BX2370 on hills.

[ChuckSowers]

I have a 6 acre place in Southeast Ohio. It's a very hilly place. I am considering
buying a 2014 BX2370 with a 60" belly mower and a 48" brush cutter. I have a
couple of questions.

How do these machines do on hills? My field has some places where the grade
might be 25% or more. Should I expect any tipover problems? Should I
consider wheel spacers to afford more width of the tractor. I'll be using ag tires.

Also, should I consider a skid plate of any kind? I may be going into the woods
from time to time to pull out logs for firewood. Many owners have talked about
the hydro fan needing to be protected. My dealer says this is an old issue that
Kubota has fixed on the current model.

I really appreciate these forums. And thank you all in advance for your help and
answers.

Chuck

 

[Code54]

Having or had a L3700, MX5100, B7610 and BX25 I personally have found the BX to be the best on the hills. We are pretty darn hilly in WV and I have some VERY steep grades that I mow and the BX is GREAT for that (loader and backhoe off). The belly mower takes the center of gravity down and filled tires also help. The B series while a nice machine was far more "tippy" on the side hills than the BX. I don't have spacers right now but also thought about putting them on just for when the backhoe is on (must less stable due to the high weight of course).
The MX is the best in the woods hands down - VERY wide and well planted. The L was good in the woods but not not even close in terms of stability. While the BX has low clearance I can't say I have had any real problems due to the clearance. I mostly leave the mower on and just tread carefully and have not bottomed it out yet. I just due 150' of 3" deep trench down through my woods for gutter drains off the house and never had an issue (VERY steep hill - can't even think of going across it with the backhoe on) and fairly rough but with some forethought I was able to get everywhere without issue.
Out of all the machines the B7610 (while a great machine) was my least favorite - The BX25 is the most versatile by far but can't hold a candle to what the MX can accomplish due to sheer size.
Good luck on your search

 

[Panik]

I have a 6 acre place in Southeast Ohio. It's a very hilly place. I am considering
buying a 2014 BX2370 with a 60" belly mower and a 48" brush cutter. I have a
couple of questions.

I have a BX2360 with FEL, 60" MMM, and 48" brush cutter that I purchased new end of 2012/beginning of 2013 so I can at least share with you my impressions as someone who has not owned any other tractor.

I have a reasonable number of inclines on my property and the the other properties I have used it on (MIL's, as well as neighbors). Yes, you can tip these tractors if you are not careful (i.e. driving across slopes, not focusing on your surroundings, improper weight distribution). I have given myself a couple of scares doing stupid things. That being said I would imagine you can run into the same issues with the B series tractors as a result of the same lack of attention to safety. I have found the bx2360 to a wonderful machine for my purposes (mowing, material handling/landscaping, light brush cutting) in that general order. If yard mowing (3+ acres) was not my focus and I was planning on taking my tractor into the woods more frequently, or if I was more focused on groundwork. I might consider for something a little wider with more clearance.

A BX has only 9" of ground clearance. If you add a skid plate you will reduce ground clearance to <9". Not much ground clearance for woods work.

With respect to ground clearance and skids plates. While the bx series does have a comparatively low ground clearance, and the HST fan is a concern it is a relatively trivial issue to purchase or fabricate a skid plate that will not decrease the tractors clearance. I made one out of expanded mesh that hooks into the belly mower lift arms for about $20.00. It fulfills my needs of providing reasonable protection and does not reduce the clearance in any functional manner. While I do take my bx into the woods, if I was going through nasty stuff or planning on hogging serious materials I would look for a larger tractor.

I love my little tractor. I makes my time mowing much much more enjoyable and allows me to do things I would not otherwise be able to do. About the only two issues I could want to change would be a better ride/seat, and that I had purchased a BX TLB instead just the FEL combo. It really comes down to what your primary needs are. If your going to be using to mow more than anything than the bx, or similar sized competitor, is hard to beat as an all implement. If other duties take more priority you may want to look at a slightly large or more powerful machine.

 

[ChuckSowers]

Thanks Panic,

My main purpose for the machine IS to mow about 3 acres around my house and barn. I currently use a riding mower for this. Secondly, I will use it to brush cut about 3 acres once or twice a year. Other than that, I will be using it to maintain my driveway which is about 1000 feet of gravel uphill. Yeah, it will hit the woods to pull out firewood, but I can be very cautious when doing that. I might even pull a tiller behind it for garden chores from time to time. I've had bigger Kubota tractors on my other farms, but I just don't see the need on this little bit of property.

I like the idea of just using expanded metal for the fan protection. Any chance that you have a picture that you could share of how you did yours?

 

[ChuckSowers]

Code, I'm really glad to hear that you think it can handle the hills. I'm in the Marietta area of Ohio, so our hills are very similar to yours in Putnam County.

 

[dragoneggs]

I haven't mowed with my BX25D but have abused it hard on my extreme sloped property putting about 180hrs on it so far since June of last year. I added a skid plate and wheel spacers. I have driven over more sticks and small logs, pulled stumps, pushed burn piles (lit), terraced 30deg slopes, built retaining walls, and moved 100+ yards of dirt and gravel, and have had more than enough 'tippy' moments. You can research a few of my threads started such as retaining walls to see what it can do. Lots of pictures posted.

The BX is an incredible little machine. I honestly don't see how someone could be using their machine on more slope than I have but I could be wrong. As I said, put wheel spacers and a skid plate on and don't worry about whether the BX can do it... the limitations are with the operator.

 

[ChuckSowers]

Dragoneggs, what brand of wheel spacers did you use? I see a lot of folks talking about Bro-Tek spacers and skid plates. I'm so happy to hear that you've worked it on hills. Where I live, there is NO such thing as flat ground!

 

[Panik]

Chuck here is the skid plate I threw together.



I was pressed for both time and money otherwise I would likely purchased something from Bxpanded or Brotek. Both outfits make quality products for appropriate prices. That being said I'm pretty happy with the skid plate as a first metal fabricating project. I needed it on short notice to do a bit of work at my wife's family's vacation home. Some kids kicked the tack room door in and we figured a bit of property maintenance might deter future shenanigans.

Anyways if I were to do it again I would make the front arms so that they hooked to bolts that I would permanently mount on the bx's frame. Also I would have made the skid plate just a touch deeper in depth (~1/4"-1/2") in order to accomadate the linkage for the forward/reverse pedal.

*I've also thought about going with wheel spacers like Dragoneggs mentioned. I just haven't gotten around to it as of yet.

 

[dragoneggs]

Dragoneggs, what brand of wheel spacers did you use? I see a lot of folks talking about Bro-Tek spacers and skid plates. I'm so happy to hear that you've worked it on hills. Where I live, there is NO such thing as flat ground!

I bought BroTek wheel spacers and rear and mid skid plates. I put 2in spacers on the back and 1.25in on the front. I can't remember but there is some limitation on the mid mount mowing deck depending on the size spacers you use. Sorry, I can't remember what exactly but you can research that quickly. I also recommend the BXpanded Piranha Tooth bar for your FEL bucket! Another must if you plan to do much with a bucket. Oh and also the BXpanded bucket hooks! These just snap on and are great for hooking on chains. If I could guarantee the BX would make you happy... I would!

If you truly have hills (I think Ohio is flat compared to western Washington) then the BX should do you better than a B.

 

[Pepsiboy]

I have a 6 acre place in Southeast Ohio. It's a very hilly place. I am considering
buying a 2014 BX2370 with a 60" belly mower and a 48" brush cutter. I have a
couple of questions.

How do these machines do on hills? My field has some places where the grade
might be 25% or more. Should I expect any tipover problems? Should I
consider wheel spacers to afford more width of the tractor. I'll be using ag tires.

Also, should I consider a skid plate of any kind? I may be going into the woods
from time to time to pull out logs for firewood. Many owners have talked about
the hydro fan needing to be protected. My dealer says this is an old issue that
Kubota has fixed on the current model.

I really appreciate these forums. And thank you all in advance for your help and
answers.

Chuck

Chuck,
I have a BX2350 with FEL, 54"MMM, and 48"rear tiller. I mow about 4 acres every week with it, and on that there are 4 hills that are about 80 ft. long and about 20 ft. high at about a 23% to 26% grade. I have been doing this since 2008, when I got the BX2350. No complaints and no problems. HOWEVER, I will say that I DO NOT mow across the hills. I mow them up and down ONLY.:2cents:

Good luck with the new ride.

Dave