Buy small now or wait for something bigger? (bx2670)

[gladehound]

Another option that I'll just throw out is to buy a small used tractor to really save money over buying a BX new. Lower initial purchase price, less loss at sale if you ever decide to sell it.

 

[big bubba]

Another option that I'll just throw out is to buy a small used tractor to really save money over buying a BX new. Lower initial purchase price, less loss at sale if you ever decide to sell it.

pretty good advice given that you consider the bx to be a transition machine. consider a used & well researched tractor, could purchase a good brush hog to keep, and a finish mower for the few acre mowing that you could retain as well.
a new kubota is a substantial investment for a machine you intend to keep only for a while. best of luck on your new exciting adventure.

 

[kthompson]

Well gladehound said much of what I was going to say on used compared to new. Not haven even sat on BX know little about them but I have a B model and would not want anything with less ground clearance if you will be in the woods. Hard to never drive over a stump if you are around them. We farm a few acres and we use our B2710 a good bit in that work yet light enough to mow yards with no issues. I have used it with a 500 gallon sprayer and will too heavy a load but think a 100 gallon would be fine. It can be a good garden size tractor also just the ground clearance is limited.

Some find it hard to believe but I have used a Kubota M6800 with ag tires and loaded to mow our yard for about three years with no issues. Did not get on it when wet and you will do more damage with sharp turns with front end than the rear wheels will do. I rather buy used but size I need than buy new knowing will be too small. When a machine is undersize you have to work it harder and longer which takes a toil on them and you.

Option you may wish to consider is try to find a rental company who has tractor you think you want and the dealer may have one they will rent and try that first in real life. Oh do consider how you will get a single tractor out of a bog when it happens and it will happen...unless you stay on hard tops....

 

[rScotty]

Hi guys,

Long time lurker first time poster. My partner and I recently purchased a nice homestead sitting on about 85 Acres (half field, half forest, maybe close to 2 Acres of grass around the house).
SNIP

Rather than buy a garden tractor now for lawn mowing I figured it would make more sense to kill as many birds with one stone as possible which got me looking at the bx tractors. My current plan is looking at financing a new one in the spring with mower, blower and loader at minimum and continue to rely on local farmers to hay the field as I have no hope of affording the equipment required for that for at least probably another 5 years.

The other option I had toyed around with was just buying a smaller garden tractor now for lawn mowing and holding out a year or two for something bigger in the 40-60hp range.

Sorry for the long winded post but basically my question is, do you guys think that buying a bx for the amount of acreage that I have is a mistake? Should I wait until I can afford something bigger? Appreciate all the advice.

You have a lot of land. It's true that you can try to spend time with one brand new machine having a plethora of options and a barn full of attachments to enable it to do a little bit of everything, but I'm betting you won't end up that way. It's expensive and not in your best interest. In fact, I'd bet that a decade from now you will end up with several machines and each one built for a specific purpose. Take a look at the other land owners around you and see if that isn't exactly what they have done.

But start small and smart. I'd say to get two machines. One is some sort of lawn-mowing machine that fits how you like to mow, and the other is a 25 hp 4wd tractor that has a loader and an accurate "position control" type of three point hitch. I say this because regardless of what the small combo-machine dealers would have you believe, a loader tractor and a lawn mower have very different requirements.
BTW, don't be afraid to buy the loader tractor used. A decent used one will last you for decades with nothing more than fuel and oil.

So my advice would be to put your money into a decent HST lawn mowing machine and also get a used 4wd loader tractor with a decent 3 point hitch in the 25 or so hp range. Doing that will enable you to take care of the land for a few years until you get it all sorted out. And you will have done so at about half the cost of a new multipurpose machine.
Enjoy!
rScotty

 

[bspeedy]

Well gladehound said much of what I was going to say on used compared to new. Not haven even sat on BX know little about them but I have a B model and would not want anything with less ground clearance if you will be in the woods. Hard to never drive over a stump if you are around them. We farm a few acres and we use our B2710 a good bit in that work yet light enough to mow yards with no issues. I have used it with a 500 gallon sprayer and will too heavy a load but think a 100 gallon would be fine. It can be a good garden size tractor also just the ground clearance is limited.

Some find it hard to believe but I have used a Kubota M6800 with ag tires and loaded to mow our yard for about three years with no issues. Did not get on it when wet and you will do more damage with sharp turns with front end than the rear wheels will do. I rather buy used but size I need than buy new knowing will be too small. When a machine is undersize you have to work it harder and longer which takes a toil on them and you.

Option you may wish to consider is try to find a rental company who has tractor you think you want and the dealer may have one they will rent and try that first in real life. Oh do consider how you will get a single tractor out of a bog when it happens and it will happen...unless you stay on hard tops....

Agree with this comment on ground clearance. BX will be not the best choice for the woods. Too low. Tires too small. Look for a tractor between 25 and 30 hp that is a CUT (compact utility tractor) and not a SCUT (sub-compact utility tractor). BX is a SCUT.

Not hating on the BX - they are awesome machines. I have less than 85 acres and if I had a BX as my only tractor, I would be confined to the yard only.

Also agree with buying second hand. Same criteria as buying a used car. Very easy to buy second hand and sell in a few years without costing much in depreciation.

 

[big bubba]

Agree with this comment on ground clearance. BX will be not the best choice for the woods. Too low. Tires too small. Look for a tractor between 25 and 30 hp that is a CUT (compact utility tractor) and not a SCUT (sub-compact utility tractor). BX is a SCUT.

Not hating on the BX - they are awesome machines. I have less than 85 acres and if I had a BX as my only tractor, I would be confined to the yard only.

Also agree with buying second hand. Same criteria as buying a used car. Very easy to buy second hand and sell in a few years without costing much in depreciation.

completely agree. can't imagine owning a bx on a 85 acre parcel, even if temporary. like the idea earlier posted of getting a good yard mowing machine as well. would be looking at good used 45-60 hp 2nd hand tractor for now & skip the b/bx series.

 

[2ndhalf]

completely agree. can't imagine owning a bx on a 85 acre parcel, even if temporary. like the idea earlier posted of getting a good yard mowing machine as well. would be looking at good used 45-60 hp 2nd hand tractor for now & skip the b/bx series.

This wasn't listed in one of the OP's original list of decisions but I agree with it. If this is an option for your budget you should buy a smaller inexpensive mower for around the house and a larger tractor as listed above. 85 acres is a lot to maintain. If you were planning to continue letting it be farmed by someone else for many years then that is a different story.

 

[iostreamer]

Appreciate the feedback again everyone luckily won't be deciding until next summer. I agree dedicated mowing machine is the way to go. Likely no hay in the near future so mostly woods and snowblower needs then as well as loader work. My inclination towards new is due to attractive financing rates and easier time finding HST which is less intimidating for the lady, gear is no issue for me though. May wait around another year though for something bigger if I can find someone else to take care of my driveway though that's proving difficult in the area I'm in

 

[JFoy]

I bought a BX25 back in December last year. Initially, told the salesman I would be mowing with it 90% of the time. After I got the BX25, I found so many more uses for it, it was amazing.

Then came along the land clearing project and a 1" tree took 10mins to uproot. I could forget the 2" trees without using the backhoe. That upset me considering I had dozens of these to clear. I considered upgrading to a B or L series but since I bought my BX25 new, I would have lost 30% easily. So, we ended up hiring out the majority of the job.

Regrets? Yes and No. With the BX, I can easily mow my existing and future lawns. It is so much nicer mowing with the BX than my old riding lawn mower - seriously. Plus, for the money saved, I was able to buy all kinds of attachments. My wife rolled her eyes at many of them initially but after using the tiller and box blade to cut down knolls and crowns on the land we're prepping, she's finally in agreement with my choice.

My neighbors snickered when I got the BX until I *deck* mowed (belly mower) a field with 10" tall grass that the zero turn guys wouldn't touch. Then they stopped snickering. Yeah, I have a brush hog as well and have used it but if the field is all grass and clear of debris, deck mowing is just easier and faster.

What would I do different with my hindsight? I should have bought the B series. The big appeal with the BX25 was the backhoe but truth be told, I've used it way less than any other of my implements. Why? The backhoe is great for working a spot but not a trench. Plus, it is time consuming to switch out the rear 3 point with the backhoe. So, the backhoe has turned out to be the least used and essentially a waste of money in my case.

One final comment about the BX - no concerns about driving over my septic tank. It would probably be ok with bigger and heavier tractors but with a BX, I don't even think about it.

 

[gladehound]

I'd focus on the mower first. Get something that can pull a small utility trailer to haul wood. If you are still healthy enough to shovel snow, 100ft isn't that much.. That will get you by initially while you save money and figure out what you actually want to do with the property. What you want to do will determine they type of machine(s) you should either rent or buy.

I am a huge fan of buying used because you get so much more value. However, the used market in New Brunswick seems a bit thin! OK, that's an understatement. The entire <40hp + 40-99 hp used tractor listings at TractorHouse.com yielded about a dozen machines! If I run that same search in my State ~1000 tractors come up. Not sure how easy it will be to find something suitable used.

However, if you're willing to bring a machine in from more distance, that opens things up a bit.