tractorman said:
I had always heard about how great the JD 110 is so last fall I went out and purchased one. I guess if I have to sell against another brand I want to make sure that I understand it's capabilities. We are now getting it ready for delivery to a customer. Just thought i'd share some of my observations. Steering cylinder and tie rod are in an awful place and always get smashed as do all the lines,sensors, linkages and other crap they leave exposed. On our tractor we found that all the Loader mounting frame bolts were loose, this is what I expect to find on a standard duty tractor loader but not an industrial grade machine w/ 900 hrs. This frame is nowhere near as sturdy as on a Kubota L35/39/48 or the Yanmar CBL48, nor is it integrated with the tractor as well. We removed some of the pins from the dipperstick and bucket in an effort to get all the grease fittings working, I was surprised that there were no replaceable bushings at these points. From the standpoint of operating the tractor and trying to connect the front bucket you quickly learn that the visibility stinks. As does the fact that you have to flip the seat and get off the tractor to mount the backhoe. At least it has an electric creep function to help, but a swivel seat is still more user friendly. Getting on the tractor from the right hand side is also impossible, even for a shrimpy guy like me. That's about it for negative comments. On the bright side it has a Yanmar engine and it is a really nice looking machine. Can't think of much else.
Wow, just read this thread and this post especially hit home. One of the few jobs I used my L-39 was a tight space, hilly job where I built an addition. We used the L-39 for the typical digging, loading tasks.
A landscaper friend of mine was working the same jobsite, building a big patio on the other side. He had a 1 yr old 110. We'd compare the machines over our lunch breaks for the 4-5 weeks we were there. The 110 looks about 20% bigger, but looks can be decieving.
Unfortunately, one day his machine went down. It just wouldn't start. I tossed him the keys to my L-39 and he used it for ~4 hours. After he was done he was stunned. He liked the L-39 much better. He was amazed at how much more compact & powerful it was, especially when doing loader work! I guess the GST delivers more power to the wheels???
He said he was dissappointed in the 110 and wished he'd bought an L-39. He would have saved quite a bit of money, too. On his trailer, the 110 + trailer was well over 10,000lbs, requiring him to get a CDL to trailer it.
Anyone considering a 110 oughta give an L-39 a try, unless they must have a HST. It's a more compact lighter package, but I'll be darned if it's any less capable. The 110 looks brawnier & more like a scaled-down yellow backhoe.
I'm no salesman, just an unbiased end user. Hope that makes me qualified.
