New XJ2025H

[Plas62]

I got a total of six stumps out over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Here is a pic of the last one, #45.

It was some type of hardwood, possibly an oak and a real PITA to get out. Took about 10 hours total and I had to chainsaw through several roots to finally get it free. Stumps like this make you wish for a bigger tractor.

 

[Plas62]

We finally had some rain this past week and I was able to burn :fire: Friday and Saturday.

 

[Plas62]

I'm a couple of weeks late posting the before and after pic's of our property. I'll post the Before pic's in one post and the After pic's in another post.


Before July 2016

 

[Plas62]

I've had the tractor for just over 5 months and am at 190 hours. So far we've dug out 47 stumps, had 15 stumps ground out, burned 6 good size piles of brush, removed an old Tie Wall and regraded.

Still a lot of work left to do in order to achieve the"Park" look I promised my wife when we bought the tractor, but we are starting to make a noticeable difference.

After December 2016

 

[hutchman]

Holly smokes ... you've been working that baby! Looks good! Pretty impressive!

So how long did it take to dig out that big stump in your first post? I've not attempted to dig one out that big before.

 

[Plas62]

Thanks Hutchman

My first large stump took me about 20 hours, including filling the hole back in. But I was just learning to use the backhoe and tractor.

After all the practice I've had, I can now dig out one that size in about 8-10 hours, including filling in the hole.

It looks like you have the R3039, which is quite a bit bigger than my XJ2025. I would think it would take you about half the time it takes me to dig one out that size.

 

[hutchman]

Thanks Hutchman

My first large stump took me about 20 hours, including filling the hole back in. But I was just learning to use the backhoe and tractor.

After all the practice I've had, I can now dig out one that size in about 8-10 hours, including filling in the hole.

It looks like you have the R3039, which is quite a bit bigger than my XJ2025. I would think it would take you about half the time it takes me to dig one out that size.

I don't know, I have a friend that had taken on stuff like pushing trees over with his bucket high up on the tree and dug out big stumps and his tractor is bigger than mine ... a NH TC45. If I remember right, he said it took him 7-8hrs. to deal with a big stump.

Funny story ... he couldn't lift the stumps so he would roll them with the FEL. One time he was going up a hill and the bucket slipped of and the stump rolled back into the tractor and smashed up the hood, headlights etc.

I've learned a lot of "what not to do" by listening to him. He's the one that I've mentioned before that has broken some hydraulic cylinders on his backhoe ... and I recently joined that club by breaking my bucket curl cylinder.

You got any pecan trees?

 

[Plas62]

I don't have any pecans trees that I'm removing. Most of the stumps I am removing are pine, thank goodness. There are several hardwood stumps that I have to remove scattered about and these are the worst.

I have had several stumps that were to heavy to lift out of the hole with the BH, once I got them broke free. On those stumps I push the stump around to a corner of the hole to get it out of the way and then dig the hole deeper until I've got the hole deep enough that I can move the stump to the deep part of the hole and bury it. Sometimes I have to re-position the stump several times in hole to get it out of my way while digging the hole deeper

I have had to roll/push several of them fortunately none of them have gotten away from me yet.

My tractor is currently at the dealer. When I talked with the dealer about replacing my muffler which had broke at the weld. I told him I had noticed a lot of slop in my BH boom and that I would like them to look at that while they had it in the shop. They found that one of the bushings had broken and was missing on the bottom pin of the boom. There was also wear on the two pins of the swivel assembly. I do grease the BH regularly after every 8-10 hours of use

They are replacing the pin and bushings on the boom, the two pins on the swivel assembly and the muffler under warranty. I have them replacing the teeth on the BH bucket, on my dime while it's in the shop as they are pretty worn.

Going forward I will most likely have someone come in and stump grind the largest pine stumps and the hardwoods in order to minimize the wear on my backhoe.

 

[tomplum]

We just took delivery of the same tractor. I must say that your post shows how capable this tractor is. Keep us up to date and thanks for the good info in all your posts.

 

[DaveNJ]

Looks pretty cool! But I've found my XJ2025's best feature is its small size: It can go around big stumps with ease and I can ignore them.

 

[Plas62]

Congrats on the new tractor Tomplum. I'm sure you'll love it. Glad to here my posts have been helpful.

I haven't got to use the tractor to much lately, the ground is to wet and I have been working on catching up on some overdue auto repairs. I'll post some more updates, once I get back at it.

 

[texascedar]

Congrats on your tractors to all you guys.

My J2023H is coming up on 250 hours. The 2 year warranty ends on the 20th of this month. Except for a couple minor hickups this has been a great little tractor. I have a mini brush rake grapple by Armstrong AG for this tractor that has served me well.

 

[bajarage]

Your pictures of that huge stump have pushed me more towards getting an xj2025h. I have a couple questions for you about it, with the backhoe attached.

How tall are you?

How is the head to ROPS clearance with the ROPS up?

I ask because I have heard it is a little close for comfort by someone who is shorter than me, I am 6'2", and I am curious on the fit. I would normally go sit in one and check myself, after all it is the only way to be sure, but the closest dealer I have found is ~150 miles away.

Thank you

 

[tomplum]

I thought I would chime in as mine was outside the door. I'm 5'9" and I have maybe 2.5 inches clearance. The measurement from the seat up is 36". Now, engineers make the specs on these ROPS, but if it were my head I would extend it if I needed to. Would you want the ROPS up if you were in backhoe mode or just that you didn't want to mess with folding it up and down?
I've seen comments from folks on the forum in regards to not liking the second seat , so they bought the smaller MF GC TLB. My wife's take was that the ones that had the pop around swivel seat was that the controls seemed out of place because the seat was higher. Definitely being 6'2", I'm sure that fit is big issue. Best of luck on your search.

 

[Plas62]

Thanks Tom. I was busy with car repairs yesterday and got the measurement, but didn't get a chance to post.

I'm 5'10" and I got the same measurement as Tom, 36" at lowest point, seat to ROPS. As Tom pointed out it would be pretty easy to modify the upper ROPS to add a few inches to it, but since it is a safety item most folks are reluctant to do that.

You may want to contact your LS dealer and have them check with the factory to see if they could order the tractor with a custom ROPS and add another 4-6 inches to it.

 

[joe6543]

Thanks for all of the info on this thread I just bought a 2025 and wanted to know how hard it was to change out the ripper for the bucket on the backhoe? Brotek says they are coming out with a quick attach but it will be at least another month. Also how do you like our grapple? Which one did you get?

Thanks again for the info and pictures.

 

[Plas62]

Changing over from the bucket to the ripper is pretty easy. It takes 10 minutes or less. I have a small wooden dolly I use to set the bucket on, unhook it and then roll it out of the way. The ripper is light enough to handle by hand.

I bought the Everything Attachments Compact Wicked Root Grapple 50". I really like it after the bucket it's my most used FEL attachment.

 

[VeRV77]

Hi y'all, this is my first post on TBN! About time, I've been reading the forum for months.

I've keenly watched this thread as the XJ 2025h is on my shortlist. Need to purchase something for landscaping and stump removal on about 2 acres. Will be my first "real" tractor. I test drove an XJ a few weeks ago and liked it quite a bit. Unfortunately the dealer near my house had no backhoes on the lot models to look at. Also looking around at used 'bota B26's as I'm SURE those can handle the landscaping I'm planning on doing... but they're not cheap. Also checked out Mahindra 26XL but not thrilled with the dealer near me.

I want to thank Plas62 for putting up so many great pictures and sharing info on mods and attachments. :thumbsup: I really like the C channel on the stabilizer pads and the info about Bro-Tek thumbs/rippers. Given the stumps I have to pull out, the backhoe is really important to me. Some have asked already about the ROPS height when in the BH seat - but would a guy about 6'6" fit? From the photos I've seen, I doubt it. Makes me hesitate to order one. Also, how hard is it to remove/re-attach the BH? Has to be a one-man job for me.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Hi y'all, this is my first post on TBN! About time, I've been reading the forum for months.

I've keenly watched this thread as the XJ 2025h is on my shortlist. Need to purchase something for landscaping and stump removal on about 2 acres. Will be my first "real" tractor. I test drove an XJ a few weeks ago and liked it quite a bit. Unfortunately the dealer near my house had no backhoes on the lot models to look at. Also looking around at used 'bota B26's as I'm SURE those can handle the landscaping I'm planning on doing... but they're not cheap. Also checked out Mahindra 26XL but not thrilled with the dealer near me.

I want to thank Plas62 for putting up so many great pictures and sharing info on mods and attachments. :thumbsup: I really like the C channel on the stabilizer pads and the info about Bro-Tek thumbs/rippers. Given the stumps I have to pull out, the backhoe is really important to me. Some have asked already about the ROPS height when in the BH seat - but would a guy about 6'6" fit? From the photos I've seen, I doubt it. Makes me hesitate to order one. Also, how hard is it to remove/re-attach the BH? Has to be a one-man job for me.

Not sure if your set on the 2025, but check out the mt125, might be suitable for your needs and $3000 less, just a thought....

 

[VeRV77]

I noticed they just came out with the m125. Looks like a great machine, and if I'm not mistaken you don't give up much to the XJ 2025 in terms of backhoe capacity. The FEL is another story. I should probably go drive one.