In the market for a tractor A few questions for the LS owners

mikeg135 · Apr 17, 2017

I am looking at cab tractors in the 45-55 hp ranges. I am looking at the TYM and LS.
I went by my local LS dealer and was surprised about a few items.

1. The XR4155 I demo'd would not curl the bucket and raise/lower at the same time. You had curl or raise/lower.

2. The front steering cylinders were in front of the tractor with no brush shield. Has this been an issue for anyone?

3. The same motor is used in the XR from 35-55 hp ratings. The same frame and transmission across the XR series. That seems like quite the range for such a small engine 2.1 liter w turbo. TYM doesn't do that for their models in the same HP ranges. I wonder if the new LS motor is over stressed when it's turned up to 55hp.

What are everyone's thoughts?

Cataclysm · Apr 18, 2017

mikeg135 said:
I am looking at cab tractors in the 45-55 hp ranges. I am looking at the TYM and LS.
I went by my local LS dealer and was surprised about a few items.

1. The XR4155 I demo'd would not curl the bucket and raise/lower at the same time. You had curl or raise/lower.

2. The front steering cylinders were in front of the tractor with no brush shield. Has this been an issue for anyone?

3. The same motor is used in the XR from 35-55 hp ratings. The same frame and transmission across the XR series. That seems like quite the range for such a small engine 2.1 liter w turbo. TYM doesn't do that for their models in the same HP ranges. I wonder if the new LS motor is over stressed when it's turned up to 55hp.

What are everyone's thoughts?

I have an XR4155HC with about 300hrs. I run a heavy BB, 8' flail mower, 7' RC, and just recently ran a chisel and then disc over about 25 acers.

1. There is no recirculate provision on the loader valve so it doesn't curl/lift as fast as tractors with loader valves that have that circuit. You get used to it pretty quick and it becomes a non issue. That's one of the very few thing that I would change about my tractor tho because I do a lot of FEL work.

2. I reclaimed some old farm land and used a rotary cutter on a small forest of 10' shumack trees. The trees/brush was thick enough that I bolted an armor plate onto the FEL sub-frame of the tractor to keep the trees/brush from damaging my filters and hydraulic lines No issues with the front cylinders, no marks on the front cylinders from the trees. The FEL pushed them over and they never got near the front steer cylinders.

3. Pulling the chisel was a chore. I ran my tractor at PTO speed in 4x4 in low range and kept the chisel at maximum depth that I had traction to pull for 7 or 8 hours. That's with R4 tires properly inflated. It was about 80 degrees outside and I had the a/c running. The tractor gave excellent fuel economy and pulled like a freight train! Temperature gauge would never move until the grass started clogging the radiator screen. It was very windy and the grass pulled up by the chisel was swirling everywhere! A quick stop to clean it out and right back to normal.

If there were any problems with this motor I think it would have come to light. Usually a motor that's at the limit or over stressed will show signs of running hot when loaded like this.

mikeg135 · Apr 18, 2017

thanks for the feeback...nothing like real world scenarios compared to whats on paper and brochures

charles todd · Apr 18, 2017

mikeg135 said:
I am looking at cab tractors in the 45-55 hp ranges. I am looking at the TYM and LS.
I went by my local LS dealer and was surprised about a few items.

1. The XR4155 I demo'd would not curl the bucket and raise/lower at the same time. You had curl or raise/lower.

2. The front steering cylinders were in front of the tractor with no brush shield. Has this been an issue for anyone?

3. The same motor is used in the XR from 35-55 hp ratings. The same frame and transmission across the XR series. That seems like quite the range for such a small engine 2.1 liter w turbo. TYM doesn't do that for their models in the same HP ranges. I wonder if the new LS motor is over stressed when it's turned up to 55hp.

What are everyone's thoughts?

Not quite the same class of tractor, P series is Heavy Utility/Ag. Here is my LS experience.

2014 we bought a P7010C, 72hp, auto level loader, cab, R1 tires. I do recommend R1 tires unless working on turf or concrete. Traction with R1 vs R4 is noticeable.

1. I can curl while raise/lower the loader.

2. Steer cylinder is behind axle.

3. Same engine in the P7010C (72HP and which is discontinued) is the engine in the P7040C (98HP with the Power Shuttle xmission). The only difference is maybe injectors and turbo boost. I would not think it to be "over-stressed." It is common to have a base engine and different models having different power levels. I have an Allis Chalmers 180 with a 301 cid NA diesel rated at about 65HP. In a 190XT it is turbo, rated at 95HP. In combines it was rated over 140HP... Same engine. If I change injectors and put a turbo manifold on it the 180 will have the power of a 190XT.

I also looked at TYM and other colors. I settled on LS based on 2 dealers in 30 miles. More standard features. Attractive pricing, which I feel will go up as they gain market share, just like Mahindra, Kubota, and all other import brand tractors that survive the US tractor market.

I have no regrets and about 300 hrs of seat time. I would buy an LS again if shopping for another tractor.

Good luck!

CT