LS MT 225S

[JBSlim]

I picked up the MT225S today, and have about an hour of testing on it. First reactions: Coming from the MT122, the MT225S has so much more engine vibration, and is louder. The hydraulics are so smooth and controllable in stark contrast to the MT122 which was hard to operate with small movements. But,boy is this thing tippy. I have a ballast box, but testing without it and operating the forks with a smallish load I started to go over on a slight slope, till the forks hit the ground. The MT122 seemed more stable, probably due to being lower. The transmission is also smooth and the pedals easy to get quick and accurate forward or reverse power. The MT122 by contrast has stiff pedals, and needed quite a bit of throttle to get the transmission going. Overall the difference in size, power, bucket strength and speed is more than I anticipated.

 

[traderfjp]

I picked up the MT225S today, and have about an hour of testing on it. First reactions: Coming from the MT122, the MT225S has so much more engine vibration, and is louder. The hydraulics are so smooth and controllable in stark contrast to the MT122 which was hard to operate with small movements. But,boy is this thing tippy. I have a ballast box, but testing without it and operating the forks with a smallish load I started to go over on a slight slope, till the forks hit the ground. The MT122 seemed more stable, probably due to being lower. The transmission is also smooth and the pedals easy to get quick and accurate forward or reverse power. The MT122 by contrast has stiff pedals, and needed quite a bit of throttle to get the transmission going. Overall the difference in size, power, bucket strength and speed is more than I anticipated.

I have a mt 125 with BH and it is a workhorse and has done everything I have asked of it. The tractor is nice and small and nimble. It can get into small spots in the yard and is stout. There are a few things I am not thrilled about it and wonder if these were fixed with the 225s. The MT125 doesn't have a lot of power in H gear so I find myself shifting a lot. U know. Put her in L, grab some dirt and then put her back in H to move across the yard. But even in H gear the tractor is not that fast which bothers me. The 225S has 3 gears. I wonder if the middle gear has a lot of power or do U find yourself still shifting a lot. How is the speed in H gear. Does it move a lot faster than the MT125. I'm not looking to race but would like a higher top speed to be more productive around the yard.In mud the smaller tires are not the best.

 

[rodneyn]

For the supper heavy work you be in low. Medium is good if doing medium light bucket work. I have had no issues with torque to move dirt piles in low motor running about 1900 rpm. No disappointments on performance. Have another article posted using box blade with scarifiers full depth in ground no issues for tractor no power loss it runs well. Low is fairly fast with hydrostatic wide open. Medium is faster and high is road gear it flies down the road in high.

 

[Diggin It]

For the supper heavy work you be in low.

My suppers aren't usually that heavy but I do keep them low.

 

[JBSlim]

The MT125 doesn't have a lot of power in H gear so I find myself shifting a lot. U know. Put her in L, grab some dirt and then put her back in H to move across the yard. But even in H gear the tractor is not that fast which bothers me. The 225S has 3 gears. I wonder if the middle gear has a lot of power or do U find yourself still shifting a lot. How is the speed in H gear.

I would say MT225S the L and M gear match the MT122 L and H for speed. The speed in H is significantly faster, so much so, I use it mainly on road or very smooth areas. Although the M gear matches the H on the MT122, because the MT225S is 20% heavier AND 14% more powerful, I can do similar busting and pushing etc in M that the MT122 needed L to achieve. The bulk of the work I am doing is moving gravel, dirt and mulch, and put 10 hours on it over the weekend. Like you, on the MT122 I was going between L and H constantly. I find now I just work in M, and occasionally, if a pile of dirt is older and more compact, then I shift to L to have more drive into the pile. I work in the 200-2250 RPM range mostly, seldom full throttle, except some stump bucket effort.

 

[JBSlim]

My suppers aren't usually that heavy but I do keep them low.

You eat on the floor?

 

[wraven]

My rear industrial tires are filled. It does mark the grass a bit as expected. I don’t mow a lawn with it so I’m ok with it.

The backhoe has more power than the light tractor can handle. I just needed to adjust and take smaller “bites”! Larger outrigger pads were ordered but were back ordered when the tractor came in.

My biggest complaint is that when the seat is rotated, I can’t get it close enough and wind up sitting on the edge of the seat to operate the hoe. I haven’t really looked into the issue but it might be a mounting issue. It was installed at the dealer. It might also just be a user issue.

 

[traderfjp]

For the supper heavy work you be in low. Medium is good if doing medium light bucket work. I have had no issues with torque to move dirt piles in low motor running about 1900 rpm. No disappointments on performance. Have another article posted using box blade with scarifiers full depth in ground no issues for tractor no power loss it runs well. Low is fairly fast with hydrostatic wide open. Medium is faster and high is road gear it flies down the road in high.

Thanks for the information on your 225S. I'm coming from a MT125. The 225S is a more robust tractor with 3 speeds and bigger tires from what I can gather. I love that you are saying your tractor flies down the road in H. I find my MT125 way to slow in H gear especially shooting a load of dirt across the yard, etc. I ordered a 240HE last week with BH and am very excited. I did get some seat time. The first thing I noticed is that the tractor is quieter at idle than the MT125. It's a different engine than the Yanmar and is built by Mitsubishi. I thought really hard about the 225S and wasn't able to test it out. I like its size and its muscle lifting 1680 lbs. from the loader. The 240E lifts 2180 lbs. but is not as nimble as the 225-s and 1k pounds heavier. It also has a better frame, more robust hydraulics and more HP. The backhoes on the lower end LS tractors all seem to have similar BH specs. I did get a 16" bucket this time. I'll give a review once I get it delivered. The MT125 is a great machine too but if I had the extra cash and wanted a compact tractor I would go with the 225-S. No MM on the 240E too. Always pluses and minuses and what fits the end user the best.

 

[Diggin It]

I find my MT125 way to slow in H gear especially shooting a load of dirt across the yard, etc.

That's a real good way to break things. Expensive things.

When you have a load, keep it low and go slow.

 

[traderfjp]

That's a real good way to break things. Expensive things.

When you have a load, keep it low and go slow.

U are correct that it's good to keep your center of gravity load but not sure how moving faster will hurt the tractor. The MT125 is very slow for my tastes. I find myself crawling along in L most times. H doesn't have a lot of power so if you have any weight in the bucket and I'm going up a slight incline the tractor can bog down. It needs a 3rd gear.

 

[Diggin It]

but not sure how moving faster will hurt the tractor.

Been more than one thread here where people have broken front axles or loader mounts. Possible causes included hitting bumps with a bucket load. My yard is full of drops and divets from moles or erosion, roots, etc.

 

[kormidoit]

I picked up the MT225S today, and have about an hour of testing on it. First reactions: Coming from the MT122, the MT225S has so much more engine vibration, and is louder. The hydraulics are so smooth and controllable in stark contrast to the MT122 which was hard to operate with small movements. But,boy is this thing tippy. I have a ballast box, but testing without it and operating the forks with a smallish load I started to go over on a slight slope, till the forks hit the ground. The MT122 seemed more stable, probably due to being lower. The transmission is also smooth and the pedals easy to get quick and accurate forward or reverse power. The MT122 by contrast has stiff pedals, and needed quite a bit of throttle to get the transmission going. Overall the difference in size, power, bucket strength and speed is more than I anticipated.

I agree on the tippy thing..."slight" incline going sideways ran over a buryed bolder, maybe 3" above ground I almost bailed out....thought it was going over....nothing in bucket, low gear. Pooped a little.

 

[polarred21]

**OLD THREAD ALERT***

So 3 years later, how are these MT 225S tractors holding up?

 

[rodneyn]

**OLD THREAD ALERT***

So 3 years later, how are these MT 225S tractors holding up?

I am past 330 hours mostly used for mmm mowing. Had to rework deck wheels putting in bearings. However the tractor has been excellent. I added grapple it handles it well. If you read my earlier posts the tractor did landscaping in its beginning moving over couple hundred tons of dirt. No disappointment good value robust and reliable. I still feel unit could stand wheel spacers on the rear. Someday I will add spacers when inflation is not eating into my livelihood. I can say same for the xr3135 this unit has been good value also. No disappointment.

 

[polarred21]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Texasmark]

I bought one in Jan., 2021 with loader new, for 15,500 delivered and dealer taking 2 tractors in trade from 200 miles away. If you haven't been in/on one, you need to check it out.

Only thing with these little tractors is you need to pay attention to what you are doing when doing loader work or if you live on hilly terrain. I don't think this problem is unique to this brand as I traded another brand in on this one....went from manual shift to hydro. and it had the same sensitivity. I added 4" spacers I made to the rear wheels which put the rear tires at the width of my 5' shredder and it helped a lot.

 

[rodneyn]

I bought one in Jan., 2021 with loader new, for 15,500 delivered and dealer taking 2 tractors in trade from 200 miles away. If you haven't been in/on one, you need to check it out.

Only thing with these little tractors is you need to pay attention to what you are doing when doing loader work or if you live on hilly terrain. I don't think this problem is unique to this brand as I traded another brand in on this one....went from manual shift to hydro. and it had the same sensitivity. I added 4" spacers I made to the rear wheels which put the rear tires at the width of my 5' shredder and it helped a lot.

I am in agreement wheel spacers are must on any of this size tractor. I learned quickly with loader above the hood with dirt on uneven terrain it will start to tip. I always keep the loader below hood line when traveling with load on uneven ground. There is no disappointment with the tractor it is very robust not shy of torque for the loader use. Not bad on diesel use per hour either. No disappointments with this tractor. Looks like they will offer this tractor in 32 horsepower model in late 2024 with cab. They studied their competition to understand 25 hp tractor with cab and HVAC is under powered. I might look closely at the 32 hp unit. LS will offer it with a Yanmar diesel.

 

[kormidoit]

I love my tractor.....bought with a backhoe. Bought a needle rake last month.....NEED a Snow Blower / Thrower....in 4ft or 5ft.....I NEED recommendations from the people who know.....YOU, please.
Looks a Titan and Woodmaxx. Need to purchase SOON.

 

[Mrsig]

Just hit 300 hours with no problems. It just keeps going & working.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Just hit 300 hours with no problems. It just keeps going & working.

Just noticed your update; what have you been doing with it? Any pictures?