General Questions

[davesisk]

Hey bmac:

Check out this link: http://www.ipass.net/~davesisk/tractor.htm), then used it to carry in around 200 retaining wall blocks, 3 pallets of brick pavers, 10 tons of gravel, and about 12 tons of sand.

Can you dig with the FEL bucket? Yup. Takes some patience and a little bit of practice, but you can sure do it. (I did this with the light material bucket, by the way...I don't even have the smaller, more aggressive bucket with teeth!)

The digging technique that seems to work with the 4' bucket is to angle the bucket down just shy of vertical, pick up the front end of the tractor on the bucket's edge with the lift arms, wiggle it by turning the steering, and curl the bucket up while driving forward. You can come out with a decent scoop o' clay. This takes a little practice (not much), but I was very pleased the first time I came up with a half-bucket full! The machine isn't nearly as heavy as many excavating machines, so you have to use everything to get the force onto the bucket edge.

I use the same technique to dig with the 8" backhoe bucket that I have rigged-up now, and it works even better. Plus, I can dig a 8" width trench rather than a 48" wide trench. I managed to do a 14" deep trench 60' long for a plumbing repair at my house in about 4 hours or so.

Keep posting questions. Also, if you live close to some of the folks on the board, they might let you come check out theirs if you simply ask. I'm in Raleigh, NC, if you're interested, but mine's probably not a good example to look at, since it's 12 years old and doesn't have the quick-attach.

Concerning resale, I wouldn't be too concerned. Apparently, folks buy these things and never resale them. The factory has a waiting list of folks wanting to buy used ones, so I really don't think resale is that much of an issue.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[bmac]

MossRoad, Thanks again for the information. I wasn't worried about engine problems down the road as I would imagine almost any suitably powered one could be made to work, if necessary. And, although my primary mower shop no longer services thing they don't sell, I know I can find someone who would take care of the engine. I guess once you guys figure out who makes the hydraulic motors, then everything else is just plate steel and hoses.


I'll have to think about the tire issue as most of my use would be mowing. But, then again, if the bar tires are really gentle on grass, what's the harm? Fortunately (for me) snow is not much of an issue for me in Georgia.

Sounds like the 60" mower deck would keep me form getting into too much trouble next to the fence. OK, one more thing I don't have to worry too much about. You guys are quickly shooting holes in all of my concerns.

Again, thanks alot.

 

[bmac]

wasabi, I wish I could find an excuse for a 2445, That is one impressive looking machine. I'm thinking that I really only need a backhoe for this retaining wall project, after which there are other options for what I would have used a BH for (e.g. planting trees). So, I could either rent a BH for a day or get one of these other attachments mentioned below for my limited needs. Thank you for your reply.

 

[wasabi]

Bmac,

Some further thoughts for you regarding upkeep and maintenance.

I have spent enough hours working on my used PT to tell you first hand that there is not anything mysterious about the way these machines are put together. The Deutz diesel starts first try every time. It powers the hydraulic pump. There are two other minor pumps, both attached to the primary. The rest, aside from the bullet proof plate steel, is basically hoses, filters, valves, linkage, minor electronics and task-specific hydraulic motors.

My biggest source of frustration has been getting my hands and arms into location amidst tight spaces to twist a wrench. It just takes patience. The latest hose I replaced required that I remove the intake and exhaust manifolds. After I finished moaning over my quandary, the wrench twisting part was dead easy.

I have found that working on the machine myself is satisfying in an odd sort of way. It definately gives me a better appreciation for the machine. I get necessary hyd hoses made up at the local NAPA auto store....the last one, a bigger one for a wheel drive motor was $42.00 including fittings. In time I basically expect to replace all the hoses. I figure maintenance comes with the party. Every time I work on it I learn something new.

Bottom line....even if you are not mechanically inclined, PT's are far from intimidating, and certainly nothing daunting for any capable hydraulic mechanic to fix.

 

[bmac]

Charlie, I have looked at the Lackender site and recall only seeing hoe attachment for skidsteers. I'll look again. I'll also look for Carpenter's pic. Thank you.

I called Power Trac HQ today and spoke with Chris. Seemed like a nice fellow. He said I could take the maintenance course even before I made a purchasing decision. That would be nice to only have to make one trip (shop and learn), although I'm sure there would be more value in taking the course after spending some time on the machine.

Regarding friends to help with maintenance / repairs, I have a number of neighbors who are airline mechanics. Surely they could fix one of these things. For the ones who don't drink, I could repay them by digging holes in their yard for them. Win-win. I also have a neighbor who owns the local New Holland dealership (his dad owns the closest Kubota dealership). My guess is that he would harbor no ill will if I bought a PT and, as his business is new, I bet he would love to have the service work.

Thanks, Charlie

 

[MossRoad]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=powertrac&Number=158607&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>Here's the link to Carpenter's Lackender hoe for the 400 series thread</A>

 

[bmac]

davesisk, Nice patio! Really enhances your backyard. The wall around it is very much what I have in mind. I'll be substituting landscaping for the brick pavers, but otherwise, I hope mine ends up looking as good as yours.

I like that 8" bucket thingy. You push it like a regular FEL bucket instead of pulling like a backhoe? Something like that would probably make a nice footing for my wall.

Thanks to you and everyone else who has taken the time to answer my questions and offer advice. Chris at Power Trac is sending literature and video. I can't imagine that it will provide anywhere near the information I have gotton from you folks in just a couple of days.

So, I'll continue to read throught the backlog of posts on this forum, read the literature and watch the video from Chris and then try to make a trip to Tazewell. Man, that place is in the middle of nowhere. Looks to be about an 8 hour drive for me. If I fly, it appears I will still have to drive about 2 hours (I think Roanoke is the closest semi-major airport). But, compared to where many of you live, I guess I should be thankful I'm as close as I am. Count my blessings.

Anyway, unless some other questions arise, I'll be doing some independent study. Thanks, again, everyone.

Edit: MossRoad, thanks for the link. That BH looks great. It would be nice to hear from Eric on the progress he has made with it. Last post I could find was back in July. In any event, it looks like a promising compromise to the backhoe issue.

 

[MossRoad]

HEY! No one asked him if he saw my website?

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://pt425.godollei.net>Click here</A> to see more long winded ranting by me about my Power Trac PT425 and also some cool pictures and videos! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[bmac]

Too late, MR. I've read every word, viewed every photo and watched all of your videos. Great stuff.

 

[DelW]

Sorry, BMAC, but I got around to reading your questions a little late in the game.

While I was originally looking at a 2445, I came to realize that the 2425 was going to get me significantly more part-time business with the local landscapers because of it's 45" width (ability to get through most yard gates) and it's extremely versatile backhoe setup. Just tonight, I'm bidding out about 150' of retaining wall trench (14-16" wide by 18" deep) for a big-time landscaper who couldn't get his big equipment in amongst the trees or past the current landscaping without serious damage to either. In a past project, I used the 3 ft. trencher to go as deep as I could in some ROCK HARD clay, then swiveled the seat around and used the backhoe to dig a couple 4 1/2 ft. deep holes on either side of a sidewalk to connect a guy's sump pump to the sump collection pipes buried 4 ft. at the street.

I don't have any of the mowers but I see that you can get a 60" one for the 2425. I think the value is hard to beat...$13,700 for the 2425 with backhoe, another $1200 for 60" mower, $400 for small bucket with teeth, $300 for forks (tons of different uses) and you've only spent $15,600. You had mentioned something about digging holes with an auger but with the 9" bucket that the backhoe comes with, it's possible to dig some good "tree-planting" holes (just wouldn't work so well for building fences, etc.).

Don't know if this helps, but wanted to throw in my two cents!

By the way, the trip is worth the drive....my wife and I drove almost 2900 miles in 4 days to get the training.

 

[bmac]

Del, Thanks for jumping in. I agree that the 2425 is a great value and can do things that the 425 cannot. It's a little intimidating to look at (photos) and I can't imagine the looks from my neighbors if they saw me mowing my 1 acre lot with that little beast. Probably would raise eyebrows with the 425.

The great thing about going to the factory will be the opportunity to actually see and operate the different models. I may be surprised when I get to actually sit on one and try it out.

Thanks again or the reply. Obviously, I need all of the input I can get.

 

[MossRoad]

I live on 1 acre and I find the PT425 is perfect. I can mow my lawn in about 18 minutes if I go all out, or I can take my time and do a nice job in about a half an hour to 35 minutes. It has never been too big. It DOES raise eyebrows and everyone asks, "Why did you get something that big?". Then you compare it in size to a large lawn tractor. It isn't much bigger. It is only 43" wide and the top of the canopy is less than 6' because I can look at the top of my canopy and I'm 6' tall. You can back it into a full sized pickup truck with the 60" mower attached. The mower hangs out about a foot and a half. Or you can back it in with the large bucket attached. You can nest the small bucket inside of that and the forks inside of that! There was even room for my custom slicer thingy, a sledge hammer and my lunch cooler. Just something to think about if you need to transport it and don't want to buy a trailer. I eventually bought a trailer for my van because I want to get rid of my truck. It is a car hauler type trailer with low sides, so that eliminated my "the PT425 can't load a pickup truck" issue /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I just put some 2x10 wood sides on it Monday and hopefully will test it out this weekend with some black dirt.

 

[bmac]

MR, what do you think your neighbors would say if you were out there mowing with a 1425 (not that it would matter)?

I have a 6X10 landscape trailer that would handle the PT and some attachments. My pickup is one of those yuppie F150 SuperCrews (4 full sized doors) with the real short (5') beds. Good for haulin' kids, but the short bed is somewhat limiting for other things.

Hopefully, I won't be transporting my tractor anywhere, but if I needed to, the trailer should work fine for a PT. BTW, I priced the trailers PT sells in their packages. Whew! $4700. Think I'll pass on that.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color=blue>what do you think your neighbors would say if you were out there mowing with a 1425 </font color=blue>

I think they'd say, "There goes crazy Dave!" /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[ernemats]

bmac:
I have had my pt model 422 for two and one half years now and have almost 400 hours on the hour meter and I have never had any repairs or problems with it. We mow about 5 acres + with the 48 inch mower in about 3 hours, lawn is rough and mostly hillside 10 to 25 degree slope. I also have the small bucket without teeth and it does decent work in our clay ground digging if you take your time. I also have the rototiller and it digs real good if you don't have stone.

 

[bmac]

ernemats, Thanks. That's a great testimonial. Hope you have many more trouble-free hours ahead. I'm really envious of you folks with all of the acreage. Lots of room to play with ...er, work.

 

[Carpenter]

bmac, It seems you've gotten alot of good info, already. I've been very pleased with my 425, and would definitely buy again. The most important feature to me is the "quick attach". I use the PT constantly, because it's so easy to hook up whatever attachment I need. It's much handier than any other tractor I've owned.

So far I've used the Lackender hoe to dig out some small trees and shrubs, trench for a retaining wall footing, and dig a 3 ft. deep trench for a sprinkler manifold. I'll be putting in a larger retaining wall and digging up a parking strip for pavers in Oct. Hopefully by then, I'll have enough time on it to post an informed evaluation. So far I'm pleased with the hoe; it's well built and "beats the heck" out of a shovel! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[bmac]

Carpenter,

Good to hear from you. Really liked the pics of your Lackender hoe. Glad to hear its been working out well so far. I'll be watching for the next review.

I have been overwhelmed by the helpful comments from everyone here. Everyone has been very generous with their answers to my questions and their suggestions. I can read all the literature available, watch videos over and over, but it is the comments from the users that have really goten me excited about the PT. If there is an unhappy PT owner out there, he sure has been silent.

As I was reading other sections on this forum and posting questions about other tractors, I would often read a post from MossRoad praising the PT. My initial post here was intended to just get some more info on the PT so I could be comfortable with my decision to purchase a BX 22. You know, cover all the bases, no buyers remorse. Little did I know that I would become so excited about this strange looking contraption that I thought looked like a cross between a golf cart and lunar rover. Don't know if I should be happy to have stumbled onto this forum or angry that I'm being unwittingly sucked into a bizarre little cult. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Oh, well. Time will tell. Thanks again to everyone for thier help.

 

[Sedgewood]

bmac: <font color=green>It's a little intimidating to look at (photos) and I can't imagine the looks from my neighbors if they saw me mowing my 1 acre lot with that little beast. ... Don't know if I should be happy to have stumbled onto this forum or angry that I'm being unwittingly sucked into a bizarre little cult.</font color=green>

Ah, but a little bizarre is GOOD for the neighbors. Enjoy their discomfort, it's part of the fun of being a little "off"

 

[MossRoad]

Hey, no matter which machine you choose, you can't go wrong with TBN in general! There's never this many people chewing the fat down at the country store.

I think you're doing the right thing by asking questions and taking your time in decidng what to purchase. It took me about a year to figure out what I needed, what I wanted but didn't need, and what I could live with. I'm happy with my decision and would do it again. Now I wish I had the post hole digger with 6 and 12 inch augers. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif