Power-trac Forum

[MChalkley]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

MossRoad and PJ - I've been thinking about this issue of where EarthForce/Bobcat EarthForce/Ingersoll-Rand whatever machines belong... It's not an auspicious beginning to an intelligent discussion of it, I'll admit (my thinking about it, that is), but here goes...

EF's are 4-wheel-steer. PT's are articulated.
EF's are Tractor-Loader-Backhoes. PT's (at least the ones loved by most TBNers) are not.
I almost bought a PT, but didn't. I did buy an EF.
All of the things I raved about in my original "Goodbye Kubota, Hello PowerTrac" thread, I still believe to be true, so if they're important to TBNers and generated interest in PT machines among the members here, well and good - the PT machines deserve it.

So, the upshot is: you guys may feel that I belong here in the PT forum (and I'm grateful for the sentiment, because I really really like the PT machines and may own one of the smaller diesel models someday), but my EF machine does not.

Therefore, I'll confine my own personal posts about it to the Construction Forum where (I think) it belongs. And if it seems that they're not being read, as I suspect will be the case, because the general TBN membership isn't interested in "Construction" class machines, I'll taper off, which is only proper - after all, give the people what they want, right?. At any rate, I'll continue to use TBN for a couple things it's always been great for: an excellent source of info and banter. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Besides, the attachments are pretty much the same, and the uses I have for my EF are often much the same as everybody else here, whether PT or K or JD or NH or XYZ, if only on a somewhat larger scale.

 

[pajoube]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

We will find you no matter what forum you post under. Your knowledge and abilities to explain to all levels truly amaze me.
You don't know how many times I have had to look at the EF series to see if this would be the correct machine for me after I have read one of your threads. If there were larger projects for my future tractor needs it would be an EF. At this point in my life the PT 400 series is larger than the projects planned.
PJ

 

[MossRoad]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

I enjoy reading your posts, no matter the subject, or forum on TBN /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

Most of them relate to what I enjoy... tractors, heavy machinery, hydraulics, operating techniques, etc... Oh, yeah, and humor too. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif While the EF is not an articulated tractor, it uses hydraulics extensively, and so do PTs. So I hope to continue to hear your voice in these discussions, wether it is in this forum or the many others on TBN.

FYI, When I log in I come here first, then see what's in "off topic and just for fun", then I list all of the posts since that last time I was here and look for topics that interest me and/or posters that keep me interested. You're one of those posters.

So check in, laugh at my expense and share the knowledge, if you know what I mean! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

PJ - Thanks a bunch! The thing that most of the TBN "regulars" have in common more than all else is probably simply "interest". Almost everybody is interested in something just before they buy, but it often quickly fades after that. The gang here is a lot more dedicated to equipment than most, I think. So, I don't mind saying that's the biggest advantage I have - because it's the one we all have.

Of course, I also left out something from my previous post that helps me "belong" with the PT gang: To own either a PT or an EF machine, you have to be willing to think "outside the box" as far as machine design is concerned, and you have to be willing to get past the "major brand mentality". By that, I do not mean the major brands are inferior, but that PT and EF machines are different from them, and so will not be considered seriously by most folks. Most folks have a hard time getting past the idea that "If this design were a good one, JD (or K or NH) would make one." I can say that because I owned a Kubota for quite a few years (several of them, in fact) and know how hard it was to seriously consider a radically different type of machine, especially given the quality of the Kubota. For that matter, most folks have "major brand mentality" to such an extent that they'll buy an inferior machine made by a well-known name brand or pay a lot more for the same quality machine, just so they can get the name. In other words, it's a status symbol purchase, rather than one based on an informed decision. Those guys don't usually make it to TBN, though, or if they do, it's only to check prices, then they're gone. Still, as I say, to own either a PT or an EF, you have to have a lot in common. You can be the judge of whether that's a good thing or not... /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Harv]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

To sum it up, Mark, I think the general membership is telling you that you can run, but you can't hide.

 

[MossRoad]

Glennmac Re: Power-trac Forum

Harv, you're in the same boat as Mark. We're watching you too /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif