Mowing Kubota BX24. Real tractor or a glorified lawn mower?

[bx24d]

6+ acres, hilly, long gravel driveway to maintain. Had my bx24 for 3 years now. Seems to me it is the most versatile, least expensive alternative for what most of us, who are posting in this particular thread, need to accomplish(personal property/small estate/ < 10 ac. jobs). Whenever you have the most versatile unit out there, there will always be alternatives that can do one or two jobs better. That comes with the territory. For instasnce, Kioti may have better hydraulics and more heft for roughly same size / horsepower tractor, etc. Overall, I'm happy with my BX. I may want a bigger tractor sometimes, but if I really had the option to trade her in for a larger unit, all things considered, I'd be making a mistake if I did.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Considering you have a good mower and are going to keep it, I would look toward the B series.

 

[bp fick]

32 posts later and not a word from Tom K, the OP.

 

[Tom K---Semper Fi]

Hey, c'mon; don't knock "Garden Tractors" (-:
There is a recent post with pictures of a garden tractor plow day and - sure, they are only pulling one bottom plows, but they ARE plowing.

As to back-hoe use, well they ARE light, there is no getting away from that.
How much time pressure you are under, how much you are willing (/able) to spend, how ambitious you are about trenching and digging stumps, etc, all comes into the equation.
Hoes are probably the most expensive attachment and while they have HUGE potential many of them don't get very much use.
It is often quicker, cheaper, easier to "have the guy come" (-:

There is an 80% rule worth considering, it goes approximately like this;
Buy the equipment that can do 80% of the work you WILL do, hire out the rest.
NOTE: The work you WILL do, not the work you fantasize about doing.

Reg,

Ya just HAD to introduce pure logic into this huh? My wife laughed out loud and asked me when you and I had met when I read her the part about the work you(I) WILL do not the work you(I) fantasize about doing .

 

[ultrarunner]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, they are easy to work on, if you are mechanically inclined.

kj

Also fuel sipping... A 5 gallon jug of Diesel is more than enough for most weekend projects...

A heaping loader is about a 1/4 yard.

 

[donn12]

I love my BX and I think it is perfect for almost any use. A B with a BH would also be nice but was about 6k more. The only times I have ever wished for a bigger tractor I did not wish for one or two or even three sizes up.

 

[Tom K---Semper Fi]

All kidding aside, I really appreciate the input. I'm still swinging back and forth a bit, but since I (as my wife puts it) "demand that my tools perform" I'll probably end up with a B series tractor. What you guys said about the BX series doing the same jobs just slower was a really inportant piece of information. As much as I hate to admit it when my wife is right, if the tool I'm using doesn't perform well (be it tractor, hand tool or power tool), I get frustrated and lose interest in doing the job.

Once again thanks for the input, it's been very helpful. I'll add a post when I've finally made my decision.

Tom

 

[LBrown59]

1*I like the size of the BX24, but I'm concerned that it's only a glorified lawn tractor .
2*I can't help but wonder "why are there so many BX tractors with low hours (42 in the case of the BX24 I recently found) being sold"?
3*Having so many BX tractors up for sale tells me that a lot of people weren't satisfied with it's performance.
4*Does anyone out there have any opinions and/or experience using the BX tractors? Thanks

1*That is an underserved comment since they are far from that .
2*The BX is the most popular tractor out there.
There are more BXs sold than JD and MF Sub compacts put to gether.
3*What it says to me is the bigger the used pool the more there are availability.
4*I have lots of ecperience with these 3 BXs.

OVER 1200 hours on the BX 23 alone.

 

[Bamacummins]

See this thread: John Thomas was a big help to me in my decision making. So far, my new BX 2660 does anything I want it too. Mostly mowing at this point, but soon to start the building project (new house) and expect to use it much more. I am very happy with my decision and fits my needs.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/148830-b3200-bx2660-side-side-not.html

 

[DelSc]

Not much new to add really. The BX's are great machines. I had a BX24 and traded up to a B3030 this fall primarily to get a cab for snow blowing. The BX really did everything I needed it to but like everyone said in smaller bites. I have 15 acres of mixed woods and open fields. I use the tractor for mowing, snow blowing, tilling, driveway grading, material spreading, and the occasional tree skidding. I used the backhoe primarily for tree stump removal and some small digging projects in fairly sandy soil. The main limitations I found were

1) Less ground clearance on the BX, so I had to be careful when bush hogging in certain areas of the property.

2) the BX is pretty light so the backhoe and loader can only be so strong. It requires more digging to free up a stump with the BX than the B, and the lifting capacity of the loader for large logs or boulders is limited. The BX can lift heaping buckets of dirt and materials, so the loader's limits only comes into play when you want to lift heavy objects with it. It is still surprising what you can move around with it though.

3) The 3pt hitch is easier to use on the B. The hitch components themselves are easier to adjust and the B3030 has position control which I found to be really useful.

Everything is a compromise, so the things I gave up going to a B are

1) obviously I had to shell out more $$ers for the B, but a lot of the extra was due to the cab.

2) the B is a little bigger so it is harder to get into tight spaces with the MMM and the snow blower. I mostly notice this mowing near the house and in corners. I can mow faster on the B, but have to do a little more trimming afterwards so I think its a wash.

3) The BX took up less real estate in the garage. Attachments/implements are lighter so easier to move around than with the B. This is probably the biggest drawback for me so I am devising a plan to build a proper shed for the new one. ;-)

4) The cab is great, but I had to trim a bunch of low tree limbs in the sections I mow, and have to be ultra careful in the woods. Not really a BX vs B issue.

Hope this helps. I would say the BX is a lot more than a glorified lawn mower but as everyone already said, it really boils down to what you want to do with a tractor and how much you want to spend. I notice the dealer near me often has used BXs on the lot that came in from trades, but I also notice that they don't sit around very long.