Ordered a new 425 last week

[Highridge]

Cool! I want another PT now!

 

[J_J]

I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

 

[BobRip]

I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

I would not be surprised if they upgraded the wheel motor pump as well. You would think a few hundred would cover all of this. Of course there may be some engineering cost to this. Maybe the next ones will be cheaper. I am really looking forward to see how this works. My biggest concern is if the PT is now wider than the attachments. Everybody should call PT and see when this will be available as a standard model. Maybe it is already. Let's give it a month and see how JD really likes it.

 

[Bob999]

I am a little curious about the 25 % increase for the mods. The larger wheel motors shouldn't have been that much more expensive. Perhaps they did some other mods.

JJ. There is not necessarily a direct relationship between cost and price. In this case the buyer was willing to pay a price that was up by 25 % and none of us really know what the cost to do it was.

I suspect that there may have been somewhat more involved than some are speculating. For example, it appears to me from the picture that there are case drain connections on the front wheel motors that I don't believe are installed on the standard 425.

 

[BobRip]

JJ. There is not necessarily a direct relationship between cost and price. In this case the buyer was willing to pay a price that was up by 25 % and none of us really know what the cost to do it was.

I suspect that there may have been somewhat more involved than some are speculating. For example, it appears to me from the picture that there are case drain connections on the front wheel motors that I don't believe are installed on the standard 425.

Bob999, you are basically right, but there is another perspective. The price different between the PT 180, 422, and 425 is around $2000 to 2500 (I believe). PT figures if they add another one, the should charge about the same difference. Judging from the response here they seem to have struck a note that rings with demand for a different product. I have been hoping for a product that will work with my existing 422 attachments and yet is a little more powerful than the 425 or maybe the 425 is enough. This is probably my last tractor purchase (or at least last one for 10 more years) so I had better get it right. Large wheels for the swamp and soft surface, more torque to get push dirt better appeal to me. Interesting discussion. Somebody should call PT next week and get their view. They may never make another PT425 with wide tires, or they may start a new series after they see how much this one is liked. Sorry for the long thread.

 

[JD-Beach]

Concerning the 25% price increase, ... I'm sure that PT's cost for the upgrade was somewhat less. Sometimes one has to "throw money" at a company to nudge them off of their path of comfort. The do-it-yourselfers could probably do this for less money. Terry explained that the wheel motor mounting plates had to be changed and the muffler had to be modified to clear the larger tires. I'm not sure about all the hydraulic issues. PT did a nice job of modifying the owner's manual (with a ball point pen), updating the booklet with the proper part numbers, and I'm thankful to them for the extra effort. To the best of my knowledge there were no pump changes.

2deeskip, thanks for the compliments on the photograghy. ... taken with a digital canon rebel XTi, ... another hobby. One day I'll show you guys a picture of a whale that I took breaching right here at the beach ... within 10' of a kayaker ... it made the front page of the local newspaper. I emailed a few hi-res photos out to Kristie for PT's use. (by the way ... Go Steelers!)

Bobrip, yes, I think this would do well in the swamp. ....My advice, ... don't wait 10 years or to 2010, ... life is short, stretch and reach. Call PT and get one ordered. ... and you're an EE too, ... a VT grad? ( I'm a Penn-Stater)

I wonder if PT would consider installing on of the new Kohler 30 HP liquid-cooled engines?

Perhaps one should simply consider the installation of larger tires without the wheel motor change-out?

Tomorrow my friend and I will be installing a sand fence at the beach. ... using the post-hole auger. (a sand fence at the beach is a "snow-fence" for you northern types.) I'll measure the overall width of the tires and compare that to the bucket width. Also, my friend with the Kubota 2320 will be there with his new toy. ... we'll have some fun.

 

[BobRip]

JD, lots of pictures please.

 

[MuncyBob]

Yes, lots of pictures...esp with a nice camera as that!!


and


WE ARRRRRRRRRRRRR PENN STATE!

 

[kmaz]

Hey jd-beach, congrats ont the purchase!! I too just received my 425, love it. Even better than I expected. My brother is an equipment operator and despite its limitations he was equally impressed.The hoe and the 4 n 1 bucket are nothing short of amazing. he said the bucket was built stouter than the one on their cat skid steer. Regarding the padding of the hose openings, it looks to me like yours has been done at the factory, at least in the front where they enter the tunnel. Is this correct?

Kris

 

[JD-Beach]

Whew, what a great day on the beach. ... 60 degrees, sunny, no breeze and a full tank of fuel. The post-hole auger worked extremely well, cut our sand fence down from a case to a six-pack! ... (In all seriousness, I refrained until the job was just about finished in order to keep from tearing up the house, the deck or the machine!)

Kmaz, the padding at the hose openings ... yes factory job.

Farmall, got some good pictures, ... and ... yeah, WE ARE!

BobRip, on the width of the tires relative to the buckets. The outside dimension of the tires is 49.75 inches, the large bucket is 48.5 inches wide and the small bucket is 45.25 inches wide. ... so, yes, the tires are a bit wider than the buckets. ... I cut a path thru a pile of sand today and the tire width did not create a problem. The tires gripped very well in the sand and kept me on top of the sand at all times.

I love this machine. A few comments, ... that throttle needs to be reversed. ... and the small bucket does not drop far enough to empty it completely when full of sand. ... and .... The mini-hoe is going to take some practice.

 

[BobRip]

JD, thanks for the report and the pictures. It still looks clean.
Did you raise the bucket up as far as it would go to dump it. That seems to work best for me. The down angle is greater up high.

Sounds like the machine is working great for you. Being happy is the best evaluation of any machine. The machine is easy to fall in love with.

The throttle is like a Japanese sword, it cuts on the pull stroke. This is how the Japanse throttles work.

Mark the hoses on the minihoe (put red tape on one of the minihoe hoses and on one of the PT quick disconnects) so you always hook them up the same. This way you learn one way to operate it.

 

[RegL]

This is a great thread and it's brought up something I don't think there's been discussion about before. Interchanging wheels of different diameters. Here's my question. Can you get different size wheels with the same bolt pattern? If so, I think this could be useful. For instance, in the winter I use the PT1430 to remove snow from several driveways and I drive the tractor to them on the road, about 1/2 mile. A little extra ground speed with higher wheels would sure be welcome. The reduced power would not be a problem because in Winter I usually break traction before I run out of power.
Than, for mowing hillsides, as long as ground clearance is not a problem, You could squat her down with shorter wheels increasing stability and power.
OK, enough ranting. Back to the beach.

 

[MuncyBob]

Great pics! With the expected warm weather for the next week or so you should be able to get in a considerable amount of seat time. Not sure what project you are working on...could it be site preparation for the first annual PT Owners Convention?

 

[Bob999]

Here's my question. Can you get different size wheels with the same bolt pattern?

Yes. However you also have to be concerned about the center hole in the wheel, offset to fit with the wheel motor and wheel width appropriate to match the tire you are running.


With a 1430 the standard wheel/tire is 26x12x12. There are 27 and 29 inch diameter tires available.

 

[ddonnell]

JD

Nice digs, both tractor-wise and home-wise!

 

[KentT]

RegL,

These are standard garden tractor wheels, with 5 lugs on a 4.5" center pattern. Both Dodge/Chrysler and Ford car 5-lug wheels have the same bolt pattern, as long as the hole in the center is large enough to clear the nuts on the hubs. I've seen a lot of garden tractors where the owner put 15" wheels on them. There are also 14" car wheels with the same bolt-pattern. 13" ones are rare, since most 13" car wheels in the old days used a 4-lug pattern, though some few did use 5-lugs.

The only real issue other than the size of the hole in the center is the offset -- where the center of the wheel is located on the rim. Any of these car wheels should work, since none would have as deep an offset as the garden tractors, but they might widen the stance and put you close to the "reversed wheel" effect that Fourteen, I and a few others are using (and seem to be happy with, BTW)....

Hope this helps...

 

[Beechwood]

RegL,

These are standard garden tractor wheels, with 5 lugs on a 4.5" center pattern. Both Dodge/Chrysler and Ford car 5-lug wheels have the same bolt pattern, as long as the hole in the center is large enough to clear the nuts on the hubs. I've seen a lot of garden tractors where the owner put 15" wheels on them. There are also 14" car wheels with the same bolt-pattern. 13" ones are rare, since most 13" car wheels in the old days used a 4-lug pattern, though some few did use 5-lugs.

The only real issue other than the size of the hole in the center is the offset -- where the center of the wheel is located on the rim. Any of these car wheels should work, since none would have as deep an offset as the garden tractors, but they might widen the stance and put you close to the "reversed wheel" effect that Fourteen, I and a few others are using (and seem to be happy with, BTW)....

Hope this helps...

Kent: I could be wrong but I think the lug bolt holes on the PT wheels are 7/16" and auto wheel lug bolt holes are 1/2". Please correct me if I'm wrong. I think my lug bolts are 7/16" on the 180. I don't know if the larger dia. countersink makes much difference when tighting the bolts.

 

[KentT]

Kent: I could be wrong but I think the lug bolt holes on the PT wheels are 7/16" and auto wheel lug bolt holes are 1/2". Please correct me if I'm wrong. I think my lug bolts are 7/16" on the 180. I don't know if the larger dia. countersink makes much difference when tighting the bolts.

Beechwood,

You may be correct. But, I've put wheels from my Simplicities and a Gilson on my PT on a temporary basis (due to flats, before I added sealant) and I've put Dodge wheels on a Simplicity...

I haven't measured the actual holes in any of the wheels -- only bolted them on....

Kent

 

[RegL]

OK, I'm going to check out the junk yard for some wheels and tires, even if it's just to see what it looks like. I noticed that the wife's Volvo has 5 holers. Do you think she would notice if I swapped them out with the PT.

On a less silly note, Dave probably is not going to do any brush-hogging, but I bet there would be clearance issues between the front tires and the mower deck if he did. With the 1430, it's pretty tight with stock wheels.

 

[JD-Beach]

Bob999, ... 29-inch tires? ... do they fit on the same 12-inch wheels? ... This would be good to increase the soil bearing area. Where online can I see these tires? My hunch is that one could up-size the tires and increase traction significantly without a great deal of cost.

ddonnell, thanks, ... it's all a blessing from the Lord.

BobRip, great idea on the mini-hoe hoses, ... red tape to mark them. ... I'll do it! ... That throttle lever, (Japanese or not) is backwards. ... we gotta do something 'bout that!

My friend with the Kubota stopped by today. He's having trouble getting his front tires bogged down in the sand when the bucket is fully loaded. I think he's becoming a believer.

I remain a little concerned about the angle of the small bucket when trying to dump a load of sand. It seems that a minor modification (lengthening one section of linkage) could solve this problem and create a steeper angle (almost vertical) for the bucket. It seems like this would be more of a problem with soil or mud.

I love this machine!