Buying Advice tbn kubota guys hook a brother up on upgrade advise

[workinallthetime]

ok guys i have a bx23, i really need a bigger machine
dirt work is what i do so i dont give a @#$@@ about pto hp
i need a BH and FEL i dont really need a box blade even
i need ripper teeth aka tooth bar and ill build my own grade blade
mt dealer told me NO tractor mounted BH will dig like my bx unless i step up to a b26,L38, type.
I know some of you guys have moved beyond the bx to bigger stuff so does your bigger stuff dig as good or better than your bx did?
what would you suggest for a price range of 18-22k (20 would be perfect)

I was thinking 3030 but he said my bx would out dig that, thats hard for me to imagine considering the specs on the 3030 with the BH75

talk to me guys debate it prove it argue i dont care i just need the info from real people not overall wearin tractor salesman

 

[mikeyd]

For that kind of money you could buy a mini-excavator that will run circles around a backhoe. I have a KX-41, paid somewhere around 21k. If you are in the dirt business seems like it would make sense. May want to go a little bigger, KX-91 or maybe KX-121.

 

[workinallthetime]

ya but as much as I use a BH i use a FEL so want one machine to do both, i used a bobcat 337 (i think) man that was sweet and fast and I swear it could reach around and scratch its own back. Mini excavators are sweet just hard to move alot of soil from point a to point b with. I have rented them for some jobs.

 

[BrianW]

I think your dealer is slightly misinformed. Read Stef's comparison in this thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...upgrading-bx23-b3030-3.html?highlight=BX+BH75

 

[mikeyd]

ya but as much as I use a BH i use a FEL so want one machine to do both, i used a bobcat 337 (i think) man that was sweet and fast and I swear it could reach around and scratch its own back. Mini excavators are sweet just hard to move alot of soil from point a to point b with. I have rented them for some jobs.

I suppose you could keep the bx w/fel and sell the BH and use the money towards a mini. There is a huge market for used BH's.

No doubt a mini is designed to dig, not move piles of dirt from one place to another. To move dirt like that you do need a bucket. As far as bucket work goes, I have a 5030 HSTC with a FEL(853). It is essentially useless, the bucket is so far out in front of the tractor you can't see what it is doing, when there is any kind of weight in the bucket it is extremely tippy, even with weight on the back. As a result you have to go extremely slow and don't even think about uneven ground or you will end up trashing a 35k tractor.I think the smaller tractors have the advantage here with a lower center of gravity and the bucket being closer to the operator, even though the bucket is smaller. I did have a 3030 with a FEL before the 5030 and it was definetly more stable.All I am saying is you may want to demo a bigger tractor with a FEL before you buy. Incidentally, I got the FEL to hook up my curtis snowplow for my 1000ft driveway and for that purpose it works like a charm.

What I ended up doing for bucket work was buying my neighbors Bobcat skidsteer that he was going to trade in. I paid 15k for the machine, cab, tracks, high flow pump, 600 hours. There is no comparison between a tractor with a FEL and a tracked skidsteer. A tracked skidsteer is fast, easy to use(bucket is right in front of your eyes) and stable(safe).

My point is, maybe it is time to consider trading the bx on a mini and a skidsteer. In a business where time is money, I believe you will be further ahead in the long run.

 

[workinallthetime]

i would like to have a skid steer and a mini. i guess if i get big enough i will buy a small excavator, skid steer, tractor with fel and box blade and a 5500 series gmc to pull it all around or maybe just a cat backhoe dump truck and a skid steer. im a small fry right now and trying to build a business and the bx is doing it so maybe i shouldnt complain. i think im going to really look into the b3030 its still small enough to get into tight places yet almost doubles the power of the bx and has quick atach buckets. maybe that will be the next building block for my future. id like a b26 but thats 4 grand more. when you start talking about a bobcat and a mini you are really getting into some money because i would also need a bigger truck and trailer to haul them both to the work site. if i can sell my bx i can get into the b3030 for less a month than what im paying for the bx. however the faster i get done the less i get due to i charge by the hour. just made 1500 for 3 days work and that pays all the business bills for this month and part of next. i like your ideas but my pockets are not that deep yet.

 

[goneandbrokeit]

I was thinking 3030 but he said my bx would out dig that, thats hard for me to imagine considering the specs on the 3030 with the BH75

talk to me guys debate it prove it argue i dont care i just need the info from real people not overall wearin tractor salesman

I have an L3830 with BH90 and a B2630 with BH75. I am willing to bet simply because the 3030 weighs more and has more reach it would outperform the BX23. Clearly the TLB (B26, L39 etc) are a notch above for someone who doesn't care about PTO HP and intended usage is HD daily dirt work. That said if you are getting into the 3030 for less the BX23, why not? Unless a job has space constraints I have no doubt you could get more done with it.
Just re-read and saw the by hour thing, so hard to say. Maybe you could raise your rates since you could do more per hour or perhaps occasionally land a job you otherwise wouldn't bid on.

 

[kwolfe]

I would also think that given the increased weight, you would be able to dig faster. I was just looking at Kubota's website. You could consider a B21. Bucket lift capacity of 926lbs. The machine weighs 3836lbs with everything on it. Those machines are designed to do nothing but dig.