B series: need advice asap

   / B series: need advice asap #1  

sw18x

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Apr 24, 2011
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I'm days away from trading in my bx2370 for a B series and need to choose between the 2601 or the 2650. My biggest question is whether I'll be happy with the power and hydraulics of the 01. I think the 01 is the best fit for my property but 2 friends steered me towards the 2650 based on the backhoe, engine, and hydraulic pump specs on paper. Neither one owns a b series however, so I really need to hear from some 01 and 2650 owners.

My gut says the 01 is a better fit because this tractor will still be my primary finish mower, like the bx the 01 has a suspended deck, and I'm very concerned I won't like the contact deck of the 2650. A smaller tractor in this case works to my advantage. As for implements, I like the idea of more power, but in reality the backhoe work I have lined up is pretty light duty: boxing out a couple turn arounds for stone, digging out a couple small stumps in the yard, then eventually trail work in the woods. The loader will be moving 50 tons of crusher run over the course of this year and next for the turn arounds and freshening up an 800 foot gravel drive, after that the loader work will wind down to occasional chore work here and there. I also plan on matching a brush hog to the tractor, either 4 or 5 foot, for maintaining some pasture and cutting trails.

Standing next to the 2 tractors the 01 seems like it would be a nicer size for mowing and getting in the woods (we have pre existing trails that can get kind of tight). I dont want to go too big and since I have zero backhoe experience I don't know if the bigger hydro pump and better torque of the 2650, and the better specs of the bh77 (swing, reach, cylinders) would be worth it.

Thanks for your input. The last thing I want to do is go against advice, buy the 01 and feel like I'm underpowered. Nor do I want to put added strain on what needs to be a lifetime tractor by going with the smaller hydro pump on the 01. On the flip side, buying too big and regretting it every time I mow or get cornered in the woods would be no fun either.

If you're interested, here's my property specs:

- 1.5 acres of yard for weekly finish mowing (higher ground and relatively dry)
- another half to 3/4 acre of grass which is on lower ground and can get quite damp.
- an acre pasture which has started to grow over since we moved in a couple years ago.
- The finish mowing includes 6 or 8 apple trees I dodge around and an enclosed playground, not enough obstacles to slow me down too much but there are a couple tight spots.
- 30 acres of wood, about 1/3 mature with trails, the rest 2nd growth with light brush where I want to add trails.
- I have a plow truck for snow removal, the tractor helps out sometimes but even the bx was fine for what I use it for in the colder months.

Thanks!
 
   / B series: need advice asap #2  
If it was me, and I was in your debate, I'd step up to an "L" if I was really concerned about the power. Otherwise I'd probably be happy with the 2601, which is only slightly smaller and less able than the B2650....not including some of the "upgrades" that a 2650 has.
Cheers,
Mike
 
   / B series: need advice asap #3  
i would keep the bx and buy commercial grade ztr for the grass. a ztr mower cut grass much better and much faster than a tractor with with mower. moe than 3times faster and 100%better cut. blades run 9000 rpm ztr blade tip speed compared to tractor blade tip speed of around 3000.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #4  
I have the B2601 and like it a lot. I have never felt a need for more power. Most of the mowing I do is with 54" MMM keeping trails through the woods maintained and have just started using a flail mower to keep the roadside maintained. Just got a 50" ET grapple, so much easier now to move logs around. A lot of my 10 acres is on a side of a hill and never got comfortable with it (with loaded tires) until I got 2 1/2" spacers for the rear wheels, I went with the 2 1/2" spacers to keep the wheels inside the width of the mower.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #5  
I really like the B2650. I've not mowed with one and don't own one but like the all around machine. My mom has the
B 3030. It is a very popular tractor. The initial extra expense will be recouped when you ever sell it. ZTRs are nice and if mowing faster than a BX is your main objective then a ZTR is the way to go. If your getting it to make do mowing while having a tractor (which works fine!) I would get the B2650. You need to be aware of the difficulty in taking off the belly mower and putting it back on. If your young and healthy not so bad but if your old like me........yikes. I don't think it is something you would want to do every week to mow.I'm not al that sure what can be done on one WITH the belly mower attached. Sounds like you have a nice sized place, over 30 acres.......that says get the bigger tractor to me.
 
   / B series: need advice asap
  • Thread Starter
#6  
My plan would be to run the b like my bx: leave the deck on as much as possible. The loader goes back on every time I'm done mowing, the deck always stays on unless it has to come off. In the case of the B, I'd hope to leave it on unless I'm in the woods, using the flail mower, or running the backhoe. I guess I still don't fully understand how the contact deck works with the b2650. Assuming the backhoe is off (most of the time it will be), can't I just lift the belly mower up out of the way with the hydraulics and leave it up there while running the loader? I know the 60" mmm on my BX is kind of a pain to take on and off, is the contact deck on the 2650 any worse? Thanks.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #7  
I am not in tune with the current Kubota models... I have a 30 HP B2910 and a BX2200.

The only advice I can give is bigger is almost always better.

As far as mower decks go, I think it depends on how smooth your ground is. I have come to the conclusion that a deck that rides on the ground is better for ground that has a lot of ups and downs, and that a suspended deck may be better for a surface that is pretty flat. I have ground that is not flat and a suspended mower deck on my BX2200. I think I would be happier with a deck that had wheels that would ride on the surface of the ground...

Bill
 
   / B series: need advice asap
  • Thread Starter
#8  
The area I finish mow has some gentle slopes to it, but is rather bumpy. I'm imagining that a contact deck would really rattle and shake over those bumps and divets compared to my suspension deck on the bx. To give you an idea, I drive the bx fairly slow because the bumps rattle the tractor too. It's even worse in the grassy area below, because that's where the former owners kept horses and their hooves really dug up the ground. That would be the worst spot for the contact deck because it can also get wet near the bottom where the property rolls down into a marsh.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #9  
i would keep the bx and buy commercial grade ztr for the grass. a ztr mower cut grass much better and much faster than a tractor with with mower. moe than 3times faster and 100%better cut. blades run 9000 rpm ztr blade tip speed compared to tractor blade tip speed of around 3000.

Are you sure about those figures? My Landpride FDR1672 has a blade tip speed of 18,130FPM, which is very close to many ZT's. I have a difficult time picturing a zero turn would mow my 3-1/2 acres in less than 1/2 hour (that would be 3X faster than with my RFM). Here's the spec sheet for my RFM:

http://www.landpride.com/ari/attach/lp/public/manuals/310-366m.pdf
 
   / B series: need advice asap #10  
Are you sure about those figures? My Landpride FDR1672 has a blade tip speed of 18,130FPM, which is very close to many ZT's. I have a difficult time picturing a zero turn would mow my 3-1/2 acres in less than 1/2 hour (that would be 3X faster than with my RFM). Here's the spec sheet for my RFM:

http://www.landpride.com/ari/attach/lp/public/manuals/310-366m.pdf

I've owned/own F and ZD mowers as well as almost all sizes of BXs and Bs and one L. I used to hear how much faster a Z was than an F, before I bought the two Zs I own now. I looked at Kubotas Corp site and the F has actual faster top ground speed than the Z. :) But that means nothing except the times your racing across a paved parking lot. The speed one can go on a mower/tractor is based on the smoothness of the ground. I can't do top speed on any of mine on the ground I own so top speed in brochures doesn't matter. The Z does faster in tight quarters because it has a slight closer turning radius than the F but the F beats the Z on the open semi rough field because of the steering wheel vs the constant correcting of the Z levers at high speed on rough ground and the ride even though both have the same suspension seat. Fs longer and heavier than the Z so much more stable/controllable at high speed on other than pavement which I don't mow.
I've had the smallest BX1500 and up to the L3240 Grand with almost all the in between Bs and BXs. Bigger isn't better, it's just bigger. I did recently choose the B2650 over the others (B2601) with encouragement from Barlows owner plus the suspension seat on the B2650. I also wanted to have the higher output to see how the tractor will work the front SSQA fixed backhoe that I kept from my skid steer short mistaken venture.:confused3:
 
   / B series: need advice asap #11  
Another B2910 owner here. Given your acreage, I vote for the larger unit.

We have the 72" MMM, which is a ground contact/drive-over deck. It was more of a PITA until I started driving over it rather than using the loader to raise the tractor to install it ... now less of a pain.

Hooking up the mid-PTO is still a bit of a pain ... since the mid-PTO is in the center (side to side) of the tractor. Seems like on some of the newer Kubotas the mid-PTO is more to one side, which should make hooking it up easier.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #12  
From what you described, it doesn't sound like enough backhoe work to justify several thousand dollars. You could rent a backhoe for a weekend or two for so much less. But maybe you have more work to do than I am imagining.

But if you do end up renting a hoe instead of buying one, then that might point you towards the 2601.

Regardless, get SSQA loader. You might also consider 2 rear remotes for top n tilt and other uses.
 
   / B series: need advice asap
  • Thread Starter
#13  
<From what you described, it doesn't sound like enough backhoe work to justify several thousand dollars.>

sshhh, my wife might be listening!

In all seriousness, though, that's what we said when we got the BX, then projects kept popping up where I'd say "wish I had that backhoe". And that was on one acre, now we're on 40+. The backhoe isn't just being purchased for current projects, it's for all those other projects we haven't even planned yet.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #14  
Sounds like a good plan. Besides, I have a backhoe too.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #15  
When I was looking for my tractor the B2650 and B3350 where on my hit list. Because of all the emission issues with the 3350 I had pretty much decided on the 2650...until I came across a "too good to be true" deal on a B3030. With 40 acres I would go with the larger tractor and when funds are available get a ZT. We, my wife mainly, takes care of the lawn with a ZT. It zips through a couple acres of finish lawn in no time and does a great job. Personally for an all around tractor I think the 2650 would be your best choice. Especially as your "UNPLANNED" projects "GROW"!
 
   / B series: need advice asap #16  
From what you described, it doesn't sound like enough backhoe work to justify several thousand dollars. You could rent a backhoe for a weekend or two for so much less. But maybe you have more work to do than I am imagining.
2x ...

We bought a BH4690B backhoe when we bought our B2910 ... IIRC, it was around $7,500.

That would have made a nice downpayment on a used mini-ex ... or paid for a lot of rental time.

I have used the backhoe a good bit ... but have also rented mini-ex's a number of times (U35, KX-41, KX-91 for upwards of two months actual rental time) and I can say with absolute certainty that a similar-sized mini-ex is a far more powerful/productive piece of equipment.

Regardless, get SSQA loader.
2x ...

You might also consider 2 rear remotes for top n tilt and other uses.
I'd get 3 ... and if kubota's offering is too pricey, I'd roll my own with a Prince stack valve (which is what I did on the B2910)
 
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   / B series: need advice asap #17  
After putting about 650 hours on my BX23 - I upgraded to a B3200 a few years ago. My decision points to go bigger were pretty simple: I wanted to get more work done faster. I contemplated going all the way up to an L , because the size difference between the B3200 and the lower sized L's was not really that much - and there was an increase in FEL capacity with the L. But the lower sized L's use the same BH77 that the B3200 uses - and with the tractor itself being higher off the ground in the L, this means the hoe doesn't dig as deep. Also the L hangs the hoe further off the back of the tractor - which makes the tractor more unwieldy IMHO. I REALLY wanted an SSQA on the FEL of the B3200 - which is something the L's came with from the factory at the time. But I settled for the Kubota pin-on QA , and then later upgraded to the SSQA when Kubota came out with the adapter a year or so later.

The last deciding point for me to go with the B instead of the L - was that the L still had the FEL loader joystick mounted in the forward position with the lever sticking back to the operator's position. This basically means you can't get off the right side of the tractor at all. On the B - and on the BX before that - I can get off and on both sides of the tractor. Which is something that comes in pretty useful a lot of the time when I'm working in tight quarters.

I also figured the money I saved with the B - I could spend on more implements - which extends the usefulness of the tractor - and I did just that.

So my advice would be consider ALL of the things you think you're going to want to do with the tractor - and weigh that against the increased cost of going to the bigger tractor , plus any disadvantages the bigger tractor has - and use it all to make your decision. I think the increased cost is a factor - especially because you point out that going forward that mowing is going to make up the bulk of what you will do with it. If you're going to do trail work and so forth with it - then spend the money on more implements instead of the bigger tractor. Looks like the FEL on the B2601 comes with the SSQA style quick attach on the FEL - DEFINITELY get that and take advantage of it by spending money on more attachments for the FEL (like a forklift frame - Artillian makes a really nice one).
 
   / B series: need advice asap #18  
Just thought I'd mention this - since I see a lot of the advice people get about tractor sizing seems to depend on how much land you have. I think this applies in many cases - but not all. I live on 1/2 acre. When people ask me why the heck I have a B3200 on 1/2 acre of land. I tell them : try moving the rocks I encounter with anything smaller (in many cases even the B3200 won't do it - I have to split them). Try moving all the dirt I've moved with a smaller tractor (I spent 650 hours on a BX23 - and the vast majority if that was just hauling dirt from one place to another).

I don't think the size of the tractor is DIRECTLY related to the amount of land you have - it's related to the size of the jobs you have.
 
   / B series: need advice asap #19  
The area I finish mow has some gentle slopes to it, but is rather bumpy. I'm imagining that a contact deck would really rattle and shake over those bumps and divets compared to my suspension deck on the bx. To give you an idea, I drive the bx fairly slow because the bumps rattle the tractor too. It's even worse in the grassy area below, because that's where the former owners kept horses and their hooves really dug up the ground. That would be the worst spot for the contact deck because it can also get wet near the bottom where the property rolls down into a marsh.

Get a compactor or a really heavy roller and smooth your ground out.

Heavy Duty Turf Rollers | Turftime Equipment
 
   / B series: need advice asap
  • Thread Starter
#20  
and my implement wish list keeps growing...
 

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