New member from upstate NY

[nybirdman]

Yes,Styles,saw quite a few of his dogs,used to train some here;also helped us train our dogs.Been to his kennel a couple times.
He is ageing out too!

 

[Jim T.]

Yes,Styles,saw quite a few of his dogs,used to train some here;also helped us train our dogs.Been to his kennel a couple times.
He is ageing out too!

it's a small world. This is my first NY setter, all my others came from Michigan. really looking forward to poking around Tug Hill this fall

 

[nybirdman]

Grouse are in short supply,at least in our area.Havn't seen one in a couple of years.

 

[Jim T.]

Grouse are in short supply,at least in our area.Havn't seen one in a couple of years.

we've put up a couple locally here over the past couple of months, I certainly don't see the family groups of 6-7 birds in one place like I did 30-35 years ago. Been out training the pup looking for woodcock, seeing lots of splash but no birds yet. Guessing just migrants passing through, no residents yet.

 

[Jim T.]

that's helpful. I did a bit more reading about it last night as well as some comparison price shopping online. I think bumping up to that level HP/lift capacity may be stretching it price-wise, especially for just that one function of bulk pallets of dog food. We do fine right now every several months driving an hour to pick up 15-20 bags at a time. More expensive per bag that way than bulk, but it would be hard to justify the expense of the bigger tractor just for that. This tc30 with the blower asking price is $15k, I don't think I could get a used 40+hp machine in decent shape for less than $30-$35k. We're gonna have a fair amount of house and kennel expenses, so we've got to make the pennies count.

seems I was wrong in my price estimate about bumping up to a used 40+hp machine. Was back at my local dealer yesterday--have done business with him for 30 years, he's sold us all our mowers and serviced them as well. I would continue to have him service a new-to-me tractor since I'd be using the machine for both houses.

Anyway. Went in to ask about new machines and pricing, I have been warming up to the idea of financing a new unit with warranty, implements etc. In particular I was curious about the LS MT232 and MT242. The 232 would be $39k-ish, the 242 somewhere around $44k-ish.

As we were talking he started thinking about some of the other used units he has, both in-stock but also in the pipeline as pending trade-ins. He showed me an LS xr4046 that had come in on a trade--it has EGR/regen and ECU issues, but he said they're confident they'll get to the bottom of that pretty soon, even if it means deleting the DPF/SCR stuff. Other than that the tractor is low hours and in great condition, runs well. He thinks he can keep the price on the machine to about $20k, even with the ECU and emissions stuff they're doing.

So to me that's a serious option to consider. Ordinarily I'd be wary about the emissions stuff, but if he says they can fix it I pretty much trust that they can do that. And $20k keeps me in the ball park of a cash deal with a newer 46hp machine vs the older NH tc30.

Be curious if anyone has any feedback or advice. Thought about bumping the conversation to a new thread in the general buying forum, I can still do that if it's more appropriate than here in the new member forum.

 

[alexpops]

The xr40xx series with shibaura engines have had known regen issues since they were first introduced (transition model with 41XX then MT being the finals after switching to LSMtron engines), if he's willing to do a delete, & can handle the reprogramming it could be a fine tractor ... just know, LS's like being run at the upper end of their RPM range (PTO speeds) and if it doesn't work out, your trade-in options may be limited if the emissions have been modified. On the plus side, LS used the shibaura in lots of pre-tier 4 tractors (including for NH and Case) & when working properly, it's a great combo, 20K is 20K & that model's regen issues have successfully been fixed with the rebar method (punch 3 holes through the DPF honeycomb with a 3/8 rebar & reconnect). In general, LS makes a good tractor, but there are areas they cheap out on with less than stellar chinese parts (battery cables, corrosion susceptible metals in electrical circuits/connections and some of the relays). Figure you will wind up replacing at least the ground cable & clamp. I have the XR4150 & other than some intermittent electrical gremlins it's been a great tractor. Also, LS OEM parts tend to be expensive. If you know the part number, add MT to the front of it & check Messick's ... you'll find the exact same part labeled for NH or Case at a much lower price (usually).

Also ... not sure about that specific model, but I have seen reports of bad diaphragms in the fuel filter heads for the 41xx so you wind up losing prime if the tractor sits for a while.

 

[Jim T.]

The xr40xx series with shibaura engines have had known regen issues since they were first introduced (transition model with 41XX then MT being the finals after switching to LSMtron engines), if he's willing to do a delete, & can handle the reprogramming it could be a fine tractor ... just know, LS's like being run at the upper end of their RPM range (PTO speeds) and if it doesn't work out, your trade-in options may be limited if the emissions have been modified. On the plus side, LS used the shibaura in lots of pre-tier 4 tractors (including for NH and Case) & when working properly, it's a great combo, 20K is 20K & that model's regen issues have successfully been fixed with the rebar method (punch 3 holes through the DPF honeycomb with a 3/8 rebar & reconnect). In general, LS makes a good tractor, but there are areas they cheap out on with less than stellar chinese parts (battery cables, corrosion susceptible metals in electrical circuits/connections and some of the relays). Figure you will wind up replacing at least the ground cable & clamp. I have the XR4150 & other than some intermittent electrical gremlins it's been a great tractor. Also, LS OEM parts tend to be expensive. If you know the part number, add MT to the front of it & check Messick's ... you'll find the exact same part labeled for NH or Case at a much lower price (usually).

Also ... not sure about that specific model, but I have seen reports of bad diaphragms in the fuel filter heads for the 41xx so you wind up losing prime if the tractor sits for a while.

he basically told me the same thing yesterday about the Shibarua engines both pre- and post-tier 4, all else being equal he likes the engine. Also said that even though they have the reputation for the regen problems he's only seen two or three tractors with this issue over the past ten years. At any rate, sounds like the delete is what he's leaning towards, he mentioned sending the computer to Canada and I know there's a company up there that specializes in doing the deletes and reprogramming so hopefully that would go smoothly if that's what he needs to do. The benefit of LS for me is he's five minutes from our house, and he runs the place with his son, so they're going to be there for pretty much as long as I need them. Only downside I can see to this particular tractor is the shuttle shift versus hydro transmission, but I think I can live with that given the price.

 

[Jim T.]

the other thing about this newer tractor, now that snow season is over I suspect he might be willing to pull the snowblower off the older machine and sell it to me cheap with the other tractor.

 

[Carl_NH]

New snowblowers aren't too expensive $4K for a 72" Woodmax (Akron NY) and they are well built.

I like the thinking on the newer LS machine as with the SSQA you can add a plow and a set of forks and this can lift 2200Lbs so you take that off the list too! TThen the dealer taking care of things emission related that seems to be a good deal.

 

[Jim T.]

New snowblowers aren't too expensive $4K for a 72" Woodmax (Akron NY) and they are well built.

I like the thinking on the newer LS machine as with the SSQA you can add a plow and a set of forks and this can lift 2200Lbs so you take that off the list too! TThen the dealer taking care of things emission related that seems to be a good deal.

I did commit to the 4046 and he's holding it for me until we close on the new house. I am going to go with the older snow blower, he pointed out something I think I realized but i was glad he pointed it out--the chute on the thing is huge, much larger than a lot of other snow throwers. Less likely to clog or bog down. He priced the blower at $900-ish, and said he could leave the jerry-rigged electric motor control for the chute or switch it over to hydraulics, he thought then the price with hydraulics would be somewhere around $1500. At less than half what a new one costs, I thought that sounded pretty good so that's what I'll be doing at least for the first season. Here's pics of the snow blower

 

[Carl_NH]

Jim T that's a great deal $900 and I would leave "as is" with the 12V chute rotator, you def want it inside the cab.

Adding hydraulic remotes and valves are expensive and if he can do it for $600 that's a great deal - it must come with rear remotes already?

Rear remotes can be used for many things - top and tilt for grader blades, log splitters etc.

Sounds like you have a very fair dealer that's customer focused - so many are now corporations with multi sites - so few single owner, very customer centric dealers are left.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Are there any slopes or hills to have snow removed? If so, chains on all four wheels.

As another said, snow blowers up front are much more expensive than blowers on the back and a pull behind blower may not be a good fit for your conditions.

You may be better served buying a small wheel loader. Piles of weight, and no fear of piles of snow.

If you have a small property, consider a side-by-side with a motorized snowblower. Something like this: 60 INCH 420CC ELECTRIC START UTV/ATV SNOW BLOWER

 

[Carl_NH]

Eric - maybe read the entire thread - the OP has two houses now - one in the normal snow season dealt with the (honda SxS) but the new house is in the NY lakes snow belt, dropping 24-40" per storm.

His wife races sled dogs, so like Arly here, they want to live in the snow region, but need to clear around the buildings and 300' drive now, with a slight slope, and he has decided on a LS 4046 and a used snowblower $1K.

 

[Jim T.]

Jim T that's a great deal $900 and I would leave "as is" with the 12V chute rotator, you def want it inside the cab.

Adding hydraulic remotes and valves are expensive and if he can do it for $600 that's a great deal - it must come with rear remotes already?

Rear remotes can be used for many things - top and tilt for grader blades, log splitters etc.

Sounds like you have a very fair dealer that's customer focused - so many are now corporations with multi sites - so few single owner, very customer centric dealers are left.

yep, the tractor has rear remotes so he'd fabricate a plate on the blower for the hoses and controller to mount on, then I'd be able to use the controls in the cab to operate the chute. And you're right, I think he's very good about matching people to equipment, I've known him 30 years and he's always been great to work with. I had been thinking of getting a finish mower for the tractor to use on the new lawn, but after we talked it over he kind of persuaded me to wait to see if he could find me a used zero turn (comparable to what I use at home) for the new property. He thought he could probably get one in on trade that would be less or equal to the price of a 3pt finish mower, and I'd be able to mow the grass on the new property in about a quarter of the time it would take using the tractor. I think it helps him, too, to have customers who want used equipment, it helps him take things in on trade that he knows he can turn around fairly quickly rather than having stuff sit there.

 

[alexpops]

Win/win