Looking at a LS tractor, do you have experience?

[Slahp]

My brother and I have a LS 25 HP for about 3 years without any problems. Sets in an unheated shed and never has failed to start in Illinois winters. We have a grapple we use to pickup brush most of the time and it runs great. We have a good local dealer about 2 miles away.
It is the same as a New Holland but a lot less $.

[BJK]

Thanks everyone. In response to some of the comments I can remember...

>I'm not made of money and to get a really big tractor gets really expensive really fast. It's not like this will be a right off on taxes or earn me any $.
> It is a 4x4. I'll probably also put chains on it in the winter. I live in Maine and we can get lots of snow and ice.
> I'll check on the front axle, good idea. Thanks.

[dverna]

I bought it's bigger brother...XR4140 with cab and HST two years ago and could not be happier. I treaded a JD 855 and there is no comparison.

Think hard about the backhoe. A lot of money for something that you will have stored most of the time. And it is not something I would store outside in the elements. I have 20 acres and it is cheaper and more efficient for me to contract out backhoe work.

I added a Piranha bar to the FEL and it is a worthwhile addition for light digging and getting rid of brush/sapplings.

I use mine primarily for firewood processing, snow removal, road maintenance and food plots.

If I were you, I would look at a cabbed XR3000 series machine. Cabs are great in the winter, summer and if you have dusty conditions. They offer protection from bugs as well. Cabs in the woods can be a PITA though. Many folks who buy a tractor end up upgrading in a couple of years....not many people say, "Wish I had got a smaller machine".

Most important is the dealer. Mine is superb. I think the Kioti is good choice too but I had no dealer close enough to me. IMO Kubota is the best, but my dealer was awful and they are pricy. I saved over $8000 with the LS and that bought a lot of attachments.

BTW, SSQA is a given. My most used attachments are pallet forks, grapple, blade and landscape rake.

Make up a spread sheet of tasks you will do yearly and the "one time" and infrequent tasks. When I did that, I realized I had less than $1500 of backhoe work. One last comment on the BH....nice to have for sure. But if you look at used "small" machines you will find them almost unused or beat to hell.

Good luck!!

[10x]

I have a Case / IH 585, 2wd with loader, 3 point blade, 3 point brush hog, and 56 Carrara roto tiller. 4wd would be nice
The hydrolics control valves are abysmal, there is no such thing as precision bucket work or grading with the bucket.
My neighbor has a Kubota 4wd - about 45 hp, with bucket , back hoe, blade, roto tiller, rough cut mower and finishing mower.
The tires on the Kubota need an up grade, The 12" joy stick hydrolic control valve lever is nice but any rough ground degrades precision control.
The forward reverse rocker pedal is on the same side as the individual wheel brakes. - this gets awkward in tight spots. WOuld be better on the left hand side

Talk to the folks who own and use these tractors and if you get the chance use one yourself. I have used various small tractors for over 60 years. They work well if you do not try to use them for tasks beyond their HP. traction, or gearing

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve had good experience with Yanmar motors. If you are counting on using front forks for lifting much and that’s a big advantage of a tractor, make sure the tractor can SAFELY lift that load. Make sure the accessories you may want are available and are easy to attach.

[thxmrgarand]

I've had a small 4WD Yanmar tractor, that came with Yanmar FEL and BH, for about 20 years. It was built for the US market. The first owner was the local city government, and I bought it on sealed bid when it had about 550 hours. Mostly it has moved snow, but also I have dug out a few leaking USTs to fill in the hole with dirt/sand, pulled a Ford V-8 with the BH, heeled and moved a hot tub, towed cars and trucks, all as favors for neighbors. It is tiny and I go easy on it. Just bought all new hydraulic hoses, (Discount Hose, great people, $580 delivered to AK), bought new FEL hydraulic controller years ago, and that is it apart from oil, hyd fluid and filters. I have never owned anything else as bullet proof as it has been. Intelligent design. It's built like Colt built my Trooper in 1955. While it would be OK were it bigger the small size allows me to get into very tiny places to work it. In some respects horsepower is over-emphasized. I helped my grandfather farm when I was a kid, and he did everything with a Farmall C for 30 milking head including producing enough hay to get them through long winters. I doubt that Farmall had 20 honest horses, probably less. Today people would think they need 45 horses or more for 300 acres and those chores. A BH is the handiest and most useful implement for a subcompact tractor. I have picked up a brush hog and a belly mower when they came very inexpensively. All that said, I bought a Bobcat skid steer first of this year that had 250 hours. Needed to buy it from the widow of the fellow who has been plowing neighbors out around here, and somebody had to keep that going. It happened to have a 56 horse Kubota. I have put 25 hours plowing snow (plowed today in fact), and I must admit to liking the cab and the heater - perhaps because of my 3 score and 11 years. My brother has owned a number of Kubotas, and he has been around Kioti and Mahindra, but he just bought a late-model (but not Tier IV) Yanmar, 35 horse, with BH and FEL, 50 hours, as his retirement tractor. We have a Bobcat dealer here of mixed reputation, but much better than nothing, and he's a Republican. From here to the nearest dealer in anything else requires several hundred miles by boat or jet aircraft. People I trust say that the Tier IV on small diesels is about where autos were with pollution control in 1971; they don't have it figured out very well yet. Youtube is a real asset with any equipment I own however. If you are as careful with fuel on your small diesel as a guy must be with fuel on his Cessna 185 or his Supercub you may go for years with no engine problem. That is all I know.

[BJK]

Thanks

[GregLaROCHE]

Kubotas have a good reputation for small Diesel engines.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have an old 1980 Kubota that has given no problems, seals on front end hydraulic controller do leak now but are original. For digging with the front loader bucket, adding teeth can make a big difference. Set-up on a bar that can be bolted to the bucket or welded solid depending on your needs/usage.fast. Check what tractors your local rental outfits are using to see what are probably the most reliable/repairable brands.

[lightman]

On small tractors there is probably not a wrong answer. A good dealer close to you is more important. I just sold a 6800 Kubota and I was happy with it.

[Froogal]

IF I was looking for a compact or sub-compact tractor, I would be seriously considering a Kubota. I was around a few of them several years ago, helping with initial set-up and such, and I was favorably impressed with how they are built.

[Cast10]

Tractorbynet is your friend……

I’ve been looking at compact models for a while. 35-45 HP. Im leading towards the 42 hp model, non-hydro.

LS is a good tractor. They make them for Case and New Holland. I have a local dealer close to my ranch. I went over and looked at them and even ran one. I couldn’t tell the difference in them or a New Holland. Little cosmetics are the only difference. They were using third party engines until recently and now have their own. Don’t like the tier3/tier4 emissions, but oh well……When I get ready, LS for me. Also, because of the licensing in New Holland/CASE, if for some reason LS goes down or can’t get parts, New Holland/CASE will have them. They have to guarantee them so many years of parts for each model.
Best of luck on your decision!

[BJK]

Thanks guys. That's all been put on indefinite hold.

[Lloyd Smale]

IF I was looking for a compact or sub-compact tractor, I would be seriously considering a Kubota. I was around a few of them several years ago, helping with initial set-up and such, and I was favorably impressed with how they are built.

ive blown snow with a small 4x4 Kubota for years. Honestly its all i do with it. It has been absolutely flawless and if you knew my area youd know we get serious snow. Neighbor has a larger new holland and swears by that one and he actually USES his. Dont know enough about them to make a claim that its the best or some other is but i know this one has worked. I think most of this is just another ford vs chev vs dodge thing. Id do some research and see whats available in your area and ask around as to what dealer was the best to deal with when things do break and buy that brand.

[pworley1]

If this will be your only tractor, I agree with the "get the biggest you can afford advice", but if not, the one you are thinking about will be great. We have 100+ hp tractors and a full size backhoe for big jobs, but our little LS 4wd with loader is the handiest little tractor we have ever had. Just don't try to drive it with the bucket loaded and raised, it's light weight makes it very top heavy.

[Nazgul]

I have run my JD 5205 with 6' bucket for 8 years on our small farm, mostly wooded. Moved a lot of felled trees with it, longest was 78'. Can't say enough about it. It was bigger than I needed but was a great price, only 1400 hrs on it when I bought it.

I have a log boom, solid stainless, free from a friend who was a welder at a customer. Added a 6'mower last year, also have a 7' scraper blade. Was given a cultivator that needs some TLC. Looks like a bearing or 2 and some welding should make it useable.

This has saved me untold hours of work. It is true about the weight in the bucket. It is easy to get too much wet dirt in it. Just go slow, make 2-3 loads instead of one big one.

Don

[georgerkahn]

A fellow who used to work with me (albeit different departments) had one, and his difficulty was mainly in getting ANYTHING to fit. I do not recall particulars (if I ever in fact did know them?) but I do recall he bought a BX-Expanded attachment and had to take it to a welding shop for fabrication/modification to fit his LS. I was never on it, and only saw his photos so I cannot offer any "real" 'ratings'.
One very important note a John Deere dealer pointed out to me is that "99.9%" use "canoe spec's re capacity". I took the bait and inquired what canoes may have to do with tractors, to which he answered, "Nothing!". However, he added an important spec to many portage in mind canoe purchasers is the craft's weight. In the brochure will be printed, say, "49.62 pounds." BUT, after you buy it you can barely lift it to your truck top. Huh? The weight is the hull/shell weight: no gunnels, seats, etc., etc., etc...
Similarly, with many tractor spec's there is a similarity. The purchaser surely will want the greatest FEL lift capacity, right? So, that's what in the spec sheet. HOWEVER, what is generally published is the machine capacity at maximum hydraulic pressure flow, at the bucket hook-up, at maximum height point, without any bucket attached! Sooo, again generally, if you SUBTRACT the weight of the bucket plus 10% from the published lift... you get MUCH closer to the true lift capacity!
Using my Kubota BX25DBL-1's FEL to lift roofing shingles -- as much as I truly LOVE my machine -- I quickly learned Kubota apparently uses "canoe" descripts.
Good luck, regardless -- my Kubota is everything from my "wheelbarrow", up! My only regret is not having purchased a tractor earlier in life! Now set up for moving desolation dust (aka snow) -- I've attached a photo of mine.
geo

[Rapier]

I live in tractor country. I have seen a lot of different makes and models. The older tractors, in good shape, without the ecology crap on them, are in high demand. That mess will shut the tractor down, takes 15-20 minutes of down time to burn the catalytic converter out, etc. My 45 hp 4x4 Kubota costs more today than it did 11 years ago, not bad at all for a farm tool.
Do not listen to the sales, it can pick up at he pins, the axles and frame must support the FEL lift weight. It takes a good frame to lift and move weight, especially on rough ground.
I have a backet, rooot rake with a grapple and a back-hoe. The bucket on the FEL digs faster than anything, The root rake with grapple is worth its weight in gold. If you know how to dig and push, the back-hoe is great for trenchng. Snow is a four letter word in FL.
A diesel lives on clean air, clean oil, regular grease and good fuel.

[Lloyd Smale]

A fellow who used to work with me (albeit different departments) had one, and his difficulty was mainly in getting ANYTHING to fit. I do not recall particulars (if I ever in fact did know them?) but I do recall he bought a BX-Expanded attachment and had to take it to a welding shop for fabrication/modification to fit his LS. I was never on it, and only saw his photos so I cannot offer any "real" 'ratings'.
One very important note a John Deere dealer pointed out to me is that "99.9%" use "canoe spec's re capacity". I took the bait and inquired what canoes may have to do with tractors, to which he answered, "Nothing!". However, he added an important spec to many portage in mind canoe purchasers is the craft's weight. In the brochure will be printed, say, "49.62 pounds." BUT, after you buy it you can barely lift it to your truck top. Huh? The weight is the hull/shell weight: no gunnels, seats, etc., etc., etc...
Similarly, with many tractor spec's there is a similarity. The purchaser surely will want the greatest FEL lift capacity, right? So, that's what in the spec sheet. HOWEVER, what is generally published is the machine capacity at maximum hydraulic pressure flow, at the bucket hook-up, at maximum height point, without any bucket attached! Sooo, again generally, if you SUBTRACT the weight of the bucket plus 10% from the published lift... you get MUCH closer to the true lift capacity!
Using my Kubota BX25DBL-1's FEL to lift roofing shingles -- as much as I truly LOVE my machine -- I quickly learned Kubota apparently uses "canoe" descripts.
Good luck, regardless -- my Kubota is everything from my "wheelbarrow", up! My only regret is not having purchased a tractor earlier in life! Now set up for moving desolation dust (aka snow) -- I've attached a photo of mine.
geo

same little one i have.

[Finster101]

My DT series Kubota is still going strong. It's an 04. It is for sale though. I just don't need that big of a tractor any more and started looking at the sub-compact models. Something that still has a loader and that I can put a belly mower on. I don't like bushhogs to mow. Too much clearance needed to make a turn especially with a loader on the front. Looking at John-Deere and Kubota. No new one till the old one is gone though.