand can get tired if working alone since you have to push and hold the SDLA lever when ascending and pull back and hold when descending in order to maintain constant travel speed. I think this especially important when your wife operates the machine.

 

[johara1]

It ain't steep till you have to sit on the arm rest........ lol..... Jim

 

[MountainBuck]

The Ventrac 4500P with the Kawasaki engine is the ONLY engine rated for 30 degree slope continuous. All of the other engines are rated for 30 degrees intermittent.

https://www.ventrac.com/d/spec/4500.pdf

We bought our 4500P for this reason along with the dual tires. We use the tough cut mower, but we are not looking to "groom" the grass, just knock it down.

I would also recommend the deluxe seat with the arm rests. Helps a whole lot.

Not sure what you mean by "chock full" of hardwoods so just be aware that if you get a tree between the front and rear wheels, you will have a problem.

 

[Raw Dodge]

IMO the diesel Is for owners eho have others diesels and an off road fuel supply on site. If you will be lugging 5 gallons cans to refuel I'd go gas, since road diesel is more expensive it doesn't make sense . The Kwai 31 DFI burns 1.2 gph and the 25 diesel only bests it by .1 gph, The cheaper gas makes up for the higher consumption. It was stated earlier in this thread that the diesel will outlasts the gas engine . That's just a blanket statement and isn't true in this case. The gas Kubota will last at least as long as the diesel .The Kawi is also LC and will last longer than a typical air cooled gasser. All these engines run at 3600!rpm even the diesel . Diesel engines last longer usually due to running lower rpms and heavier duty construction the diesel Kubota doesn't gave either attribute over the gas options

 

[phil1841]

Thanks everyone! We are leaning toward the gas engine option at this point. Had not thought about the seat, arm rests and foot pedal options. All of that makes very good sense so they are now added to the "wish list".

To clarify the comment on our wooded areas - most are very flat bottom land and we don't plan to do much mowing except for maybe some walking trails once we get them cut in. I remember reading a post about trees and the articulating tractor - not something we want to experience! Will go back and read thru it again so we are sure we operate safely. (that's the first priority for the two of us)

Thanks again - your feedback and experience are greatly appreciated!!

 

[johara1]

The tree between the wheel is kind of a joke to me. With articulated equipment you can move sideways using the hydraulics to pick it up and articulate it out of ditches and away from obstacles . The Hydraulic power of the Ventrac is limited but it is enough to get you out of trouble most of the time. Jim

 

[johara1]

The tree between the wheel is kind of a joke to me. With articulated equipment you can move sideways using the hydraulics to pick it up and articulate it out of ditches and away from obstacles . The Hydraulic power of the Ventrac is limited but it is enough to get you out of trouble most of the time...... ftm

 

[johara1]

The tree between the wheel is kind of a joke to me. With articulated equipment you can move sideways using the hydraulics to pick it up and articulate it out of ditches and away from obstacles . The Hydraulic power of the Ventrac is limited but it is enough to get you out of trouble most of the time...... Jim

 

[JackIL]

A problem with power poles too.

 

[Farmerboy]

A problem with power poles too.

My wife did the exact same thing with a fence post on a hillside. Kept articulating against gravity until it was literally "wrapped around a pole".

 

[johara1]

you have to lift it off the ground when you articulate away, then set it down and articulate the other way ..... Jim

 

[prs]

Twice I have been so trapped. Once on an utility pole and again on a guy wire. Both times on enough slope where trying to use the hydraulic lift and steering to pivot away would not work since gravity's pull downhill exceeded any traction the mower could provide to push away. I just hooked my traditional tractor to it and scooted it out of the jams.

prs

 

[murph1]

Twice I have been so trapped. Once on an utility pole and again on a guy wire. Both times on enough slope where trying to use the hydraulic lift and steering to pivot away would not work since gravity's pull downhill exceeded any traction the mower could provide to push away. I just hooked my traditional tractor to it and scooted it out of the jams.

prs

Thank God for multiple Tractors!!

 

[Farmerboy]

Yeah....

So when my wife wrapped it around the corner post of a newly installed high tension fence, the machine only had 5 hours on it. I was too paranoid to pull the machine laterally (only because I have terrible luck and figured I would end up damaging the unit somehow someway). So....I cut the corner post off with a chainsaw and drove the Ventrac off. Eh, $15 corner post and an hour of work later, everything was back to normal.

I chalked it up to a great $15 lesson to learn - don't articulate against gravity and a tight spot.