LS s1030

[shafshak]

Hi,i was thinking about buying a s1030 with fel,with a woods prd72 inch rfm,and a king kutter 60 inch tiller.Anybody purchase one of these tractors lately and what do you think ? do you think LS will be around long ? parts availibilty ? quality ? tractor seems to be well built .thanks for any info

 

[Gary Fowler]

LS has been around for more than 10 years building tractors and have built many models of todays Big 3 or 4 brands. They built models for NH, Case, TYM, Mahindra to name a few. I just bought a P7010 cab model and I think they are going to strip lots of the business from all the other companies. I also think that when they get a few more dealerships online that they will drop the re-branding folks which is already happening- ie Case has already been dropped by LS as recently announced. They are also coming out with their own brand of implements which might further erode the sales of more reconizable brand names. I hate to say it, but the Koreans and Chinese are taking over the world in everything manufacturered. LS is a spin off from the parent company LG and they are big in lots of different goods.
I would not worry about them being around in the future, I would think that if I were concerned it would be for the JD, NH, Case, etc brands being around.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Hi,i was thinking about buying a s1030 with fel,with a woods prd72 inch rfm,and a king kutter 60 inch tiller.Anybody purchase one of these tractors lately and what do you think ? do you think LS will be around long ? parts availibilty ? quality ? tractor seems to be well built .thanks for any info

I assume you meant S3010. I bought one about a year ago and am happy I did. Like Gary said LS is a big company that has been around for quite some time and I'm not worried about them going away sooner than any other tractor maker.

However I'm more concerned with the equipment you plan to buy with it. The S3010 is a stout little 28.5 hp geared CUT that delivers a nice 24 hp at the PTO. (Try getting that at the PTO of a similarly powered HST..., but I digress....) I googled those implements and noticed you would be at the low end of the hp range for the finish mower and the tiller's low end is 25 hp. I would guess you either need a bigger tractor or smaller implements. I have a 60" cutter for mine and I can really tax the tractor when cutting really heavy stuff. (Though that might be because I'm in too much of a hurry.) If a dealer suggested that combination of equipment without mentioning the PTO hp thing I would consider talking to a different one.

 

[ProdaddyTX]

+1 on what Gary and Little Blue say.... you'll be hearing more, not less, from LS. Their management, sales, and technical staff is top notch in my experience, and they've got one of the biggest manufacturing companies in the world backing them up.

BTW, they've also supplied McCormick, Montana (not any more with Montana though), and now New Holland.

 

[Gary Fowler]

The rule of thumb for a rotary cutter is 5 HP per foot so using that, you are a little shy with the 28 HP, but if it was me, I would try it for the RFM and just keep the grass mown down to a manageable height. If you were using a bush hog (type) mower, a 6 footer would likely load you a little heavy, but for a finish mower, you should be able to pull that without any problem as long as the grass isnt waist high or something. Use a little common sense and slow it down a little and you could pull a 6 foot bush hog also as long as your cutting wasnt high, thick and large diameter stuff. I have pulled a 6 foot bush hog with an 8N pasture mowing, but if it is thick, you will have to overlap. As for tiller, I cant speak to that as I have never used one.

 

[shafshak]

thanks for the info . i was planning on using a 5ft brush hog which i have and use on my ferguson to-30, to mow pasture with,which might get 16 inches high .the 6 ft .rfm ,i hoped will work because the grass would not be more than 6 inches high at most in the yard.As for the 5 ft. tiller somebody told me that you should have 5hp per foot ,which this tractor ,ls 3010 is 24hp at the pto. close enough?

 

[mwb]

thanks for the info . i was planning on using a 5ft brush hog which i have and use on my ferguson to-30, to mow pasture with,which might get 16 inches high .the 6 ft .rfm ,i hoped will work because the grass would not be more than 6 inches high at most in the yard.As for the 5 ft. tiller somebody told me that you should have 5hp per foot ,which this tractor ,ls 3010 is 24hp at the pto. close enough?

Funny, I would think that your tiller would be better matched if your machine had HST. You may have less HP at the PTO but the ability to infinitely vary your ground speed solves the problem.

I would think a 48" tiller would be enough for your machine; make sure the one you get can be offset to cover one track. If you had HST and your 3pt could lift it then I think you could use the bigger one - make sure your slip clutch is adjusted for your tractor. Can your dealer lend you a demo or used unit to try?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have found that most tractors have plenty of slow speeds without resorting to Hydrostatic drives that rob you of power, even my P 7010 can get down and make a snail look like speed racer. Most of the compacts and sub-compacts are geared so slow that even in high gear they are still fairly slow. Most of them have creeper gears that are to slow for any operation that I have found, unless maybe you want to move 1/4" when hooking up to something maybe, but with the telescoping lift arms, 3" is close enough for that.

 

[mwb]

You may be right; my experience is with my previous tractor, ford 2000. It was a bear to work with when the snow plow left 2+ feet of snow across the drive. It did not have a two stage clutch either Maybe a newer gear will have a 'low enough' gear but the HST is still the best suited IMO.
Nice to have a choice!

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Most of them have creeper gears that are to slow for any operation that I have found, unless maybe you want to move 1/4" when hooking up to something maybe, but with the telescoping lift arms, 3" is close enough for that.

That's exactly the way I use my super low gear. When swapping out anything on either the front or back I pull up to about 6 inches away and then drop from high to low range for the detail work of hooking up. Really easy with the SSQA on the front and a HF 3-pt. quick hitch on the back.

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is why they make both types of transmissions. For me, buying a tractor with automatic would be akin to buying a sports car with automatic. While both perform excellently, some folks like the feeling of holding a stiff rod in their hand and controlling something powerful with it. I guess that is why guys like tractors so much, lots of rods to hold and play with:laughing:

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

For me, buying a tractor with automatic would be akin to buying a sports car with automatic.

I learned to drive in a '59 Chevy pick-up w/ 3 speed shifter on the column and have preferred standard transmissions ever since. I've owned a few automatics, but somehow always found my way back to a standard. I work in downtown Houston and drive a 5 speed 2002 Subaru the in traffic we have here -- now that's commitment. Another advantage of the standard is I just replaced my brake pads for the first time after more than 90K miles of mostly city driving. I know HSTs have many advantages but for what I do the geared tranny is fine. Figure I'll be stick to "the stick" on my vehicles and tractors until I'm forced to go with an automatic for some reason.

 

[shafshak]

As for buying between gear vs hst trans.i would think there would be less maintenance with a gear trans,repairs would be cheaper also.you have 8 speeds to choose from and you have the shuttle shift.All with live power for pto.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

As for buying between gear vs hst trans.i would think there would be less maintenance with a gear trans,repairs would be cheaper also.you have 8 speeds to choose from and you have the shuttle shift.All with live power for pto.

True, but the HST has some big proponents on this forum. Even though I've never tried HST I can see where it would have it's advantages -- especially a if you do a lot of loader work. Plus, HST is probably better if you have less experienced users in the family. Geared works fine for the things I do. I say let the tasks to do dictate the tools you use.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Folks talk like hydro is only way to go with loader work. I cant see that at all. I can shift just as easily with my shuttle as they can with hst. I dont know of any loader work where you run forward and reverse without stopping to dump the load, while the FEL is cycling, I use my other hand to shift the shuttle lever and before the bucket is dumped I am ready to go again. Not having to have my foot on the hst lever all day long allows my legs to rest when not needed. I drove my BIL's NH 2030 for about half an hour and my leg and hip joint were so cramped up that I could hardly get out of the cab. I sat on every model on the lot for practically every make and model and none of them were really comfortable for the pedal and most didnt allow you to use the steering brakes and HST pedal at the same time. Actually I think I saw a few models didnt even have steering brakes. Tractors are made to operate in muddy and slick conditions and I would never even consider a tractor without steering brakes. That just my 4 cents worth.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Folks talk like hydro is only way to go with loader work. I cant see that at all. I can shift just as easily with my shuttle as they can with hst. I dont know of any loader work where you run forward and reverse without stopping to dump the load, while the FEL is cycling, I use my other hand to shift the shuttle lever and before the bucket is dumped I am ready to go again. Not having to have my foot on the hst lever all day long allows my legs to rest when not needed. I drove my BIL's NH 2030 for about half an hour and my leg and hip joint were so cramped up that I could hardly get out of the cab. I sat on every model on the lot for practically every make and model and none of them were really comfortable for the pedal and most didnt allow you to use the steering brakes and HST pedal at the same time. Actually I think I saw a few models didnt even have steering brakes. Tractors are made to operate in muddy and slick conditions and I would never even consider a tractor without steering brakes. That just my 4 cents worth.

When researching what tractor to get, the best argument I saw for HST was doing detailed loader work in tight spaces (in a structure, dumping the bucket into a vehicle, etc...). That made sense to me, but I felt loader stuff would compromise a small percentage of the things I do. Been right so far. I totally agree with you on the steering brakes though.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yep, got to go with what you are comfortable operating with. My BIL loves his HST. I love my gear with shuttle. I actually like the Yanmar 4220 with the manual linkage powershift but alas the only folks that even offer a powershift that I have found was MF and it was electronic shifted which I suspected would be asking for a high maintenance bill to keep all the buttons and servos operational. The linkage shift on my P7010 is still a little stiff but it will only get better as it breaks in rather than breaking down (I hope) I am looking forward to some tractor time over the holidays. It has been a long tour this time and looking forward to getting on that west bound plane in 9 more days. Touch down in Little Rock Ark. scheduled for 0930 hours 24th Dec. Just in time to do all that last minute shopping. I think the wife may be getting her present early. She just phoned me and her CD player in her car went out. I told her to go to an audio place and see if it was something simple like a fuse or something, but if not replace it with a new BOSE system player upgrade (2003 model factory Bose sound system in it now -$4200 option with 3 separate sound systems including rear DVD player and separate rear radio) The Christmas present for sure wont be that much, and I guess the rest of the system is still working. WELL I digress from tractor talk.