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Before becoming a proud PT-425 owner, I looked at a few other tractors that would do my lifting, but still fit through the trails and woods where I would use it. If you can't get it to the load, or it tears up everything in it's path, what good is it!!???!! These are the rated lifting capacities:
Kioti CK20 = 770#
NH TC24D = 750#
NH TC29D = 875#
MF 1423 = 800#
At 800# the PT-425 handles my needs very well without excessive weight, width, height, or cost.
I find the PT-425 very reassuring to use. If the load is too heavy, the PT will just gently raise the rear end to let me know that I have reached it's limit. Nothing bends, nothing breaks, and nothing pops or snaps. I could perhaps lift more with some weight added to the rear (1# added to the rear increases lift by ~2#), but I don't need the hassle of maybe repairing or replacing overloaded damaged parts! I have learned it’s limits, and operate it within them. Figure out where and what you want to USUALLY lift, then select a tractor to do those jobs. Also you can just take smaller bites, or shorter logs, or few bricks, or whatever!! You don't need some huge tractor just so that you can pick up your house once every 10 years!!!!
Dealing mostly with trees and brush I needed a Grapple Bucket, and Power Trac was the only one of these small compact tractors to offer one from the manufacturer. It is most important to be able to control your load, and locking the load in with the Grapple is so much easier to use than an open bucket or forks would be. (The grapples do not deform when clamping down on an uneven load.) I recently moved a log 13" X 18'-7" long through my woods, over branches, smaller logs, rocks, and across a debris filled ditch with excellent control, and without needing to stop or reload it. With the low center of gravity of the PT-425, this load never felt the least bit tipsy even when raised nearly 5’ to clear some bushes on the uneven ground. Being able to shift the load sideways and to make tight winding turns helps a lot. I can zig-zag a load between trees which are closer together than the width of the load!
The all-wheel drive provides plenty of traction to my bar tires, and will confidently traverse some pretty challenging terrain with, or without, a load. At the extreme, one of the tires will slowly start to churn the ground but it never spins the tire! Articulation makes getting out of nasty spots a snap! Multiple trips over the same path leaves little or no damage. In really tight areas a log can be pinched on the end between the grapple tooth and the bucket tooth, and dragged out endwise.
I use a "suicide knob" in my left hand so I can keep my right hand on the joystick. If something unusual happens, I can easily drop the load by hitting the float, but I haven’t needed to yet! Simple two hand, two foot operation!
For dirt work just leave the grapple in the up position and use the bucket with it's rock teeth for HD digging!
It even works quite well as a man lift, with the bucket bottom level and the raised Grapple teeth acting as a handrail!!
Sooooo, my point is that there is a lot more to having a useful tractor with a FEL than what the tractor’s lifting capacity is!! Look at the tractors, look at YOUR jobs, and decide what the best match is!!
PS: When comparing prices be sure to include the FEL and the attachments. The more jobs your tractor can help you with, the lower the real cost.
PPS: I use 7# of air in the rear bar tires, and 14# in the front bar tires. This gives me a soft ride and full width contact patches when unloaded, while preventing front sidewall damage and rear narrow contact patches when heavily loaded.
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