jim_wilson
Your experience with your
BX23 and a wheelbarrow makes me remember an experience I had last year with my
BX23 and my White (garden tractor 21hp and 800 lbs) equipped with a small trailer (I'm still using it for small jobs). So, there I was loading the trailer attached to the White with soaked dirt from a ditch. The problem with a
BX23 is the small angle of the swing: 140º only. I wasn't able to load the front of the trailer first (180º would have been great at that time) so I loaded the rear of the trailer. After three buckets of dirt, the rear of the White was 2 feet in the air (too much weight pulling up the hitch). I had a very difficult time to unload the trailer (the dirt was incredibly heavy). No need to mention that I do my best not to repeat the experience.
With the RTV you can load 1500 lbs and dump it very easily. I have to admit that the bed is rather small, but more than enough for the capacity of the vehicle. The specs are 1200 lbs but I did more than that. The problem is not the hydraulic lift of the bed but the tires. They tend to flatten dangerously with heavy loads.
About the switch!... I loved my former
BX23. I think I love my
B3030 even more though.
Here are some specs I wasn't fully happy with my
BX23 (for my needs):
1- the strength of the loader (bucket in particular [curl])
2- the reach of the backhoe
3- the swing angle of the backhoe (140º... unable to dig at 90º of the tractor and dump on the other side [180º]).
4- a bit too light for loader work
5- 3PH control
6- the setup of the 3PH
7- the need to remove the front grill guard each time for maintenance
But I was rather happy about this:
1- tractor HP
2- PTO HP
3- 3PH capacity
4- the strength of the backhoe (even with a 24" bucket)
5- fuel consumption
6- installation of the loader and backhoe
7- HST
So the point about switching between my former
BX23 for a
B3030 was to eliminate the specs I wasn't fully happy with. With a
B3030:
1- the strength of the loader is OK (bucket in particular [curl])
2- the reach of the backhoe is great
3- the swing angle of the backhoe (180º give me more room to work)
4- STILL a bit too light for loader work (but it's better and it's ok because I mow with it [I didn't mow with the
BX23])
5- 3PH control is great (position control is very convenient)
6- the setup of the 3PH is far more convenient. It's way faster to hook up implement
7- no need to remove the front grill guard each time for maintenance because the front and the sides can be removed in parts for maintenance. It takes about 20 seconds to get access to every parts of the motor.
For all those reasons, I prefer the
B3030. If I have time tomorrow I'll take a new set of pictures to show my
B3030 (inside and out) in different positions. I'll show the options I have on it too. The only things missing on my
B3030 are auxiliary lights and... a wider bucket for the backhoe! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I must say that I was more popular among my neighbors with my former
BX23 than my
B3030. I don't know why exactly. The
BX23 is powerful for its size and it's very attractive to see a backhoe on it and peolple don't get the chance very often to see a
BX23 in action. A
B3030 is the size of a
B21. Where I live
B21 are very popular and people are used to see
B21 in action here and there. So I consider myself a has been. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
