Power Trac PT425

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Long Day of Fun

I went out to the little league park today to help with park clean up. Last fall, someone brought out a sod cutter and they cut up about a hundred big rolls of thick sod where the infield meets the grass. Then they threw their backs out trying to lift them into their truck(no laughing matter, the guy ended up having back surgery, ouch). Well, the sod rolls sat there all winter and actually grew back into the soil.

The small bucket with teeth made quick work of them. I scooped up two at a time and hauled them out past the center field fence and made a rather large pile about 10 feet square and 4 feet high. Took about an hour and a half and 50 trips back and forth. Worked great and didn't tear up any turf.

Came home and started clearing out behind my garage where I had my old 3pt stuff stored along with other stuff. Lots of soil, weeds and junk to move. Took out everything with the small tooth bucket down about 4 inches deep in a 10x24' area to replace with crushed limestone. Took about another hour and a half. Used the large bucket for the first time. Worked great for final leveling and back grading with the wide front edge.

Performed the 16 hour maintenance of cleaning and lube.

Got to play with fire and a hammer too(see post on bent forks).

However, the best part of the day was watching my 9 year old daughter pass her Orange Belt test for Karate.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac Dreaming

<font color=red>I might consider getting really meaty tires and an extra set of rims for working in the woods. </font color=red>
The same thought occurred to me for the 1845 this morning, as I tested the limits of the turf tire traction on a steep, damp, leaf covered hill. I was pulling out old fence posts with a cable noose hooked to my hook em up plate.
I also am a bit concerned about puncture resistance with the turfs in rough going.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

When I was at Power Trac, Terry Estep had in a set of grapple hooks from a 425 to be straightened. Apparently the owner had kept the pressure on when grappiing a log, and the hydraulics overpowered the grapple.
At some point did you roll the forks forward with the weight on them? I'd bet you needed the PT weight, plus the weight of the mower, along with some hydraulic help to bend the fork.
Glad to hear it straightened easily.

 

[marrt]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Well, here I was, ready to buy a BX2200, when I stumbled across this thread today. Read the whole thing. Very interesting. I have a few questions to those with PT425 experience:

- What about wheel spin? When the wheels spin, does just one wheel spin, one in front and one in back, or all four? Even if one or more wheels are spinning, is there still power going to the other wheels?
- Does PT offer Ag tires? If so, wouldn’t it be possible to use Ag tires for lawn mowing since the tractor’s articulation would keep the tires from damaging the lawn?
- How does the tractor ride over rough terrain? I have some rough areas to mow and am afraid the relatively small tires would mean that I would have to go very slow (this has obviously been a big concern with the BX as well).
- Can you put bigger tires on the PT425? Since all four tires are the same size, couldn’t you just get bigger tires to improve the ride?
- Do you keep both your feet on the pedals at all time? In other words, does the pedal pivot in the center?

Sorry for all the questions, but all the posts have really peaked my interest in this tractor. TX.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Marrt:
Mine is an 1845, which is bigger than the 425, but essentially identical configuration. Some of my experience translates, however.
-When a wheel spins, the other three all still pull. Each has a separate hydraulic motor.
-There are tire choices at PT, but what I saw at the factory mostly were turfs or R4, not full ags. I can't think of any reason why you couldn't put them on, however.
-My 1845 is good on rough terrain, despite smaller tires that conventional tractors. The machine not only articulates, but also twists, so the wheels are independent and don't transmit as much to the rest of the machine as a rigid tractor.
-I assume you could put bigger tires on, but one of the best PT charateristics is its slope capability, which would be reduced.
-The pedals are on a single pivoting bar, spring loaded to center. You only have to have the foot on the pedal you are pressing, but mine is comfortable with both feet on the pedals.
I am sure that the 422 and 425 owners will supplement with their experiences.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

The PT425 with turfs does tend to spin one wheel occasionally when I am doing heavy loader work, like pushing into tough turf with too big of a bite and too much foot on the forward pedal. As Power Trac recommends, let off of the pedal to get more power to the wheels. The foot pedal is for all practical purposes a shifter with an infinite selection of gears, not an accellerator pedal. If letting off the pedal doesn't stop the wheel spin, I'll bump the joystick to take a less agressive bite.

I chose turf tires because my main use will be for mowing my lawn(although I have yet to use my finish mower). While the articulation would prevent the AG tires from scuffing the turf, I don't have any experieince with the tread marks that they might leave. Maybe someone else does.

It rides great over rough terrain. I brush hogged some trails on my property that run across crop rows from an old corn feild. It was fine. My pickup truck has a worse ride /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif.

Bigger tires would change the center of gravity. It would also reduce the depth that you could dig as the loader only goes so far below the plane that the tractor rides on.

The pedal does pivot under the center console. If you push the right pedal down, the left pedal comes up and vice versa. One thing that I did notice is that the right pedal is farther away form the pivot point than the left pedal, which translates into easier pushing for the forward direction. I've attached a picture of the pedal arrangement.

As for being sorry for asking questions, don't be /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. How else are you going to find out?

I also considered the BX2200. It is a fine machine as well. I just decided that the PT425 was the right machine for my needs. Good luck with your hunt for the right tractor.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Well, I'll try the picture again.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

I guess I should have mentioned all of the times that I have had all four tires in good traction conditions and pushed against an immovable object such as a concrete sidewalk. The engine would bog down and I would let up before it stalls. I believe tires with more agressive tread or chains on my turfs would cure any of my minor traction problems.

 

[Brent_Griffith]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

marrt,

To the best of my knowledge Power-Trac has a choice of only turf and bar tread tires for the PT-400 series.

I got the bar tread and they do not damage the grass when mowing, hauling, etc.

Brent

 

[PTRich]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

One thing you will find on this site is we all like to answer questions, so don't be bashfull!!
I have the PT425 with bar tires, these tires are very wide and do not leave an impression in the grass unless it is muddy. I have a lot of lawn.
I would not put larger tires on this machine, I think it would raise havic with the hydrlic motors (like a 10 speed bike in the wrong gear going uphill)
I only keep one foot on the pedals at a time. When I take my foot off a pedal the tractor stops, and excellent feature for a weekend warrior.
When a tire spins you will not lose force on the other tires.
Rough terrain has not been a problem yet but when you go fast you do bounce around, I will someday upgrade my seat like others on this site have.

Please ask more questions! We realy do like them.

PTRich

 

[pajoube]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

MossRoad, just read the thread from PTRich about the seat on the 425. Did you change yours out? If not are you going to? I assume the factory seat is not that great?
Paul

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

The seat I have is fine. It has thick padding and I got the armrests as well. I spent 4 hours on it Saturday doing a lot of loader work. I made about 50 trips out and back across the outfield of a softball diamond so the arm rests proved valuable on those long runs. The rest of the time was tight maneuvering in my back yard. The real test is how my rear end and back felt at the end of the day. They are fine /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. (The seat even has a cool Power Trac logo embossed on the vinyl /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif ) It is fine for me and I have no plans to replace it. I'll let you know how I feel about it after the mowing season begins. But then, I plan on only spending about 1/2 hour twice a week on it mowing. That's why I bought it, to cut my mowing time down. Right now I use a late 60s Simplicity Yeoman 627 with a 26" deck and it takes me around an hour and a half to mow my one acre. I figure the PT425 with the 60" deck will get it done in less than half the time due to larger deck and higher speed. And by cutting twice a week, I won't have to bag any clippings, as the grass will never get that long. We'll see, won't we?

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Paul,
Sounds like MossRoad is pretty happy with his seat, but (when I finally buy) I was thinking about just getting the regular seat and buying a better seat from Northern Supply <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.northern-online.com/>http://www.northern-online.com/</A>. They have one that looks pretty much identical to the $100 upgrade seat that PowerTrac offers (without the cool PowerTrac logo/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif) for about $80, and they have LOTS of other seats as well. Just something to consider.

Scott

 

[pajoube]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Thanks MossRoad, one more item in the PT file.
Paul

 

[pajoube]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Thanks Scott, at least this is an item that can be changed out after the fact.
Paul

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

I talked to Power Trac about the upgrade seat. I believe they only have one seat now. I paid for the armrests(yes, they were too expensive). According to the person that I talked to at Power Trac, I would have gotten the same seat, with or without the armrests. You might want to call them and ask for your self. Hope this helps.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

For those of you who've bought PTs recently - were you able to get any price break on implements by buying several along with the tractor? Also, I'm starting to consider whether or not I need the ROPS if I get the 422. My place is pretty flat so I'm not too worried about it in general. The only consideration is the change in CG when using the bucket. That one is taxing my feeble brain a little because on an articulated vehicle, the CG not only moves up and down with the bucket, it moves side to side with turning, right? It also seems that if a PT starts to roll, it's probably going to go farther than 90 degrees. Since the 422/5 doesn't raise the bucket that high, what are your thoughts on the necessity of the ROPS?

As you can tell, I'm starting to emphasize the cost a little bit more now... we just locked the rate and payments on the construction loan conversion on our new place yesterday. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gifYIKES!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Scott

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: Power Trac Pricing and ROPS

Scott:
Before I bought my 1845, I had beeen researching and watching Power Tracs for over two years. Their prices changed up and down, and there was at least one combination promotion. I haven't seen any such promotion recently, and when I asked about a discount since I was interested in a lot of implements, they politely refused to negotiate prices. They do have some price breaks on the trailer packages, and some flexibility on what goes on the trailers, but you end up buying a trailer to get the package. It is a very high quality trailer, but really aimed at professional landscapers.
The ROPS also is a canopy, with a little sun and rain protection, and good FOPS. (Falling object protection system.)
Once you learn not to hit your head on it while getting in or out, it is comforting to have it. You are unlikely to turn the machine over, but it is possible, and if you have any woods, the ROPS/FOPS gives good protection from branches you knock down, etc. I like mine, and recommend it, but I am sure there are a lot of PT owners who are happy with their machines without it.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

Price break? Nope. Like Charlie said, that's their price and they are politely stickin to it.

You are very correct about the CG changing. If you get a chance, read my earlier post or look at the video on my website about moving the REALLY BIG LOG. When I had a really big log on the pallet forks and lifted it a few inches all was well. Then when I turned the unit, that made the back end swing to one side a little and the unit tipped forward. I'd straighten it back and it would set down again. I was right at the hairy edge of the CG and just swinging the rear half that was also bringing it forward an inch or so. Also, I have had several really big loads of dirt and raised the bucket way too soon before I got to a pile. If you would hit something with the front tires with a full bucket of heavy stuff while going too fast, the unit would want to tip down flinging you forward. That is true with any tractor. So be aware of that.

ROPS? YES! Get one. And wear you seatbelt always always always. Why? Because we would miss you here at TBN if you got injured or worse... There are some excellent threads here about safety. What's $500.00 compared to death anyway?

I really like my canopy. It is nice to work in light snow and not get soaked. And the canopy is dark underneath and that casts a shadow on your eyes, making it easier to see out without squinting on bright days. Just like sitting in the shade. Also, the lighting on the PT400 series leaves much to be desired. The lights are OK, but are too low. Under the front of the ROPS/Canopy is an excellent place to relocate them and I will be doing that as time permits.

 

[PTRich]

Re: Power Trac PT425 Bent The Pallet Forks!

I agree with MossRoad on the ROPS. They are good to have and I would consider it even if it cost $1,000. Think about how much money you would lose if you couldnt go to work for a few days. The bucket is very close to the drivers seat, I have had large piles of logs on my bucket and had them fall and work there way towards the drivers compartment. I have lights under the canopy and they work great. One thing to always keep in mind on any piece of equipment, keeep the bucket as low as possible.
PTRich