I replied earlier about a 4WD forklift I was going to look at. Turns out I posted that reply in the wrong thread. It's
over here if you're interested.
I drove 1hr:45min this morning to see that forklift and it was an absolute turd. The main mast cylinder was bent and sheared off from the base, but somehow, still managed to lift the mast without falling out the front of the machine, which to the seller, meant it "worked fine." It had no brakes at all. I almost crashed it into my own truck, and would have, had I not thrown it from reverse into forward while it was still rolling back. It was NOT 4WD. I asked the seller to look under the back end (pic attached) and explain to me how the rear wheels were powered. He hummed and hawed for a few minutes before throwing up his hands and saying "well I don't know everything mechanically about these units, but I know it's 4WD." The ad said it was super clean, and it did look super clean from The pictures. That's because they were low res pictures of a botched rattle can job. ALL The hoses were WAAY their life span, with 100% exposed steel braid on most of them, and all of them cracked to the point it was a miracle they even held fluid. The dude had actually spray painted the hoses black to make them look "new." The only honest thing in the ad was that the machine ran, and it did seem to run well. Oh, and the counterweight was hanging at an odd angle which made me question if it was even fastened to the machine. And he had just "assumed" it would fit through a 7' door, hadn't actually measured it, and it was about a foot too tall.
I left there more desperate than ever. I headed back toward the Mahindra dealership near my home with my mind 75% made up that I was leaving there with a tractor. I stopped at a couple machinery sales places I saw along the route to inquire about rough terrain forklifts, which to no surprise, are unicorns. At the last machinery dealer 2mi before the mahindra dealership, they sell LS Tractors. I never heard of them. I looked at an XR4140H tractor and was quite impressed, given my assumption they were a knockoff brand. It seemed very robust and well made. I just looked at it, got a price and a spec sheet, and proceeded to Mahindra where I test drove several tractors. The Mahindra tractors all seemed "OK" but they cost more than the LS tractor and/or had less features for the same price point.
So I went to burger king and sat in the parking lot for a couple of hours researching on my phone and find that (according to "experts" in tractor forums), LS is actually not a knockoff brand; they have been making tractors for years which sold under different names (incl. Massey Ferguson) and are just now in the last few years starting to try to break out and sell directly under their own name. Most of the reviews I read were happy customers and folks didn't have much negative to say about them. So I drove back to the LS tractor place and test drove the tractor. Very impressed. It had nearly 50% more lifting capacity on the front loader than Mahindra and kubota, and it's obvious from the construction that the loader is a much more robust design than the other two. It was easier to drive (being HST) than the shuttle shift and manual units I was comparing at the same price point. The Mahindra did have a better turning radius though, which is a big deal trying to maneuver in my small shop, but the ease of transition for forward to reverse cancels that out (almost) in my mind.
So I bought it. Should take delivery in the morning. This is the most expensive "impulse" purchase I have ever made; costing more than any vehicle I've ever purchased. but I need something, and I need it yesterday. I hope I will not regret it. But I don't know if it's possible to regret owning a tractor. They're so damn useful, for everything.
because that’s the breaking wheels . But that makes the tractor to long to get into tight places , I also have a box blade with rippers but it isn’t heavy enough to keep the back wheels on ground.