Newbie from WA

[bmoore]

New to TBN, but been lurking for a month or so before signing up. I currently have a John Deere X500, which I've had for about 8 years now and really love, but currently am looking to move up to a subcompact. Leaning toward the LS MT125 right now, since I have a dealer very close by and the pricing is pretty hard to beat. I have 9 acres, but only about 3.5 of that requires mowing, and really only about a half acre that needs finish mowing. I do have some trails that require maintenance, and those trails are pretty hard on my little X500, which is why I'm looking to move up...

 

[vvanders]

Welcome to the forums!

One thing to keep in mind with LS is that dealers are pretty sparse up here. There's one in Woodland and another other on the Olympic Peninsula but I'm not aware of any others. We looked at some of the larger LS' when shopping around but dealer network ended up pushing us towards another color.

 

[bmoore]

Thanks! There is also one in Monroe, which is pretty convenient to me. I've had some repair work done there before and was happy enough with the dealership. I'm probably a month away from actually purchasing, so all I've done so far is tire kicking...

 

[vvanders]

Ah yeah, Monroe is a nice place. If you've got one close that's been good to you then no reason to hold off then.

By all accounts they're great machines and a good value, if we had a dealer closer we may have gone with one.

 

[bmoore]

I tend to be very methodical about large purchases, so I will be checking out green, red and orange as well before I buy. Just leaning blue right now based on the internet research I've done so far. If the pricing came out close, I'd probably go green, since I've been so happy with the X500. My son has a 5 or 6 year old New Holland compact that is 35HP, really nice tractor but just a little bigger than what I need, and that is what got me looking at blue, and then I discovered that the subcompact New Holland is made by LS, which is how I found out about LS... before that I'd never heard of them.

 

[dragoneggs]

:welcome: bmoore... always nice to get to know another PNWer! Does sound like you need a SCUT or CUT. Green, Orange, Red, Blue... all make good tractors.

One thing I have really appreciated after I went with a Kubota BX, was the amount of info/help available on line and here on TBN. I have found this place much more knowledgable than my local Kubota or my JD dealer.

 

[bmoore]

Thanks! Yeah I've learned a lot lurking around here. Really good info!

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

So WA is Washington State, not Western Australia, eh?

Enjoy the site.

 

[TBN Support]

Thanks for joining! :welcome:

You should get lots of good advice around here

 

[Thomas]

:welcome: to TBN...enjoy.

 

[stingray1]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[oosik]

Welcome to TBN from over here on the dry side. Always great to have another from WA.

 

[GSVette]

Welcome from another west sider (soon to be east sider).

Happy owner of a LS XR4155HC-shopped pretty much every brand and ended up at LS which seemed to give me the most bang for the buck.

You’ve an LS dealer in Enumclaw and a couple of more on the East side so there is a reasonable dealer network for LS-same, of course, with K, JD, Mahindra not quite so true for TYM and Kioti.

 

[WVBill]

Welcome from Whidbey Island. Wish I'd brought my Kubota when I retired here from WV but the size of my lot here just doesn't justify.

 

[cqaigy2]

Welcome aboard, from another West Sider. Not western Western Australia.

 

[jeff9366]

I have trails that require maintenance, and those trails are pretty hard on my little X500, which is why I'm looking to move up...

Subcompact tractors have 7" to 9" of ground clearance.

What is the ground clearance on your Deere X500?

Consider tractor models with 12" of ground clearance if woods work is involved. Slightly larger wheels/tires will bridge ruts and holes and cross downed tree branches with less jarring of the operator.

 

[repete]

Welcome to the site from 10 miles west of Chehalis.

 

[bmoore]

Thanks everyone! Wagtail, yes WA is the official US postal service abbreviation for Washington State. Confusing on an international forum since it is the same as the abbreviation for Western Australia. :laughing:

 

[bmoore]

Subcompact tractors have 7" to 9" of ground clearance.

What is the ground clearance on your Deere X500?

Consider tractor models with 12" of ground clearance if woods work is involved. Slightly larger wheels/tires will bridge ruts and holes and cross downed tree branches with less jarring of the operator.

Jeff, the X500 is actually just a big lawn tractor. 25 HP Kawasaki engine, turf tires, and maybe 6" of ground clearance if you remove the deck, but only about 3" with the deck installed. Deere calls it "multi-terrain" because it does have a rear diff lock, but it is not intended for ground engaging work. I'm able to get it down all of my trails in the dry months, but in the wet months it can't handle them. And I have one patch in one of my fields that gets pretty muddy in the winter, and it usually is mid-May before it dries out enough to mow with the X500, and by then the grass will be waist high or worse, and the little Deere really struggles with it. With a field mower, I would just not worry about it, and only mow the fields a few times a year, but now I have to really keep on them or they will get away from me.

 

[CPTKILLER]

Howdy, get one you like.