Steiner 450 Review

First hand experience and observations with the Steiner 450 Tractor from an operator with 23 years of Steiner experience.

My Background and Experience          

                                   

I have been running Steiners for 23 years now. We currently have a 450 with a 25hp Kubota diesel.  Previously we had a 525 as well as a 235, also with the same 25hp Kubota,  so I am very familiar with the brand, but by no means whatsoever am I an expert. I know there are other gas powered engines offered with more horsepower, but the powers that be at my job love that Kubota. It has always served us well.   

To be upfront and honest, I am pretty much just an operator.  In my time running these machines I can tell when certain things are wrong, but fixing them has always fallen on the mechanic at my job.  One thing that sticks out in my mind when it comes to fixing a Steiner…. Over the years, our dealer, “Roy’s Steiner, Sales and Service” in Lenhartsville, PA, (I personally feel that you will not find a better dealer) has put on a service clinic for his customers, and has a service tech from Steiner there.  His name was Harvey Geiser, or “J.R.”.  (He recently passed away).  Harvey said at every one of those clinics that there was one nut on a Steiner that you could adjust that would solve most of any issues that come up.  That ‘nut’ is the one that sits in the drivers seat.  I believe that he is 100% right.  When I was younger I would beat the heck out of whatever machine I was running.  Over time, between having hydraulic pumps serviced, or in some cases replaced, and actually listening to that advice that Harvey gave, I learned how to treat the equipment in such a way to minimize downtime.  Steiners are a different kind of tractor, but I’m sure that advice is solid for whatever brand you run.

What I Like

Versatility

The beauty of this style of the Steiner 450 is its versatility.  To be able to switch attachments in the matter of a few minutes in most cases makes it a no brainer for me.  I am a one man groundskeeper of 70 plus acres, so being able to switch from a finish mower, to a rough cut mower in the summer, or to a turbine blower, or LEAF PLOW (even if that leaf plow is made by a rival company, Ventrac) in the fall, or in the winter, in the comfort of my heated cab, I can go from my V-Blade plow, to a rotary broom, to a snowblower.   That is just what I personally have experience with.  There are so many other attachments available.  

Hillside Operation

The 450 also takes on hills better than any other model that I have run.  We have some pretty steep hills that I’m sure push or surpass the 30 degree mark that Steiner stands by.  We don’t have a gauge on our tractor, so I couldn’t give you an exact number.  I can tell you that I have weed whacked those hills, and could barely keep my footing, but I put that 450 in low gear, and use the weight transfer to put more weight on the front tires and I can take care of 99% of those hills in less than an hour compared to multiple HOURS with a weed whacker.  The job also comes out a lot neater.  Our property is on the end of a valley, so a good deal of our finish mowing is also on some steep terrain.  I have zero issues.  Let me also note that we do not have the dual wheel set up that would make it even better on hills.  We get by just by using hub extensions.

Comfortable Ride

The ride is comfortable.  Steiner definitely upgraded the seat from the previous models I’ve had.  The articulated frame makes going over uneven terrain not so terrible.

Hand Control Lever

The addition of the forward/reverse hand lever is definitely a plus.  Even though it doesn’t take the place of the foot pedals, it is only a “finesse”assist, it makes everything a bit smoother.

Ease of Operation

There isn’t much to say.  Get on and go!  It may take some people time to understand how to use the weight transfer properly, but other than that, it’s pretty simple.

Heated Cab

I wasn’t sure to include this, as I don’t plan to include attachments in this review, but I guess this is more of an accessory to the unit itself.  The heated cab is KEY in the winter time.  As I said earlier we are on the edge of a valley,  The wind whips hard during most of the snow storms, and I would not want to be out without the cab.  There have been a few occasions when we have gotten hit with an early winter storm, and not had the cabs on.  All I can say is that I had never been more cold and miserable.  Is the cab perfect?  No it isn’t.  If I had to pick one suggestion to make, it would be to have one of the heat vents be able to point towards the floor. 

Appearance

I know this isn’t the most important factor to consider when buying a tractor, but in my opinion the Steiner 450 is a good looking piece of equipment!  

What Could Be Improved

I really don’t have a whole lot to complain about.  I think any piece of equipment will have it’s issues, and honestly some issues are just unavoidable.  Some just require regular maintenance. Here are a few that come to mind.

Service Accessibility

Even though I don’t work on the machine a ton, and this is not specific to the Steiner 450, some things are just near impossible to access in order to work on them.  How many times have you found what you need to do and said “How am I going to get to that?”

Grass Traps

I mow with my 450 more than anything.  Halfway through my first summer with this machine, it started to slow down.  It happened gradually.  There were no signs with anything else that pointed to a hydraulic issue. We called the dealer and they suggested trying to adjust the forward / reverse cable. We did. It helped a little, but still not great.  I soon found that grass had gotten under the floor board  and was blocking the linkage on the pedal.  As relieved as I was that it was simple to fix, it’s still a pain to remove the floor board every time you want to clear the grass out. Mainly because you have to take the pedal off in order to do it. I don’t know if it would be possible to have openings down there to be able to get some compressed air in there to clear it out easier…that may make it so more stuff gets in there.  Possibly make the floorboard 2 pieces, so you don’t have to take apart the reverse pedal to get the floorboard off.  Well, just a suggestion for improvements,

“Jerky” Pedal

On my 450, I have had a slightly herky jerky ride when it comes to forward and reverse.  To be honest, I didn’t even realize it until I had ridden someone else’s.  I had come accustomed to operating mine accordingly, compensating in a way, I guess.  Well, I found out that there was an update to the pedal kit.  It is being installed now, so we will see how that goes. On the plus side, it shows that Steiner listens and addresses issues.

Summary

Better Than Ventrac??

Overall I love my 450.  I’m not going to tell you that it’s better than  its competitor, Ventrac.  I have respect and admiration for that brand as well.  I just don’t have much experience with it.  I was introduced to Steiner by a friend, who worked for a large Property maintenance company.  Before that I had never heard of Steiner.   That same friend at some point years later told me that his company also started using Ventrac, which at the time I also had never heard of.  I can only tell you my experience with Steiner has always been good.  At the time we were looking for our first Steiner, the closest dealer in our area was less than impressive.  We were so underwhelmed that my boss called Steiner and the sales rep said “Well we have a guy, he’s one of the best we have, but he’s about an hour and a half away from you.  Shorty after that, we met Roy and the rest is history.  Thankfully we also have some decent places that are right in our neighborhood, but nobody has treated us better than Roy.