I have had 10 Husqvarna front riders before purchasing the Ventrac; from simple Rider 13 to professional variants such as Pro Flex 21 AWD.
I have bought the machines because I enjoy repairing and using them. After using the machines, I have sold with money back or with a small profit. It has been a good complement to my office job as engineering project manager in the car industry to work “hands on”.
Last month, I bought my first Ventrac; a 3200 with Daihatsu 850 cc diesel engine and LM520 deck.
Ventrac 3200 is a super solid machine; it is built like a tank with almost no plastic.
Driver comfort is excellent with adjustable steering wheel, adjustable suspension on seat, adjustable sits position. But perhaps the best ergonomic thing is the possibility to control vehicle speed with both foot and right hand; this is super.
On the slight negative side of the machine is the oil filter and dipstick, which are difficult to access. This is not a major issue but still could have been done better.
Before using the machine, I was very curious about the articulated joint (or more correct 3 joints).
The machine is turning around center with 3 “ball” joints, in similar way as the new Husqvarna 520-series. But the Husqvarna owned by me have more common concept with one joint for turning and another for keeping rear wheels on ground “pivot joint”. This is also the common concept for Articulated Tractors and wheel loaders.
So how is this Ventrac patent with the 3 joints working in reality?
It works surprisingly well. The clear benefit is less lash in the machine since the 3 ball joints are positioned with great distance. Less lash leads to less noise and better prediction of machine dynamics in acceleration and deceleration. This is a clear advantage over the traditional design!
Center joint/steering as Ventrac compared to Rear steering like Husqvarna: You get used to both. Center steering gives more stabile machine; easier to keep desired line. But on down side it feels than the smallest uncut circle gets slightly larger. It also leads to another way of cutting close to the trees; on rear steered machine, you need to operate the machine forward while on center steered you can trim to the side of the tree by standing still close to the trees and just operating the steering.
Comparing the cutting quality of Ventrac LM520 with mulching kit with Husqvarna:
NVH: LM520 is very silent, on par with best Husqvarna decks
Cleaning the decks: It is easier to flip up the Ventrac; no belt or linkages need to be removed and no shuffle of the deck in slots; this is a clear advantage. On negative side: water cleaning itself takes more time due to many pockets to clean.
Grass cut quality: grass cut itself equal to the best Husqvarna decks (which are best in class according to my opinion), but the release of the grass residuals is slightly worse but no issue for me. The Ventrac leaves beautiful stripes / pattern which is a clear benefit.
In total; I am very happy with the Ventrac, it is the best machine I have owned so far.