How are they on hills

[thingy]

Gravy,thanks again,yeah,I ain't no lawn mowing nut either,,was just using the mowing thing as its probably worst case,,,pretty sure it will do the other things I want,,,its just out of about 8 acres I mow now with hog,,that hill is part of it,,its the worst,,and its probably not even an acre altogether,the 20 degree parts are really just about 3-4 little spots on that acre or less,the rest of the hill area is maybe 12 degrees,,riding lawn mower will mow that steep,or maybe even steeper,,but if it won't make it up them than the pt 425 probably ain't for me,,shame to,,afforable,close,and believe it would do anything else I wanted,with right gear.
The hill area has a flat spot on top of maybe an acre,,,and both ways there are about same,[as far as that 20 degree spot,so I couldn't go up an easy way and than mow down. thingy[edit here],I read ya wrong gravy,you said go up with mower turned off,not go an easier way,,sorry,,,ya,,but that would take a very long time,,and my neighbors would probably make fun of me,,and,at this point,I ain't really sure if it will even go up it at all,,must be a power thing,,,not a traction thing?,,traction thing you can work with,[bar tires,,weight here or there,,wait till ground is perfect,etc],,but power thing,you can't,,,don't want to get next one up at what,16,000?,,,in that price range,[after you add on a couple of implements],,the skys the limit out there as far as smaller,25-30 hp tractors,,,price and location was my two big selling points,but,thanks for all the help guys. thingy

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Thingy,

To oversimplify, most PT's are loaders that can mow, while Ventrac & Steiner are mowers that can load. Your priorities will determine which suits you best.

I'd say that is a very accurate assessment of the smaller machines from these brands.

 

[RegL]

Gravy,thanks again,yeah,I ain't no lawn mowing nut either,,was just using the mowing thing as its probably worst case,,,pretty sure it will do the other things I want,,,its just out of about 8 acres I mow now with hog,,that hill is part of it,,its the worst,,and its probably not even an acre altogether,the 20 degree parts are really just about 3-4 little spots on that acre or less,the rest of the hill area is maybe 12 degrees,,riding lawn mower will mow that steep,or maybe even steeper,,but if it won't make it up them than the pt 425 probably ain't for me,,shame to,,afforable,close,and believe it would do anything else I wanted,with right gear.
The hill area has a flat spot on top of maybe an acre,,,and both ways there are about same,[as far as that 20 degree spot,so I couldn't go up an easy way and than mow down. thingy[edit here],I read ya wrong gravy,you said go up with mower turned off,not go an easier way,,sorry,,,ya,,but that would take a very long time,,and my neighbors would probably make fun of me,,and,at this point,I ain't really sure if it will even go up it at all,,must be a power thing,,,not a traction thing?,,traction thing you can work with,[bar tires,,weight here or there,,wait till ground is perfect,etc],,but power thing,you can't,,,don't want to get next one up at what,16,000?,,,in that price range,[after you add on a couple of implements],,the skys the limit out there as far as smaller,25-30 hp tractors,,,price and location was my two big selling points,but,thanks for all the help guys. thingy

Thingy, I can't say if the PT is right for you or not, but I can tell you one thing. The neighbors won't laugh at you for long after they see what that little tractor will do. Where are you located/ Maybe there's someone close enough to try it on your property. In my opinion, it would be worth it to even hire them to mow your property one time.

 

[thingy]

I was just being funny when I said worried about neighbors laughing at me,,they can't even see that hill,,,plus they probably laugh at me all the time anyways??!! I would be the one laughing at me, if I spent 12,000 or so and tried to take it up that hill and there we sat,,,[I'm sure it would be funny later],,,,I live in southern w.va.,,between lewisburg and beckley,,,yeah would go to somebodys place and watch em go up a hill [even bring the beer],,if they mow up a hill like the one I'm talking about that is,,,,but I only live about two hours from where they make them,,so might make a trip down later when I get more serious and at least let them show and tell me what it will do.
Bob,,,you never did say about what those steiners and ventracs cost,,like I said,,went to their web page and it don't show prices[that I found anyways],,,think you got one of one of them,?? if so,you oughta know about what a mid size around 25 hp,4wd one of them would cost?Yeah I know,could contact them and go through all that,,,but just want a ball park figure,,,after all,you are the one who opened my eyes to them,,,,one place you said was in ohio,,wheres the other place at? I can be in south eastern ohio in about 3 hours,,,,

 

[Gravy]

Thingy,

The PT factory's test area is pretty nearly dead flat. They usually have a couple of piles of dirt or gravel, but no real hills. You're welcome to try ours out on our property. We've got some pretty steep slopes available. I just don't normally mow them with the PT. We're within a couple of hours of you. PM me if you are interested.

Dave

 

[thingy]

Thanks Gravy,I pm'ed you.
Another thing I would want it to do is till,I got a about 1/2 acre [less] garden,,saw that you can get a tiller,,,,but,looks like you'd have to go backwards? or do you go forward and run over the freshly tilled dirt? Don't see how that would work to good? thanks for all the help,,,thingy

 

[Bob999]

The PT factory's test area is pretty nearly dead flat. They usually have a couple of piles of dirt or gravel, but no real hills. Y

That is an accurate description of the test area at the factory site. However there is an area with steep slopes a couple of miles from the factory that PT has access to that they use to demonstrate equipment to prospective customers who want to see the equipment operate on steep slopes.

 

[BobRip]

That is an accurate description of the test area at the factory site. However there is an area with steep slopes a couple of miles from the factory that PT has access to that they use to demonstrate equipment to prospective customers who want to see the equipment operate on steep slopes.

Try it both places. The ideal is on your own property of course, but two other places should be adequate.

 

[johara1]

i fail to see that a 20 degree slope is that steep, that is a 3 to 1 slope. and i mow it with a 422 sideways.now that i changed the wheel motors i can mow it up hill. so i would say the new 425 would do anything you need.........jim

 

[J_J]

Thanks Gravy,I pm'ed you.
Another thing I would want it to do is till,I got a about 1/2 acre [less] garden,,saw that you can get a tiller,,,,but,looks like you'd have to go backwards? or do you go forward and run over the freshly tilled dirt? Don't see how that would work to good? thanks for all the help,,,thingy

The tiller works going forward. You till going backwards to remove the tire tracks.

 

[johnk]

Thingy,
IN realtion to the other post........

If I'm standing at the end of the 8 foot board I probably couldn't hold up the end of it to keep it on the level let alone see bubble on the level. Thanks for the statistics on the measuring though. When the snow melts on my hill I am going to try some of your calculus to get a general idea of what I'm dealing with and make judgement if I am just a scary cat....

 

[thingy]

That sounds steep,but that angle will fool you,,,I was saying 35-40 degrees and it was only about 20,[on my slope],well,at least you checked it out,,,what is the angle than? that picture don't show a very steep grade.thingy

 

[thingy]

Men,this is in relation to johns post under owner operator section,,under a thread called,,would you go up it,,,,told them to look here for kens advice on how to,,,thats what that is all about,,that picture don't look 20 degrees to me,,look at the trees,,if they was on my slope,,they would have more of an angle,,,course pictures are hard to judge,,,but he ain't judged it anyother way yet,,thingy

 

[johara1]

you don't have to judge a slope,if you have a 3-4 ft. level mark it in one ft. segments.now get your tape or a rule and a hand full of small stones.go to the slope you want to check,set the level on the ground and raise the end up till it reads level take a stone and drope it from the end of the level and see where it hits the ground.now measure from that point to the level.4 ft.level 4ft. to the ground,1 to 1 ,45 degrees;4 ft. level,2 ft. to the ground,2 to 1,30 degrees. got the idea? by marking the level off by one ft. sections,say your looking for 20 degrees;move out 3 ft. drop the stone from 3ft. on the level measure it it should be a ft. 3 to 1.......jim

 

[thingy]

Yeah,,kinda,,,,kens method works to [if you got the data],,,but yeah,,I'm sure yours works fine as well,,,it is kinda easy to remember,,,,I got an old book that tells you all that stuff,but,,hate to make my brain work in certain areas sometimes,,,,now know three ways to check slope!! thingy

 

[J_J]

Thingy, You have about 800 post so far, and no profile filled out. It is sometimes difficult to answer questions about products and stuff with out knowing what part of the country you live in, and what tractors you own, and how much acreage you have to manage. . Just about all the questions that you have asked, have already been answered in past post. There are 51 pages of post about Power-Tracs. The question is, how serious are you about owning a Power-Trac? I don't think we can tell you if it will cut your hills. You could contact some one that lives near you and see if they will let you try out their PT. You really should try it out on the property that you have, to see if it will fill your expectations. You can only realize this, if a qualified operator is operating the machine, then you will have a better feel about the ability of the PT to get the job done. Some of those zero turn mowers just might fill your need to cut those hills, and the rest of the stuff can be done with the PT. Some of the better zero turn mowers cost around $9000.00 to $15,000.00. So a choice has to be made.

 

[thingy]

JJ,thanks for the advice. If you have read this thread,,you would have knowed where I lived,what degree slopes I want to use it on,, how many acres I'd want to cut,,the size of my garden,and the length of my drive way,,how much money I want to spend,and what else I might want to use it for,plus you would have learned I have contacted somebody who lives kinda close[two hours or so],,anybody closer to southern w.va where I live??,,so seems like thats about all thats needed for you to know about me? also,I got two lawnmowers,,,want something affordable,[pt 425 is],,4wd,[pt425 is],something that will till my garden,,[they sell a tiller for it I think,,but don't see how that would work,like I said,,you would either have to go backwards or drive over tilled dirt,looks to me like? anybody got a tiller?],,,something that could plow a little snow off my gravel drive ifin I wanted to,[they sell plowes for it],,,something that will go up a 20 degree slope mowing,[thats where we are at now,it may,,and than again,it may not],,would be using the 48 inch hog to do that with,,,mowing my yard is not something it would even have to do,just thought,,if I bought one,,I might add that to the list,maybe,,,,thingy
thingy

 

[johara1]

on a pt you drive backwards and look forwards to watch it work right?on any thing else you drive forward and look backward to see it work,as you see, no stiff neck!!ground travel is very slow,you spend the greatest amount of time looking at your work, not where you are going.......i think pt dunn it right this time........jim

 

[KentT]

on a pt you drive backwards and look forwards to watch it work right?on any thing else you drive forward and look backward to see it work,as you see, no stiff neck!!ground travel is very slow,you spend the greatest amount of time looking at your work, not where you are going.......i think pt dunn it right this time........jim

Not exactly...

Most work done with a PT is done in front of you, as you drive forward... loaders, mowing, mini-hoe, snow/dirt blade, aerator, stump grinder, etc.

It's the boxblade, tiller, rake and potato-diggers that require you to use them in reverse...

There may be a couple more that you use in reverse, but most of the 40+ implements are designed to work in front of the tractor, going forward...

 

[MossRoad]

Get a large wide rearview mirror, mount it under the ROPs and off you go.