New buyer, looking for advice

[Botabill]

Gronk, Now the Bx is certainly a step up from my 14 HP riding lawn mower but it's just that. A larger heavier riding lawn mower. Look at the size of the wheels. What do you think is going to happen when you try to clear a foot of snow. You can try to clear it in front of you but as soon as you have to back-up & those tiny wheels start going into the deeper snow because you did not back-up perfectly over the cleared path you just made.....your toast. Believe me, I did it for 5 years & it was frustrating. Vic

A BX isn't a step up form a 14 HP riding lawn mower. It's in a totally different class. It's a real work horse of a tractor in a compact size. I've done an amazing amount of work with mine on my 30+ acres. But as has been said in other posts you just take smaller bites. There are times I could have used a bigger tractor but they were few and far between. I do logging in my woods to feed my wood stove and to be honest the extra 4 inch clearance of a 2620 wouldn't make a bit of difference. The small size and 48 inch width of the BX allows me to get between trees that I couldn't with a bigger tractor. As far as snow goes, even with turf tires (which work fine for me under all situations) in 4 wheel drive I cruise thorugh 1 foot of snow without a hicup. Mind you in Ontario mid winter I'm not going to cuise around my trail on it through the 4 and 5 foot snow drifts. I'd be interested to know what size of tractor can do that. I think I'll start a thread and ask that question. I will say I do regret not getting a backhoe with my BX.

 

[LBrown59]

*"Very tough getting a tractor that's small enough to cut your yard & do major work. "

** The consensus where I work is that you don't want all the weight of a loader and a backhoe on your lawn. It's a waste of fuel, it compacts the ground too much, takes too long, and the attachments get in the way. Of course you can remove them, but most people don't bother (my guess).

1*My BXs do very well at this .
**After 4 years of using the BX23 with AGs none of these issues have surfaced for me.

 

[LBrown59]

So the R4 tires are a good choice for a do-all type machine? I am more than likely buying a used tractor so that is probably going to be an added cost if I can't find a machine with them already. How much would four new R4 tires for a BX23-24 size tractor run me?
Sean

I find the R1s work just fine on both my BX23 and BX1500.
I see absolutely no advantage in going with R4s especially at greater expense to virtually accomplish little or nothing more.
Just go with R1s and you will have the extra traction when the situation arises and you won't have the extra expense and headaches of chains.
My opinion is all the fuss about R1s damaging the yard don't even apply until you get into the bigger heavier tractors.

A word or two about buying bigger than a BX in your situation.
4 years ago I was faced with deciding between the BX23 and the larger B2410.
Hashed it all around for about 2 months and finally decided on the BX23 and Have never Regretted that decision and never looked back.
Today I'm glad I went with the BX23 as it's always done more than I've asked and expected of it.
Today at this point I've finished nearly all the tasks / goals I had for my place.
The other day as I was thinking about that it dawned on me that had I chosen the B2410 I would now be stuck with a machine that is way over kill for any task I have from here on out.
As it all turned out the BX23 is perfect for that also.

I did hire a guy With a Bigger Kubota L series to clean out a couple of ditches do some brush hogging and knock over a few small trees right after I got the BX23.
Didn't want to get my shinny new tractor all muddy and scratched up.
About a year after that I had another fellow come in with a dozer and push over several larger taller trees and do some grading behind my 2 pole buildings,
Even If I had purchased a bigger tractor I would still had these 2 guys come in and do those 2 projects.
Sometimes it pays to let the other fellow put the wear and tear on his equipment while you save it on yours.

 

[LBrown59]

1*Any tires with chains will have better traction than ag style R1s without.
2*And of course they can be taken off for lawn work.

1*But the r1s can prevent having to fool fiddle and fuddle with chains in most cases.
2*Especially nice if you love installing and removing them.

 

[LBrown59]

1*You may still be fine with a SCUT.
2*I Have cleared over half an acre of brush
3*moved 60 ton of fill.
4**It Is slow..

1* I think he will be.
2*I cleared .6 acres of dense heavy growth consisting of many many 4 to 6 and several 8 to 10 in diameter trees with my bx23.
3*I've moved way over that much dirt and slag .
4*No it's not it just may seem like it.
Someday like me you will look back 4 years ago and say to yourself I can't believe I have all those projects and all that work done already.
As I keep saying over and over the BX23 constantly amazes me.
I get the BX out and before I know it I'm putting it away and wondering how I got that task/job done so quick.

 

[mwb]

I don't know what the true value difference is between the BX and the L series but if you are looking at 18K, maybe you should look at an L2800 or L3400. My dad purchased his L3400 last Dec for 19K with FEL.

You might also consider other brands. I got my Montana last Dec for 19.5K, 39HP, FEL. For the price the Montana had a lot more value (bigger, more FEL, remotes). If you look at their web site (montanatractors) they also have many smaller machines. What dealers are around you? I think MF has good value also.

If you go a little bigger you will get better height with the FEL. It is probably easier, and less expensive, if you get a CAT 1 hitch; lots of implements will be available to you. You still have your mower to pull a trailer though the bush - after you clear a trail with you bigger machine.

 

[dmccarty]

My neighbor is on 5 acres and has a BX. He mostly uses it to mow with a mid mount mower and he does have an FEL.

Rough guess is that behind the house he has 1-2 acres in thick woods. 1-2 acres that are cleared including his house. And another acre or so that is wooded by cleaned up and park like. He could drive the BX in this front woods to mow if he wants. He just had it cleaned up.

To take care of the drive way you will need a box blade and or a blade. I maintain our 700ish foot of drive and 2000ish feet of gravel road with the box blade. A blade would be nice to pull some gravel back into the road but the box has worked just fine. The box blade is far more usable for me than just the blade.

One attachment I wish I had bought sooner was pallet forks for the FEL. So danged useful. Not can I move pallets of the truck. I can load brush/limbs. The forks carry far more than my 4n1 bucket. Also carrying lumber for projects is nice. The pallet forks are on the FEL as much as the bucket.

Chippers are expensive. And they require a tractor with the HP to use them. I thought we would need a chipper but in the end if its 4 inches are larger its firewood. Even little limbs I pile up as fire starter which we need since we heat with wood. Chippers are also alot of work. This is something with one acre of woods you might not need.

We bought a DR Mower brush cutter. It can cut a 2 .5 inch sapling just like the MX 6 rotary cutter. I can't get the mower and tractor in most of our woods but I can get the DR in to clean things up. The tractor cannot go into the septic field so the DR does the mowing. The DR does have a 42 inch finish mower, snow blower and generator attachments. It is a walk behind and the brush cutter will give you a workout. I think with the finish mower it would be easier to use. The DR ain't cheap though.

Later,
Dan

 

[smfcpacfp]

Since you said that you had a lot of snow I will chime in here. I have a bit more than 10 acres, almost all wooded. I mow my small yard with a push mower so that is a non issue.

I bought my tractor with its main intended use - snow blowing. I have 400' by 25' of snow blowing to do and we get about 200 to 300' of snow in an average year. If you get a lot of snow then a heated cab is nice, so nice. I usually snow blow in a T-shirt. If I were doing a fair amount of mowing the air conditioned cab would be nice and even if it isn't hot outside, the cab keeps the bugs and pollen out. I also use it to haul cut up trees around and chip up the remains with a Wallenstein wood chipper. I have probably used the FEL 40 hours this year in building a retaining wall and to do other hauling.

My Kubota B3030 HSDC is perfect for these jobs and others. I agree with the implication of everyone else which is to not get a bigger tractor than you need, but I don't think that you should get less than what you might anticipate needing. When I bought it I didn't anticipate how useful it would be in doing tree removal work. A bigger tractor is less maneuverable. I guess money is another issue.

 

[LBrown59]

Gronk,

Welcome to the site!

I recently ma inkled in the pasture.
and a 60 inch rotary cutter.
* So whatever you get, I recommend also keeping your lawn tractor.
your decision. The fun is just beginning...

* good advice ! ! ! ! ! ! ////////---------===========

 

[LBrown59]

BTW, our offer was accepted yesterday so pending the sale of my current house, it looks like I'm getting a bigger tractor.


Sean

Congrats
What tractor?