CMV
Platinum Member
Bought a slightly used (~40 hrs) 2017 tractor. A little smaller than what I was looking for but was what I could afford and seems like it will be capable for what I need to do. Has the loader, R4 tires, and a 5' bush hog.
Let me start out by stating I'm a tractor novice. Other than the very basics of operation assume I know nothing. I'm sure some very dumb questions will follow
My primary use is mowing/maintaining about 6AC. Land is mostly flat, but lots of ruts, rocks, drainage issues. Also maintaining a couple 8' tall dirt berms for shooting backstops.
1. I didn't get an owner's manual with it. Emailed LS asking about a link to download but no answer yet. So I have no idea what fluids/lube/filters to use. Don't even know what it will need. I'm sure every zerk fitting needs greased every so often, but no idea which type of grease to use. Will it need oil or hydraulic fluid other than for scheduled oil changes? I noticed caps at front axle so assume I should be checking oil there too at some interval and adding some oil there as well if needed. Basically, I'm asking for a shopping list if anyone knows specifically what I should have on-hand for general upkeep. Hopefully all things I can get at AutoZone, WalMart, NAPA, etc.
2. 1st service due at 50 hrs. If that's just an oil change and hitting all the grease fittings, is there any reason to drag it to the dealer & pay them to do it vs me doing that? Are there other critical things that are inspected, changed, adjusted, etc at that first service that would be foolish to neglect carrying it to the dealer and paying them for the service?
3. When it's time to do upkeep on the berms that's a LOT of dirt moving. A lot to me anyway - about 3-4 triaxle loads of NC red clay fill dirt in each one. I initially rented a JD310 to build them first time. From there I bought a real old JD500 backhoe, but it was just too old and when the head gasket went that was last straw and I gave up on keeping it. But anyway, those big machines and high dump clearance made short work of it. Hoe on back meant huge heaping scoop of dirt was no issue. Compared to those, I'm sure it will be much slower going and will have to work around the low bucket height. But with a machine this light I'm guessing I will want a lot of rear weight. What are some good ways of going about that? I'm kind of thinking a carryall for the 3pt hitch that I can load with blocks or whatever would be good since that's not semi-permanent like wheel weights or filling rear tires. But really no idea. Is there any drawback to filled tires or wheel weights when I'm not moving dirt? If I'm just out bush hogging for example would I benefit from the weight then too? Or just burn more fuel or be too heavy in the back since the bush hog is hanging way out there?
4. Since I will need to get dirt piled, shaped, and somewhat compacted up to 8' I will need to ramp up so I can reach the top. What kind of angle can I reasonably climb? As long as the curled bucket lifted no higher than about the headlights can clear it is it safe to assume the tractor can climb it?
5. Since I no longer have a backhoe I'm thinking an auger-type post hole digger would work when I need small holes. I've pretty much dug out all great big rocks or stumps when I had a backhoe, but lots of times it was nice to just dig a small hole when needed. But my land is very rocky and I have never used one of those - handheld or 3pt type. How do they deal with rocks under the soil? Wondering if I would just tear it up, find out it doesn't work well when faced with softball-football sized rocks, or would do a great job putting holes wherever I wanted.
6. I have a lot of erosion issues. Land is all clay and doesn't absorb water well. As water finds a place to go, it cuts ruts. I'm continuously battling this and have found crushed concrete works well to fill an area and then stay put vs washing out again. So I do a lot of filling and smoothing in spots as general upkeep. Have just drug the backhoe front bucket in reverse and some down pressure on it and that seems to work. Can I do the same with this smaller machine and lighter gauge steel bucket or is that a quick way to break something? If a rear scrape or box blade would be much better for that sort of thing which one and what size?
That's all I can think of for now. If there is anything specific to my LS XJ2025H I need to watch out for or be aware of, please let me know that too. Watched one youtube video where the owner had complaints of the oil dipstick coming loose, coolant overflow leaking, and a hydraulic line rubbing rear tire but otherwise haven't come across a whole lot about these tractors.
Let me start out by stating I'm a tractor novice. Other than the very basics of operation assume I know nothing. I'm sure some very dumb questions will follow
My primary use is mowing/maintaining about 6AC. Land is mostly flat, but lots of ruts, rocks, drainage issues. Also maintaining a couple 8' tall dirt berms for shooting backstops.
1. I didn't get an owner's manual with it. Emailed LS asking about a link to download but no answer yet. So I have no idea what fluids/lube/filters to use. Don't even know what it will need. I'm sure every zerk fitting needs greased every so often, but no idea which type of grease to use. Will it need oil or hydraulic fluid other than for scheduled oil changes? I noticed caps at front axle so assume I should be checking oil there too at some interval and adding some oil there as well if needed. Basically, I'm asking for a shopping list if anyone knows specifically what I should have on-hand for general upkeep. Hopefully all things I can get at AutoZone, WalMart, NAPA, etc.
2. 1st service due at 50 hrs. If that's just an oil change and hitting all the grease fittings, is there any reason to drag it to the dealer & pay them to do it vs me doing that? Are there other critical things that are inspected, changed, adjusted, etc at that first service that would be foolish to neglect carrying it to the dealer and paying them for the service?
3. When it's time to do upkeep on the berms that's a LOT of dirt moving. A lot to me anyway - about 3-4 triaxle loads of NC red clay fill dirt in each one. I initially rented a JD310 to build them first time. From there I bought a real old JD500 backhoe, but it was just too old and when the head gasket went that was last straw and I gave up on keeping it. But anyway, those big machines and high dump clearance made short work of it. Hoe on back meant huge heaping scoop of dirt was no issue. Compared to those, I'm sure it will be much slower going and will have to work around the low bucket height. But with a machine this light I'm guessing I will want a lot of rear weight. What are some good ways of going about that? I'm kind of thinking a carryall for the 3pt hitch that I can load with blocks or whatever would be good since that's not semi-permanent like wheel weights or filling rear tires. But really no idea. Is there any drawback to filled tires or wheel weights when I'm not moving dirt? If I'm just out bush hogging for example would I benefit from the weight then too? Or just burn more fuel or be too heavy in the back since the bush hog is hanging way out there?
4. Since I will need to get dirt piled, shaped, and somewhat compacted up to 8' I will need to ramp up so I can reach the top. What kind of angle can I reasonably climb? As long as the curled bucket lifted no higher than about the headlights can clear it is it safe to assume the tractor can climb it?
5. Since I no longer have a backhoe I'm thinking an auger-type post hole digger would work when I need small holes. I've pretty much dug out all great big rocks or stumps when I had a backhoe, but lots of times it was nice to just dig a small hole when needed. But my land is very rocky and I have never used one of those - handheld or 3pt type. How do they deal with rocks under the soil? Wondering if I would just tear it up, find out it doesn't work well when faced with softball-football sized rocks, or would do a great job putting holes wherever I wanted.
6. I have a lot of erosion issues. Land is all clay and doesn't absorb water well. As water finds a place to go, it cuts ruts. I'm continuously battling this and have found crushed concrete works well to fill an area and then stay put vs washing out again. So I do a lot of filling and smoothing in spots as general upkeep. Have just drug the backhoe front bucket in reverse and some down pressure on it and that seems to work. Can I do the same with this smaller machine and lighter gauge steel bucket or is that a quick way to break something? If a rear scrape or box blade would be much better for that sort of thing which one and what size?
That's all I can think of for now. If there is anything specific to my LS XJ2025H I need to watch out for or be aware of, please let me know that too. Watched one youtube video where the owner had complaints of the oil dipstick coming loose, coolant overflow leaking, and a hydraulic line rubbing rear tire but otherwise haven't come across a whole lot about these tractors.
