Comparison BX 25 or B3200

   / BX 25 or B3200 #101  
Jimme,

Put that 225Lbs and 6'2" frame to work poping the stumps in the bucket for you. Also compact them as much as possible - have your son inside the dumpster "configuring" the stumps for best fit versus just dumping them in. I would opt for an open end dumpster you can drive in and thus pack them in until the final few feet.

On the pistons - nothing to worry about they are chromed and are meant to be outside but if unused for a long period I would cover with a tarp - maybe get one of those hoop type shelters if its going to be a long time before you have a outbuilding to store it.

Have fun digging and working this weekend - both you Jim's and let me know how the RR turns our Jim W..

Carl
 
   / BX 25 or B3200
  • Thread Starter
#102  
If I can find him today I'll use him. Might have to do it myself. Gonna be a hot one today for sure!
 
   / BX 25 or B3200
  • Thread Starter
#103  
Have not checked in for a while. How are things with your new tractor? I really like my 3200. My family is teasing me about being on it all the time. I'm waitning to get some $ together I really want to get the ratchet rake, help me out with all this brush. Heading back to NC for the 4th.
I did - I've been meaning to start a thread on that whole adventure.

I came back from vacation on the 29th of May. I had a U-Haul trailer reserved for the 30th and I had my father lined up to help me go pick up the tractor. So a couple of days before - I got an email from U-Haul, saying that I had to go to a different location to pickup the trailer from the original one where I reserved it. The original location was directly on the way to the tractor dealer - the new location is like 15 miles - in the opposite direction.

So that was the first thing that didn't go right.

I pickup my father, whose on the way to the U-Haul location - go get the trailer - and head towards the tractor dealer.

I stop at the bank and pickup the $$ to pay for it. That went as expected.

I get to the tractor dealer - and walk in the front door, and the salesguy is there to greet me. I tell him I was there to pick up the tractor. I could tell immediately that wasn't what he expected to hear come out of my mouth. Bear in mind that I thought we were in complete agreement that on the 30th I was going to show up to get the thing. So he tells me: "can you give me a couple of hours?". And he gives me $20.00 to go out and get some lunch. He also says that they still haven't gotten the backhoe bucket in - and they haven't gotten the thumb assembly in yet either. I told him that was no problem - I would take the tractor without them and come get them later when they arrived.

So that was the 2nd and 3rd things that got screwed up.

So we go out to lunch - spend about an hour there, and then I start thinking: "I wonder if that tractor is actually going to fit on the U-Haul trailer" - Because the trailer isn't a full bed - it's just basically got two "tracks" where the wheels of the car would go - and the middle of the trailer is just open. So we get back to the dealer and start measuring (they had a 3300SU sitting in the display area) - and sure enough - the track of the tractor wheels isn't wide enough to actually get the tires into the track on the trailer. So now we're not taking the tractor home today whether they get it done or not.

This was the 4th thing that got screwed up (this one was my fault)

So I headed in and found the salesman and told him the "tractor no fit on trailer" news. And he tells me that they have another problem - the toothbar I ordered doesn't fit on the FEL bucket because they changed the cutting bar on the lower edges. They've got to get a different toothbar in.

That was the 5th thing that got screwed up.

So he tells me that they can deliver it - probably on Friday. So at least I'm hoping now that will go right.

So we take care of all the paperwork and payment and so forth and that at least goes ok. Then they gave me the tour of the whole tractor - that probably took an hour or so. And we head home - drop off the trailer, etc.

Friday comes - and they were scheduled to call me about 11am, and I hear nothing. I asked them to call because I was at work and needed to head home to meet the delivery guy once I know he's coming. So I call around 11:30 after I get out of a meeting and they say they will be there around 1. I wait til almost the last minute and leave work and haul *** down the highway - and there it is: the truck with the tractor is literally waiting at the light for my exit off the highway. I zoomed past the guy at the light and got home a few minutes before he showed up.

He drops off the tractor - gives me the paperwork package, etc. And heads out. I took the tractor for quick spin - and just dragged the bucket on the gravel driveway real quick to smooth out a rough area - and after doing that I'm looking at the bucket - and the thing looks crooked.

So I take a closer look - and one of the lower pins on the FEL quick attach is missing.

We're now at the 6th screwup.

I call the dealer on my way back to work and let him know the pin is missing and he says they'll call me back. He calls back like a half hour later - and they can't find the pin. I know for 100% sure that I don't have it because the tractor literally only moved about 30 feet - from the end of the ramp truck and down my driveway.

Plus they don't have any in stock. So he has to order one. Which they did and had it in by the next day.

Oh yeah - and then it rained out here for like 5 days straight. So I didn't get anything done.

It's been ok weather the last couple of days - so I've been coming home at night and using the tractor to move the big pile of granite wall stone I had sitting in my front yard - I'm almost done with that. I'll be heading up to the dealer on Saturday to (hopefully) finally pick up the bucket and thumb for the backhoe, and hopefully they will have a toothbar for the FEL bucket for me too.

I definitely like this tractor - it does a lot more work than my BX23 did. Bigger bucket lets me move things faster - and the extra lift capacity is great for moving some of these big rocks. I'm noticing the vibration that a number of people have mentioned with the B3200. At some point in the future I will probably look into doing some of that tuning I've seen mentioned in some other threads to get the engine to run more smoothly

My biggest thing now is getting more seat time and I've got a list of mods I want to do. First on the list is adding some storage so I can have a place to store chains, gloves, etc. right on the tractor. When I get that squared away I'll post a how to.

I've got 2 and a half hours on it. The weather around here is supposed to be nice this weekend so I will probably be able to put another 2 or 3 hours on it this weekend digging up stumps and moving some dirt piles etc.
 
   / BX 25 or B3200
  • Thread Starter
#104  
Hey how are all the tractor guys doing? Thanks for all the tips on using the 3200, cannot find enough time to do everything I want. Hope you are all doing well. Have a great 4th of July!
 
   / BX 25 or B3200 #105  
Have not checked in for a while. How are things with your new tractor? I really like my 3200. My family is teasing me about being on it all the time. I'm waitning to get some $ together I really want to get the ratchet rake, help me out with all this brush. Heading back to NC for the 4th.

I've only got about 11 hours on it so far - but I'm happy with it. Glad I upgraded from the BX23 - the higher capacity limits of the B3200 have really helped. I took the backhoe off the other day - and I have to say: that was a major PITA. I thought it was a lot harder than doing the same thing on the BX23, mostly because the upper pins just didn't want to come out unless I got the backhoe positioned just right to take the strain off of them.
 
   / BX 25 or B3200 #106  
Jim W - I was wondering about that U setup with the pins on the removal and replacement. The older design (like the B21) used a lot more moving parts but is nearly "automatic" with the clamping mechanism but a lot more costly to fabricate. Maybe a press with a hydraulic jack? Or brass pin and hammer?
 
   / BX 25 or B3200 #107  
Jim W - I was wondering about that U setup with the pins on the removal and replacement. The older design (like the B21) used a lot more moving parts but is nearly "automatic" with the clamping mechanism but a lot more costly to fabricate. Maybe a press with a hydraulic jack? Or brass pin and hammer?

After using this setup on the B3200/BH77 *new* - I'm missing the setup I had on the BX23. Sounds like BX23 had the same kind of setup the B21 had. It was a four point, with the lower "pins" just dropping into pockets - then the upper connections were sort of "claw" that clamped around a round pin that was part of the mount setup on the tractor. Once you pulled the retaining pin and pulled the wedge back - the 'claw' just sort of automatically released the pin on the tractor and the backhoe levered back. The only problem I really had with mine - was that I literally didn't take the backhoe off for years - the tractor sat outside for a while - and when I went to take the hoe off I had use a piece of 2x4 to beat the "wedge" back and release the pins. I lubed it all up after that - and it worked fine.

You could press out the upper pins on the B3200 I guess - I ended up just moving the hoe around to try and losen the pin up - and then was able to beat it out with a mallet. That was the other part of the problem - the pins need to be extracted inward (away from the tires) - and it's not easy to get a swing onto the pin - it's directly behind the tire and there's only about may 8-10 inches of swing room - and my tractor has the rear wheel spacers.

The other problem I found was - the fit between the backhoe subframe and the 3 point mounting stubs (for the lower arms) - is extremely tight. I had to sort of turn the swivel ball on the inner part of the lower arms at angle to get them to slide onto the mounting stubs. I still like the B3200 - but it's not perfect.
 
   / BX 25 or B3200 #108  
I still like the B3200 - but it's not perfect.

I've bought 13 Kubotas trying to find the perfect one from the smallest BX1500 and BXs and Bs in between up to an L3240 Grand. Haven't found the single ONE yet.
First off, I don't farm, I do home landscaping on rocky, treed hillside and maintain flat rental property.
I have found the BEST mower and that is a Kubota F series. I've found the BEST all around small tractor and that's a Kubota BX25 and I've found the BEST fun workhorse and it's a Kubota RTV1140.
Now this is just one mans opinion (mine) from my hands on experience of trying 13 different Kubotas in nine years on my property meeting my needs. I currently have 5 Kubotas so I guess I don't think there is one perfect machine to do different jobs. I do think there is the BEST machine for a specific task as I've stated here. But even those BEST for the specific task are not perfect, in my opinion.
 
   / BX 25 or B3200 #109  
I have had my B3200 for about a year and a half now (upgraded from a BX24) and while initially the two top pins were a bit of hassel to get out and back in. After having had the BH on and off probably 30 times in that time frame(I also have a 3pt blower, back blade, tiller, and mower) it seems to have gotten much easier (I can unmount/mount the Bh in under 5 minutes now - which I find acceptable). One thing I did from the beginning was to use a teflon based lube to keep the pins moving freely. Generally now, if I have any difficulty, it is when I remount the BH (mainly due to hydraulic bleed down after it is removed). But I just use a rubber mallet to gently coax the pins back in. The B3200 isn't the perfect tractor, but it beats a shovel and wheelbarrow any day.
 
   / BX 25 or B3200
  • Thread Starter
#110  
JimWilson and everyone else,

I havent taken the backhoe off yet but it looks like I will soon. The ratchet rake will have to wait. A friend of mine whose Dad passed away is selling me a rake, plow blade, and brush hog attachments all for $500.00.His tractor is too big to use these attachments. Cannot turn that deal down and he truly is a friend. Feel bad about his dad but the attachments will go to good use. He also has a couple of augers for the tractor, 6" and another 8". Said he will let me have the post digger and augers for "a few hundred". Even my wife is excited as she knows our land will get cleaned up quicker with these attachments. I'm stoked!
 

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