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

[LBrown59]

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!

You sure had it underated didn'tyou?

 

[5053]

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.

If you can do it now, don't wait til January, DOUBLE-DISCOUNT DECEMBER!!, plus 0% for 36 mo.

 

[LBrown59]

How many hours do you have in doing all of this?

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!

Great testimony to the BXs capabilities!

 

[LBrown59]

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!

I have 777 hours on my BX23 doing the same sorta task that Harry C did and you are contemplating.
I'd say only about 100 of those hours were for mowing.
This thing never cease to amaze me at what it can do,

 

[Singlecoil]

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

Not me! It was Harry C who did all the hard work, I just reposted his pictures. They are now about 1/10 the file size and easier to view.

 

[Harry c]

I did this project this summer. Took about 3 months of spare time. Put in some long days on weekends and such. Maybe 300 hrs total. Actually I've done a good bit more since, but I don't have pictures and the place won't look its best till the plants come out in the spring. I have 125 hours on the BX now. Probably 65 or so on what you see in the pics. Lots of work laying the 4,500 bricks though! Couldn't talk the BX into doin' that!

 

[kwolfe]

Sorry Harry, I guess I need to practice my reading. That is some fine looking work you have done. I have small kids at home, so I will be getting my seat time from 5-8am tomorrow morning. It should only be about 22F in central PA.

 

[LBrown59]

I did this project this summer. Took about 3 months of spare time. Put in some long days on weekends and such. Maybe 300 hrs total. Actually I've done a good bit more since, but I don't have pictures and the place won't look its best till the plants come out in the spring. I have 125 hours on the BX now. Probably 65 or so on what you see in the pics. Lots of work laying the 4,500 bricks though! Couldn't talk the BX into doin' that!

Longest day I've put in on my BX23 was 9.5 hours.

Nice work

 

[Harry c]

Folks, thanks for all the nice comments. Special thanks to Singlecoil for re-posting the pictures. Much easier to see. I wasn't sure I could get them on there at all! Not something I do frequently.

The little BX was able to do pretty much everything I needed. There were a couple of times I wished I had more reach with the BH but most of the time I was glad I had the manueverability of the small machine.

It's a fine little machine Taiser. I don't think you'll be disappointed. By the way, the fuel economy is outstanding!

 

[Glowplug]

This is a really long thread and admittedly I haven't read the entire thing. So what I am about to say may have already been mentioned. But has anyone brought up the idea of a Kubota B21 (TLB Series)? I would think it would be perfect for a landscape job of this size. Downside would be no mower though. But to be honest, if it were me, I'd get a B2630 (B Series). I don't think I've ever read here of anyone getting too large a tractor and regretting it. But I have read on many occassions of people regretting not getting a larger tractor. As always, it's easy for TBN members to spend other people's money though. I don't know, get what you think would do a good job and not be frustrating to use. You don't want to get a tractor to just "get by". I know you said you have plenty of time. But don't get something that is going to be frustrating due to its limited capabilities. Do it right the first time. It's cheaper to spend a little more money initially than to save money initially and have to do it all again. From what I've read BX owners are very loyal to their machines. There are a multitude of BX owners on this forum. On the other hand though, I can't help but think that sometimes the machine's capabilities may be slightly exageratted on this forum. Some posters may be worse than others. Perhaps it's "high hopes". Remember the ant and the rubber tree plant? Don't get me wrong, I really admire the BX series. I'd like to have one myself someday. Oh geez, I hope I haven't offended too many. I may have my TBN membership card revoked.