BX Mowing question (or maybe B mowing too)

Jay4200 · Jul 9, 2014

I'm considering buying a used BX or maybe a B to mow the grass at my camp. The grounds have some rough spots due to settling and rain ruts that got grassed in. I wouldn't think a 3" rain rut would be a bother, but it damned near knocks my fillings out when I hit it with my lawn/garden tractor. There is also a good amount of settling beside the driveway where trenching was done for underground power, so climbing up and down the sides of it is sometimes a little tricky. I do plan on fixing all of this eventually, but until then I need a mower that is big and rugged enough to do the job.

So - I was thinking of getting a small 'B' to mow with a belly deck, and it would also serve as an emergency backup for running a snowblower in the winter - if my L4200GST or it's blower goes down after a storm, I'm completely screwed. While a B would definitely be better running a blower, BUT considering it would never actually be run if I'm lucky, I'm now thinking that a BX would do a better job mowing.

Here's my question: in both B and BX cases, it looks like the belly decks run on 4 small gauge wheels. Are the decks actually riding on those little wheels while being guided by the tractor, or is the deck suspended from the tractor and the wheels are only there as a backup mechanism. I'm worried that if the deck rides on the wheels, I'll have problems with the ruts and driveway edges.

Lastly, I'm looking at a 1000-hour BX1800 that looks in decent shape - deck has some wear but is OK for $5k. I also saw a 1000-hour B7500 with belly deck and bucket for $9000, but that seems a little high - $7500 seems more like it for that one. Opinions?

Thanks

sandyc · Jul 9, 2014

The wheels are anti scalping and not meant to stay in contact with the ground

Panik · Jul 9, 2014

I have a BX2360 with a 60" deck and it is definitely a suspended deck. I can also say that the anti-scalp wheels come in handy for my yard as it's nowhere near being lawn smooth.

I want to say however that I read somewhere on the forum that some of the decks for the B series weren't necessarily suspended decks. It may depend on what size B and what size deck you're looking at:

Buying Advice BX2360 vs. B series mowing tractors

Jay4200 · Jul 9, 2014

I think I'm leaning back toward the BX now... thanks for the info

bellweather · Jul 9, 2014

The belly mower is suspended by links below the tractor, so it essentially floats. The gauge wheels or anti-scalp rollers, are not intended to continuously make contact with the ground. Their purpose is to prevent scalping your lawn, such as when mowing over uneven surfaces.
No opinion on the price quotes, other than to say that Kubota tractors seem to hold their value pretty well.

Panik · Jul 9, 2014

Jay4200 - if you haven't already read post #6 from the link I posted. It has a bit more info about which decks are suspended and which are not. Sorry, forgot to include that when it posted.

BTW I love my BX, but if your just purely going for a mower and relying on the L for snow blowing why not look at a z-turn? Alternately, while I have never had to do it, I know there are people on the forum that do successfully use BX's as a primary snow blower.

xtruckerbob · Jul 9, 2014

We are on our second BX the first was BX2200 which we put 2000 +++ hours with the only problem being a fuel stop. We have a new 2670 with a loader (which is the only reason we sold the first one). My wife mows about 5 acres a week while I mow 7 acres with our L2600 and a land pride 5 foot mower. The BX2670 will out mow the the L model hands down. We did buy an extra set of turf tires cause the R4 tires are so rough. We tried out a B model but was a little large to mow around the house. Either way you go you can't go wrong with Kubota

ericb2400 · Jul 9, 2014

I have an older? B2400 HST with a 60" belly mower and loader. My Deck (RC60B I think) has 6 sets of wheels. The Left, Right front swivel, and center rear are what the deck rides on when mowing.

The front center and left and right rear are anti scalp. I mow 5 acres, w of which are horse pasture so you can imagine how ruff that is. I am very happy of the cut quality. It may not be super fine manicured but for 5 acres it does fine...

Happy Gilmore · Jul 10, 2014

I have a little BX1500 with 48" deck. It's a great little mower. I run mine with the loader on, as it's a PIA to take off with my Curtis cab. I'd buy another BX down the road when mine kicks the bucket, it'll be a while though, I'm only at 190 hours.