My Big Lawn Mower!

[NCL4701]

not sure just how much the front tires contribute to "ride quality" ... !

In my experience, very little. The rears are where the overwhelming majority of ride quality resides.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Looks great. Great job on the find itself and the shining it up. From your purchase pic to now looks like a different machine. Looks like the elbow grease went a long way and it’s noticeable.

I am not sure how updates are handled on this site/forum, but I wonder if the site administrator plans to issue a technical bulletin or communique to @hagrid, or does the OP need to do that regarding equipment type/criteria?.

(I hope folks understand this is not a serious question…but it’s funny if you don’t just the same)

 

[GeoHorn]

Don't really want or need a FEL, I already got one on my little tractor, which does all I really need doing ... If I increase the weight too much, I won't be able to trailer it ... Trailer is rated for 7K and I'd rather not run it at maximum weight, it pulled good though. This is from the day I bought it.

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My rears are actually 8 ply, fronts are 6 ply ... The fronts are quite worn, I'm considering buying new 2 ply ones, not sure just how much the front tires contribute to "ride quality" ... !

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Shawn,…It’s YOURs …so you get to decide…but from the posted pictures, your front tires look fine to me. And they are already matched to your rears. If you buy new fronts the O.D. might place a strain on your 4WD due to a mis-match with the rears. Just hopin’ to help out with that opinion. (might be a little easier on your wallet also.)

Since you already have an idea of what you need in the matter of an FEL…you certainly know best… But the resale value of a tractor With FEL is significant compared to one without. As time goes-by, an LA853 will not likely get any easier to find, IMO. YMMV

 

[Shawn T. W]

The fronts are worn, and weather checked ...

The rear are practically new ...

I bought it primarily as a BIG Lawnmower ... The two things I wanted out of this was BIG Tires for a more comfortable ride, and more PTO HP, over what my SCUT offered, and didn't want a computer or emissions either (like my SCUT) at first I wasn't convinced I even would consider a cab, due to weight and cost factors, but the previous two weeks I saw the light! This one was at the bottom of my size range I was looking for, actually I saw this on Tractor House just after they listed it in March, but didn't even click on the link because it was a compact tractor, a "L" ... I didn't realize that the Grand L was a bigger and heavier frame, plus bigger tires than the standard L's . . . I was looking at 50-65 HP tractors in the MX, (which this is basically a MX5100 size) but preferably a M size, didn't figure I'd even need 4X4, still don't think I need or will use it ...

This is about as steep as I mow, and it does it fine in 2 wheel drive.

I saw this again online and out of curiosity I clicked, figuring that maybe I could make the smaller tires work, as they would be much larger than my 26" rear tires on my SCUT ...it did seem to have the minimum HP I was looking at, then researching more specifications, I realized that it had 52" rear tires, twice the diameter of my SCUT! But the L3902 only has 44" tires, better than 26", but not as good as 52" ...

I started a thread that some are aware of to get more feedback ... https://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/threads/considering-a-l5030-hstc.76344/

The last week or so I figured it had been sitting unsold for nearly 4 months, mostly due to no loader, I figured I could get a deal on it even though it stretched my budget a bit ... And I did get him down a bit!

My back pasture has rocks like this, that just keep showing up, makes for a bumpy ride!

Overall I'm very happy with it, and will be glad when my savings grow enough to get a 8' mower for it ...

 

[GeoHorn]

“This is about as steep as I mow, and it does it fine in 2 wheel drive” …. Even More Reason to leave those front tires alone if you don’t have cause to work them harder.

That “dry checking” evidenced in that pic might bother you…but the carcass of those tires are Much stronger than the surface cracking indicates. (Again, only intending to be helpful…. it’s certainly Your Call.…I’ll stay out of it from now on.)

 

[NCL4701]

Second @GeoHorn thoughts on the checked tire. It’s a low speed tire with a quite thick carcass. I’m not seeing any functional issue.

This is the left rear on the 9N I started operating at 8 years old. My father and I continued to operate it until it went to a new owner a couple years ago, total of 49 years I was associated with it. The left rear tire looked like this for as long as I can remember. Thousands of hours put on it during that time.

The right rear, which looked about the same, got in an argument with the rather spiky remains of a long dead eastern red cedar about 20 years ago. The 20 year old replacement looked like this when it left our property.

A little checking but not as much. Never noticed any difference which one pulled better.

As always, your machine, your $, and YMMV.

 

[D2Cat]

Older tires are much more resistant to thorns and other punctures. That rubber is tough. New tires are like bubble gum in a thorn patch or stobbles.