I've been looking for a tractor for use around the house. I have a half mile gravel road into my place that I maintain, plus several fairly long gravel driveways into the house and various out buildings. I have a 25hp mower deck I tow behind a large quad to keep wild grasses and brush down on a few acres. I'm a developer and builder and have been using company equipment to maintain the road, spread and even gravel on the driveways, etc. That's a bit of a hassle, and I'd rather have something here all of the time so when I have some free time I can easily do a bit of work.
I keep a few piles of extra driveway and lanscaping rock around to use as needed. A loader is a must, and I will get a land plane/grader scraper for maintaining the road and driveways, and a rear blade for help maintaining ditches, some road work, and snow removal in the winter.
I was fairly settled on a Kubota L2501. I like that it is under the HP limit for DPF and the associated hassles. I wasn't really aware of LS tractors until the local dealer, the only dealer for quite some distance I found out, advertised a MT345E with the manual shuttle trans for $22k with the loader. Has the DPF, but it's 20 more HP than the 2501. The 3pt capacity is about the same, but the loader capacity on the MT is almost double. The MT is substantially heavier, which I like. $22k is about the price I was quoted for a 2501 with the grader scraper and rear blade. I'm not sure yet how much more the HST version, the MT345HE would be from the local dealer, but I will find out.
I've seen mixed reviews, but mostly positive on the LS tractors. The local dealer seems to have a good reputation. Any thoughts or advice would be genuinely appreciated as I know very little about the LS brand.
I keep a few piles of extra driveway and lanscaping rock around to use as needed. A loader is a must, and I will get a land plane/grader scraper for maintaining the road and driveways, and a rear blade for help maintaining ditches, some road work, and snow removal in the winter.
I was fairly settled on a Kubota L2501. I like that it is under the HP limit for DPF and the associated hassles. I wasn't really aware of LS tractors until the local dealer, the only dealer for quite some distance I found out, advertised a MT345E with the manual shuttle trans for $22k with the loader. Has the DPF, but it's 20 more HP than the 2501. The 3pt capacity is about the same, but the loader capacity on the MT is almost double. The MT is substantially heavier, which I like. $22k is about the price I was quoted for a 2501 with the grader scraper and rear blade. I'm not sure yet how much more the HST version, the MT345HE would be from the local dealer, but I will find out.
I've seen mixed reviews, but mostly positive on the LS tractors. The local dealer seems to have a good reputation. Any thoughts or advice would be genuinely appreciated as I know very little about the LS brand.
