Price Check BX2350 price check & advice

[planesmith]

I own an aircraft sales company and move small piston aircraft around my facility often. I am looking for a 4WD hydro tractor to accomplish this task along with a snowblower attachment as I live in Minnesota.

I have looked at the JD 2305 and Kubota new tractors. I have also looked at used but find they are not much cheaper than new in excellent condition. I also want to take advantage of a warranty and financing available.

It seems to me that the Kubota BX2350 might be a good option. In addition I am considering their front mounted or potentially a rear mount 3 point snowblower.

I am seeking advice on my tractor selection and whould like some feedback on whether a front of rear snowblower setup is a better setup for this tractor.

Price quoted locally was $11,600 for the BX2350 and front mount blower.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Can't say much about snowblowers themselves, but I'd think you'd want an FEL (front end loader) with this rig. That would greatly simplify the moving of small piston aircraft PARTS around your facility as well. One of these deals with either with clamp-on forks or replaced with a fabricated replacement for the bucket would make light work of many tasks.

In general, I have heard of folks putting wider rear-mount (3PH) blowers than the ones on the front. Don't know if there is any truth to that, but it is my impression. Regarding snow removal, I would think the FEL would be very nice to get large piles cleared in a hurry. I do all my snow removal with the FEL exclsively. Yet another positive for a FEL. Probably a bit of a pain to back up with the snow blower all the time, but it would be easier to install/remove as well.

If you're 100% dedicated to snowblowing and moving aircraft with no other needs anticipated, a front mount blower would be easier to use (less bending of the neck).

The price is middle of the road. Not bad, but not great. Hopefully that includes hydraulic up and down as well as mechanized chute control on the blower.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[planesmith]

Thanks for the advice so far. I considered a FEL but thought a blower might be better at getting rid of the snow. Perhaps an FEL might be more valuable as you point out.

 

[KeithInSpace]

"More valuable" may be a stretch. If you were clearing a 3500 ft long 12 foot wide driveway, a front blower would be perfect since you don't really want to be turning around for 2 hours.

I am imagining you clearing a wide expanse of tarmac in front of a hanger. The snow blower would suit itself to blowing, of course, but in your situation, it seems you would at some point need to "stack", "ram", or "move". A blower, of course, doesn't "stack" or "ram" snow very well.

As such, I was just thinking you could blow out the center, then scrape the edges and make some wonderful 6' high mounds. Well suited to digging igloos and drinking coffee inside. Not that I know anything about that.

With the utility of this thing, having it mired down as a two trick pony would be a shame. The FEL is a wonderful thing that has many, many uses. If nothing else, it will greatly increase the resale value of the machine later on down the line.

 

[rpoage]

Hard to tell on prices as I have never seen anyone with the same spec.
IMO I would get a price on the base machine with a FEL and the tires you want and then add in the blower.
The FEL will include the hydraulics you need for the front mount system for the blower

List Prices from Kubota
BX2350RV 4WD Tractor with Rigid ROPS Loader Valve 1700 $ 10,393.00
and R4 Industrial Tires

BX2350V 4WD Tractor with Rigid ROPS and 1200 $ 10,072.00
Loader Valve (Must order tires separately.)

TIRES AND WHEELS (priced per piece): BX2350
ABXR8771 Front 18 x 8.50 10 Turf $51.00
ABXR8712 Rear 26 x 12.00 12 Turf $91.00
ABXR8772 Front 18 x 8.50 10 Bar $54.00
ABXR8714 Rear 26 x 12.00 12 Bar $100.00
ABXR8717 Front 18 x 8.50 10 R4 $57.00
ABXR8718 Rear 26 x 12.00 12 R4 $104.00

LA24312 Front Loader Package 600 $ 2,111.00
Includes: The Loader package includes the all
loader frame and bucket. The BX2324 Hydraulic
Control Valve and BX2334 Grill Guard Kit must be
ordered separately.

FRONT GRILLE GUARD
BX2334 Grille Guard for LA203 and LA243 Loader 24 $ 143.00

FRONT SNOWBLOWER
BX2750C 50 Two Stage Snowblower 297 $ 1,490.00
Mid-PTO driven, Hyd. Lift, Manual Chute
& Deflector. BX1850, BX2350, BX24 requires BX2751
Quick Hitch Subframe Kit, BX2314 or BX2324
Front Loader Valve, BX2752 Mid PTO kit (BX1850),
Or BX2753 Mid PTO Kit (BX2350/BX24).

SNOWBLOWER OPTIONAL ATTACHMENTS
GB2513 Electric Chute Deflector Kit 8 $ 398.00
GB2514B-1 Electric Chute Rotator Kit 8 $ 295.00
BX2754 Hydraulic Chute Rotator Kit 12 $ 625.00
BX2755 Retro Fit Kit for use of BX2750(A) and (B) with 1 $ 15.00
BX1850, BX2350, BX24

BX2753 Mid PTO Drive Kit (BX2350, BX24) 18 $ 485.00
Required for BX2750C and BX2537A

SUBFRAME, MOUNTING KITS
BX2751 Quick Attach Subframe for BX2750C, 82 $ 470.00
TG2754, BX2537A, or BX2763A.
(BX1850, BX2350, BX24)

I'll let you do the math. Hope this helps.

 

[planesmith]

Thanks again for additional info. It almost sounds like the FEL might be a better solution for me than the either of the blowers. The front blower is out because I need to have a hitch on the front of the tractor to push planes. I don't want to have to take off the quick hitch each time.

The loader sounds like it is easy enough to remove but can I have a hitch installed on the front frame and still install the FEL?

The quoated price I have now for the BX2350 and FEL setup is $11,500 which would appear to be around $1,100 off retail. I also priced a JD 2305 with their FEL package at $12,300.

If I went this route I would probably just buy a rear blade for the 3pt.

 

[fish6942]

Not sure how the planes hitch to the front of the tractor but could you adapt a "plane hitch" to the bucket of front end loader (in a quick release fashion)? This would allow you to have the loader for other purposes and still move the planes around.

Most people will agree that with anything more than a moderate snowfall a blower will be faster than a FEL for snow removal. Plus with a blower you don't have snowbanks to deal with like with a FEL.

Lastly, a rear blower means not having to remove it to be able to move your planes around.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Since there aren't many "lifting" forces to pushing a plane and presumably it is just a matter of getting the thing started and stopped, it would seem that an attachment to the FEL to accomplish this would just be a little bit of thought, and a couple holes, away.

I was only thinking FEL since getting one of these machines without one is like buying the 4 cylinder version of a car when there is an 8 cylinder version available for a handful of dollars more...sure, money is money, but you'll be kicking yourself for as long as you own the vehicle.

Depending on what types of planes we're talking about, you could still mount the "arm" to the front of the tractor and have it rotate under the FEL as long as the bucket doesn't scrape against the bottom of the plan.

For that matter, the FEL comes off in about 60 seconds. Literally. It is cake and doesn't take up any more room dismounted than it takes up mounted (you still park the tractor between the mounting arms). I have taken it off several times in an hour just to suit what I was doing...it is very, very easy and would not let that be any type of limitation on what you are doing.