Would I be happier with a B series?

[dodge man]

I'm not sure how much I mow, probably between 1.5 and 2 acres.

 

[ovrszd]

This Summer my mowing will be cut (pun intended) in half. I am excited!!!!

 

[Henro]

I have a bx2200 and a B2910.

They are complementary and I would not be without either.

The BX has foam filled tires and with the mower on it is VERY stable on slopes. I would never take the B2910 on cross slopes I mow with the BX. Not a chance in heaven.

The B series is my workhorse. But both are great for what they are. Traction is the limitation for the BX. Last summer my 5x8 dump trailer was no problem for the BX until the slopes got a little wet, when pulling the pretty full trailer that is.

I would keep the BX and buy a B...

 

[jeff9366]

How much FEL counterbalance weight in the form of filled rear tires, wheel weights and/or a Three Point Hitch mounted implement do you use during Loader work?

The BX has foam filled tires and with the mower on it is VERY stable on slopes.

Traction is the limitation for the BX.

Foam filled rear tires should be considered. Foam is the heaviest tire ballast.
LINK: Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast | OrangeTractorTalks

 

[wcampbell47]

So I've owned a BX2350 for a little over 10 years and have 760 hours on it. It does what I want but I often wish when I'm doing end loader work that it had a bigger bucket. I also feel the front tires are too small at times. I mow with it about half the time and have some side hills that push my comfort level on the BX but it gets the job done. I'd go with a 60" mid mount deck on the B. The other half of the hours I'm moving dirt, gravel, and snow. My driveway is paved and about 600 feet long. Sometimes we get a lot of snow, sometimes almost none. I also would like the better road speed of a B tractor.

Would one of the smaller B tractors, I'm thinking either 23 or 26 horse increase the bucket size enough that I would notice the difference? I couldn't find the specs on bucket capacity. Would it seem too big when it comes to mowing? It doesn't look like the turning radius is that much bigger but they spec that while using the brakes to make it turn tighter on the B tractors. With loaded tires would it seem as stable on the hills as a BX? I'd like to get into a used B for 5k with a trade in on my BX but I don't know if that's possible or not. Thanks in advance for the answers.

Tractors I have owned:
B7510 - great little tractor for mowing and light dirt work. Think gas rider mower on steroids. Great ground clearance.
B3030 - More horsepower 3 speed HST. Front and rear PTO, FEL. Great work horse. Light maneuverable. Great ground clearance. Can get under no problem.
L3910 - 39 hp 3 speed HST. Moves a lot of dirt.
ASV 50 hp compact track loader
ASV 60 hp compact track loader - a beast so much better, quicker, stronger than any of my tractors. Much easier to change implements. 5 minutes to attach my mower compared to 20 sometimes 30 minutes for tractor 3 point. I can make moves with this unit I could never do with a tractor. Easily spread 14 tons of material in about 30 minutes.

ASV has a 30 hp unit that will out perform any BX tractor. Snow blower attachment available as well as snow blades.

ASV RT3 - YouTube

 

[dodge man]

I realized I never answered the counterweight question. I’ve had rimguard in the rear tire almost since day one and I bought a ballast box a couple of years ago.

 

[JWR]

Dave, it depends so much on what you do with the machine and what all you face for workload. How much area you mow, how much steep ground if any, how much loader work, how many days a year do you have to move snow, how much land are you working with overall ? Do you have a farm or just a lawn and residential setting ? etc. Storage too -- how big a garage space have you to put your toys ?

My impression is that you might be right on the edge of wanting a big enough machine to have a hydraulic remote or two, maybe a pinch bucket for grabbing things and moving stones, soil, logs, etc.

How big do you think is TOO big and why ?

I have a range of tractors, BX2200 with FEL and MMM, 2 B2150's used in the mountains for snow as well as light bush hogging, and a larger farm tractor in a MF2660 back at my farm. It depends so much on what you need to do. I'm full of comments in the range of these size machines. But maybe no help, who knows.

 

[dodge man]

I live a few miles outside of town on 3 acres, not a residential setting. I've got the garage space so that is not a problem. I mow about 1.5 acres, maybe a little more. Its when doing end loader work that I wish it was bigger. My property has some pretty steep hills that are O.K. with my BX.

 

[ovrszd]

I think the bug has bit you. Probably not going to be content until you have a bigger tractor. Most of us have been in the same position.

 

[TripleR]

I think the bug has bit you. Probably not going to be content until you have a bigger tractor. Most of us have been in the same position.

And there you have it, no use fighting it.

 

[JWR]

overszd is probably correct, the bug has you, and you will go buy something this spring. Probably making several little shopping trips, gritting your teeth insisting I AM NOT buying today will get you some personal exposure to several models that MIGHT satisfy the craving.

Not that you want to do this, but I felt the bucket was too small on my BX2200 (esp. for snow removal and to some extent firewood, etc.) and I found an old used bucket that was about 50% larger. Had a welding shop modify the old used bucket to fit the BX loader frame/connections. Not much $ tied up in it and now I have 2 buckets that fit the loader depending on the needs. Pictures always help ...

View attachment 589654




How about somebody at TBN explain why one of these two pictures (inserted EXACTLY the same way...) shows up as viewable thumbnail and the other one show up only as a text saying [ATTACH....ATTACH] Crazy.

OK, I say that and now it reverses behavior and shows both as thumbnails. Here comes the THIRD Edit and it went back to one text and one thumbnail. I think I smell a bug in the website software.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

And there you have it, no use fighting it.

I've been following TripleR on TBN for many years and have found him to be a rather knowledgeable man and I always defer to him in matters tractor related. He has many more tractors than I and has used them for many more years than I and his word concerning tractors to me is absolute. So, I believe he has hit the nail solidly on the head and having been where you are I totally concur with his recommendation/conclusion. Go forth brother and bite the bullet and sign the papers.:cool2::cool2:
My first step up was from a BX2200 to a B7800 (About 30 HP) and there are two or three B choices short steps up from your BX, make the call or get out and make the visits. Just make sure the one you move up to stops by itself when you let off the go pedal going forward since that is what you are familiar with. Still recommending a B29xx, B26xx or B23xx for you.

 

[TripleR]

I've been following TripleR on TBN for many years and have found him to be a rather knowledgeable man and I always defer to him in matters tractor related. He has many more tractors than I and has used them for many more years than I and his word concerning tractors to me is absolute. So, I believe he has hit the nail solidly on the head and having been where you are I totally concur with his recommendation/conclusion. Go forth brother and bite the bullet and sign the papers.:cool2::cool2:
My first step up was from a BX2200 to a B7800 (About 30 HP) and there are two or three B choices short steps up from your BX, make the call or get out and make the visits. Just make sure the one you move up to stops by itself when you let off the go pedal going forward since that is what you are familiar with. Still recommending a B26xx or B23xx for you.

Morning John; wish I could take credit for all that, but much of what I know is from TBN members like you, ovrszd, k0ua, bp-fick, 4shorts (Paul Short) and many who no longer post. I have often used the JOHNTHOMAS approach to buying.

Like you my introduction to the wonderful world of SCUT, CUT and such was a BX2200 that we still have and it sure gets a lot of work done.

 

[chim]

And there you have it, no use fighting it.

Welcome to the mindset some of us seem to have - "A little larger would be nice". I remember when we built here in '89 it was obvious the Ranch King 42"(?) riding mower wasn't going to be much fun for the 2-1/4 acres we started out with here (Now we have about 3-1/2 acres). First was a Cub LoBoy with a 5' MMM, then a Ford 1210 with a 5' RFM, then a B7500 with 5' RFM, then the L3200 and 6' RFM and now the L4240 and a 90" RFM that is in the process of being restored. Mowing is about 90% of its use, but there is always something the FEL is handy for, and the snow blower is now on the rear. Most recent implement added was an 8' front snow plow.

Wifey and our next door neighbor (one of her brothers) got the idea that since I'm nearing 70, it would be nice to have a tractor with more creature comforts. That was addressed with the purchase of the L4240HSTC. I know it wouldn't be everybody's choice for a lawn mower, but is what I want. Could be the upper limit for me has finally been reached.

My input - Buy something large enough to start with unless you like tractor shopping.

 

[dodge man]

I called yesterday on a 29hp used B. 600 hours, 60" mid mount mower, but no end loader. It looked like it had the quick connects for the loader but I saw no joystick for it. I asked how much to add a loader. Guess they don't want to sell it real bad because he didn't call back like he said he would.

 

[Rock Crawler]

The difference between a BX25D and a B2650 is like a mustang V6 compared to a GT500. It is laughable, how much more stable and strong a B2650/B3350 is. I would never suggest anyone to go B2601 because it is literally just a gnats hair better than a BX, my buddy has one and he is miserable that he bought that and then came over and gave a run at my tweaked and tuned B2650... it blew him away and ruined his life.

As many know, I run the B3350SU oversized tires that add a total of about 800 lbs, I also have the hydraulics shimmed up a little hotter than momma Kubota wanted it to be.... She gets some work done! In December I took in 104 triaxle loads of dirt in 2 weeks. I pushed it with the B2650. It worked 10 hours a day, but it does it and never cries. My BX25D.... I would push it over the hill and bury it with the fill if that was all I had to deal with. What a frustrating experience!

Side slope.... no comparison. The BX with spacers is deadly compared to the B with wide wheels and spacers.

Traction in wet clay/mud.... no comparison. The much much larger R4 tires have far deeper and far more spaced lugs that dig and clean far better.

Digging power...... While they are not track loaders, the B 26/3350 has far more traction, weight and ability to punch in and curl up in virgin dirt. Far more!

Hill climbing, on hills that I used to drop the BX25D hoe bucket down to use as a wheelie bar on my roads, I can just drive up with the B2650. The front tires will bounce up in the air a bit over roots but fall back down in a half second or so. The BX would bounce up and stay up, and the hoe would keep me from going over backwards.

Backhoe.... The BX25D hoe would dig, but you spent an awful lot of time frustrated against the stalled hydraulics. The BH77 with the pressure tweaked up will rip through things that the BX stood no chance.

I made the swap. I am super happy that I did. I would do it again, the only question I would ask myself is can I swing another $12,000-$15,000 or so into the deal and get into a 40 ish HP Grand L?