Buying Advice Help me choose a tractor (a.k.a. sorry its another B vs BX thread)

[starckie]

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster here.

Need some help choosing a tractor. I'm pretty set on a Kubota, my father has had one for 30 years with no issues, there is a great local dealer nearby, and I like the color orange. Purchased a fixer upper last year at this time and while I was concentrating on finishing the inside first, I've been reading everything I could about the B vs BX.

Some background: Last fall I had about 25 oak and maple trees taken down, some 3+ feet across, others 12" or so. The largest trees were ground down, but there are about eight 12-16" wide stumps in certain areas where I will be building a garage or changing the topography a bit, so I left them with 4 foot high stumps so they can be removed. The area I'm working in is strewn with rocks, some are small boulders that the PO used to decorate with, others are in the ground. For the most part I wouldn't think any are larger than say 2 x 3 feet but of course who knows until I start digging. The total lot is about 2 acres, but only 1 acre will be finished when it is all said and done (I like the woods and privacy). Its on a slight slope, about maybe 1' of rise over 10 feet.

So the goal is to remove the rocks and stumps, grade the property, move some topsoil in and plant grass, move the rocks to make a border to keep the leaves under the trees, and changing the existing swale to be a bit further from the house with better drainage to the sides. At the same time, I'd like to build up an area where the future garage will go so the swale runs behind. I could hire it out, but the labor cost would pay for several years of payments on the tractor, plus I would like one anyway for snow removal, projects around the house, gardening, etc.

I originally wanted a B3200, but with FEL and BH77 its much more than I wanted to spend, and it is probably overkill, so I've narrowed it down between a BX25 and a B2620/FEL/BH65.

So I guess I have the following questions:

How much more real world ability does the the LA504 FEL and BH65 backhoe have over the BX25's? Is it enough to justify the additional cost and/or be the difference between needing to bring in an excavator? Sure wouldn't like to 'sell' the tractor to my wife and then need to hire in/rent a larger piece of equipment.

Also, what would be your recommendation for grading the land afterwards. I really do not know much about it, but it seems like people use box blades? So I would use the FEL/BH to rough it in and then the box blade to finish? Does that favor the larger tractor? On the BX25 I would need to purchase the 3pt hitch as well correct?

Thanks for any insight you might have

 

[motownbrowne]

I vote skip the backhoe. Honestly, not everyone with two acres needs their own. If you buy the smaller tractor in order to afford the hoe, every task you do will take longer.

The b will be better for everything you want to do. I say do site prep with the b and loader, rent or contract a backhoe for the weekend to do your big work, finish with the b and loader. Then spend the remainder left over in the difference in price on a snowblower, or a used mower, tiller, and box blade.

How much do you envision needing the hoe once you've finished the big jobs? Would you rather get that stuff done quickly, or mess with it for much longer on your bx?

You asked if the grading favors the larger tractor. Every task favors the larger tractor, except fitting it in tight spaces. And fitting it into the budget. I'd look at the big b series, or smallest "economy" L.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[newbury]

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster here.

Need some help choosing a tractor. I'm pretty set on a Kubota, my father has had one for 30 years with no issues,

What does he have and how far away is he? The possibility of borrowing implements may be a deciding factor.

Some background: Last fall I had about 25 oak and maple trees taken down, some 3+ feet across, others 12" or so. The largest trees were ground down, but there are about eight 12-16" wide stumps in certain areas where I will be building a garage or changing the topography a bit, so I left them with 4 foot high stumps so they can be removed. The area I'm working in is strewn with rocks, some are small boulders that the PO used to decorate with, others are in the ground. For the most part I wouldn't think any are larger than say 2 x 3 feet but of course who knows until I start digging. The total lot is about 2 acres, but only 1 acre will be finished when it is all said and done (I like the woods and privacy). Its on a slight slope, about maybe 1' of rise over 10 feet.

So the goal is to remove the rocks and stumps, grade the property, move some topsoil in and plant grass, move the rocks to make a border to keep the leaves under the trees, and changing the existing swale to be a bit further from the house with better drainage to the sides. At the same time, I'd like to build up an area where the future garage will go so the swale runs behind. I could hire it out, but the labor cost would pay for several years of payments on the tractor, plus I would like one anyway for snow removal, projects around the house, gardening, etc.

I originally wanted a B3200, but with FEL and BH77 its much more than I wanted to spend, and it is probably overkill, so I've narrowed it down between a BX25 and a B2620/FEL/BH65.

So I guess I have the following questions:

How much more real world ability does the the LA504 FEL and BH65 backhoe have over the BX25's? Is it enough to justify the additional cost and/or be the difference between needing to bring in an excavator? Sure wouldn't like to 'sell' the tractor to my wife and then need to hire in/rent a larger piece of equipment.

Also, what would be your recommendation for grading the land afterwards. I really do not know much about it, but it seems like people use box blades? So I would use the FEL/BH to rough it in and then the box blade to finish? Does that favor the larger tractor? On the BX25 I would need to purchase the 3pt hitch as well correct?

Thanks for any insight you might have

View attachment 365952

Generally I'd recommend against buying a backhoe unless, like me, you expect frequent use of it for years and you have to drive it w/o trailer.
If your only finishing 1 acre in the foreseeable future it might be better to buy a used mini-ex use it for a few years and sell it. A mini-ex will be far better for moving rocks and stumps. A drawback of the mini-ex is it's slow travel speed, but then again you've only 2 acres.

Depending on what your father has and the possibility of borrowing would put a great weight on the BX vs B. Whatever you get include a 3pt hitch.

Give us some more info on other things you might want to do - gardening, cutting and hauling big trees etc. It looks like you've got a good stand of 20-30 yr old hardwood that could use thinning.

Remember a FEL is not really a blade or a digging tool, there are better solutions for digging, it's just that the FEL is usually handy.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Hire some one with a dozer to come level the rocky, tree stumps and then buy a BX to keep your property maintained. A dozer can push those stumps over and up and fill the holes in hours to a tractors weeks or months for so many. A big burn pile can remove the stumps once they are up and round the rocks up in one area to redistribute later with your tractor if they aren't to big, if they are then have the dozer bury them.

 

[starckie]

My father has a late 80's B7200, which appears to be a bit less capable than a modern BX25. He is only 10 miles away or so, but he has 6 acres and a 1/2 mile long driveway and it is constantly being used. I think the only implement he has is a rake that he uses to spread gravel.

We have a baby on the way, so the push is to A: get the yard done so she can play back there, and B: have the equipment here so i can run out for a few hours when I have the time. So that's my reasoning against renting since I can envision renting an excavator for a weekend and not getting my moneys worth.

As far as the backhoe, we are going to be here a long time, and I have a lot of projects around the house. Off the top of my head the gutters need to be diverted from away from the house, electric needs to be run to the shed, trees and bushes to be planted, etc. I may need to dig the foundations for the new garage etc. The house has a 40 year old drain field, although it was recently checked out and given the OK, at some point I can imagine some maintenance needing to be done.

A used mini-ex would be neat, but I'm sort of hoping to take advantage of the 0% Kubota is running right now, with the baby on the way I'd prefer to keep the cash in the bank. Another thought I had is with a B series I could sell the BH65 to any B series owner if I found I didn't need it, whereas a BX25 backhoe would only have value to another BX25 owner with a broken one.

You are right about thinning the woodland. We took about 20 trees down so far in the back, many of them dead. the back 'yard' was only about as wide as the swing set when we started in October. I've been told that the house wasn't really worked on by the 2 previous owners, so I have 15 years of maintenance to catch up on.

 

[starckie]

John, that was another thought I had as well, except have the dozer guy haul off the stumps as well. We are in a no burn area township (except for recreational fires). Some of the farmers get away with it but I'm pretty sure the neighbors would say something about burning all of those stumps.

I guess my hang up is that I really like the B2620, even though I think the BX25 is a better fit for me. Maybe I'm trying to justify the bigger tractor

 

[Scooby074]

Get the bigger tractor! Trust me.

The BX has some flaws when it comes to trenching. Considering the hoe adds $6000. You can rent a mini ex. an awful lot for $6k

 

[newbury]

For the B2620 the BH, thumb, subframe, bucket runs about $8K list.
That's about what I paid for my Woods BH70X back in '09. A far more capable BH and fits well on my B7610.

IMHO a BX is basically for lawn and flat area maintenance. The 3 pt lifts < 700 lbs. Clearance is an issue. It's a great tool for small areas. But if your going to be moving wood and rocks you'll probably soon want more capacity.

Try checking on the Land Clearing Equipment forum and get an idea of what it would cost to have someone else come in w/ a dozer and clean up your stumps and rocks.

Then get a good B or equivalent and you can put in your time perfecting the lot.

 

[GPintheMitten]

John Thomas has a B2620 with fel and backhoe that he might be selling. Very few hours. You might PM him and check.

 

[Scooby074]

For the B2620 the BH, thumb, subframe, bucket runs about $8K list.
That's about what I paid for my Woods BH70X back in '09. A far more capable BH and fits well on my B7610.

IMHO a BX is basically for lawn and flat area maintenance. The 3 pt lifts < 700 lbs. Clearance is an issue. It's a great tool for small areas. But if your going to be moving wood and rocks you'll probably soon want more capacity.

Try checking on the Land Clearing Equipment forum and get an idea of what it would cost to have someone else come in w/ a dozer and clean up your stumps and rocks.

Then get a good B or equivalent and you can put in your time perfecting the lot.

Thats exactly my experience with the BX>

Where were you in the last BX decision thread, lol. Tough tractor, but lacking due to size.