tractorshopper
Veteran Member
I took delivery of my new BX-2370-1 last Thursday. It replaces my L3800. I sold the L3800 a couple months ago because my dealer told me I'd get more out of a private sale than he could give me in trade. He was correct. I had got a lot of big stuff done with the L3800 and absolutely loved that machine. I will miss her for many reasons, but she got to where she sat in the garage a lot and just wasn't putting enough hours on her to justify keeping her. I do have other things to do that would be nice to have kept her, but the BX will do those jobs (taking more time obviously), and be my regular mower now so it will get used a lot more.
On the new BX, I got the 60" MMM, FEL, a grapple, tiller, BB, and a used bush-hog that I haven't picked up. Also waiting for the tooth bar to arrive to add to the bucket. I've got about 10 hrs on it already. I've hooked up and unhooked every attachment numerous times already and it's pretty easy to do so. I built dollies for all the attachments so I can roll them around the shop and move them as needed. The only thing I haven't built a dolly for is the loader itself. It's just too heavy for wood and Lowe's castors. With it being a smaller machine and even before I put stuff on dollies, it is easier to hook stuff up to because you can manhandle stuff. I had the Pat's quick change on the L3800. I think I would like that again, but I haven't had any problems hooking stuff up on this new one. I don't necessarily like how the turnbuckles are where I have to loosen to get them out and around the pins, then tighten back up each time. System could be a little more beefy. Pat's would let me set one time and never worry about again. I'll say the top link really spins easily compared to the top link on the L though. The loader itself is quicker to remove and rehook. The quick attach on the bucket/grapple is not as quick attach as the one on the L either. I still have to remove pins, but not a terribly big deal.
Cutting: This mows much better than my JD L118 lawn tractor. A lot of times with the old lawnmower, I would have to make 2 passes on stuff to get it all cut even. I know it's early season right now, but this BX has such high blade speed that it doesn't miss anything and I can mow much faster speed-wise and also with the much bigger deck, make a lot less rounds. The deck height is easy to adjust. I mowed at my house and I mowed at my property where I used to bush hog. Just set it a little higher and put the pedal down. It steers like a dream and with 4X4 tackles every hill so much better. I got the rears filled for extra stability down low and it feels like a tank even though it's much smaller than my last tractor. I will easily side hill stuff that I never would on the L and with the mid-deck, I easily get around trees instead of backing up at angles, so it's a fair amount faster there, not to mention gives a really nice finish look. The only real con here is that the top spindle guards on the deck need to have the screws tightened regularly or you will lose them. They were very loose after running at my property and I had tightened them before taking it there after mowing my lawn. Watch for that. Maybe some lock-tite is in order. Also, not so much with my pasture areas, but with the lawn itself, this is a lot heavier than my old lawn mower, so I will have to make sure the ground isn't still damp before mowing so I don't tear it up with the R4's.
Box Blade work: Actually have used it very little on mine so far, but I used my brother's BX25D with identical box blade a couple months ago at his property. I really thought that it would be a joke in comparison, and it is smaller and lighter than what I had, but I was very surprised at how it would pull a full load of dirt. With it being lighter, it doesn't cut right into hard ground quite as good, but with a couple more passes, will get deep. And you can pull the full box with the smaller tractor. This is a 5' box. My old one was 6' and almost twice as heavy, so it would get a very aggressive initial dig comparatively, but this new one does work much better than I thought it would.
Tiller: I got the exact same tiller that I had with the L, but a 50" instead (10" narrower; otherwise identical). I wasn't going to buy one initially. My brother got the lighter 50" LP tiller with the shear pin. I used it at his property and was not impressed at all. The tines are 2" shorter and the shear pins break regularly. I found it frustrating. So when I got mine, I went ahead and spent the extra cash for the RTR1250. I must say, that I did worry about using it being less than a foot smaller, but having 15HP less on the tractor. Well I used it Sunday and did a large area and up a hill (that I ran sideways on as well) that I never would have done with the L. This set-up seemed very much more stable to me. The tiller never zapped too much power and the tractor handled it like a champ. This too me is the biggest surprise so far. I'm going to say that other than being narrower so having to make more rounds, this set-up is better than my last tractor and I'd prefer to do it this way. Actually, for food plotting in small areas, I can see this being a better set up all the way around. I removed the mower deck for this kind of work and any time I didn't want it in the way. Very easy to take off and re-install.
Loader: Obvious drawbacks here, but I knew there would be. The lift weight is surprising for the machine and with rear wheels filled and BB or tiller for ballast on the back, it will handle more than I thought it would. Must be very careful as with any tractor on how high you carry your load if on slopes. Fair amount less capacity overall, but I think very well matched to the machine and still very capable. Just will take a lot longer to move piles, etc. I don't have the tooth bar yet, so don't know how well it will dig, but with it being so much lighter, I suspect it will be acceptable, but lacking in what I'm used to for sure. It's smooth to operate and I didn't notice any real negatives except that I'm used to bigger scoops. The only thing I'll really ding it on here is that I do not like that the angles are less for dumping and curling. The bucket still empties fine, but I'm used to much steeper angles in both directions.
Grapple: Can't compare to the L3800 because I didn't have one with it. This thing is the cat's meow. I had been doing a bunch of pruning and privet cutting and I piled a ton of stuff up at the property in very little time. I'm still learning it and I think there's more functionality that I'm just now figuring out like back-raking to put stuff in a straight line for pickup etc, but this is sweet. You can grab a random stick or piles of stuff. Was easy enough to pick up on the extra two buttons. I'm sure this will get a lot of work over the years and sure beats dragging stuff around by hand or with chains. If something is in your way, you just grab and it put it elsewhere. First thing I did was grab a couple rocks and a cinder block that I put the tongue of my trailer on and move them out of the way to pick up some tree limbs I had cut and been waiting to move until I got this thing.
Overall, so far I believe I have made the right choice. Time will tell. I can see myself wanting a larger tractor again in the future if I ever build and move to my property permanently, but I knew that before I did this. I may actually find that I really won't ever want a larger tractor as I really learn the limits and get good at operating this one. I'm always amazed at reading what folks here do with theirs.
On the new BX, I got the 60" MMM, FEL, a grapple, tiller, BB, and a used bush-hog that I haven't picked up. Also waiting for the tooth bar to arrive to add to the bucket. I've got about 10 hrs on it already. I've hooked up and unhooked every attachment numerous times already and it's pretty easy to do so. I built dollies for all the attachments so I can roll them around the shop and move them as needed. The only thing I haven't built a dolly for is the loader itself. It's just too heavy for wood and Lowe's castors. With it being a smaller machine and even before I put stuff on dollies, it is easier to hook stuff up to because you can manhandle stuff. I had the Pat's quick change on the L3800. I think I would like that again, but I haven't had any problems hooking stuff up on this new one. I don't necessarily like how the turnbuckles are where I have to loosen to get them out and around the pins, then tighten back up each time. System could be a little more beefy. Pat's would let me set one time and never worry about again. I'll say the top link really spins easily compared to the top link on the L though. The loader itself is quicker to remove and rehook. The quick attach on the bucket/grapple is not as quick attach as the one on the L either. I still have to remove pins, but not a terribly big deal.
Cutting: This mows much better than my JD L118 lawn tractor. A lot of times with the old lawnmower, I would have to make 2 passes on stuff to get it all cut even. I know it's early season right now, but this BX has such high blade speed that it doesn't miss anything and I can mow much faster speed-wise and also with the much bigger deck, make a lot less rounds. The deck height is easy to adjust. I mowed at my house and I mowed at my property where I used to bush hog. Just set it a little higher and put the pedal down. It steers like a dream and with 4X4 tackles every hill so much better. I got the rears filled for extra stability down low and it feels like a tank even though it's much smaller than my last tractor. I will easily side hill stuff that I never would on the L and with the mid-deck, I easily get around trees instead of backing up at angles, so it's a fair amount faster there, not to mention gives a really nice finish look. The only real con here is that the top spindle guards on the deck need to have the screws tightened regularly or you will lose them. They were very loose after running at my property and I had tightened them before taking it there after mowing my lawn. Watch for that. Maybe some lock-tite is in order. Also, not so much with my pasture areas, but with the lawn itself, this is a lot heavier than my old lawn mower, so I will have to make sure the ground isn't still damp before mowing so I don't tear it up with the R4's.
Box Blade work: Actually have used it very little on mine so far, but I used my brother's BX25D with identical box blade a couple months ago at his property. I really thought that it would be a joke in comparison, and it is smaller and lighter than what I had, but I was very surprised at how it would pull a full load of dirt. With it being lighter, it doesn't cut right into hard ground quite as good, but with a couple more passes, will get deep. And you can pull the full box with the smaller tractor. This is a 5' box. My old one was 6' and almost twice as heavy, so it would get a very aggressive initial dig comparatively, but this new one does work much better than I thought it would.
Tiller: I got the exact same tiller that I had with the L, but a 50" instead (10" narrower; otherwise identical). I wasn't going to buy one initially. My brother got the lighter 50" LP tiller with the shear pin. I used it at his property and was not impressed at all. The tines are 2" shorter and the shear pins break regularly. I found it frustrating. So when I got mine, I went ahead and spent the extra cash for the RTR1250. I must say, that I did worry about using it being less than a foot smaller, but having 15HP less on the tractor. Well I used it Sunday and did a large area and up a hill (that I ran sideways on as well) that I never would have done with the L. This set-up seemed very much more stable to me. The tiller never zapped too much power and the tractor handled it like a champ. This too me is the biggest surprise so far. I'm going to say that other than being narrower so having to make more rounds, this set-up is better than my last tractor and I'd prefer to do it this way. Actually, for food plotting in small areas, I can see this being a better set up all the way around. I removed the mower deck for this kind of work and any time I didn't want it in the way. Very easy to take off and re-install.
Loader: Obvious drawbacks here, but I knew there would be. The lift weight is surprising for the machine and with rear wheels filled and BB or tiller for ballast on the back, it will handle more than I thought it would. Must be very careful as with any tractor on how high you carry your load if on slopes. Fair amount less capacity overall, but I think very well matched to the machine and still very capable. Just will take a lot longer to move piles, etc. I don't have the tooth bar yet, so don't know how well it will dig, but with it being so much lighter, I suspect it will be acceptable, but lacking in what I'm used to for sure. It's smooth to operate and I didn't notice any real negatives except that I'm used to bigger scoops. The only thing I'll really ding it on here is that I do not like that the angles are less for dumping and curling. The bucket still empties fine, but I'm used to much steeper angles in both directions.
Grapple: Can't compare to the L3800 because I didn't have one with it. This thing is the cat's meow. I had been doing a bunch of pruning and privet cutting and I piled a ton of stuff up at the property in very little time. I'm still learning it and I think there's more functionality that I'm just now figuring out like back-raking to put stuff in a straight line for pickup etc, but this is sweet. You can grab a random stick or piles of stuff. Was easy enough to pick up on the extra two buttons. I'm sure this will get a lot of work over the years and sure beats dragging stuff around by hand or with chains. If something is in your way, you just grab and it put it elsewhere. First thing I did was grab a couple rocks and a cinder block that I put the tongue of my trailer on and move them out of the way to pick up some tree limbs I had cut and been waiting to move until I got this thing.
Overall, so far I believe I have made the right choice. Time will tell. I can see myself wanting a larger tractor again in the future if I ever build and move to my property permanently, but I knew that before I did this. I may actually find that I really won't ever want a larger tractor as I really learn the limits and get good at operating this one. I'm always amazed at reading what folks here do with theirs.
Last edited:
