You have never addressed the critical tractor selection issue of topography of your Georgia property.
Flat? Sloped fully or in part? Hilly fully or in part?
Jeff, please bear with me in responding.... I appreciate and am honestly not trying to ignore your's or anyone's input here on this thread. Between life/kids/work and organizing my thoughts it can take me some time to respond.
We live along the crest of an old rise/ridge at the tail end of the Appalachian mountain chain. At least a portion of the land was old terraced farm land.... you can still see evidence of the terracing in the 7 acres of old re-growth forest on my property. The 4 acres of "yard" were roughly regraded 20 years ago when the home was constructed, and most of it is easily navigable with a rear-wheel drive zero turn, let alone the BX.
The woods are another matter and range from gently sloped to a portion that has a 10' deep x 15' wide old runoff ravine. However, I am not worried about doing any woods work with any tractor. About the only thing I have interest in accomplishing in the wooded 7 ares is to eventually put in perimeter firebreaks so as to burn on a 3-5 acre rotation. That is a long-term goal and if/when that comes to pass I some of those lines will be handline and some of it will be contracted out to a family friend with the appropriate skid/forestry mulcher.
Generally speaking I agree with your assessment about tractor weight and size..... buying reasonably more tractor than you might otherwise anticipate if you will.
Setting aside the question of costs for the moment the reason larger tractors such as an L4701 or Mx are not heavily in the mix for consideration is due to size and maneuverability. There are a number of areas on my property where the smaller frame of the Bx is a decided benefit and the size of an L4701 or MX would completely preclude their usage:
- There are a number of gates on the property sized such that a B/LX/L2501 will fit but anything wider would not. I have zero interest in re-configuring those gates to accomodate a larger piece of equipment than what they can currently fit.
- The ditch needing maintenance I have previously mentioned is on the up-slope side of the 750 feet gravel road leading to my shop. The down slope side is heavily wooded and drops off significantly. The size of the larger tractors mentioned would make ditch clearing with a combination of the backhoe and loader very difficult if not impossible. Accommodating a larger piece of equipment would involve a significant amount of brush clearing and would result on in the removal of shade trees I am unwilling to lose.
- Similarly I do have one steep slope on the property I bushhog 2-3 times a year with the BX by driving upslope and backing down. At the top of the slope are a number of screening trees and my shop is immediately adjacent to the down slope end. The BX fits rather well in this situation. A B and a Lx will fit, a L2501 may fit. I know that due to the length that a MX or L45701 will not. This is not a slope I am willing to string trim and if left to its own devices would quickly become a mix of sweet gum and volunteer pine.
- With respect to moving mulch, the Bx and its size is a handy benefit in that I am able to get the loader directly over the area to be mulched.... eliminating the need for me to do any hand spreading......
....the idea of keeping the bx and also getting a significantly TLB in order to completely meet needs is a pretty nice dream. However, with 3 kids approaching driving age I would much rather sell/trade-in the BX towards owing less should I get another piece of equipment.
From where I'm sitting, it sounds like a LX or L with backhoe would be just right for what you want. But - I'll caveat that the initial post question about bucket size will never be perfect. Bucketing is the slowest, most repetitive way to move material from A to B. Soon you'll want a Cat 980 Wheel Loader.
I would consider a low cost, flat floor wagon (maybe with removable sides) to move mulch and brush on the property. If you have a truck, maybe a dump trailer. The wagon or trailer can be used to haul and contained the material, so that you scoop out of it, rather than dump it all out in one shot. Or just dump and go in case of brush.
A secondary benefit is that you will be traversing grass or soft areas much less often, and will do less damage to turf.
Thanks for the input. In thinking about the LX or L I'm leaning more heavily towards a small L. From my perspective.... and I could be very wrong.... the LX has a somewhat higher MSRP and trades some performance (engine displacement, loader capacity, etc) for user comforts. As example, lever engaged vs pedal-clutch engaged PTO.
To be frank I'm also very attracted to the idea of a gently used B26 due to its heavier build, but have not spent much time considering it due to the potential increase in price.
I agree with you regarding never finding the perfect bucket size... that's a very slippery slope that. I do have a reasonable understanding of the interplay between tractor weight, frame strength, hp/displacement, etc and what it afford in terms of capability. Those are already quantified and I can put that information into consideration for my property and purposes.
However I can't yet quantify the volumetric differences between say a BX's 48" bucket and the 66" bucket that can come with a L2501... or a MX. If moving mulch is one of the reasons I am considering upgrading I would like to be able to consider bucket volume in my decisions making. Not that I think this is the case, but if a heaped bucket of mulch using BxEpanded's bucket extender is roughly the same as a 60" bucket load of mulch.... well that's important to me to know. I wish Kubota published dimensional specs on their bucket like what is available for W.R. Long's buckets.
I've been broadly considering buying a utility wagon and came close about a year ago when one was being sold a couple miles from the house. Didn't because the frame was too eaten up with rust. It's something that's in my mid regardless of upgrading tractors.... just been waiting for the right opportunity without having to expend too much effort.
I'm a spreadsheet guy, too. I covered 12 or 13 manufacturers and about 3-5 tractors each.
Sometimes, smaller is better. If you want to reduce time in the seat, you will want the biggest tractor that fits your land and has a price you can live with. One reason I will probably not buy Kubota is the lower capacity for similar sized frames.
You hit on the exact crux of my considerations.... buying the largest tractor I can afford that also doesn't size me out of getting into the places I am able currently. As mentioned, I'm looking at the B/LX/L2501 range as a primary point of consideration because I have a reasonable understanding that they will fit into all the spaces I need. A Mx or L4701 will definitely not, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm unwilling to consider a L33/L39 if it's both cost and utility effective.
In your spreadsheet do you have columns for entertainment and safety with multiple operators? Another reason B26 are popular rentals. Being a safe platform for my wife and father was a major model consideration.
Renting one to test and evaluate might help you? Home Depot, Uhaul, Enterprise.
B26 is 4,000#. Great loader articulation and lift.
The used one we got from a local rental auction had 50hours in 2016. About all options. Saved about $10K than new. The thumb on the backhoe was new option for us. If we had bought new probably wouldn’t have spent extra money on a thumb. Now wouldn’t have one without.
It was an evolution of different tractors over time that’s changed with our needs. Enjoy the journey.
Lol, entertainment? No, but then I did modify my BX with a home built aux power supply and custom switch box for use with front/rear lights, USB phone charger and 3pt pump sprayer.... so I'm guessing if we do get a new tractor I'll add some creature comforts.
One large part of my consideration in costs is to balance things so that at very least I come away with a tractor equipped with the hydraulics for a grapple to be added on at a later date, or preferably for the tractor to come home fully equipped with one. Similarly, if I can make it happen I would like to have a mechanical thumb on the hoe.
Unfortunately, there's not much interest from my wife in using the tractor.... It's a shame because she used to run a tractor when she was an elephant keeper at the zoo we both used to work at. I'd very much enjoy being able to do yard projects with her; however she has some health concerns that preclude her form doing much. My oldest son other hand does very much enjoy using the Bx to help me accomplish yardwork.
Thank you for giving me an understanding of what you paid for your B26. I'm keeping in my mind while going through this process and if a gently used one come available when we get ready to buy it may be the direction we head. I am very attracted to the heavier build of that model (yard grass be darned), as well as the more robust frame mounting of the backhoe. I need to add it to the spreadsheet....
Help me with something if you don't mind.....Have you taken the hoe off your B26 and used the 3pt? If so can you give me some idea of how long/complex that process is... especially as compared to say a regular B with manufacturer backhoe?