Mstaub
New member
Greetings.
This is my first post. After about a year of research I finally bought an LS. About 20 hrs in and LOVE it.
XR4140HC with Backhoe
MTL root grapple
ModernAg galvanized box blade
When I started shopping I was all in for Kubota. I have so many friends who have them and swear by them. I'm still convinced it's hard to go wrong with a Kubota. I also looked at Deere and liked everything I saw (including those yanmar engines
- but at the end of the day, couldn't get anything remotely CLOSE to this LS, pound for pound, spec for spec, that wasn't at least a $6,000 to $8,000 more. Especially regarding the cab with heat and air. On a similar Kubota the cab was in the $8,000 range. On the LS it was $4,000... and the cab is fantastic. Amazing visibility, tight as a drum and really spacious (I'm 6' 5")
Another big factor in my purchase is that I have a couple dealers quite close. I live in Northwest Arkansas and I have a dealer about 20 minutes to the north and another one about 30 minutes to the south. Two year bumper to bumper warranty and 6 year powertrain, etc...
So, I'm only about 20 hours in but have really been putting it through the paces as far as the FEL, bucket, root grapple and backhoe go, and this thing is a little beast. Clearing and hauling lots of brush. Digging up lots of stumps. All with no bugs and cool air
I didn't want a cab at first but my Dad is going to use it a lot and is in his early 70's. He's healthy and fit, but has a bit of a bum ankle and I didn't love the idea of him out there trying to get on and off in whatever weather... so when I first looked I didn't consider a cab until the salesman asked if I'd even looked at one... I hadn't, so I did. I immediately realized how much easier it is to get in and out of with the handles on the cab. It's way, way easier and safer. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was super skeptical of getting a cab, now it's like... the best thing ever No more eating cobwebs!
Lastly, the way I actually stumbled onto LS is because my neighbor has a New Holland... I went and looked, liked a Boomer model, did just a little research and was like, oh, wow, it's an LS. Literally. Except the FEL I guess.
Anyway, couldn't be more happy. I would not have been able to get the backhoe and cab if I went with Kubota. Obviously, I haven't broken it in yet, but so far it's been perfect. I might check in again around 100 hours.
Thanks to everyone on these LS threads that I've anonymously read over the last year. A lot of information I received here is what helped me make my decision. That's sort of why I'm posting, to encourage anyone looking at LS to really give them a good, good look. I couldn't find any tractor providing this much bang for the buck.
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Also, just to clarify our usage. All noncommercial. We have 40 acres with two ponds and lots of woods. Mow about 5 acres but mostly using it for clearing and cleaning, hauling rock for a bunch of projects (pond retaining wall, landscaping), lots of stump removal, etc. So, we're not running this thing 8 hours a day. I bet we'll end up on the year running more like 10 hours a week. So, relatively light duty, as it were.
This is my first post. After about a year of research I finally bought an LS. About 20 hrs in and LOVE it.
XR4140HC with Backhoe
MTL root grapple
ModernAg galvanized box blade
When I started shopping I was all in for Kubota. I have so many friends who have them and swear by them. I'm still convinced it's hard to go wrong with a Kubota. I also looked at Deere and liked everything I saw (including those yanmar engines
- but at the end of the day, couldn't get anything remotely CLOSE to this LS, pound for pound, spec for spec, that wasn't at least a $6,000 to $8,000 more. Especially regarding the cab with heat and air. On a similar Kubota the cab was in the $8,000 range. On the LS it was $4,000... and the cab is fantastic. Amazing visibility, tight as a drum and really spacious (I'm 6' 5")Another big factor in my purchase is that I have a couple dealers quite close. I live in Northwest Arkansas and I have a dealer about 20 minutes to the north and another one about 30 minutes to the south. Two year bumper to bumper warranty and 6 year powertrain, etc...
So, I'm only about 20 hours in but have really been putting it through the paces as far as the FEL, bucket, root grapple and backhoe go, and this thing is a little beast. Clearing and hauling lots of brush. Digging up lots of stumps. All with no bugs and cool air
I didn't want a cab at first but my Dad is going to use it a lot and is in his early 70's. He's healthy and fit, but has a bit of a bum ankle and I didn't love the idea of him out there trying to get on and off in whatever weather... so when I first looked I didn't consider a cab until the salesman asked if I'd even looked at one... I hadn't, so I did. I immediately realized how much easier it is to get in and out of with the handles on the cab. It's way, way easier and safer. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was super skeptical of getting a cab, now it's like... the best thing ever
No more eating cobwebs!Lastly, the way I actually stumbled onto LS is because my neighbor has a New Holland... I went and looked, liked a Boomer model, did just a little research and was like, oh, wow, it's an LS. Literally. Except the FEL I guess.
Anyway, couldn't be more happy. I would not have been able to get the backhoe and cab if I went with Kubota. Obviously, I haven't broken it in yet, but so far it's been perfect. I might check in again around 100 hours.
Thanks to everyone on these LS threads that I've anonymously read over the last year. A lot of information I received here is what helped me make my decision. That's sort of why I'm posting, to encourage anyone looking at LS to really give them a good, good look. I couldn't find any tractor providing this much bang for the buck.
---
Also, just to clarify our usage. All noncommercial. We have 40 acres with two ponds and lots of woods. Mow about 5 acres but mostly using it for clearing and cleaning, hauling rock for a bunch of projects (pond retaining wall, landscaping), lots of stump removal, etc. So, we're not running this thing 8 hours a day. I bet we'll end up on the year running more like 10 hours a week. So, relatively light duty, as it were.
