BX Owners, opinions please.

[TresCrows]

"leveling, and work in the woods, go for the B7510. "

Just one thing that may not be so obvious. It is assumed and accepted that the 7500 now 7510 and 2410 and so on small tractors have more ground clearence than the BX and yes, they do have a bit more. The thing is that none of these tractors are equipped with skid plates, they are not ATVs or Jeeps. There is alot of important stuff hanging all about underneath any of these units and it is all easily damaged. The idea that getting a couple of more inches of clearence with a 7500 is going to allow you to go banging through the woods with immunity is INCORRECT. Just wanted you to know that. The big difference between the BX subcompacts and the smallest compacts like the 7500 is the 3-point. The compacts have more lift capability both in weight and height which is useful in some cases. As a multipurpose machine that is used principly for mowing relatively smooth ground the BX is hard to beat. Another thing, the BX MMM nor the MMM on the 7500 is intended for brush clearing or rough field use. Both will be quickly damaged. Both the MMM on the BX and 7500 are intended for lawns. For rougher ground I would suggest the 7500/7510.2410/7610 with a 3-point type 60 inch deck and use the MMM for the lawn only. Also the larger tractor is more easily adapted to a small brush cutter though the BX can handle one as well within certain limitations--every thing has limits. J

 

[Egon]

Looking at the undersides of a B7500 One will see two hydro filters and a fuel filter just waiting for an errant tree or heavy brush.

In the situations my poor little B7100 has been used these filters would have been damaged more than once.

Egon

 

[Kelvin]

I've looked closely at the BX 2200 that a friend of mine bought.

In my opinion the lower height offers advantages when it comes to storage and stability (less likely to turn over than the B series).

However, problems may arise when you try to purchase USED 3-point equipment. Since you say your primary task will be mowing, then 3-point equipment may not be an issue. New 3-point equipment designed for the BX should be readily available. I tried to mount my older model Kubota tiller onto my friends BX2200 (a tiller that I had previously used on my older B7100, which is a small tractor also; probably about the size of the B7500 but I can't say for sure). With the lower 3-point lift arms connected the drive shaft would barely fit (fully compressed to its shortest length) with the tiller on the ground, which means that the drive shaft length would not allow tiller to be lifted. That is the problem that I anticipated. The BX problem that I did not anticipate is that I could not get the BX2200s top link to connect because it was too long. So, in order to make my tiller work on the BX2200 I'd need to cut the drive shaft and purchase a new top link for the BX. In the end, I just used my tractor with my tiller to till up his garden.

Kelvin

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Just about any 3pt PTO driven equipment will need to have the PTO shaft cut to fit a BX. I have a snowblower, tiller and a Herd Seeder, ALL needed the PTO shaft cut.

One thing you DO NOT want to do it leave the top link on your BX if you are not using it. The hook that holds the top link up when not used is not well designed and permits the top link to fall. I backed up with the top link in the down position and hit something. Bent the top link. No problem, just get a new one. Kubota gets $110 for a top link on a BX!!! and you can not just replace one side of the link, you have to buy a entire new unit. Because of the small size of the top link, I could not find an after market replacement. I ended up going to a machine shop who used a press to straight the top link out. Now if I am not using the top link, I take it off.

 

[UncleAl]

I haven't had any clearance problems as I haven't gone into the woods yet, but I have an opinion about tires. I'm one of those guys who couldn't decide between Bar and Turf, so I spent the extra $300 and got both. I switch to the turfs at the beginning of mowing season, they're a little easier on the yard. The Bars give better traction, as you'd expect. (I got stuck for the first time the other day on the turfs, doing some loader work, they quickly filled up with mud and became slicks.) I'm glad I got both, but if I had to choose only one, I'd go with the Bars. By the way, I changed out two wheel bolts on each rear hub for studs and lug nuts. Only about $7 total for the hardware, and it makes it much easier to switch tires, especially filled ones.

 

[drcollie]

I have a BX22 with 200 hours on it and 5 acres of residential property, three of which are wooded.

Ground Clearance: yes, it CAN be a problem in virgin woods, You're not going to be rolling over many downed trees (even small ones) with it. However, on any tractor you have to take off the mid-mount mower to really go in the woods.

Mowing: The BX22 is such a fine mower (Once you get the deck aligned the 10 different ways it has to be aligned) that if it's 80% of the work you do, that's the series to stay with.

Bar vs. Turf: I spec'd my tractor with turfs, but DO get stuck in the area where I have a creek bed and it's muddy. Bought a set of extra Bar wheels and tires and have never swapped back to the turf set - even for mowing. Get the Bar tires, and call me if you need a set of used Turf wheels and tires <g>

BX22: GREAT TRACTOR! If it has one shortcoming the bigger ones don't have (much bigger ones) is the backhoe is not powerful enough to dig out stumps easily. Would I trade it for something larger? Nope.

-Duane