Buying Advice Looking for my first tractor...is this BX what I need?

[Gary Fowler]

Yeah, after thinking about it and writing down all the jobs I would "like" for the tractor to do, there is no question that I am going to buy a dedicated mower and a CUT that can handle the heavy workload I imagine going down. I am just torn researching whether a ZTR or 4x4 garden tractor will be better suited for my hilly and uneven terrain. Not too many open fields here at all, but a ton of obstacles. I'm finding positives and negatives for each one. Going to see if I can try out each one on my property somehow.

Thanks for all the helpful info and support!

You have made a good decision. A good commercial grade zero turn can mow most hills with ease. I mow my pond dam with my Ferris IS700Z up to the point of tires sliding sideways (about 45 degrees) and have no trouble traveling in a straight line, at least till the tires start sliding. I also have a Craftsman 6000 series Z- turn and it will start turning down hill on a 15 degree slope . It all has to do with the transmission and most importantly the weight. The Craftsman might weigh 350 pounds (two guy picked it up and put it on a trailer when I bought it). The Ferris has the same size deck and same HP engine but weighs 850 pounds and has larger and wider tires. It holds slope well, plus it mows at almost 10 MPH which is about 4 MPH faster than the residential Craftsman.
The Craftsman cost me $2500 (on sale) but the Ferris was $6500 so you do only get what you pay for. A good professional/industrial grade machine with around 900 hours would be a good buy for $4000 more or less and would still be running when a residential mower has rusted away.
I would look for a good used commercial grade Z-turn to mow with and something in the B or L size Kubota. 1500 hours on a tractor is just broken in good if it is well maintained and stored under a shed. Most are designed for a 10,000 hour lifecycle before engine may need an overhaul. Outside storage will certainly make the tractor less presentable but perhaps not be detrimental to the operation as long as it is services on correct intervals. A new paint job and a new seat will make a new tractor out of one that looks like a wreck as long as the engine and transmission is ok. Tires suffer also and can be over $1000 to replace so take that into consideration when shopping.

 

[tractorshopper]

Not disagreeing that with 50+ acres, I'd probably recommend a different machine, but wanted to clarify that the BX type tractors are not over-glorified lawn mowers (although my BX is by far the best lawn mower I've ever used). They are real tractors and do real work. Generally loaders lift over 700 lbs, 3PH's lift over 1,200 lbs, they have every attachment imaginable and they all do good work.

I have owned a CUT L3800 and 2 BX's. Yes, the CUT can lift more and handle larger implements and what-not, but the BX's are very capable smaller tractors.

I'd probably recommend a MX5100 size tractor for that property personally, but a lot can be accomplished with SCUTs as well. I maintain our gravel road with a 5' box blade behind my BX with no issues at all even pulling a full box up hill. Before that, I used my L3800 with a 6' box blade. It was faster and easier with twice the weight and twice the HP, but the little BX can do a lot of tasks.

I till a lot of food plots and my garden every year with my BX. I used to do the same with my L3800. It takes a little longer with the BX, but then again, I till some small plots with the BX that I never would have got the L into. My brother and I just planted some soy bean plots with a no till drill this past weekend behind his BX. Amazing what these small tractors can do.

I wouldn't dig a pond with a BX, but if someone were determined and had a lot of time, they could. Someone on here dug their entire basement with one.

You couldn't do those tasks with a lawn mower. Make no mistake; SCUTs are tractors. Just little ones with smaller capabilities than larger ones.

 

[dragoneggs]

Not disagreeing that with 50+ acres, I'd probably recommend a different machine, but wanted to clarify that the BX type tractors are not over-glorified lawn mowers (although my BX is by far the best lawn mower I've ever used). They are real tractors and do real work. Generally loaders lift over 700 lbs, 3PH's lift over 1,200 lbs, they have every attachment imaginable and they all do good work.

I have owned a CUT L3800 and 2 BX's. Yes, the CUT can lift more and handle larger implements and what-not, but the BX's are very capable smaller tractors.

I'd probably recommend a MX5100 size tractor for that property personally, but a lot can be accomplished with SCUTs as well. I maintain our gravel road with a 5' box blade behind my BX with no issues at all even pulling a full box up hill. Before that, I used my L3800 with a 6' box blade. It was faster and easier with twice the weight and twice the HP, but the little BX can do a lot of tasks.

I till a lot of food plots and my garden every year with my BX. I used to do the same with my L3800. It takes a little longer with the BX, but then again, I till some small plots with the BX that I never would have got the L into. My brother and I just planted some soy bean plots with a no till drill this past weekend behind his BX. Amazing what these small tractors can do.

I wouldn't dig a pond with a BX, but if someone were determined and had a lot of time, they could. Someone on here dug their entire basement with one.

You couldn't do those tasks with a lawn mower. Make no mistake; SCUTs are tractors. Just little ones with smaller capabilities than larger ones.

Totally agree. I have done a heck of lot of earth moving with my BX for its size. And I don’t mow with it.

 

[oldballs]

In short, I'd go for a dedicated mower and at least a "B" size tractor.......be they new or used. Overall you'll probably spend more time mowing than any other single task on the tractor. But a tractor big enough to do your chores adequately will make you happy.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[lazyriver]

Thanks for the all the advice and encouragement. I went to a local farm today knowing they had one of each series (B, L, M). I'm liking the size and capabilities of the L series. Think I might need to expand my budget though since I definitely need a box blade and some other toys to go with it. I have a lot of trees to drag and a ton of brush to move so power and weight is now more important for my plans than I previously thought.

On the mower front I'm having some indecision between a ZTR and riding mower. I don't have any clean flat spots, it's all rough and bumpy and rocky and hilly. Think that the speed difference might not mean that much to me but 4x4 sounds really nice for what I'm looking to mow. The JD x500 or x700 look good and I'm tempted with a GF1800 and ZD326, both around $5k. But I don't know. At this point I would really like to keep it under $5k for a mower. A front mounted mower is also looking attractive since I will have an orchard and want to get under those trees easy.

I did just find a nice looking '07 L3830 GST for $15k with loader and 1,600 miles on it. Not sure if that is a good price or not. I'm learning a lot by reading through posts here. Starting to really see the benefits of an L series.

 

[jeff9366]

I went to a local farm today knowing they had one of each series (B, L, M). I like the size and capabilities of the L series.

I have trees to drag and brush to move so power and weight are more important than I previously realized.

L Series is a broad category: 25-horsepower/2,700 pound L2501 through 62-horsepower/4,000 pound L6060.

Neither moving brush with pallet forks (PHOTO #1) or debris forks (PHOTO #2, #3) nor dragging trees on the ground requires a bare tractor weight heavier than 2,700 pounds, however that would be minimum weight with your hills. Most would use 1/4" Grade 70 chain + Grade 70 chain slip hooks (PHOTO #6) in conjunction with some form of cross-drawbar (PHOTO #4, #7, #8) to safely drag tree trunks (PHOTO #5) moderately elevated at the tractor end to reduce log to ground friction and log dirt loading.
WEIGHT = STABILITY UNDER LOAD.

TBN ARCHIVE: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ctor-drawbars-cross-drawbars-illuminated.html