Bought a bx2370 last year and now i want a bx25d....options

[chucky79]

[/QUOTE]Chucky: Just call Barlows and ask how he'll trade and if your payments are in the range you feel OK with, then go for it on the B and he may have other BX25's for you. If you've paid $2000 so far for 50 hours of use then it's cost you $40 an hour for using your tractor which is fairly cheap plus fuel which is usually a gallon per hour. Still not bad and you've learned a lot about buying the next "RIGHT" tractor and education isn't usually free. Why not enjoy your tractoring hours with a machine you'll be happy with and it will have just cost you a small bit of money which you can make up for on the "RIGHT" tractor. See how easy I have been to talk myself in to trading tractors......It's to make ME HAPPY and I'm to old to worry about the cost of my education vs happiness. TROY: Knows what I'm talking about....He does it to. [/QUOTE]

The cost of education doesn't bother me so much as the other half who is pregnant with twins. Lol. About to have 4 kids 4yrs or younger can make a mommabear a bit overly protective of the cash hoard. Honestly though I just got a promotion at work and have always wanted a FEL and Hoe so started thinking it might a good time to invest a little extra of that cash. Like all things though you start one place and end up somewhere else. I started just wanting a FEL for the Bx2370 then was surprised by the promotion last week and though ehh why not look at the bx25's instead then I saw the b2320 or b2301's and thought hmmmmmm more tractor is always better and I could add a hoe later if needed to that..... And thus is the process of the mans brain. By time it's done I'm sure I'll have my self talked into a six figure tractor price tag before falling back to earth in a reality crash-n-burn. If I KNEW the b2301 wouldn't be overkill for a guy who uses the tractor to mostly mow and would be stable on my hills I would pull the trigger on a new one with MMM for now and add a FEL and Hoe later. My dealer just doesnt let you bring tractors out to ur property to demo. I can drive all day long on their property but it's all concrete jungle so that doesn't do much for me in terms of experience. I Just remember what u guys taught me last year about buying more tractor than you need now because u always end up needing it later and I have to say after owning the bx2370 for a year it's so true that you find yourself doing so much more than u realized you could with your new tractor and I just know the the addition of a FEL and Hoe would exponentially increase that fact. By reading about the b and bx and finally owning my first tractor for a year I realize just how much more the B is over the BX now and how nice those added options and abilities would be. Just gotta make my mind up is all. Good thing is I am in no rush since I already own the bx...

 

[Gary Fowler]

That hill looks pretty steep to be side-hill mowing with even a BX which is really low to the ground and I would rather be on a ZTR mower doing that hill. If mowing is your primary use for a tractor, I would buy a mower. Keep your tractor if you like and add a FEL for moving stuff around. For the $2000 loss in trade in, you could add $3K to that and get a really good near commercial grade zero turn mower that would mow your property safely in 1/3rd the time and still have your tractor. You could later add a FEL to it for utility work

You don't really say what you plan to do with a backhoe and that really needs to be thought out as to getting value from the purchase. I bought a TLB as my second tractor and in the first year of use, I pretty much paid for it vs what it would have cost in rental per hour to do the work. I still use it several times a year for rock and tree removal on my property. Much of the work I did with mine likely would not have been done if I had to rent a machine as it was spread out over many months so ownership is a good thing if you can justify the initial cost. You need to sit down and work up a list of what you will or could do with a TLB and then estimate rental cost and see how it all shakes out rather than just running out and buying one "because I always wanted one".
I rather doubt that you could make any money on the side with a BX25D as there just isn't much work market for them so you would need to justify the cost based on personal use.

 

[AxleHub]

That hill looks pretty steep to be side-hill mowing with even a BX which is really low to the ground and I would rather be on a ZTR mower doing that hill. If mowing is your primary use for a tractor, I would buy a mower. Keep your tractor if you like and add a FEL for moving stuff around. For the $2000 loss in trade in, you could add $3K to that and get a really good near commercial grade zero turn mower that would mow your property safely in 1/3rd the time and still have your tractor. You could later add a FEL to it for utility work

.

Greetings Gary,

I've only seen 1 or 2 ztr mowers that can be used on hills safely. On flat land they are fine but not hills. The reason is the front wheels spin . . you don't control them . . so you can't "hold your direction" on a sidehill . . you end up reverse leveraging with the back tires to keep going straight. a very few expensive ztr choices allow steering control of the front wheels . . but very few.

Going up and down can be even worse on a ztr because you can't brake with the front wheels and again . . the front wheels can wander in direction. But even scarier is a ztr is backside weighted . . so going up a hill is scary. Its incredibly easy to have the front wheels come off the ground (thus the term "up and over") and again unless we're talking 4wd ztr prices . . You can't pull and push your way up the hill . . only push.

Lastly . . when the front end comes up . . . you have no predictability what direction those front spun wheels will point when you again touch ground. I've seen people literally shaking when they got off a ztr from hillside cutting.

 

[chucky79]

I have about 100yds of culvert to put in, a 30 foot back patio to remove, and brush/trees to move with the thumb plus 2 stumps to dig out. I also Plan on doing a new addition later for the twins. So do I have work for a backhoe? Yes. Enough to justify it immediately? Probably not but expect over time that I will. I cut my Moms hill with a zero turn that has Atv tires and it's tough to control at times. I feel much safer on my bx. I also have a couple very old and heavy cub cadet garden tractors I could use on the hill but the bx is nicest. There is work to be had in my area doing drainage, pools, and septic tanks. Not a killing but a couple hundred here and there would be nice. My dealer had a kid pay a bx24 off in a year digging utilities for a new trailer park and doing swimming pools. My dad and his best friend had a backhoe business when I was a kid using a Kubota 5200(?) or similar. Dad said the only reason they stopped and sold was because people wouldn't leave him alone and it was cutting into his full time job at the railroad. When he sold it they got the same price they paid a few years earlier and it looks like TLB's still hold their value that well today so the risk to buy is low I think.

 

[cschulz]

Back Hoe for Sale. Not sure if it will fit your needs but it may still be for sale. Read on to last pages for info. I did install a BH on my BX2660 with out any trouble at all.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/327165-bx-25-backhoe.html?highlight=

Chris

 

[chucky79]

how hard was it? I wonder why they don't sell it as an aftermarket add on if its possible to do. Seems like a wasted bit of marketing don't ya think....

 

[ShowroomShine]

Aftermarket backhoes are available from Woods and Wallensteins.

 

[Scooby074]

Rent a mini ex for the digging. Lots of rental time can be had for the $6k cost of the light weight BX hoe. Its not that strong and cant dig overly deep. Plus its slow. No comparison to how well a mini ex can dig.

Buy a loader for your BX. Best, most useful attachment you can get IMHO.

ZTRs arent great for sidehill. If you can mow straight up and down then that would be a good purchase if you change the rear tires to something like a AT101. Or just mow with the BX. They hold hills quite well on their own and are arguably safer than a ZTR on them.

 

[cschulz]

how hard was it? I wonder why they don't sell it as an aftermarket add on if its possible to do. Seems like a wasted bit of marketing don't ya think....

Very simple really. Just follow the schematics from Kubota's parts lists and Im sure you can figure the rest out. A little fab work will need to be done for the rear seat to attach to rops when rotated. Feel free to contact me and I can help walk you though. To the best of my memory that is......LOL
c.schulz@charter.net

Chris

 

[ShowroomShine]

Just went into my Woods dealer login. Woods BH65 subframe backhoe to mount on BX 60 models (would need to confirm fitting on 70 models) with 9" bucket, orange, subframe kit and hose kit should run you right around $5-5.5K.