BX2350 or BX24? (Backhoe or not)

[JWK1]

We're really struggling with this one. I'm not positive about the choice being Kubota, and the issue of this thread is really about buying with a BH or not, so I put it in this forum rather than the Kubota section.

I'm wondering if I will use the BH much past this first year when I get a handful of projects out of the way. I'm on five acres now, but we plan on being on at least 10 acres and probably more like 20 acres in three years or so. Mini farming stuff. Couple of goats, sheep, pigs, some rabbits, chickens, etc. Fencing to do, no haying. Pasture to take care of.

So I'm wondering if I would be overbuying with the BX24. I could get the BX2350 and afford a couple of more implements I *know* I will use year after year.

So I thought I would throw this out and see what ya'll think. How many have bought a tractor with a BH and realized after a couple of years they overbought? How many did the opposite? What do ya'll think about the small BH on the BX24? Expensive toy or useful tool you never regret having?

Just trying to get a feel from people with some experience. I've never owned any tractor before so this stuff is hard to figure sometimes.

Thanks for any help/advice.

 

[peterc38]

Personally, IMO if you are going to have 10 and then 20 acres 3 years down the road, I would sub out the digging/excavation stuff and then I would be looking at a much bigger tractor than a BX, including looking at used tractors depending on your budget.

 

[NJDiverDan]

I agree that 20 acres may be a little much on a BX. That being said, I have the BX24 and have used the Hoe much more than I thought I ever would. I have another handful of Hoe projects for this summer as well, and some already planned for the following years. And we are only on just over 2 acres. The hoe on the BX24 is fairly capable. I have not hit anything I could not dig through. It is slower than a bigger hoe, and cannot tear through as big or as many roots, but still gets the job done. For 20 acres though I would be thinking up a could sizes.

 

[JWK1]

I appreciate the responses. To put things in perspective, I don't anticipate working 20 acres, just having them. If I manage to get 20 acres at least 10 of it would be hardwood for home heating. I'd still be pretty much working 5 acres like I am now.

 

[fishpick]

JWK1 - I bought a BX24 back a few - and had the same process in mind as you.
I'll share my thoughts and discoveries.
We were on a small lot (shy of 1 acre) and were planning on buying acerge... the plan was to get a tractor that could travel via trailer from the house to the lot to work on the site excavation over a few years... driveway, some clearing, basic grading... slow and steady... and also get things done around the existing house.
As we stood at the Kubota dealer with the same two models in-front of us as your decision (mainly because for the lot we had - anything bigger than this size would have been silly) - my wife finally blurted out - "get the one with the backhoe because I don't want to hear about it for years to come." The logic was - and there is some logic to it, you always see it here in the forums - you COULD rent a backhoe for less, a lot of time, before you would pay for the BX24... however - when's the last time you rented a backhoe as opposed to dig by hand for hours on end? There is something to be said about the convenience of having your own. And that price on time - and the application you will find for it ($50 and a case of beer from a neighbor to dig a small hole). Since my wife is a gardener - the hoe has made the adding trees and shrubs a snap - as well as letting me move things for here from hole A to hole B back to A - without breaking a sweat.
So we went with the BX24 - and used the BH for more things that you could imagine - and kept finding new uses for it...
Then - out of the blue - we found a dream house on 35 acres... and moved.
Now I have the BX24 - about 20 acres of field to bush hog with the mini-4' hog... about 4/10ths of a mile of driveway to snow blow, in reverse, with a 52" snow thrower... about 3 acres of grass to mow with the 60" belly mower... and about a 1 acre garden plot to manage with the plow and 5' disk set... And this is all from moving in in late June!
The field is back breaking work from the seat of a small tractor with a short wheelbase - it bumps you around a lot - but it can do it.
The driveway is a long - cold - road to clear... but it can do it.
The yard is big - and the 60" deck does a great job.
The tractor can engage the ground - but the lift arms don't lower as far as they should for deep soil work.

I like Kubota as a brand - I think they make really solid gear (yes the BX24 started with some minor issues - and Kubota fixed every last one of them).

The BX24 can do almost anything a bigger tractor can do (so can the 2350 - just no backhoe)... but it will take longer - and likely punish you a little more.

If the decision is between a 24 and a 2350 - I think the backhoe is a great attachment that gets used a lot (remeber it doubles nicely as your counterbalance for the FEL). I'd go with the 24. If you are not going anywhere for a few years (like my plans worked out so well ), get the 24 and then buy the other attachments as you find them.

If you know you will be on the bigger plot sooner than later - go bigger now - and save yourself some of the frustrations I have.

I think there is a lot of truth in the statement - "It's very hard to over buy something - and too easy to under-buy something"... I like that saying because I just made it up.

Best of luck.

 

[Tompet]

JWK1,
I also looked at the BX 23 at the time, but purchased a Massey Ferguson 2310 TLB (a new version coming out this March) but anyway, I knew I wanted a front end loader and I justified getting a TLB by saying the backhoe would be the toy or treat to myself. Now? I wouldn't think of parting with it. It has been great! You won't be sorry. I also agree that with a larger acreage you may want to have a larger machine, but given their size, these are capable machines. The engineering and ease of attachment/removal of FEL and BH is also impressive.
TP

 

[Jimmyp5]

I have 4 acres, a BX 24, and find the backhoe is used a lot. And like other poster, I get calls all the time for hea can that baby tractor get in and dig out my septic tank so we can replace the lid...lol. Or my wife wants more trees... $50 and a bottle of good wine in my case and the job is done.

Just don't let the wife see how easy it is to put in trees... my wife made me put in over 30 new 5 - 6 foot trees, and irrigation system...LAST JAN! But with the backhoe to do all the digging, it was not too bad.

 

[Camo]

Same situation here....Debating.....I think I'll end up with the BX24 as well over the 2350.

 

[asylum575]

Kicked around looking at all the subcompacts. One of the nice things about the BX24 or the Massey GC2310 is how well they integrated the backhoe. Now since you narrowed your search to Kubota and are looking at the BX24and 2350, what is the price difference. If I remember correctly the difference is under $4000, maybe closer to $3500. If you go with the 2350 and want the BH later, it's $5-6000 for a Kubota BH or a Woods BH. I love my BX24. Just this weekend I was tooling around out back and was trying to cut up an old tree the came down. It's been there a while, way before I bought the house. It was an eyesore, I always saw it. Well, 24" diameter and probably 60 ft long. I cut it up in three 20 foot pieces and pushed it away. I decided then a there that I want a couple of hooks welded on to hook chain to it. Used the backhoe to slowly roll and lift the log to cut it.
Anyway, the price of the backhoe really comes down in the BX24 package. Really nice to have it.

 

[the_sandman_454]

I think even at 5 acres, but especially at 10 or 20 acres, depending on how much of your time is available for tractor work, you might easily find the quantity of work to be too much for the SCUT class tractors.

To put it into my personal perspective, I have 20 acres roughly 1/2 wooded and bought a 30hp (PTO) CUT. On occasion I find myself wanting to kick myself for not having stepped up to a fullsize utility class machine and a zero turn mower or inexpensive lawn tractor for the lawn.

That's not to say my JD3520 won't get the tasks I want done, but on some tasks it just takes longer than I'd like. It's also not to say that the subcompact class tractor won't get your jobs done. I just wanted to suggest that going for the smallest machine that will do what you want on paper can really start to seem like a mistake when you factor your time into the equation, as well as an honest (to yourself) assessment of the duties of the machine and what you can or can't live without.