JD 2305 vs. BX24

[Raddad]

Who cares?

 

[archerynut]

OK, here's the update.

Went back to the better of the JD dealerships earlier today, some other stuff to do, and then took a look at a Montana tractor(whole other discussion though).

The JD dealership really impressed me today. Had a different salesperson and he seemed to really know his stuff. The dealer was in the process of mounting the 260 BH to the 2305 when I got there. This was the first BH that they had attached to a 2305. I got to see how the whole thing goes together, thought it was pretty neat. This dealer has a huge parts department, service was excellent, the salesman took quite a bit of time with me (1.5 hours, 1/2 hour after quitting time and never mentioned that it was time to go.) The parts department is huge and do have full time staff for parts. Also have full time shop workers, quite a big shop. Took a different 2305 w/o BH for test drive and had great time, even though it was 17 degrees. No free popcorn however, coffee I think. Funny thing was I got different prices from the same dealership for the same things than I was quoted 1 month ago. Some were higher, some were lower. Haven't really studied the numbers quite yet. I am going to go back after they have the BH ready to go to try that out.

Here are some questions that struck me after I had left today.
1. Do the rear wheels on the BX 24 need to be removed to hook up the 3PH. You have to remove the 3 PH to have BH on tractor, just wanted to know how hard it was to get it back on the tractor. The 2305 you have to remove both rear wheels to reattach 3PH arms.

2. The mower deck lift mechanism is attached to 3PH arms on both tractors (I think). This becomes an issue with the BH attached. IF you have the independent hydralic lift for the 2305 mower deck, it's no problem, but if you have the mechanical lift it is an issue b/c you have to lock the mower deck up and then remove 3PH arms. Don't know how the Kubota addresses this issue.

3. The BX you have to remove the grillguard to use the quick attach snow plow. The JD you don't have to remove the grill guard. Can the BX be modified so that the grill guard doesn't have to be removed. I would be annoyed about having to remove the grill guard and then put back on to do loader work. Don't want any dents in pretty new tractor.

Yes the fenders on the 2305 are plastic, and the Kubota dealer that I went to was excellent, had a big shop, full time sales, parts, service people (the same 3 people do all of it), no free popcorn, free coffee. The dealer was aware of the fender issue and had fixes for it, also aware of the battery cover issue, no real issue there anyways.

 

[aesanders]

1. Do the rear wheels on the BX 24 need to be removed to hook up the 3PH. You have to remove the 3 PH to have BH on tractor, just wanted to know how hard it was to get it back on the tractor. The 2305 you have to remove both rear wheels to reattach 3PH arms.

Are you sure about this? Most three point hitch's come off with a simple pin. My 2320's (which is fairly similar to the 2305) three point hitch can be removed in about 30 seconds.

P.S. the Massey Fergusen 2310's three point hitch does not need to be removed at all when attaching or removing the backhoe. It's a pretty nice unit itself in this class of machine.

 

[Volfandt]

1. Do the rear wheels on the BX 24 need to be removed to hook up the 3PH. You have to remove the 3 PH to have BH on tractor, just wanted to know how hard it was to get it back on the tractor. The 2305 you have to remove both rear wheels to reattach 3PH arms.

No. The BH can be mounted/dismounted without using any tools and takes perhaps 5 minutes once you've done it a time or three. Like the FEL they are very easy to mount/dismount.

2. The mower deck lift mechanism is attached to 3PH arms on both tractors (I think). This becomes an issue with the BH attached. IF you have the independent hydralic lift for the 2305 mower deck, it's no problem, but if you have the mechanical lift it is an issue b/c you have to lock the mower deck up and then remove 3PH arms. Don't know how the Kubota addresses this issue.

Yes, the MMM lift is connected to the 3PH which means the same lever controls both. That said, theres no problem having all 3 implements mounted at the same time on the BX24. I have a BX23 and have mowed with the FEL & BH mounted. Kubota does recommend not to operate the MMM on the BX24 w/the BH mounted but theres been several posters w/BX24s that do mow with them mounted.

3. The BX you have to remove the grillguard to use the quick attach snow plow. The JD you don't have to remove the grill guard. Can the BX be modified so that the grill guard doesn't have to be removed. I would be annoyed about having to remove the grill guard and then put back on to do loader work. Don't want any dents in pretty new tractor.

Can't answer that as we hardly get enough snow down here to justify a snow plow.( I already have a snow plow for my 856 Wheel Horse in the case where one is needed and an FEL won't work)
I do recommend to work both machines and their BH's.

Good luck and enjoy

 

[ducati996]

Here are some questions that struck me after I had left today.
1. Do the rear wheels on the BX 24 need to be removed to hook up the 3PH. You have to remove the 3 PH to have BH on tractor, just wanted to know how hard it was to get it back on the tractor. The 2305 you have to remove both rear wheels to reattach 3PH arms.

Im not saying this didnt happen for the dealer, but Im willing to bet either the tires werent at their widest setting prior to this, or things got confused when they had to install the power beyond kit (which the rear should be removed for access - and not necessarily on both sides).

I think removing the 3pt hitch as a standard procedure on the 2305, you should not have to remove the rear tires.

Anyway did you make a choice?

 

[archerynut]

When I was at the dealer they were mid installation. I may have got confused in the details and was looking for more clarification from anyone that has done anything like this before.

The dealer had just completed installing the power beyond kit, so both rear wheels were off at this point. From the previous post, I assume this is necessary to install the power beyond kit.

The service guy had the mower off at this point also, with the linkage for the mechanical mower lift in place still. The dealer was not going to put the mower back on the unit at this time because they were going to get an independent lift for the tractor and then install it.

The service guy was in the process of getting all the parts together to install the subframe mount to the tractor. The rod that holds the two lower arms was out and he was pondering what to do next, it was this first time he installed this BH on a 2305. He seemed to think that both rear wheels would have to be off to put the 3 PH back on.

We then got sidetracked with snowplows and I never did go back to see more of the install of the BH unit. I was going to check it all out when I returned from vacation and then ask again about hooking up the 3PH. There may have some things that came up with the install after I had left.

Still can't seem to make a decision, Green or orange.

 

[BleedGreen]

archerynut,

Were you able to demo both units with the backhoes installed yet?

 

[_RaT_]

Its still an issue with the BX24- just from reading the posts on this site. Sorry Deere dosent offer plastic in crictical areas such as a floor board or fenders. Denpending on the model the hood is 50% or more metal as well

Sorry Ducati, Deere does offer plenty of plastic in plenty of areas on plenty of machines. Ever look at the TLB 110, or even the large industrials. Plenty of plastic everywhere. That however in my opinion is not necessarily a bad thing and in many instances, I think preferable to the tin foil some call metal on todays tractors. Now ask me about the use of cast aluminum on rear axle casings where lower links tie in. You want weak....

 

[_RaT_]

Last year when I went tractor hunting, I visited Blue, Green And Red dealers. I gave kubota and deere the greatest consideration based on my research here at TBN before my purchase. For many reasons, I eventually purchased a JD3120 because I felt it met my needs and expectations better. I did try the kubota line but around here, they weren't priced any better than the deeres and felt much flimsier. I had a long conversation with the kubota dealer and took a credit app home. I even considered the BX tractor given the very attractive all-in-one price but decided the better of it. For me, it was too small, the tires too small, and the loader wasn't nearly as sturdy feeling as I expected. How do I know? Well, all I did was shake it and kicked it, and it rattled and shook side to side, much more so than I believed it should. I thought that if I could do that with my weak 155lb frame, well then my fears and imagination took over about it's durability and for what might happen during heavy use. I did the same to the deere models that I tried and they felt much more hefty. The deeres appeared more stylish to me although I did like the looks of the 3030 tractor, which I considered too pricey. The curved deere loader arms were more attractive and I felt provided better visibility. The hydraulics of the kubota seems to have greater output compared to deere but I'm not sure you would be comparing oranges to apples (green). The deeres hydraulics have a dual pump for seperate steering/implement while I believe the Kubota has a shared system. This could mean that the implement speed might slow when operated simultaneously with steering or the steering might be jerky. You'll want to check this for yourself. I also liked the fact that the deeres have real automotive style halogen headlamps which the kubota didn't have. Justified or not, they were the deciding factors for me. If you like the BX, you'll want to make sure you get one with the new style fenders. I believe there is or was an ongoing fender/floorboard cracking issue with this model. Obviously, there are a lot of loyal and happy kubota owners. But I am happy with my tractor and am not about to second guess my purchase. I believe I made the right decision and am very happy with it thus far. As far as price. Well, I got a much bigger and featured tractor in the JD3120 compared to the BX for about the same price but I lose the backhoe. Yes, the BH is an option but the $8k - $9k would break the bank. Rather, I felt that I would value and use other implements much more than the BH and I felt that renting a backhoe for the occassional use (for hundreds) but have a more significant tractor for the remaining 99% of it's more likely use was a more practical option. Of course every dealer I spoke to told me that from experience, one should always go with the bigger of the tractors they are leaning towards. I believe this is true as I am already thinking bigger.... Having used my tractor, I now am convinced that I would not have been satisfied with the size of the BX and would have been longing for a bigger one in short order. But maybe that's just me...

The bottom line is I bought the tractor that I liked better. Since both lines are considered excellent products, I think you should just buy the one you like better. It's your hard earned money, just make sure you get the one you are happy with.

Almost all manufactuers offer at least a dual hydraulic pump. One for steering the other for implement. The BX I believe does not. That can be good or bad depending on how you use your tractor. With a relatively light tractor, it is less of a concern. The advantage is that with the BX's pump rated at 6.3 GPM versus the JD 2305 at 2.7 or 2.3 GPM as I recall, you can expect faster loader cycles when not turning. The down side would be that in a turn with a load, while using the loader, steering may be more difficult. Rather then concern myself with things like this, my concern would be over the simaltaneous use of the loader lift/lower and dump curl function. I was using a JD 790 once where I could not do a lower/curl at the same time. Thinking there was something wrong, I checked into it only to find that model did not offer it. A real minus for one who uses the loader considerably. I do not know if the BX or the JD 2305 offer this. It would be a deal killer for me. You guys do have me curioous about the 2305 and I will have to check it out. What is the HST like? Smooth, quiet, made of aluminum or cast iron? Rat.

 

[ducati996]

Sorry Ducati, Deere does offer plenty of plastic in plenty of areas on plenty of machines. Ever look at the TLB 110, or even the large industrials. Plenty of plastic everywhere. That however in my opinion is not necessarily a bad thing and in many instances, I think preferable to the tin foil some call metal on todays tractors. Now ask me about the use of cast aluminum on rear axle casings where lower links tie in. You want weak....

Sounds like to me that you are moving from plastic fenders to aluminum housings - totally different subjects. I know the aluminum housings exists in the compact line that are built by Yanmar. Not by coincedence they are probably the most reliable in the industry, havent heard of a single case where they seperated or showed weakness. Models 2210, 4010, 4100,4110,4115, 2320,2305,2520 could be a few other models but what I listed compares to the Kubota models mentioned earlier or at least the class.

from what I have seen and read on the board the 110 is an awesome machine. Nobody see's the plastic as a negative...

So overall I really dont see the point you were making - or more directly you failed to make one

Duc