New LS 3040 being delivered this afternoon

[Fitzwaryn]

Did a few hours of bushhogging yesterday afternoon after getting home from work.

The front yard (about 2 acres) is just rutted, bumpy scrub and it went through that like it was bored. My concern had been how difficult it would be to handle the really heavy 10 foot high brambles and bayberry in the pine trees where the heavy clearing needs to be done.

The tractor weighs in at about 2600, with the loader at about 900 and the bushhog at about 600 and the rear tires filled (the dealer did that before delivery) so the total weighs in at a little over 2 tons. Apparently that is more than enough. The machine runs right over even the heaviest stuff out there (leading with the loader to push it down) and the bushhog makes it go away in little pieces. It did lug a few times here and there but nothing major.

Also have several thousand pines trees to get rid of, most are 2-5 inches and I figured I'd have to cut them then try to stump them either with chains or cable and a couple of double snatch blocks anchored on one of the larger trees.

I discovered accidentally, while glancing back at the bushhog in the woods and not at the loader which hit one of them on front of me, that with this sandy soil they simply push out of the ground and fall down neatly.

All in all what I thought was going to be a two year project is suddenly looking like a 9 month job.

I'm impressed. While not the largest machine in the world compared to some of the tractors I've driven in the past this little beast will flat eat some woods.

 

[toxicjeeper]

Congradulations on the new LS tractor...Always nice to hear the LS brand selling more tractors as i am an LS owner as well..any pictures?

 

[Fitzwaryn]

Congradulations on the new LS tractor...Always nice to hear the LS brand selling more tractors as i am an LS owner as well..any pictures?

Nope, no pictures yet. Spent a couple hours after work Wednesday and yesterday bushogging the front yard. It's about 500ftx250ft. Lot of trenches up to 2 ft deep which makes for a seriously bumpy ride. If the rain holds off I'm hoping to finish the cutting on it this afternoon. Amazing how different it looks with the head high brush gone off of most of it.

With luck I'll be able to start on the thick woods behind the house tomorrow (Saturday) and make a serious dent in it.

In a week or so I'm going to throw up small temporary pole barn (about 16'x24') with some 6x6s and some galvanized metal roofing.

My wife is really concerned and worried about the pretty tractor and the pretty red implements being out in the RAIN AND SUN! And she's trying to find the exact colors of them so she can get some paint to touch them up IF they get scratched.

When the dealer delivered it all a few days ago and she asked about that, paint to touch it up and how to keep scratches off of all of it he busted out laughing so hard I thought he'd fall down before he realized she was serious. lol He's been selling farm tractors since his grandfather started the dealership back in the 40s.

So.... have to build a small barn to put everything under until the big barn is built. But at least I can reuse the sheet metal on the large once once it's put up or might keep the small one as an extra shed.

 

[Short Game]

My wife is really concerned and worried about the pretty tractor and the pretty red implements being out in the RAIN AND SUN! And she's trying to find the exact colors of them so she can get some paint to touch them up IF they get scratched.

I bet you can keep ahead of her, in the work season, anyway. It's your job to keep her busy.

 

[Jhiphop72]

I do believe someone posted on here that a rustoleum sail blue was an exact match for LS blue. not sure which thread I saw it in but I'm thinking it was about a do it your self sunshade

 

[Fitzwaryn]

I do believe someone posted on here that a rustoleum sail blue was an exact match for LS blue. not sure which thread I saw it in but I'm thinking it was about a do it your self sunshade

Yes I read that one and going to pick some up this morning. It was about a sunshade which I need since the sun gets a tad warm mid day here in Coastal NC. But after an hour in the woods it's going to have to wait until the worst of the land clearing is done. A sunshade wouldn't last 5 mins in those woods before getting torn off.

Front yard is bushhogged and got about an hours worth of work int he woods. Starting again this morning once it's light enough.

Got four 5 gallon diesel cans and going to fill those with off-road diesel this morning when I make a trash run and fill the truck up with diesel (on-road).

The LS Mitsubishi engine is pretty good on fuel too. Took maybe 4 hours to do the front yard and another hour in the woods last night and just at a teensy bit less than half a tank left. Better than I expected since I was running it at 540 pto speed the entire time.

Woods are so thick I knocked down a few trees with the bucket accidentally (4-5 in pines) and at one point jammed a 3 inch limb or something under one side of the hood and popped it out of the bracket on the fire wall. Got it out and the hood is fine but jeez it's thick back there.

This morning I'm going to clear an area further back where it's not so thick so I have someplace to drag the trees when they go down.

Surprisingly stumping doesn't appear like it's going to be the major issue I feared. Even the 5-6 inch pines go down easily including the roots. The soil here is VERY sandy so I guess the roots have no real purchase in it. Bump one with the bucket and the whole trees goes over roots and all. Once I get some more brush cleared so I can maneuver I'll throw a chain on the truck and just drag them out of the way.

Log day ahead.

lol Actually I meant LONG day ahead but yea.. a Log day too.

 

[Short Game]

It's been a while since I have used any Rustoleum colors, though I do use mass quantities of their primers. It seems I remember long drying times and long cures for the colors. I use the cheap, fast drying, finish colors so I can get back to work sooner.

Yeah, you gotta look out for the things your are knocking down getting up and landing a body punch to the underside. I've been taken down that way more than once. Even a small twig can find a fuel line or stick the throttle wide open. And going through the trees, sometimes a full-face helmet seems like a good idea.

 

[Fitzwaryn]

It's been a while since I have used any Rustoleum colors, though I do use mass quantities of their primers. It seems I remember long drying times and long cures for the colors. I use the cheap, fast drying, finish colors so I can get back to work sooner.

Yeah, you gotta look out for the things your are knocking down getting up and landing a body punch to the underside. I've been taken down that way more than once. Even a small twig can find a fuel line or stick the throttle wide open. And going through the trees, sometimes a full-face helmet seems like a good idea.

Didn't have too much problem with with the bushes except a few scratches n the arm from thorns. DID manage to disturb a yellow jacket nest or something and got stung about a dozen times. Real bummer that was.

Some of it was too thick to drive the tractor through and had to back the bushhog into it. At some point yesterday in the afternoon I must have hung the corner of the bushhog on a tree or something in the thick stuff because shortly after one bad patch I saw it swinging way too far to one side and upon investigating found I'd broken one of the stabilizers to the hitch arms. Have to pick up another one this week. They don't look that strong. Going to see if there are some more robust ones.

I parked and unhooked the bushhog and hooked up the tiller. Thought I'd see if it was usable without the stabilizer. Seemed fine as long as I drove straight. Since I was tilling the front yard it did okay.

Got maybe 10% of it tilled and noticed the tractor temp guage heading towards the high end. Figured it was the heat (about 100 degrees) and the load of the tiller engaging roots and stuff so went ahead an packed it in for the day.

Popped the hood a little later and found the radiator filter completely covered with junk from the woods. I'm pretty sure that was the cause of the heating up.

Going to do some servicing today, check levels, grease it up, check bolts, etc. then go walk the area I bushhogged and plan to start taking out trees next weekend and expanding the clearing.

Lot of work done. A Heck of a lot more accomplished than I thought was possible.

I'm pretty pleased with the beast overall.

 

[Short Game]

I pretty seriously bent one of those stabilizers by banging the grooming mower into something (took it apart and banged it back to straight). The other day when I was in the dealer, there was a brand new set of them sitting there on the counter for someone. I like that quick adjust with the linchpins, but I have thought too that they seem a bit lightweight. They sure are great when it's time to change implements. My Cub had turnbuckles and I broke them more than once too. They were a pain to adjust and required carrying the right wrenches. When the time comes that I break one (and I'm sure I will). I think I'll try building my own beefier ones with thicker bars and tubing. It will mean a little time at the drill press. But, the old ones will serve as drill guides and give me the hole patterns. The stock ones probably last well for the flat-landers.