Comparison ROPS height, BX vs. B, and slopes!

[MossyDell]

Have you looked at Steiner, Ventrac or Power Trac ?
Those tractors are better suited for slopes than Kubota B series of BX series.

Not yet. Thanks for the names.

 

[MossyDell]

photo of slope

Trying to post it here. As I say, it looks worse in person, especially after it first falls off. The hill has a series of plateaus between steeper slopes, and random dips and rises.

 

[tractorshopper]

My BX-2370 does very well side-sloping and from the looks of your photo, I'd very comfortably side slope that all day long. I have my rears filled. This tractor is so much more stable than my JD L118 lawn tractor was. I feel very much more comfortable and as an added bonus, I don't feel the need to lean out over the uphill fender. It doesn't need it. It's heavy enough/low enough COG already, that my body weight doesn't have an impact. The steepest areas that I used to only mow going up and down with my lawn tractor, I now will side slope with the BX. It's much much faster for many reasons and I'm really glad I made the change from L3800 tractor and JDL118 lawn tractor to BX-2370. If I miss anything, it's not the JD lawn mower. Good riddance to that thing.

I don't have a B, but had an L and the BX is way less tippy feeling than my L was on the same terrain. I will side-slope stuff on the BX with no sweat at all, that I never would have tried with the L.

As others said, I remove the FEL and any rear attachments when I mow.

 

[bellweather]

Based on the pic, it does not look too steep.
I have a BX with a belly mower and I mow what may be a similar slope. I take it slow and never mow with the loader mounted. There is one spot where I don't mow across the slope, I go N S instead of E W.
It's a comfort thing...if you are unsure then probably best not to risk it.

 

[tractorshopper]

I can do 360 turns on this slope.

 

[MossyDell]

Thanks, tractorshopper. I am hating my JD lawn tractor for this application too!

 

[MossyDell]

View attachment 424743View attachment 424743 I can do 360 turns on this slope.

Impressive. I think I need a BX. Maybe a BX2670, more power for FEL and rear blade. What's the difference/benefit between R4 and Bar tires? I am inclined to go with one or the other over turf.

 

[tractorshopper]

 

[tractorshopper]

I have one area at my other property that I mow side-hill that is steeper than the above pictures, but those are all I had on my phone camera. I can tug on the side handle on this and the other slope to kind of slightly "rock" the machine and it's still not tippy even at these angles. Drive slow though on the steepest stuff because if you run into a hole on downhill side or hit a big rock or bump on high side, it could then cause it to become more tippy.

 

[tractorshopper]

Bar tires are the most aggressive tread and generally narrower. They should get the most traction in tough conditions. R4 is kind of best of both worlds; good still aggressive tread, but not doing too much damage to areas you don't want mucked up, which is why I got them. I had them on my L3800 and loved them. That is why I got them on this BX.

Now however, having owned this and put about 35 hours on it with a lot of mowing at both properties, I think I would go back and get turfs if I had it to do over. R4's are more aggressive to get stuck less and theoretically put more power to the ground, but with this being a used to mow my real lawn as well, if the ground is soft from a recent rain, I do leave impressions with the weight of this thing. I don't have a golf course lawn, so it's not too big of a deal and the R4's are great, but the turfs may have been easier on my lawn in the long run and I believe with the weight of the machine that they'd still be good enough for loader and other ground engaging work like tilling or box blade. I truly don't know though and this is only an opinion.