BX2230 Ride Comfort Idea
- Thread starter Scrounger
- Start date
- Views: 2313
jeffmazz
Silver Member
Matthew,
I live in Upper Bucks County not far from you. I have a BX22 with a 60" mid mount mower. My property can get pretty soggy due to poor drainage. I was reluctant to use the BX to cut my grass because of this. I usaually use a WheelHorse 520H tractor for grass cutting. I tried the BX for the first time last season and never went back to the WheelHorse. With the backhoe and loader removed it is only 100 or so pounds heavier than a 2230. It mows and handles like nothing I've ever used before and it doesn't damage the lawn like I feared it might. Even when it was a little soggy it didn't tear up the lawn. You can't go wrong with any of the machines you are considering. My advice is to buy the biggest one you can afford.
Jeff
I live in Upper Bucks County not far from you. I have a BX22 with a 60" mid mount mower. My property can get pretty soggy due to poor drainage. I was reluctant to use the BX to cut my grass because of this. I usaually use a WheelHorse 520H tractor for grass cutting. I tried the BX for the first time last season and never went back to the WheelHorse. With the backhoe and loader removed it is only 100 or so pounds heavier than a 2230. It mows and handles like nothing I've ever used before and it doesn't damage the lawn like I feared it might. Even when it was a little soggy it didn't tear up the lawn. You can't go wrong with any of the machines you are considering. My advice is to buy the biggest one you can afford.
Jeff
OP
Scrounger
Platinum Member
I assume you have the bar tires on it too right? I've been told to buy both sets but I'm not sure why since it seems the bar is a great tire and doesn't kill the lawn like i thought it would.
Junkman
Super Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( .............. I've been told to buy both sets but I'm not sure why since it seems the bar is a great tire and doesn't kill the lawn like i thought it would. )</font>
I purchased the turf tires along with the bar tires that came with the BX22 tractor. To this day, I have never installed them on the tractor. I have never had any problems with the bar tires doing damage to the turf, unless I wandered into a area of the lawn that was still so soft that any tire would leave marks in the sod. I keep thinking that I would use them for grass cutting, but with the loader and backhoe, I know that the turf tires just won't cut it when using these two implements no matter how dry the ground is. I remember trying to pull the York rake with my old tractor with turf tires. I was constantly getting bogged down. When I changed them to bar tires, the problem went away. Go with the bar tires and you will not regret wasting the $300 on the turf tires..... Junk.........
I purchased the turf tires along with the bar tires that came with the BX22 tractor. To this day, I have never installed them on the tractor. I have never had any problems with the bar tires doing damage to the turf, unless I wandered into a area of the lawn that was still so soft that any tire would leave marks in the sod. I keep thinking that I would use them for grass cutting, but with the loader and backhoe, I know that the turf tires just won't cut it when using these two implements no matter how dry the ground is. I remember trying to pull the York rake with my old tractor with turf tires. I was constantly getting bogged down. When I changed them to bar tires, the problem went away. Go with the bar tires and you will not regret wasting the $300 on the turf tires..... Junk.........
jeffmazz
Silver Member
I do have the bar tires. My dealer recommended them and I'm glad I listened. My friend has the turf tires on his BX and they don't perform as well as the the bar tires. When he cuts his grass you can see the tire marks for a few days becuase they compact the grass too much. The bar tires don't do this. The bars also work great in the snow and mud where the turf would need chains to compare. I agree with Junkman--go with the bar tires--don't waste your money on the turfs.
Jeff
Jeff
OP
Scrounger
Platinum Member
BTW nice dog. I have a retired ten yr old hunter that is now a heating and air conditioning vent lover.
Junkman
Super Member
Thanks..... they are great dogs.... I have had Weimeraners for over 35 years now. The only break in the chain was a short stint when we had a German Shorthair and a Greyhound. Star prefers to be under the covers in cold months, and prefers April till November vs. December to March.
LBrown59
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2004
- Messages
- 16,831
- Tractor
- 2003 Kubota BX1500/2004 Kubota Bx23/2005 Kubota BX1500
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Has anyone tried to air down the tires a bit on the BX tractors to make them ride a bit better while mowing. I was test riding a BX2230, I've decided to step up from the BX15, and the first thing I noticed was it rides pretty rough. I know these are mini tractors, but I dont want to be sore after I mow with it.
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They don't really ride that ruff I don't think.
Right they are tractors and as such they don't have springs and air shocks, Ya know; but they won't make you sore.
If where you're mowing is that ruff maybe you need to smooth it up and level it out a bit that's just one of the things the tractor can be used for.
:::::::::
<font color="red"><< I buried a pile of dirt in my back yard.
Every once in a while I go dig it up to see if it's still there.>> </font>
)</font>
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They don't really ride that ruff I don't think.
Right they are tractors and as such they don't have springs and air shocks, Ya know; but they won't make you sore.
If where you're mowing is that ruff maybe you need to smooth it up and level it out a bit that's just one of the things the tractor can be used for.
:::::::::
<font color="red"><< I buried a pile of dirt in my back yard.
Every once in a while I go dig it up to see if it's still there.>> </font>
Keybal
Bronze Member
I also bought the BX22 with turf tires assuming I would tear the lawn up with the bar tires. Whether using the FEL or BH, the machine wouln't get out of it's own way. I finally purchased a full set of bar tires from the dealer (about $300.00 with rims and tires) assuming that I would switch back and forth when needed. I haven't switched back yet. A year and one half later, the turf tires are still sitting in the shed and the lawn is no worse for it. I actually beleive that its better with the bar tires. The turf tires would leave skid marks when they would spin out on the lawn, the bars don't spin out!
bandit67
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 27, 2004
- Messages
- 1,610
- Location
- Lake Hartwell, SC
- Tractor
- 2012 B3000 HSDCC 2020 Z251 Zero Turn
I was in a similar predicament last summer. I needed a tractor for our recently purchase old property, would have liked a backhoe, but didn't think I could justify the added cost. I have a neighbor that has a BX22 that I can borrow for backhoe duties, so it just didn't seem to make sense for me to buy a BX23. Even if I didn't have a neighbor with the BX22, I still may not have gotten the BX23, and in that case, it would have been a mistake. I've used the backhoe more than my neighbor has, and have a lot more tasks planned for it in the coming 10 months. After that, I don't think I'll have much use for it.
Like others have said, if you get the backhoe, you will use it for even more tasks than you can think of right now, and you won't ever have a problem selling a used BX22 or BX23 for not much less than what you paid new.
Now, if you still aren't convinced that you need a backhoe, or can't afford it right now, then you do have the option of getting the Woods unit a few years down the road. It will cost anywhere from $4500 to $6000 delivered, so it could cost you as much as $1500 more than if you bought a BX23. In my case, the backhoe on the BX 23 was $4500 more than the BX2230, so if I ever get the Woods backhoe for my tractor, it'll be pretty close to even as far as cost. I've seen the instruction/parts manual, and it looks to me like a pretty solid unit, with a well-engineered 4 point mounting system that ties the rear mount into the transmission case and all the way up to the front end loader mounting brackets - which is comparable to the extent that Kubota has beefed up the BX2230 to handle the backhoe in the BX23 form.
Like others have said, if you get the backhoe, you will use it for even more tasks than you can think of right now, and you won't ever have a problem selling a used BX22 or BX23 for not much less than what you paid new.
Now, if you still aren't convinced that you need a backhoe, or can't afford it right now, then you do have the option of getting the Woods unit a few years down the road. It will cost anywhere from $4500 to $6000 delivered, so it could cost you as much as $1500 more than if you bought a BX23. In my case, the backhoe on the BX 23 was $4500 more than the BX2230, so if I ever get the Woods backhoe for my tractor, it'll be pretty close to even as far as cost. I've seen the instruction/parts manual, and it looks to me like a pretty solid unit, with a well-engineered 4 point mounting system that ties the rear mount into the transmission case and all the way up to the front end loader mounting brackets - which is comparable to the extent that Kubota has beefed up the BX2230 to handle the backhoe in the BX23 form.
