Landscaping tasks, looking at a BX24, will it be enough? Pictures included!

[Taiser]

Hey everyone;

I posted this in another forum (hope nobody minds) but I think this forum would probably get me more responses, so I'm double dipping so to speak !

I'm at the final stages of choosing a CUT and will be buying one in a few months (spring at the latest). I'm a big fan of the Kubota BX23 or 24 and am looking at it primarily for landscaping capabilities.

Background.

I have just under 8 acres of land, about 3 right now are grass. The property use to be farmland but some of the field now has about 20 years of wild tree growth (trees are big but not huge, mostly spruce and pine, mixed in with poplar and birch). The land is fairly flat and mostly sandy soil down to about 10 feet (which is how far I dug for the water line to the house). Here is an overhead photo of the property.

I want to keep a 30 foot or so "bush" barrier on each side of the property as can be seen in the photo on the upper side for privacy. This photo was taken a year or so ago. More trees have been cleared (mostly in the front) since this photo was taken. I want a clear lot all the way to the back area where you can see in the first photo where the junk pile is at the end of the clear area. Basically what I want is a machine that can pull out (dig) medium size stumps and level the grass area to a smooth finish. Here are some photos of the property when I started landscaping this spring.

As you can see I (well that's my buddy on the Deere 317 :trink40: ) was tilling the old garden area in an attempt to flatten out all the old garden ruts. It worked out pretty good but I will have to bring in dirt to level everything out properly. I have a pit in the backyard to get dirt from, about 200 yards away which I hope to be hauling with the machines loader. When all is said and done, I would like to have about 4 acres of flat grass, maybe a 1/2 acre garden with a greenhouse surrounded by the 30+ foot tree line (seen in the first photo). Reason I want the BX is basically for the back-hoe, which is included in the price. My other option will be a Deere 2000 series, but without the backhoe for now ($$$).

Is this too much for the Kubota to handle? What I mean by that is not the time it takes the work to be done (I don't mind the seat time) but physically can the machine be expected to do this type of work without abusing it's capabilties?

Hope to get some thoughts from guys with the machines?

Thanks!

 

[ChuckinNH]

Taiser,
This may be disappointing news, but the BX24 will be borderline for taking out stumps the size we are looking at here. I have a BX22, and have taken out stumps that size, but you have to start some distance from the main stem, and it takes time, and patience.... and an axe usually. I think you would be happier with a minimum of a B7610 with a Woods BH70x ( and that would require front ballast) or better still, a B7800 with the same hoe. Of course an excavator would make short work of the job, but I understand the desire to want to do it yourself in your own time.
You have a great piece of land there, enjoy your projects!!
Chuck

 

[Tom_H]

The stumps would take time; you might get a single claw tooth to replace the bucket on the bh for ripping the last nasty roots apart. The rest you could do with a 37-44" PTO powered tiller, 36-48" rear blade, 42-48" box blade, a GearMore 40" heavy duty rough cutter, and a tooth bar from Markham. You might also want a combo sub-soiler/middlebuster.

 

[Dusty]

If you have a long time frame, and a long lifetime ahead of you, then possibly the BX will work, but if you want this project done on a timely basis, then the BX isn't the machine for you. The BX will be more than adequate to handle any future tasks once you get the trees and stumps gone, but not to do this work now. I would suggest that you consider renting a larger piece of equipment to do the heavy work and then finish up with the BX. The right equipment for the job always makes it go much faster and easier. I would suggest a small excavator would be the best for what you want to do. What are you going to do with the stumps once you dig them out? That is also a consideration. It might be better to just cut the trees as low as possible and have a stump grinder come in to chew them down about 8" below the surface. If you have a lot of stumps, possibly rent one and operate it yourself. It is the better way to eliminate stumps, since they have become so hard to dispose of. Also, consider a dump truck or trailer to move the material. One bucket at a time will be quite tiring and not make the best use of your time. What you want to do is better suited to someone that is familiar with site development and has the equipment to do such work quickly and efficiently. Sometimes spending a little will save you a lot. I believe that this is one of those times. Dusty

 

[Taiser]

Thanks for the replies guys...

Time I got, this is going to take years to do and I'm in no rush (I'm only 37 ). The stumps I'm talking about are not huge, maybe a few are max 5" in diameter spruces, but most are less than 3". The spruce roots are all surface roots, so I would like to cut the tree down to a foot then use the tractor to push them over, or the back-hoe to dig them out a bit. I usually cut them down to the ground level and have no problem burying them under a few inches of soil. The problem is with the bigger ones which have roots sticking up out of the soil and it makes a large hump in the ground, these have to come out.

Don't forget my soil is sandy, in fact when the soil dries on the surface it's finer than beach sand. I'm going to have tho get some black dirt in to make a decent grass bed. I have no problem getting a 580case to do any major work, but most of that was done during house construction already.

Getting rid of stumps is no problem. All that stuff is getting buried in the backyard pit. This is where the ground for my driveway was dug out and I have a good size pit to fill.

If I go for a bigger machine, then I have to forget about a backhoe for now and I doubt the wife will let me get one later on, it's bad enough spending 20k on a machine and then telling her I need to spend another 7 or so later on. I'd rather get one now, albeit a bit smaller. Like the old saying goes, "It's better to ask for forgiveness, than to ask for permission!"

I'll take better pictures of the tree sizes and add them to the post in a bit, gotta wait a bit for the snow to stop!

 

[Taiser]

OK I zipped outside and took photos which should better show what I'm dealing with. It stopped snowing BTW and now it's raining

Here's a photo of the rough area next to my driveway which I want to tackle first, the second shows the size of the trees and the third is a photo with 6" scale showing the typical size of stumps I'm dealing with. Again a few are 6" or so but with the backhoe I think they should come out pretty easy. Many of these stumps will simply be buried but again a few are in mound like areas and will have to be yanked out.

 

[BTDT]

None of those look that big, I think a 580 loader/backhoe would be able to push those over pretty easy, stump and all. Just push up high to get it going then lower bucket as it goes over. What ever is left could be dug out with hoe. A weekend rental would probably do the trick. Nice place you have there.

 

[HomeBrew2]

I wouldn't hesitate for one second longer to buy that BX !
I don't see anything in your pix that would even make it work up a sweat. Many of us have done what you need to and a lot more with our BX's.
Just one suggestion, That's kindof a long haul to move dirt with a small capacity loader on a short wheelbase machine ... try to take the time to make a nice smooth haul road and keep it dressed up ... it'll make you and the baby tractor happier

 

[JoeG]

You are thinking in the right direction on this one. A BX is a good fit. I would not be afraid to tackle any of your listed projects with my BX. Are there times when more power might make things easier? You bet, but the BX will impress over and over again, especially that since most of it's hours will be for mowing. Could I buy a faster computer, or a bigger chainsaw, or a more heavy duty pickup truck? Yes I can but it probably isn't practical, so for all my equipment I try to apply a "Goldie Locks" principal, not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

Anyway this site overrun with "bigger is better" syndrome. "If you have the money...", "If you have the room..." "If you don't have the time..." etc...

Here is a conversion chart for this site for asking questions about tractor sizes requirements (kubota only, but probably extensible to other brands.)

If you think you need a riding mower the collective advice will recommend a BX.
If you think you need a BX the collective advice will recommend a B.
If you think you need a B the collective advice will recommend a L.
If you think you need a L the collective advice will recommend a M.

You get the point. Can we make this chart a "sticky"?

Good luck.

 

[Taiser]

That's what I was thinking JoeG...

Sure I can get the deere for a few bucks more but no backhoe, but when the job is done, then what? I got a 25K lawnmower?!?!?!? (not that I would mind that ), but I have to be practical too. The backhoe on this seems decent enough for me, especially later for putting up fencing, clearing/maintaining ditches and planting trees and stuff.

This thing (BX) seems to be the perfect size for my lot IF I didn't have the stumps to deal with. What I'm looking for is input that it will survive the job without blowing up or wearing the **** out of it. Basically I'm thinking it would have a hard (but not abusive) life for 2-3 years, then have the easy life doing less demanding chores.

That white car you see in one of my photos is 15 years old!!! You better believe that if I spend more on this than my car it better last me a good 20 years!!!

Homebrew...

I got a road already leading to the pit but it is a bit rough (but not that bad, I keep the weeds down with my garden tractor mower), first job for the new machine would be to level it smooth!

Anybody else go crazy when shopping for these things??? This is worse than looking for a car!!!!