scallopr
New member
Hi All,
Long time TBN lurker, first time posting. I've used this forum to educate myself about tractors over the past few years having not grown up around one. So 2 years ago I bought a new BX-25D after moving to a 3 acre property, about 2 of which is lawn, with a 300'+ of driveway, here in southern New Hampshire. As an inexperienced tractor owner the BX wasn't intimidating and I thought it was plenty for my needs. I've used my BX for everything from mowing, snowblowing, landscaping, etc. I built a 42x48 barn and moved 150 cuyds of material in and around the foundation with the BX. I built 2,000 sqft of patio, having excavated everything with the little backhoe and moving 60+ cuyds of gravel and sand to prep the base. Heck even used it to plant 40 arborvitae between me and my one neighbor. It has 279 hrs after 2 years of use.
While I love the little BX it simply takes a long time to do any sizeable job, and I found myself constantly switching from TLB mode to mowing mode, to grading mode (rake), etc. I was maxing out the BX loader moving large rocks and small trees. My house is built on old farm land and my lawn grows great (too great). The final straw for the BX came when I bought a bagger to keep up with my lawn and it went from 1.5 hrs of mowing to 4 hrs of mowing with the bagger. I bought a 60" Exmark Z mower and can now mow in 40 mins / 1 hr bagging. With the Exmark in the garage (and being sick of open cab snowblowing in NH) I have decided to get a larger cab tractor dedicated for tractor chores.
My immediate plans include putting in an additional 150' of driveway along the barn, tackling some large landscaping / stone wall work (very large granite boulders) along the property lines, and eventually will be adding a small addition to the house. I would like to be able to palletize stone (1/2 pallets anyway) and move it around.
I had initially planned on sizing up to B3350 with cab/loader/backhoe/front snowblower. I priced a L3560 online and that was way out of my price range. After talking to my local dealer, who is great, the 3350 was out of the question due to Tier IV issues in cold weather. I know they may be resolved, but I have no interest in finding out if that is true. They pointed me toward a B2650. Looking at the 2650 in person, and the loader specs, I wasn't 100% convinced this was going to be enough machine for my planned uses. I really want to avoid buying the wrong tractor. I've sold my BX and all of it's attachments and while I'm happy with the resale value of my Kubota stuff I don't want to take a hit like this again.
So then my dealer got 2012 L3240 HST cab with 288 hrs on it. It has turf tires (better for me) and the 724 loader. Price on the tractor is $23.9K. With a woods BH80x backhoe, a mid PTO kit for my future front snowblower, and pallet forks I'm out the door for $35K. This price is comparable to what I'd be spending on a new B2650 similarly equipped.
My question here is am I nuts to buying the bigger tractor? My gut says it's a no brainer based on cost, but I don't want to end up with a tractor that is ridiculously sized for my property and has me looking to size down in the future. Sure love the look of that cab after last winter!
Interested in thought of folks here.
Long time TBN lurker, first time posting. I've used this forum to educate myself about tractors over the past few years having not grown up around one. So 2 years ago I bought a new BX-25D after moving to a 3 acre property, about 2 of which is lawn, with a 300'+ of driveway, here in southern New Hampshire. As an inexperienced tractor owner the BX wasn't intimidating and I thought it was plenty for my needs. I've used my BX for everything from mowing, snowblowing, landscaping, etc. I built a 42x48 barn and moved 150 cuyds of material in and around the foundation with the BX. I built 2,000 sqft of patio, having excavated everything with the little backhoe and moving 60+ cuyds of gravel and sand to prep the base. Heck even used it to plant 40 arborvitae between me and my one neighbor. It has 279 hrs after 2 years of use.
While I love the little BX it simply takes a long time to do any sizeable job, and I found myself constantly switching from TLB mode to mowing mode, to grading mode (rake), etc. I was maxing out the BX loader moving large rocks and small trees. My house is built on old farm land and my lawn grows great (too great). The final straw for the BX came when I bought a bagger to keep up with my lawn and it went from 1.5 hrs of mowing to 4 hrs of mowing with the bagger. I bought a 60" Exmark Z mower and can now mow in 40 mins / 1 hr bagging. With the Exmark in the garage (and being sick of open cab snowblowing in NH) I have decided to get a larger cab tractor dedicated for tractor chores.
My immediate plans include putting in an additional 150' of driveway along the barn, tackling some large landscaping / stone wall work (very large granite boulders) along the property lines, and eventually will be adding a small addition to the house. I would like to be able to palletize stone (1/2 pallets anyway) and move it around.
I had initially planned on sizing up to B3350 with cab/loader/backhoe/front snowblower. I priced a L3560 online and that was way out of my price range. After talking to my local dealer, who is great, the 3350 was out of the question due to Tier IV issues in cold weather. I know they may be resolved, but I have no interest in finding out if that is true. They pointed me toward a B2650. Looking at the 2650 in person, and the loader specs, I wasn't 100% convinced this was going to be enough machine for my planned uses. I really want to avoid buying the wrong tractor. I've sold my BX and all of it's attachments and while I'm happy with the resale value of my Kubota stuff I don't want to take a hit like this again.
So then my dealer got 2012 L3240 HST cab with 288 hrs on it. It has turf tires (better for me) and the 724 loader. Price on the tractor is $23.9K. With a woods BH80x backhoe, a mid PTO kit for my future front snowblower, and pallet forks I'm out the door for $35K. This price is comparable to what I'd be spending on a new B2650 similarly equipped.
My question here is am I nuts to buying the bigger tractor? My gut says it's a no brainer based on cost, but I don't want to end up with a tractor that is ridiculously sized for my property and has me looking to size down in the future. Sure love the look of that cab after last winter!
Interested in thought of folks here.