All good points. Especially about deciding what you want to do before buying a machine.
I'll tell you from my point of view, after 17 years of owning this Power Trac PT425, and retiring my much larger conventional tractor, an IH2500b, and eventually getting rid of it.
First, I'm not saying this is THE BEST machine for everyone, just that it's the best for my needs. I'd just like people to open their eyes to other types of machines that are out there, like these articulated ones, skid steers, tracked skid steers, compact telehandlers, etc... so here goes.
Of course, loader work benefits from being out front. That we all know. But with a machine like mine, I can see the entire bucket when it's on the ground. I can't see in front of a traditional tractor, as the hood blocks the view.
The same thing goes for pallet forks. I can see the pallet (oh, no, did he say pallets?) to slip the forks under it. Can't do that with a conventional tractor.
This ease of view of the business end of the FEL arms makes things a lot easier and safer. A skid steer operator will say the same thing. I can see what I'm doing! :thumbsup:
Mowing a lawn is much easier for me with the mower deck out front. I can get into tight corners better than with a mid-mount, or rear mount. And I can go under trees and overhanging branches, like fruit trees, with much more precision and much less of a chance of knicking the bark with a rear mount deck. You can't mow under things like that with a mid-mount. Rear is better. Front is best.
Brush cutting, I have mowed down very thick 13'+ high thistle without having to drive through it first, or back over it. With the brush cutter on the FEL arms, I can raise it up in the air and mow almost vertically. I can also lift the deck up to about a foot high and take the top off of a bush or shrub, then back up and see how thick the stumps are without having to look behind me. At the end of the day, brush cutting thick brush with the cutter out front is much less fatiguing than having it behind me.
Power angle snow plow on the FEL arms is far superior to back blade. I don't have to drive through the snow before plowing it, and I can stack it 6' high. Just couldn't do that with a rear blade on a similar sized conventional tractor.
Hydraulic post hole digger on the FEL arms not only allows for easier alignment with the point on the ground where you want the hole, as you can see the spot on the ground from the operator's seat, it allows for power down, which a 3pt doesn't have, and it allows for reversing the auger if it gets stuck, which a PTO on a 3PT doesn't have.
Power brooms, mini-hoe, trencher, grapple bucket, stump grinder, power rake, cement mixer (mix and pour with the FEL arms), tree shear, post drivers.... all of those tasks are better accomplished out front where you can see them vs a conventional tractor.
Think about a snow blower on the FEL arms. Not only do you not have to turn around and watch it, you can lift it 6' in the air and tackle the tallest drifts.
One of my favorite tools is a 2" trailer hitch receiver tube mounted to a quick attach plate. I slip in a ball hitch, and I can drive right up to a trailer, see it right in front of me, put the ball in the socket, lift it up and push it anywhere I want with much greater accuracy and less fuss and no turning around if the ball was on the 3pt hitch. The operator just can't see that on the front of a conventional tractor.
Anyway, those are just some of my observations made over the past years.
If I had to plow dirt, or pull stumps, or operate large batwing mowers, or bale hay, then this machine wouldn't be for me. But I don't have to do any of those tasks. And I never have to change a 3pt implement again.
It takes me just a tad under 15 seconds to unlock and drop an implement and pick up another one and lock it into place and be on my way, and I don't have to get off the seat. If it's a powered implement, then I have to set the parking brake, unbuckle my seat belt, get off and hook up two hydraulic hoses, which adds about 30 seconds. I'll take that over a 3pt hitch any day.
