As an XJ owner, I've seen the gentleman's video. Many people getting into this size tractor are newbies at what keeps them rolling. I didn't feel that he was being misleading, though some things were just odd and easily things that are part of the experience of owning farm equipment. You WILL have to be watchful, make adjustments and repairs as none of these are fined tuned as a Lexus and are not used generally in a friendly environment. His XJ wasn't a lemon. He under bought for his needs. He understands the power of social media. I watched one of his recent videos on the replacement tractor and sure can sense his frustration though. You see regen issues on tractors of any color. They seem like nice folks and I hope they get it worked out. To the OP I wish you a good ride on whatever you decide on. I assume that there isn't a tractor out there that will generally treat you well if you return the favor. Researching an item like a tractor can be daunting. This forum is a good place to start. Plas62 was an XJ owner that blew me away with what one of these can do. Likewise Kubota and Deere have their champions here and elsewhere too. The wife made the final decision as it is really her ride. Her reasoning on the backhoe was the swivel seats were uncomfortable and likes the separate seat. I like the SSQA and some days the forks and bucket get swapped around a half a dozen times on a work day. I also like the larger rear wheels than the base models of a Deere or Kubota for the creek flats. Pricing was about 19 if I recall for the TLB.
Good little write-up Tom.
These are great little tractors considering they were the smallest and cheapest tractor LS offered before the MT125. I have yet to see any major complaints about its NH boomer 24/25 cousin.
I have had minor issues with the xj2025 but they all have been simple fixes and nothing has kept me from using it. The loader and 3 point can almost lift as much as it weighs as long as you have ballast.
I remember this guys video... He might not be purposely misleading but much of of what he says is ignorance!
"everything on this tractor is plastic" - The fenders and hood... just like JD, but floorboard is metal.
the hydraulic hose he pointed at was installed wrong. It is not a "hydrostat" hose, its a loader hydraulic hose.
the pins for the three point shaft. YEP they get bent but a simple lynch pin fixes that issue.
At the factory set idle of 1000 RPM the engine vibrates. Bump it up to 1300+ and they are pretty much gone.
Dipstick issue has a recall.
Who fills their loader bucket without any ballast and then complains about the wheels spinning?
It might not pull a disk of unknown size??? but I have a 60" tiller and this tractor pulls it fine at full depth and I have hard clay dirt.
I have also had issues with:
Pickup trucks
High end Fifthwheel
3 point attachments
other vehicles
12k dump trailer
my house
the property my house sits on....
etc... I should start making videos on everything I have issues with...
However, even though this guy didn't know what he was talking about, he did say the xj was a "decent" tractor for small acreage and didn't seem like he was trying to bash it but once he got the XG3025... it was all down hill from there and I haven't seen any of his videos on the XR3135. It also sounded like his dealer was doing some shady stuff... like using steering linkage in the pto gearbox...