Dakar
Bronze Member
PT\'s for the mechanically challenged (again)
Hello everyone. I have been 'lurking' on TBN for some time and would like to thank everyone here for providing such an amazing amount of useful information. The rising prices are leading me to think that it is time I finally take the plunge and make a purchase, before I have to go back to the CFO and beg for even more of our resources to be earmarked for this purchase. So I figure I better get to asking some questions.
I have read back at least a couple of years worth of posts, and the general consensus seems to be that anyone with lower than average mechanical skills would be better off with a tractor that offers better support from a company with a dealer network. Knowing all this, I am still leaning towards the Power Trac. (I'll get back to my reasons why.)
I feel completely comfortable with performing all the necessary maintenance work that I am reading about here, but I am pretty nervous about troubleshooting and repairing any breakdowns that occur. I have checked into the Robin engines and there is a lawn equipment dealer here in town that is an authorized service center for them and will handle warranty work. I have dealt with this company before and feel pretty comfortable with them. The hydraulic portion of the PT has me a little more worried though. I guess the main thing I am curious about is how others have fared in similar circumstances. I get the impression that most of the guys who do the majority of the posting are pretty handy and maybe are not the best suited to answer my questions. How about some of you other guys that have bought PTs but don't own every tool known to man? What kind of experiences have you had with getting repairs done, and/or learning to do them yourselves? When you have a breakdown, have you been able to diagnose the problem and get the machine back in service with the help of Power Trac and the resources available here at TBN? Would you buy a PT again, or would you go with something else?
I will back up here and give a little info on my specific needs and circumstances. We just finished building a new home on 8 acres. The house is built on a hillside that ranges in slope from 10 to 20 degrees as best as I can figure it, with a smallish front yard that is fairly flat. Currently about a half acre is cleared for lawn, but that could grow to as much as an acre later on. Most of this area is also heavily treed, so my tired old MTD lawn tractor gets a real workout, and it takes forever to mow. I also have about 3 acres of pasture that I would like to brushhog a few times per year, and the balance is in timber. I have a gravel driveway that is probably 400' long and has one nasty 20 degree grade. So my needs in order are 1) mowing/hogging, 2) snow removal, 3) drive maintenance and 4) ability to move dirt and gravel for landscape work.
I initially planned on buying an old used tractor, or grey market tractor plus a zero turn mower. Thanks to all the invaluable info here at TBN, I soon learned that 4wd would be a must for the tractor, and that the zero turn idea wasn't so hot, due to the slope of our land. (Also, any tractor I could reasonably afford, be it used, grey, or chinese would have similar service issues to a PT.)
Another huge factor is storage. I designed the house with a walkout basement with an overhead door, so that I could park all the machinery in a shop area of the basement. Unfortunately, those plans went somewhat awry. The slope was so great at the back of the house that I had to go with a retaining wall along the back. In order not to lose the shade trees behind the house (west side) I only ended up with about 10-11 feet to swing into the door. Not much room to manuever a traditional CUT, and my wife isn't going for the idea of her car sitting out to make room for a tractor in the main floor garage. So now I am looking at building a barn, or a tractor sitting out in the weather. Way too many dollars going out at once on top of the new house (which of course, was grossly over budget itself.)
So basically, I am now thinking that a PT 425 with a 48" mower, brush hog, snow blade and a bucket (I'm leaning towards the light material, but willing to listen to arguments) would fit my needs. It works financially, should fit into my garage and hopefully solves all my needs with one machine instead of two. But will I be able to keep the darned thing running? Any and all feedback will be appreciated.
Sorry for the length of this and thanks to everyone at TBN for all the info. Special thanks to Fourteen for braving the wrath of the Chinese Tractor forum and bringing the PT to my attention and to MossRoad for his great website.
Hello everyone. I have been 'lurking' on TBN for some time and would like to thank everyone here for providing such an amazing amount of useful information. The rising prices are leading me to think that it is time I finally take the plunge and make a purchase, before I have to go back to the CFO and beg for even more of our resources to be earmarked for this purchase. So I figure I better get to asking some questions.
I have read back at least a couple of years worth of posts, and the general consensus seems to be that anyone with lower than average mechanical skills would be better off with a tractor that offers better support from a company with a dealer network. Knowing all this, I am still leaning towards the Power Trac. (I'll get back to my reasons why.)
I feel completely comfortable with performing all the necessary maintenance work that I am reading about here, but I am pretty nervous about troubleshooting and repairing any breakdowns that occur. I have checked into the Robin engines and there is a lawn equipment dealer here in town that is an authorized service center for them and will handle warranty work. I have dealt with this company before and feel pretty comfortable with them. The hydraulic portion of the PT has me a little more worried though. I guess the main thing I am curious about is how others have fared in similar circumstances. I get the impression that most of the guys who do the majority of the posting are pretty handy and maybe are not the best suited to answer my questions. How about some of you other guys that have bought PTs but don't own every tool known to man? What kind of experiences have you had with getting repairs done, and/or learning to do them yourselves? When you have a breakdown, have you been able to diagnose the problem and get the machine back in service with the help of Power Trac and the resources available here at TBN? Would you buy a PT again, or would you go with something else?
I will back up here and give a little info on my specific needs and circumstances. We just finished building a new home on 8 acres. The house is built on a hillside that ranges in slope from 10 to 20 degrees as best as I can figure it, with a smallish front yard that is fairly flat. Currently about a half acre is cleared for lawn, but that could grow to as much as an acre later on. Most of this area is also heavily treed, so my tired old MTD lawn tractor gets a real workout, and it takes forever to mow. I also have about 3 acres of pasture that I would like to brushhog a few times per year, and the balance is in timber. I have a gravel driveway that is probably 400' long and has one nasty 20 degree grade. So my needs in order are 1) mowing/hogging, 2) snow removal, 3) drive maintenance and 4) ability to move dirt and gravel for landscape work.
I initially planned on buying an old used tractor, or grey market tractor plus a zero turn mower. Thanks to all the invaluable info here at TBN, I soon learned that 4wd would be a must for the tractor, and that the zero turn idea wasn't so hot, due to the slope of our land. (Also, any tractor I could reasonably afford, be it used, grey, or chinese would have similar service issues to a PT.)
Another huge factor is storage. I designed the house with a walkout basement with an overhead door, so that I could park all the machinery in a shop area of the basement. Unfortunately, those plans went somewhat awry. The slope was so great at the back of the house that I had to go with a retaining wall along the back. In order not to lose the shade trees behind the house (west side) I only ended up with about 10-11 feet to swing into the door. Not much room to manuever a traditional CUT, and my wife isn't going for the idea of her car sitting out to make room for a tractor in the main floor garage. So now I am looking at building a barn, or a tractor sitting out in the weather. Way too many dollars going out at once on top of the new house (which of course, was grossly over budget itself.)
So basically, I am now thinking that a PT 425 with a 48" mower, brush hog, snow blade and a bucket (I'm leaning towards the light material, but willing to listen to arguments) would fit my needs. It works financially, should fit into my garage and hopefully solves all my needs with one machine instead of two. But will I be able to keep the darned thing running? Any and all feedback will be appreciated.
Sorry for the length of this and thanks to everyone at TBN for all the info. Special thanks to Fourteen for braving the wrath of the Chinese Tractor forum and bringing the PT to my attention and to MossRoad for his great website.
