BX1500 questions

[Backup]

Hello, newbie here so go easy on me. I'm strongly considering a BX1500 but looking for advice (or reassurance) that it will do what I want. I can get a BX1500 with 54" MMM and rear blade for about $7800 (price includes the $500 rebate). Toss in the 0% for 36 month deal and it is hard to walk away from. For the price of a decent garden tractor you get diesel, 4WD, 3PH, and FEL capability.

Anyway, right now all I need it for is mowing 1.1 acre, leaf pickup (LOTS of leaves), and infrequent snow removal of 200' gravel drive (I expect no more than 3 or 4 times a winter). I'm thinking the rear blade will suffice for snow duties, and is very inexpensive. The BX1500 seems overkill for these requirements, but will work fine.

The catch is that next year we will be moving to new property - 9 acres mostly flat. Almost all grass, so I'll need to mow ~7 acres and work ~.75 acre garden (tiller). I have access to a regular utility tractor with FEL for bushhog and other heavy duties, so I'm mostly concerned about finish mowing 7 acres, tilling the garden, and light snow removal. For these duties the BX1500 seems a little small. I'd rather have a 60" or even 72" MMM to speed the mowing, but something like that is way overkill for what I need now. I could just wait until next year and select a larger machine, but the deals they have now seem pretty good. Plus I'm trying to justify a new toy! Maybe the BX1830 or BX2230 are a better compromise, but honestly I don't see the big advantage over the BX1500 - power is not the problem, and the price difference is a lot just to gain 6 inches on the MMM (60 instead of the 54). What do you think? Will the BX1500 with 54" mow ~7 flat acres in a reasonable amount of time (I don't mind seat time but don't want to spend all day doing it either)? Would I be crazy to try to run a 3PH 60" finish mower on the BX1500?

 

[ByronBob]

I'll try to answer the questions as you have them presented. A back blade will do the snow.
The 1500 is a fine machine. Cutting grass will be fun with it.
You WILL spend most of the day mowing the yard. Unless your in high gear and then if the land isn't flat you'll end up jarring your body too much to do it for long.
A 60 inch isn't a good idea. 48 is more like it. You'll break the tractor if you overdo it

 

[SeymourBota]

The 1500 will not be suited to your needs next year. If you stay in the BX series, you would want the 2230 and I would still believe that to be too small for your new property.
I think you should consider a 7610.

 

[Backup]

Thanks for the replies, that's one for and one against. The thing that keeps me coming back to the 1500 is that I have access to an L-series for any bigger jobs. For less than the approx $2000 difference between the 1500 and 2230, I could buy a 60" (or larger) finish mower for the L and use it for the acreage if the 1500 took too long to mow it. The BX series seems sized right for what I could use now and for light duty next year. I started out looking at garden tractors with 54 or 60 mowers, that could also run a tiller, but then I saw the 1500 which is a more capable machine with 3PH and PTO. The other thing that has me thinking is the rumor that the 1500 will be discontinued, meaning that I'd be forced to go with the more expensive 2230 or B series, which may bust my budget. I'm leaning toward the 1500 now with the rebate and finance deal.

 

[RonR]

Its always nice to spend other people's money...........

I have a BX2200 and feel that the extra HP and capability you get with the larger tractor is worth the $2k extra; especially if consider you will likely use this unit for 10-20 years.........

I think the footprint of the two is about the same--you just get more UMPH when you need it. For mowing, it will cruise........

Best wishes,
Ron

 

[JimCald]

I have owned a BX1500 for about a year now. It has the 48" deck (due to storage concerns), and it takes me about 1 1/2 hours to mow my property, which is just a little larger than yours (1 3/4 ac). I also purchased the FEL and don't regret the added $$, as I have found many uses for it.

If you are going to use it to pick up leaves, I would suggest you look into a tow-behind unit instead of the Kubota bagger. It is about the same price, has much larger capacity, and is easily removed when not needed.

 

[fish_wisperer]

buy 1500 now.........trade up later

 

[Backup]

Well, after much thought, it seems it really boils down to this. For my needs now, the BX1500 is an alternative (upgrade) to a regular garden tractor. I started out looking at a Cub 3200, then JD GX345/355, but the BX15 offers a lot more capability for not much more money. I'm not sure it will do everything I need in the future, but probably will. And if it doesn't, I can always trade-up. It still seems like crazy overkill for my current 1.3 acres - I and all my neighbors get by with small lawn tractors now. The 0%/36 month deal is the big advantage - can't get that with JD or Cub. Need to decide soon...

 

[equipman]

I'm afraid that you have missed the 0% for 36 months. The new rate is 0% for 24 months. The $500.00 customer instant rebate on all BX models is still in effect until Nov 30,05 though. Lewis

 

[equipman]

backup
After making that last post and reviewing my current programs from Kubota, I'm afraid that I gave some incorrect infomation on BX financing. It looks like on BX's and M's, the 0%, zero down up to 36 months is still good until 12/31/05. Sorry for the mistake. Lewis