PT-425 PROS & cons??

[FOURTEEN]

PT-425 PROS & cons??

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/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I am sooooooo glad that I got the PT-425 with the ROPS Canopy!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yesterday, while doing some trail maintenance, I bumped into a dead tree, which was 8" in diameter and 38' tall with no branches. After a two second delay there was an extremely loud boom directly over my head!! I soon learned that the 2" by 32" top of that tree had snapped off and landed on my PT-425 Canopy!!!!

If I had purchased a PT-180, or PT-422, perhaps today someone else would be writing, and it could very well be my obituary!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Most folks only think of ROPS for roll over protection! Some folks think: "Flat land, don't need it!". Many CUT just have a simple bar ROPS with, sometimes, a cheap plastic sunshade!! There are other dangers, however, and the solid steel protection of the PT-425 ROPS Canopy may have been literally a life saver for me!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif



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[pajoube]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

I hope your 425 was not damaged /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif but better that than you /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
PJ

 

[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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con: Power Trac Black Paint



/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Problem: The Black Paint on the my new PT-425 is extremely poor quality. It is dull and soft. With the gasoline filler on top of the hood any gasoline splashed during fill up will leave spots on, actually in, the paint! Wiping the black paint with a gasoline soaked rag will remove the paint!



/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Solution: I repainted all the PT Black Paint areas with Valspar Anti-Rust Satin Enamel, which, after curing, is hard, smooth, tough, and highly gasoline and oil resistant!!



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Attachment: New Paint.


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[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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con: Power Trac Black Canopy



/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Problem: The Black Paint on the Canopy of my new PT-425 is extremely poor quality. It is hot to the touch and radiates heat onto the driver. Another color would also be more visible when working in or near a road.



/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Solution: I repainted the Canopy with two coats of Valspar Anti-Rust White Satin Enamel, which, after curing, is hard, smooth, tough, and more visible!! I used a 3” wide Roller which is quick and easy while producing a nice hammered like finish without brush marks or overspray. The underside of the Canopy and the ROPS were repainted with two coats of Valspar Anti-Rust Black Satin Enamel.



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Attachment: White Canopy.

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[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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con: Power Trac Needs 2” Ball Trailer Hitch Receiver


/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Problem: The Trailer Hitch provided on the rear of my new PT-425 is worthless to me because my DR Chipper, tilt bed trailer, and garden trailer are all 2“ Ball Hitches. I want to install a 2” Ball Hitch Receiver WITHOUT WELDING or modifying the OEM hitch.


/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Solution: Determine the correct height for the Ball.
Cut the 2” Receiver ~1/2” longer than the distance from Weld A to Weld B.
Carefully grind ~1/16” from the top and bottom surfaces of the receiver at D where it will slid between the lips of the OEM hitch. Grind flat surfaces, check often, and stop grinding when the receiver can be driven full length between the lips with a heavy hammer.
Carefully mark the center of the Pin hole C on the receiver. Center punch. Remove the receiver. Move the mark 1/32” away from E. Center punch. On a drill press drill a 3/4” hole through the receiver at the new mark.
Reinstall the receiver between the lips. The holes should align side to side, but overlap slightly front to back.
Drive the Pin through the holes with a heavy hammer. (Use the original Pin. Do NOT use a nut and bolt!)
Install the Ball.

This procedure will insure a nice tight fitting receiver which will not move, is very strong, can be easily returned to OEM, and requires NO WELDING!! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif



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Attachment: New Ball Hitch Receiver.

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[bmac]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

The white teeth really give your PT a menacing, beast-like grin. I like it.

 

[NJBill]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( .



/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I am sooooooo glad that I got the PT-425 with the ROPS Canopy!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yesterday, while doing some trail maintenance, I bumped into a dead tree, which was 8" in diameter and 38' tall with no branches. After a two second delay there was an extremely loud boom directly over my head!! I soon learned that the 2" by 32" top of that tree had snapped off and landed on my PT-425 Canopy!!!!

If I had purchased a PT-180, or PT-422, perhaps today someone else would be writing, and it could very well be my obituary!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Most folks only think of ROPS for roll over protection! Some folks think: "Flat land, don't need it!". Many CUT just have a simple bar ROPS with, sometimes, a cheap plastic sunshade!! There are other dangers, however, and the solid steel protection of the PT-425 ROPS Canopy may have been literally a life saver for me!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif



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/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

)</font>

Gary,
I read this post about the time I had to call Kristie re the non-delivered mower. I asked her about a ROPS for the PT422, is it available, she answered yes, but as I have already flown out of the top of the budget, at 500 I will have to take great care until the next piggy bank becomes raidable. I still keep hoping I can eventually make the trip to Tazewell, then who knows what could happen ! ! ! !
Thanks for the input,good point. Bill.

 

[pajoube]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

That is one fancy machine. How about a couple racing strips? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
PJ

 

[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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bmac:
That PT-425 with the Grapple Bucket IS a beast out in those woods!! Sort of like a big motorized alligator - big mouth, sharp teeth, all fours digging in, head and tail snappin' back and forth, and a mighty roar echoing through the trees!!
The white on the teeth makes it easier to see where the PT is bitin'!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif


NJBill:
Hope you can get your ROPS Canopy soon! It's like insurance, you hate to pay the premium, but you don't dare not to!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif


PJ:
As long as I was repainting anyway, why not a little custom job??!!
The racing stripes are on my Brush Cutter!! Down each side of the deck to make it easier to cut the brush, and not the flowers!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif


Attachment: Front.
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[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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con: Power Trac Headlights



Problem: The PT-425 OEM Headlights are round, old fashion, dim 35W sealed beams, and kind of frog-like!! The lift arms hit these lights when fully raised !


Solution: I replaced the PT-425 headlights with: PM V502HF Flood Beam Utility & Tractor Lights which are 3"x5" rectangular, modern, bright 55W halogen, and kind of cool!! Being slimmer these lights clear the lift arms!

Install new lights in the original mounting holes and wire to the original switch.


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Attachment: New Bright Lights.

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[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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con: Power Trac Headlights



Problem: The PT-425 OEM Headlights are mounted too low, and can be blocked by a load or attachment on the FEL!



Solution: You can replace the PT-425 headlights with: PM V502HF Flood Beam Utility & Tractor Lights mounted under the front lip of the ROPS Canopy.

Install the new lights in new mounting holes drilled through the canopy lip, bolts up, and wire to the original switch with wires attached to the ROPS. For a pro installation, drill small holes in the top and bottom of the ROPS and route the wires through the inside of the ROPS pipe!


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Attachment: High Bright Lights.

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[blackwell]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

14, Not to take issue with your changes, they sound like good ideas, and I'm sure they work good for you, but to just show how different people think. We use the front hitch provided by PT to move all types of trailors, including a power dumper, the 12' trailor package without tractor, an several other carts and small trailors, you could say, large pallets on wheels. Our people brag about how easy trailors are to move with the hitch ball on the front arms on an articulated machine. We have never used the rear hitch.

We also like the flat black paint, because it is easy to touch up, since it don't chip like gloss paint, thus no sanding and blending in.

We have only added one light, on the rear canopy on the 2445 to see the backhoe better.

I think its neat to see how most people costom their PTs to meet their needs. Saw a PT the other day painted blue, entire machine, with some kind of special GISMO, that I had not seen. Another a year ago in AR or MO mowing a steep bank, painted orange. Looked like a 1850.

As I stated before, PTs must be one of the most modified, costomized, and special attachments made to fit, of any tractor on the market.

Not to try to change this thread, but we should find a central place to post photos only of modified PTs. Maybe have a contest to see who made the most modifications or the most different attachment. Maybe Power Trac could host this on their site!
EB

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
con: Power Trac Headlights
)</font>

How about adding a light facing backwards for backing up in the dark? Or how about LED tail lights? How many watts can you draw from the PT with all of these extras? Moving from 2x35W to 2x55W is a pretty big jump.

 

[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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" to move all types of trailors "

The critical word here is "move" ! I do not "move" my trailers or DR Chipper, but rather "use" them! For example, I mount my Grapple Bucket with the Stump Grinder, axe, rake, and shovel inside, hitch up my DR Chipper to the rear ball with it's tool basket full of chainsaw, gas, bar oil, wedges, and hand tools, and off I go to my job!!
I would not like to drive for up to a mile in reverse through twisting woodland trails just to get the DR Chipper to the job, and then have to go back for everything else!! (Even if I were one of your employees, getting paid by the hour!!)

To just "move" a trailer around, I would drill a hole in a Fork and mount a ball on it!

I won’t even mention that the PT Towing Adaptor also costs nearly TEN times as much as my Custom Hitch!!!! Or about FORTY times as much as a Ball In The Fork Hitch!!!!

The Power Trac articulates in reverse also!!



" We also like the flat black paint, because it is easy to touch up. "

Note that I specified Valspar Anti-Rust "SATIN" Enamel! It is very tough, does not chip or scratch easily, blends well when touched up, and does not have the cheap shiny look of gloss or the dull look of flat!! If you spill gasoline on it, you can wipe up the gas without wiping off the paint!!



" I think its neat to see how most people costom their PTs to meet their needs. "

That's why I started this thread - to show what I, in less than 2 months of ownership, have found, pro or con, about the PT-425. FOR ME, these have been improvements to an already fine machine! Are they mandatory? NO, but for me, they make the PT-425 a little better, a little more useful, a little prettier, a little safer, or just a little more mine!! In the future I will be pointing out some of the many pros, but, for now, I will be concentrating upon curing it's few cons!



" we should find a central place to post photos only of modified PTs "

Sounds good, but no coon tails or fuzzy dice!! By Model! I hate to get all excited about a modification only to learn that it only applies to a PT-2460 with a Plugger Kit!!



“ PTs must be one of the most modified, costomized, and special attachments made to fit, of any tractor on the market. “

That may be because the Power Trac is a quality, unique, fun to operate machine that inspires it’s owners with a desire to make them even better!! Power Trac owners don’t seem to be the type that are most interested in having the latest hat or t-shirt, or bragging about how much they spent on a foreign CUT with an American made decal on it! And they enjoy answering the oft repeated question: “What the Hell IS that!!??!!”!!


Attachment: Custom no-weld Ball Hitch.

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[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Hitch on 1845

 

[FOURTEEN]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

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Nice job, Charlie, but too much welding, $$, and work for my light duty needs!!



Your hitch should give you about an extra 100# of FEL lifting capacity!!!



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[MossRoad]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Tow Hook on my PT425.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Spinner Knob on steering wheel

 

[MossRoad]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

$10.00 soil slicer

 

[MossRoad]

Re: PT-425 PROS & cons??

Animated googley eyes!

Oops, sorry.

Half finished grapple bucket.

Geepers! It's been a long time since I started that! I need to get it finished! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif