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

[Danilo]

Have you made the purchase yet??? And what did you buy???

 

[Taiser]

Sorry guys, I've been out of town for the last week due to work.

No I haven't bought it yet, I'm looking at January or so, depending when my dealer gets some new inventory in. I've narrowed it down to a BX24 or a B2630 though, still leaning towards the BX though because if I get the B then I may have to forego the backhoe until next year. I'll make the final call when I get to sit on each machine.

 

[flusher]

Well I also looked at the "B" series. The one that caught my eye is the B7510HSD, but this thing with a loader will be about the same price as the BX24 and no back-hoe.

I'm not even sure if the 7510 can take a hoe and it only has 21 horses. I know that a couple of horses on a diesel don't mean much. I can save a couple of grand on the geared tranny and put that towards a possible back-hoe and I don't mind gears from what I read they are stronger overall. Anybody have any input on the kubota hydros? Would the hydro on the 7510 really be worth the 2500$ extra they ask for? If the hydro is as strong and will hold up as long as the geared version I'd probably consider it, but don't mind spending the extra cash on the hydro. I can see the "Go Bigger" reasons, heck I'd get a 580Case if I could swing it, but then again, once all the hard work is done I don't want to have a 25,000$ lawnmower...if a lawnmower can actually be attached to some of these bigger machines

Man these are hard decisions.

I have a 2005 B7510HST with the LA302 FEL. No backhoe. It does all I ask of it around my 10-acre spread (flat pasture land) except heavy duty tilling (hay farming). For that job I have a 1966 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel (45 hp).

I thought about a backhoe before I bought the 7510 and decided that for the amount of foreseeable backhoe work it wasn't a good deal. There are plenty of guys around here with bigger more capable TLBs that will work relatively cheaply if and when I need that kind of job done.

 

[LBrown59]

I have a 2005 B7510HST with the LA302 FEL. No backhoe. It does all I ask of it around my 10-acre spread (flat pasture land) except heavy duty tilling (hay farming). For that job I have a 1966 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel (45 hp).

I thought about a backhoe before I bought the 7510 and decided that for the amount of foreseeable backhoe work it wasn't a good deal. There are plenty of guys around here with bigger more capable TLBs that will work relatively cheaply if and when I need that kind of job done.

I'd be lost with out my BH.
In fact I wouldn't even feel like I had a tractor if my Bx 23 didn't have it.
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[Danilo]

Sorry guys, I've been out of town for the last week due to work.

No I haven't bought it yet, I'm looking at January or so, depending when my dealer gets some new inventory in. I've narrowed it down to a BX24 or a B2630 though, still leaning towards the BX though because if I get the B then I may have to forego the backhoe until next year. I'll make the final call when I get to sit on each machine.

Sounds like the Bx24 is the best option. Does the most for the money, and seeing that the machine is a bit smaller in stature will be most helpful when mowing around things. I thououghly enjoty my BX24, thought about upgrading to the B3030 but after looking at what the difference was in size and price, I am keeping my BX24. The machine will do as much as they say and then some. Best of luck.

 

[Harry c]

If you're in a hurry, don't read this. It got a lot longer than I planned!
Pics of various stages attached. (I hope)
I just finished my yard with my BX 24. I live on a cove on a lake in NC. The previous owner had done a few weird things starting with some railroad ties and terraces. The back yard near the lake was a disaster! Basically raw woods and an eroded bank to the lake. Had a little bit rip-rapped but not finished. Last year I cleaned out the brush, cut 15 or 20 trees level with the ground, leveled and seeded as best I could with my 36 year old Cub Cadet with blade and plows. (the Cub by the way has its own lengthy story of mods.)

I brought in 15 tandem loads of dirt, completed terraces down to my dock to match the railroad ties that were there already. I smoothed the ground, dug out the stumps, took out a few more trees. Then, a brick sidewalk from the dock to the house, stone look steps to a sunken brick patio overlooking the lake (in the shade).

In the process the stumps were a variety of sizes and species. Dug out a 16" hickory that went 6 ft deep. Took about 2 hours and a big hole but got it all. No axe, no sweat! One of the trees I just took out was a 24" hickory about 75 ft tall. Had to have a climber come out and get it on the ground. No place to fall and way too close to the house. Dug around that stump about 2 ft deep and cut it off with a chain saw. Filled the hole and no problem. I know that in future years the stump will rot and the ground will sink some but that's no problem either... I have a loader and can fill it back up!

I hauled all my gravel, sand, brick and retaining wall stone with the loader. You can't believe how much easier it is. My youngest son, (he's 19) asked "Dad, how did we ever get by without one of these?" He thinks the backhoe is like a video game "Where something actually happens!" He'll dig a hole just to put dirt in! He actually helped the "Old Man" for 2 or 3 days.

I calculated I had 13 tons of materials for just the patio alone. Do that with a wheelbarrow... Not to mention 180 linear ft, 44 inches wide of brick paver sidewalk. Full thickness brick by the way. One thing, the BX would not lift a full cube of the pavers. But then a cube of these pavers weighs right at 1,000 lbs. To unload 'em from my flatbed trailer, I looped a strap around the cube and gently pulled it off onto the ground with the BX.

All this work was on a hill that's steeper than the pictures look. No problems at all. 6 inch Pine stumps were 10 minute jobs. 3 inch trees came out in 1 bite. It aint sandy here! Clay like brick.

Then I started on the front... Snatched out the overgrown shrubs, tore out the concrete sidewalk added 8 more tandem loads of dirt, more brick sidewalk and a fountain.

A little background.
My Dad was a Heavy Equipment Mechanic. I was around the stuff my whole early life. I ran a D-9 Cat dozer pushing pans on an Interstate Highway construction job when I was 17 as a summer job. I spent 6 years in the pipeline business running 580 Case, JD 310, Ford 550 rubber tired hoes, JD 690 and Drott 40 Excavators, 920 and 930 Cat and JD 544 Rubber tired Loaders, Cat 955 and 977 and International TD175 track loaders. Not to mention all the stuff like Ditch Witches, Case and JD small loaders etc. I've spent lots of seat hours on almost everything except a skid steer. They weren't even around to any extent in the early and mid '70s. (I've still never run one). I finally managed to get through school and I'm long since out of the construction business.

When I got ready to do my yard, I looked at renting but I knew this was not going to be a short term project. There was no way I could finish this stuff in a reasonable time with a rental. Think about the time to pick up and return the machine. The time I had available would be spent hauling the thing back and forth. Besides, it wouldn't be here when I wanted it. I started looking around at the SCUT backhoes. I started pricing used ones and finally figured out I would be as well off to buy a new one considering the model change. My plan was to finish my jobs and then consider re-selling. If I lost a couple thousand I'd still be way ahead of contracting or renting. I'd never used anything as tiny as a BX 24 but after checking it out it's obviously built like a real tractor (it just looks like a toy). I decided I could make it work and took the plunge. It's a great little machine. I was tremendously impressed with its manueverability and the 4wd lets it do things I never expected. It's certainly limited but far less limited than I anticipated!
You know, I'm almost finished with my projects but I think I'll just keep it! Consensus is that the increased property value from the landscape upgrades have more than paid for the machine. Besides, it mows great!

 

[Singlecoil]

What a fantastic job! That should be on a Kubota brochure. Totally puts my yard project to shame!
I took the liberty of reposting your photos in a friendlier format and size. Hopefully that is allright.

 

[kwolfe]

Singlecoil,
I am standing and applauding. That is some very nice work. Not to mention and entertaining story. THank you.

 

[LBrown59]

Sounds like the Bx24 is the best option. Does the most for the money, and seeing that the machine is a bit smaller in stature will be most helpful when mowing around things. I thououghly enjoty my BX24, thought about upgrading to the B3030 but after looking at what the difference was in size and price, I am keeping my BX24.
The machine will do as much as they say and then some.

There's no hype about the BX 22-24.
If any thing it's usually understated.

http://i21.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/7c/d1/c31f_12.JPG

 

[Taiser]

Harry C,

Not to disparage any other posters here but your post alone has convinced me 99.9% to get the BX24. You are getting more done with it than I though it could handle, and compared to what I thought I needed if for you're putting my potential workload to shame. Now I'm officially impressed. The work you are showcasing is amazing. What a beautiful property!