Disclaimer - This is a long one folks and is not in any way intended to represent a comprehensive and well-rounded review on the unit, only initial impressions after a very short period of operation.
Took delivery of my Ventrac 4226D today. My salesman made the delivery and did an excellent job of demonstrating the mounting of all attachments and familiarizing me with the basics of operating the tractor.
Fortunately, we did get a few inches of snow today, so I was able to work the unit for a bit.
First impression - this tractor is built like an army tank. The tractor has more steel in its construction than my 8-year old Deere 2210 did (unfortunately, the newer Deere units have even more plastic). It is about 2 feet shorter and surprisingly compact. My wife and I are fans of bully-breeds of dogs (pits, american bulldogs etc), and this machine gives that impression with its agility, strength and solidity in such a compact package. The engine (3 cyl. diesel B&S/Daihatsu) was very, very smooth. Surprisingly so compared to the Yanmar in my Deere 2210 (also a 3 cyl. diesel). The Yanmar's are very well-regarded diesels, so I hope the B&S/Daihatsu Vanguard engine lives up to the Yanmar standards. My dealer said this unit was the first Vanguard he had seen with a newer (aluminum?) radiator. Don't know if this is good or bad (or neither).
Second impression, I need more seat time to acclimate my self to the controls. My old tractor had single joystick to raise/lower and angle the attachment while using two pedals for forward and reverse. It worked well and I was very accustomed to it. I had a challenge running the tractor while plowing. I'd go to raise the plow and instead go backwards because of my "muscle memory." I am very familiar with this muscle memory concept as I work in law enforcement, and have utilized repetition when training with firearms to reinforce the correct movements for various techniques. The key word is "training" or practice. I'll take it very slowly until I am able to make all of this second nature. It is certainly not a shortcoming with the machine. I will likely abstain from doing much work through the neighborhood until I feel more confident in operating the tractor.
Observations (nit-picky) - I have the pedal installed on my unit for forward/reverse. I am glad it is there. However, there are a couple shortcomings in my opinion. First, it has slick, painted surface. My foot would slide over and off it. I am sure the snow/ice and water exacerbated this issue. I plan to obtain some coarse non-skid tape to help alleviate this issue. Personally, I think it should come from the factory so equipped, but not a big deal.
The biggest issue for me so far is what I consider excessive resistance of the pedal and SDLA lever when in in "spring-assist or return-to-neutral or whatever it is called mode. As most of you know, this is the mode recommended when learning to run the unit because when pressure is removed from the pedal or SDLA lever, spring tension returns it to "neutral" position. The spring tension on this thing is too heavy for use for anything other than a very short period of time with my arm. This is most noticeable when trying to move in reverse, but overall needs to be lightened in my opinion. It makes the pedal more difficult to use than it needs to be when going forward and almost ineffective in reverse. The SDLA lever is no treat either with that much resistance. Even without the pedal, I'd want the resistance lessened.
The easy-shift mode makes SDLA and pedal movement much, much easier (significantly less resistance), but this is the mode that led me to almost put the tractor through my garage door today after I tired of fighting the spring-assisted return-to-neutral mode (again, that old muscle memory - not the tractor's fault)! My wife will push herself out of the seat trying to use the pedal and my shoulder was feeling it after a short period of time. Can someone tell me how to reduce the tension on the spring return? I'll ask the dealer as well. If I can accomplish that, I'd be very happy! Maybe there is also the element of a break-in period I need to consider as well.
The V-blade is a very nice unit, but would be well served by adding a 45 deg bevel to the outside corners of the cutting edges to accommodate offset expansion joints. My Deere plow unit was not even half the plow this Ventrac blade is (seriously, it is sad to see what Deere charges for blades that are shoddy in comparison to Ventrac's), but it had those bevels on the cutting edge and it helps a great deal for small discrepancies in pavement levels.
Other than that, I need to add a spinner-knob to the steering wheel as this is a must-have in my book. I am also going to look at replacing the rear tail-lights with flashing led units, which should compliment the amber strobe I have on the way. I'll only do this if I can do it without any significant alteration of the existing set-up, like keeping the lenses and replacing the bulb set-up with LEDs.
Ultimately, I'll chime in more on this impressive tractor once I get more seat time (and run more attachments), but that may take a while with the weather being what it is unless we are fortunate to get a big snow. My salesman ran the debris blower for about 30 seconds today to show me the connections and I have to say it made an impression on me with its power. I am guessing I'll have a rotary broom in about one year (not a need, just a want).
Thanks to everyone for their support and advice on these matters. I am glad to have finally arrived to the status of Ventrac ownership! I've tried to attach some pics and hope it works.
Took delivery of my Ventrac 4226D today. My salesman made the delivery and did an excellent job of demonstrating the mounting of all attachments and familiarizing me with the basics of operating the tractor.
Fortunately, we did get a few inches of snow today, so I was able to work the unit for a bit.
First impression - this tractor is built like an army tank. The tractor has more steel in its construction than my 8-year old Deere 2210 did (unfortunately, the newer Deere units have even more plastic). It is about 2 feet shorter and surprisingly compact. My wife and I are fans of bully-breeds of dogs (pits, american bulldogs etc), and this machine gives that impression with its agility, strength and solidity in such a compact package. The engine (3 cyl. diesel B&S/Daihatsu) was very, very smooth. Surprisingly so compared to the Yanmar in my Deere 2210 (also a 3 cyl. diesel). The Yanmar's are very well-regarded diesels, so I hope the B&S/Daihatsu Vanguard engine lives up to the Yanmar standards. My dealer said this unit was the first Vanguard he had seen with a newer (aluminum?) radiator. Don't know if this is good or bad (or neither).
Second impression, I need more seat time to acclimate my self to the controls. My old tractor had single joystick to raise/lower and angle the attachment while using two pedals for forward and reverse. It worked well and I was very accustomed to it. I had a challenge running the tractor while plowing. I'd go to raise the plow and instead go backwards because of my "muscle memory." I am very familiar with this muscle memory concept as I work in law enforcement, and have utilized repetition when training with firearms to reinforce the correct movements for various techniques. The key word is "training" or practice. I'll take it very slowly until I am able to make all of this second nature. It is certainly not a shortcoming with the machine. I will likely abstain from doing much work through the neighborhood until I feel more confident in operating the tractor.
Observations (nit-picky) - I have the pedal installed on my unit for forward/reverse. I am glad it is there. However, there are a couple shortcomings in my opinion. First, it has slick, painted surface. My foot would slide over and off it. I am sure the snow/ice and water exacerbated this issue. I plan to obtain some coarse non-skid tape to help alleviate this issue. Personally, I think it should come from the factory so equipped, but not a big deal.
The biggest issue for me so far is what I consider excessive resistance of the pedal and SDLA lever when in in "spring-assist or return-to-neutral or whatever it is called mode. As most of you know, this is the mode recommended when learning to run the unit because when pressure is removed from the pedal or SDLA lever, spring tension returns it to "neutral" position. The spring tension on this thing is too heavy for use for anything other than a very short period of time with my arm. This is most noticeable when trying to move in reverse, but overall needs to be lightened in my opinion. It makes the pedal more difficult to use than it needs to be when going forward and almost ineffective in reverse. The SDLA lever is no treat either with that much resistance. Even without the pedal, I'd want the resistance lessened.
The easy-shift mode makes SDLA and pedal movement much, much easier (significantly less resistance), but this is the mode that led me to almost put the tractor through my garage door today after I tired of fighting the spring-assisted return-to-neutral mode (again, that old muscle memory - not the tractor's fault)! My wife will push herself out of the seat trying to use the pedal and my shoulder was feeling it after a short period of time. Can someone tell me how to reduce the tension on the spring return? I'll ask the dealer as well. If I can accomplish that, I'd be very happy! Maybe there is also the element of a break-in period I need to consider as well.
The V-blade is a very nice unit, but would be well served by adding a 45 deg bevel to the outside corners of the cutting edges to accommodate offset expansion joints. My Deere plow unit was not even half the plow this Ventrac blade is (seriously, it is sad to see what Deere charges for blades that are shoddy in comparison to Ventrac's), but it had those bevels on the cutting edge and it helps a great deal for small discrepancies in pavement levels.
Other than that, I need to add a spinner-knob to the steering wheel as this is a must-have in my book. I am also going to look at replacing the rear tail-lights with flashing led units, which should compliment the amber strobe I have on the way. I'll only do this if I can do it without any significant alteration of the existing set-up, like keeping the lenses and replacing the bulb set-up with LEDs.
Ultimately, I'll chime in more on this impressive tractor once I get more seat time (and run more attachments), but that may take a while with the weather being what it is unless we are fortunate to get a big snow. My salesman ran the debris blower for about 30 seconds today to show me the connections and I have to say it made an impression on me with its power. I am guessing I'll have a rotary broom in about one year (not a need, just a want).
Thanks to everyone for their support and advice on these matters. I am glad to have finally arrived to the status of Ventrac ownership! I've tried to attach some pics and hope it works.
Attachments
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). Once you are used to the controls, you won't need that center position very often - the tention is there so it will return to stop quickly and for sure.