Ls tractors

[Jaymeduty]

Hey guys,
Looking at buying a tractor for multiple reasons, we have 5 acres of timbered land in the mountains of northwest montana with a road 3/4 of a mile, and an endless amount of work to do. I am very interested in the LS tractors after I found them online, particularly the xr4040h. I cannot find a reason why these tractors are priced so much less then there competitors, Deere, kubota and even kioti. I have always been told you get what you pay for and that worries me that I will always have problems with an LS. Where are how are they building the tractors for less, what problems do you guys with yours

 

[Peter 315]

I think there trying to gain market shares with the LS name but who knows

 

[snowbelt geauga]

The tractors are made in Korea. I have had 3 tractors made by LS and no major problems. The biggest thing with any brand is dealer support if there are any major problems. I can say that I have a great deal and have developed a good friendship with them also.

 

[George2615]

Welcome to TBN........
LS has been and still does build tractors for many companies who then put their name on them. I believe that back in 2009 they started building and selling their own LS brand. I own one because I saw who they built tractors for over the years, they have the best price, and come standard with the most options, and I think they are quality built IMO. The XR4040H (4000 series) and my XR3037HC (3000 series) have been replaced by the newer 3100 and 4100 series tractors. The XR's are the ones considered premium tractors and have the most options. Here's a link to the some history of LS. LS Tractors - Wikipedia

Early models came with a Mitsubishi engine, then Shibaura engines, and the newer ones have an LS engine.
I've had mine almost 4 years now with no problems. Read some of the posts in the LS section here and you won't find too many negative posts about them. All brands will have a few negative posts but I see very few on LS.

The main assembly plant is in North Carolina with others in Louisiana, California, and Illinois.

 

[Citydude]

Try searching threads here and see what you come up with. I can't recall any negative threads on the LS.

The other tractor makers need to wake up and look at what LS has to offer for the price point on similar sized models.

 

[Qapla]

We had a FarmTrac made by LS. Our had a FEL and a BH on it. We liked the tractor - but ..... we had quite a problem with the clutch. Had to have our replaces three times. Did it the last time ourself and discovered that the clutch disc was quite small - it was the same disc used in small Mazda pickup (that is what the shop that rebuilt the disc told us)

We got rid of the FarmTrac when we could.

I will agree, we liked the way the FarmTrac looked and worked, if it had not been for the clutch problems we would probably have kept it.

I have seen the LS brand - now that they brand their own and not just make others. They look good and seem to be well spoken of by the few I have talked to that actually have one - however, due to the problems we ran into we did not buy the LS.

My advise would be to talk to people in your area that own the LS and see what they think now that they have been using it for a while.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I recently traded my LS XR4046HC in on a new LS XR4155HC. As noted above the XR4155HC has an LS engine and the DPF regen. cycles are increased to about 50 hours between cycles. The XR4046HC did a regen. on about 5 hour cycle. I will say that the regen. cycles are really un-noticeable.

If you spend a lot time idling around the time between regen. cycles will be shorter. The only reason to idle would be warmup, if it’s really cold. I let mine idle for 2-3 minutes then increase to about 1500 rpms if I’m not ready to go to work.

I cannot speak for the other XR41XX models but, mine came standard with three rear remotes.

You won’t be disappointed in any LS you buy.

 

[Jaymeduty]

Hey everybody thank you for the responses, I have done some research and reading and like you guys said I have found nothing negative, with the price and all the good things everyone is saying they seem almost to good to be true. The only negative I see is the only ls dealer is 300 miles from me. I have never seen a Ls tractor in person. The only thing I have not found in my reading is a rear diff lock, do they have one?

 

[George2615]

Yes, they have diff lock

 

[bp fick]

There are a good number of YouTube channel folks who have recent LS tractors and have done multiple reviews and many posts showing various things they do with their LS tractors of all sizes. You might want to spend a day or two watching some of those. Some are better than others, but if you find a particular model that interests you and fits your needs, it will be time well spent.

 

[seijirou]

I'll start by saying that I really like the LS tractors. There is no such thing as a perfect or flawless tractor, and even the best designs will have have failures when you make enough of them.
Anyway, one of the things that helps LS with price is that they have good vertical access internally for manufacturing. LS is part of LG group, same people that make TV's and phones, and 10's of thousands of other things. They're kind of similar to Mitsubishi. They do everything from mining and refining ore to designing and making engines, to designing making electronics and integrated circuits. It helps when department A can buy materials from department B rather than from the global market.

That said...

Hey everybody thank you for the responses, I have done some research and reading and like you guys said I have found nothing negative, with the price and all the good things everyone is saying they seem almost to good to be true. The only negative I see is the only ls dealer is 300 miles from me. I have never seen a Ls tractor in person. The only thing I have not found in my reading is a rear diff lock, do they have one?

If you can't find anything negative you're not looking hard enough.

On that 4000 series in particular do a test before you bring it home. Pick up 800lbs or so in the loader and then see how the front tires turn while sitting still. There's another guy with a 4155 who found that with no more than like 400lbs the front tires won't turn when sitting still. After fighting with the dealer they finally fixed it by replacing the pistons used in the steering with larger bore pistons, which means it's a design defect and not a one-off defect. To LS's credit they made it right for him, perhaps not without a fight, but it's done and he's happy now.

What I can say from personal experience is their tractors do not fit tall people at all, the seat is way too low and the pedals are way too close. I don't understand why, but if I sit on a 3000/3100 series my knees are in my chin trying to work the HST pedals. The 4000/4100's are better but not great. I'm 6'4" so YMMV.

All that said there's a good chance I'll be bringing an LS home in the coming months.

 

[jdom84]

Hey everybody thank you for the responses, I have done some research and reading and like you guys said I have found nothing negative, with the price and all the good things everyone is saying they seem almost to good to be true. The only negative I see is the only ls dealer is 300 miles from me. I have never seen a Ls tractor in person. The only thing I have not found in my reading is a rear diff lock, do they have one?

are you talking about Yellowstone tractor co? That's where I got my little xj2025. They are really friendly people, a no pressure to buying experience. I wouldn't worry to much about them being 300 miles away, Im sure they would take care of you no matter what! I was just over there a few weeks ago, it looked like they just took delivery of a bunch more tractors. Give them a call, then go down and test one out!

 

[AWSubie]

When I bought my tractor it was a toss up between LS and Kioti. The Kioti was heavier, the FEL had a slightly deeper digging depth and the 3 point had slightly increased capacity. The LS had two remotes compared to Kioti's one. In the end the LS was about $550 less expensive than the Kioti but the Kioti dealer was 60 miles closer to me, so I bought the Kioti. If you can find a dealer of any tractor closer to you than 300 miles you should give them some consideration.

 

[George2615]

What I can say from personal experience is their tractors do not fit tall people at all, the seat is way too low and the pedals are way too close. I don't understand why, but if I sit on a 3000/3100 series my knees are in my chin trying to work the HST pedals. The 4000/4100's are better but not great. I'm 6'4" so YMMV.

All that said there's a good chance I'll be bringing an LS home in the coming months.

I'm 6' and have a 3000 series cabbed tractor. I found LS was one of the few tractor brands that fit me with my longer legs and size 13 shoe. To me, the cab seems very roomy and the suspension seat is not too low, and is very comfortable. I did feel cramped and low in the first LS cabbed tractor I sat in but only because the seat was all the way forward. Once I slid it back there was plenty of room. I've never sat on an open station LS so can't speak about comfort on them but would think the seats are adjustable.

 

[Bocephous]

I bought my R4047H 6 years ago and have had no major problems with it in just under 400 hours of use. Tier III tractor, mind you, with the Mitsubishi designed engine.

 

[seijirou]

I'm 6' and have a 3000 series cabbed tractor. I found LS was one of the few tractor brands that fit me with my longer legs and size 13 shoe. To me, the cab seems very roomy and the suspension seat is not too low, and is very comfortable. I did feel cramped and low in the first LS cabbed tractor I sat in but only because the seat was all the way forward. Once I slid it back there was plenty of room. I've never sat on an open station LS so can't speak about comfort on them but would think the seats are adjustable.

That's interesting. I know the seat is a little different on the cabbed tractor, I wonder if maybe it can go farther back or maybe the suspension seat sits up a bit higher, or perhaps a little of both. Is the gas tank still behind the seat on your cab model? I only sat in the open station models. The seat was definitely back, believe me the dealer tried everything to make room and even suggested he could make some stilts to get it up some, lol.

Also is yours a hydrostatic or gear transmission? I ask because it was mainly the hydrostatic pedals that were so close. I wear a 14 shoe but that isn't going to be an appreciable difference from a 13 but there was no way I could run the hydrostatic pedals with my heel on the deck. I didn't sit on a gear tractor but the different pedal arrangement might make all the difference.

Go figure, I didn't sit in any of the cabbed tractors. :confused2:

 

[George2615]

That's interesting. I know the seat is a little different on the cabbed tractor, I wonder if maybe it can go farther back or maybe the suspension seat sits up a bit higher, or perhaps a little of both. Is the gas tank still behind the seat on your cab model? I only sat in the open station models. The seat was definitely back, believe me the dealer tried everything to make room and even suggested he could make some stilts to get it up some, lol.

Also is yours a hydrostatic or gear transmission? I ask because it was mainly the hydrostatic pedals that were so close. I wear a 14 shoe but that isn't going to be an appreciable difference from a 13 but there was no way I could run the hydrostatic pedals with my heel on the deck. I didn't sit on a gear tractor but the different pedal arrangement might make all the difference.

Go figure, I didn't sit in any of the cabbed tractors. :confused2:

Fuel tank on my cabbed tractor is NOT behind the seat. It is behind the left front tire and just under the cab and holds 12 gallons. I have a hydrostatic trans with separate forward and reverse pedals that are spaced apart an inch or so. You don't use your heel to press them. My shoes are 13 by my Lacrosse boots are size 14 wide width and have plenty of room. Never accidentally pressed both pedals at the same time. The pictures on the LS site show the fuel tanks on the XR3XXX-4XXX series under the drivers side step as mine is. Maybe the one you looked at was an older model with the tank behind the seat or an XG series which seem to have the tank behind the seat. If that is the case I could see the seat not going back far enough.

 

[cford36]

If you can't find anything negative you're not looking hard enough.

On that 4000 series in particular do a test before you bring it home. Pick up 800lbs or so in the loader and then see how the front tires turn while sitting still. There's another guy with a 4155 who found that with no more than like 400lbs the front tires won't turn when sitting still. After fighting with the dealer they finally fixed it by replacing the pistons used in the steering with larger bore pistons, which means it's a design defect and not a one-off defect. To LS's credit they made it right for him, perhaps not without a fight, but it's done and he's happy now.

What I can say from personal experience is their tractors do not fit tall people at all, the seat is way too low and the pedals are way too close. I don't understand why, but if I sit on a 3000/3100 series my knees are in my chin trying to work the HST pedals. The 4000/4100's are better but not great. I'm 6'4" so YMMV.

All that said there's a good chance I'll be bringing an LS home in the coming months.

In regards to the guy that had the turning issue, that was 1 tractor that had that issue. Not a series but 1 individuals tractor. There were plenty of other LS owners with that model and others that viewed that thread and not one had the same problem. In my opinion that was an issue specific with that person's tractor and also in my opinion there is another cause than what the dealer "fixed". The dealer took the easy way out and just increased the size of the actuator, compensating for some other issue. But again, IF this was an issue at least one other person would have said that they also have had or heard of this and that was not the case.

In regards to seat and pedals, I have a XR3135HC, I'm 5'10" and have the seat about half way back. I can't see how it can't go far enough back. The seat height is also adjustable and calibrated to a person's weight. To my knowledge the 3000/4000 and 3100/4100 series tractors are basically set up the same whether cab or open station. In these models the fuel tank is by the left step. The XG and XJ series have the fuel filler on the hood. The only series that looks like it has the tank in the back is the MT125 series. (Smallest, sub-compact LS builds) I'm curious what model you were testing that had the tank behind the seat.

To the OP, in any case, I would highly recommend looking at LS (from a former JD owner). Find out what models fit your needs and then take a drive and sit on and drive them. I would not be concerned with the distance to the dealer.

 

[cford36]

I stand corrected on the tank on the XG. Looking at more pictures it looks like the XG3000/3100 series have the tank behind the seat. I could see where this might limit travel. In that case I would suggest looking at the XJ or XR models. There have been several people that purchased the MT series that said they were over 6' and said it was comfortable.

 

[lostcreekranch]

My new XR4155HC has a different seat from the seat on my prior XR4046HC. The XR4155HC seat goes back further, has a reclining seat back, and adjustable arm rests. The adjustable seat suspension is also improved.

Overall better “space” than the XR4046HC IMHO.