LX2610 finally arrived, a first report

[MidwestGuy]

Good Evening O.T.T. forum.
Finally took possession of my LX2610 HSD Tractor, my last post I mentioned my hospital stay from Covid19, well the docs were right, I was wrong!
It took another 6-8 weeks for me to get off O2 and leave the house. I'm still months away from full recovery, but here is my short review for the forum.

I have only had minimal seat time, here are some observations.
It is a great tractor, plenty of power, comfortable to drive around, and surprisingly fast in forward and reverse.
Good line of site to see what you are doing.
Bucket level indicator I thought was not needed, I like it.
R14 tires don't tear up the lawn.
Bucket is level, hydraulics are smooth to operate.
It will lift a 12" x 10ft tree and drive it around, just keep the load low to the ground.

Check your grease zerks, a few got missed, tractor is all greased up.
I'll check my fittings and nuts/bolts after a few more hours.

A mistake took place about the seat not being able to swivel for the backhoe operation, dealer tried to order the correct parts to make it happen, (Kubota won't give a date on when the parts are available) I did some searching and found a thread on the subject at this very forum, he set up the extra seat for the backhoe, we tried it and it works great and is comfortable, since I'm spending 98% of the time in the font seat, I'm OK with the setup.

Backhoe purchase? OK sit down with a pen and paper, you have 5 minutes to come up with 12 backhoe projects, if you do, you actually have 25 projects, That's how I justified the backhoe, and most importantly I wanted it.

EA55 Grapple, I can't compare it to any other grapple since it's my first grapple, FYI 16 weeks to get here (supply chain problems per EA) It arrived at work 1 day before the tractor, so it all worked out.
So far it works great picking up trees and biting through thickets.

I already ordered LED Lights
I have the fab shop at work making me a brush guard on the water jet table (pics posted when done)
I asked for a lock and lube for Fathers Day.

That's all for now, hopefully more to come as I clear up the property,
Thanks for the great forum. Bob M

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Very nice! It looks like your ea55 has the new design on the lid. Bent hardox instead of DOM. Could you take some pics of that, time permitting, and post in the “all the money up front” thread? There are a few of us waiting on ours there.

 

[Deleted member 47704]

"Backhoe purchase? OK sit down with a pen and paper, you have 5 minutes to come up with 12 backhoe projects, if you do, you actually have 25 projects, That's how I justified the backhoe, and most importantly I wanted it. "

I took the a backhoe cost and divided by what it costs to rent a backhoe of the size for a day. Its about 375/day here for rental.Comes out to 21 days.Thats about 1 project per year for a tractor life of 20 years.

 

[Nicfin36]

Nice looking machine! You will enjoy it.

I took the a backhoe cost and divided by what it costs to rent a backhoe of the size for a day. Its about 375/day here for rental.Comes out to 21 days.Thats about 1 project per year for a tractor life of 20 years.

That's a very good way to look at it, which is also how I thought about it when I bought mine. Also, you can factor in time and fuel of transporting that backhoe to your property and back. (And what if you don't have a means of transport, like me?) Also, your backhoe is ready and waiting at a moments notice, holidays, Sundays, etc. On top of that, the backhoe could probably be sold later for what it cost new.

MidwestGuy, check the oil in your front axle. Many here, me included, have discovered that the dealer fails to check and fill the front axle. They do not ship full of oil.

 

[Deleted member 47704]

Nice looking machine! You will enjoy it.



That's a very good way to look at it, which is also how I thought about it when I bought mine. Also, you can factor in time and fuel of transporting that backhoe to your property and back. (And what if you don't have a means of transport, like me?) Also, your backhoe is ready and waiting at a moments notice, holidays, Sundays, etc. On top of that, the backhoe could probably be sold later for what it cost new.

MidwestGuy, check the oil in your front axle. Many here, me included, have discovered that the dealer fails to check and fill the front axle. They do not ship full of oil.

I can call and get a machine with backhoe delivered but they don't always have one, weather here can be fickle, hard to plan.
I have 5 projects right now that will take all of those 21 days to complete this year.Initially I considered renting a machine to do it.
Thats how I arrived at comparing rental cost.But if I buy the backhoe now I avoid the rental cost.Through avoided cost I'll get the backhoe free.

+1 on checking front axle oil.

 

[S-G-R]

Congrats on the new machine.

 

[Old_Paint]

I wanted the BH77 too, but simply couldn't let go of the $9K it was going to cost. I started thinking, "I gotta lotta stumps to dig up" and then that migrated to "What will I do with it when the stumps are gone?" I'm not particularly interested in tractoring for a living when I retire, and real sure I don't wanna be giving large sums of money to insure it, me, and the liabilities of using it on someone else's property. I bought a stump bucket instead. While not quite as efficient or strong as the backhoe, it's getting my objectives completed and I won't have the white elephant sitting in my shed reminding me that I don't have the $9K anymore. Otherwise, you WILL enjoy it an yes, for a little 26HP machine, it's got PLENTY torque. You're gonna have some fun with that little critter.

 

[Motronic]

I wanted the BH77 too, but simply couldn't let go of the $9K it was going to cost.

At that price, and with with it takes to remove it and replace the 3 point hitch (which is even more annoying with the backhoe subframe on), plus the fact that it's just a backhoe it didn't make any sense to me. Not when you can buy an older mini ex for less than twice that, and we're talking a machine that is serviceable and fully depreciated.......consider it a long term rental and sell it for what you paid for it when you're done.

I bought a little Yanmar B-08 last year and it's doing good work. I'll eventually run out of work for it in a few years and it will be worth what I paid for it + inflation.

 

[Mossy dell]

View attachment 61814


A mistake took place about the seat not being able to swivel for the backhoe operation, dealer tried to order the correct parts to make it happen, (Kubota won't give a date on when the parts are available) I did some searching and found a thread on the subject at this very forum, he set up the extra seat for the backhoe, we tried it and it works great and is comfortable, since I'm spending 98% of the time in the font seat, I'm OK with the setup.

Bob, it looks like there is plenty of room for that pedestal seat for the backhoe. So I wonder how the main seat swiveling would work? It looks like you'd be too far from the hoe controls. Or does it slide forward more than is apparent?

I love the look of the rig, much like a beefier version of my B2601.

 

[Jchonline]

Awesome machine OP! Hope you get back to 100% soon.

To pay for my BH I only had to dig 2 electrical trenches, 1 water trench, and footings for the garage. Done!

 

[MidwestGuy]

Group,
Oil level is good on the axle, someone even wrote "OK" in white marker.

Old Bob, my apologies for not showing my math on the backhoe, LOL!

Group
On the backhoe purchase I only mentioned it because the forum has been split on this issue through several other threads I read on here. just wanted to give my .2 cents on my justification for the purchase. there is no wrong answer.

Mossy Dell
I am not sure how the swivel seat works, I assume it has a slide adjustment, my current seat slides forward, then flip up the smaller backhoe seat and your in business, I'm 5'11 and it fits perfectly.
My dealer drilled some extra holes in the upright if I want to make up or down adjustments.

Spent a few hrs this weekend moving branches with the grapple, I really like this machine.

Thanks Bob M

 

[Geezer3d]

I have a LX2610SU with the BH77 backhoe. I can answer the question about how easy it is to reach the controls with the swivel seat. For me the seat does not move as far forward as I would like when facing forward or for using the backhoe. When using the backhoe I find myself sliding to the front of the seat to handle the controls comfortably and to be able to better see what I am digging.

 

[Motronic]

Group
On the backhoe purchase I only mentioned it because the forum has been split on this issue through several other threads I read on here. just wanted to give my .2 cents on my justification for the purchase. there is no wrong answer.

Agreed. I posted a very not-nuanced "I bought a mini ex instead" without mention that I have the space for it, do my own work on the equipment, etc. There are plenty of reasons to go with a new hoe on your new tractor. It just wasn't how it made sense for my particular situation.

Happy digging. It looks like a very nice machine.

 

[PaulR]

beautiful!
congrats OP.
Hope you make a full recovery.
Put some hours on that thing!

 

[JustinB60]

Are those the “oversized R14’s” (15-19.5) or the “regular R14 tires” (14-17.5)?

 

[MidwestGuy]

Are those the “oversized R14’s” (15-19.5) or the “regular R14 tires” (14-17.5)?

The Regular size R14's, I went that route as I eventually want to get a MMM deck.