Buying Advice BX vs B for 7 acres

johnandcaren · May 1, 2011

We now own 7 acres that are undeveloped. 3 acres in fron are open and moderately flat for cutting. Balance is wooded, inclined and lots of rocks. With our needs preliminarily defined we know we will eventually need:

FEL, backhoe, MMM, and box blade.

Landscape maintenance, drainage maintenance, planting small trees, maintaining an unpaved road, clearing downed trees, etc.

Question is: Will a BX be to small? Spending less is always preferred, but a tractor to small would be a real problem.

Any input welcome.

PS: Local dealer has a used B2630 that the owner never used. I believe about 50 hours. With FEL and MMM. Wants $13,500 which sounds high, but it is essentially a new tractor without the warranty. How does this price sound.

k0ua · May 1, 2011

I have about 7 acres, and I originally had a B7500, but now have an L3400HST.. really enjoy having the extra power and "grunt". We wind up using the L much more than the we did the B. It can just do so much more.

James K0UA

TroyR57 · May 1, 2011

The B2630 sounds OK to me, but would look for either the B2320, for smaller, or B2920 for larger, with all the attachments you would like. This size is also easy to move with a smaller trailer, 16ft tandom. I have now moved up, to a B3200 tlb, and need a larger trailer to move it, if I am going to move it a lot, if not will make do with the 16ft. Ok here is a teaser photo, of one I saw on a lot in NC.

TripleR · May 1, 2011

I have owned a BX2200 and now BX2660 and love that size. I have worked in various conditions including the woods. With your situation and being limited to one tractor, I would go with one of the B's. I have looked at them all, but personally prefer the B2630/B3030 for the position control, little longer wheel base as well as other features.

The shortcoming of the BX is not lack of power, but rather ground clearance and very vulnerable fan, filter, tie rods etc.

JOHNTHOMAS · May 1, 2011

TripleR said:
I have owned a BX2200 and now BX2660 and love that size. I have worked in various conditions including the woods. With your situation and being limited to one tractor, I would go with one of the B's. I have looked at them all, but personally prefer the B2630/B3030 for the position control, little longer wheel base as well as other features.

The shortcoming of the BX is not lack of power, but rather ground clearance and very vulnerable fan, filter, tie rods etc.

As usual I agree with TripleR except for the 30 series because of position control. I only paid the extra money for the luxury machine L3240HST one time and I'm not convinced it was worth the extra money to me. TripleR is a farmer and I'm not. He uses implements where the position control matters but I'm a big lot home landscaper so I've never been bothered by my use of the 1/4 inching valve but I do love the 3ph extendable arms on the deluxe series tractors. I use quick hitches to compensate for that short coming.
Course TripleR is older than me (maybe a month or two) so those luxurys mean more to him being an older gentleman.:laughing:

TripleR · May 1, 2011

JOHNTHOMAS said:
As usual I agree with TripleR except for the 30 series because of position control. I only paid the extra money for the luxury machine L3240HST one time and I'm not convinced it was worth the extra money to me. TripleR is a farmer and I'm not. He uses implements where the position control matters but I'm a big lot home landscaper so I've never been bothered by my use of the 1/4 inching valve but I do love the 3ph extendable arms on the deluxe series tractors. I use quick hitches to compensate for that short coming.
Course TripleR is older than me (maybe a month or two) so those luxurys mean more to him being an older gentleman.:laughing:

John, being a such a young pup, you have yet learned to fully appreciate the finer things in life such as position control and such. I expect when you get a little older and a little more "experience", you will come around.:laughing::laughing:

Tom_H · May 1, 2011

I love my BX and it fits my needs well. With the amount of acreage you have, and a need to work in the woods, a BX is a bit underpowered and not tall enough for your tasks. I recommend a B or an L.

The BX is short with a low center of gravity. This is an advantage in many situations, however when driving over logs and rocks, you can become high centered and can also damage hydraulics, pumps, oil pan, and other low suspended items. Even with a taller tractor, skid plates would be a good idea.

Gods Country · May 1, 2011

If you think you'll have no issues maneuvering a larger machine on your land then it may be the wiser choice. You'll certainly have more attachment options.

In my case terrain was a big issue. 20 acres mostly wooded with lot's of tight corners and hilly to steep terrain. I had no doubt a larger tractor was going to leave me needing to do at least some mowing with a smaller machine, and never would squeeze into our small barn and stalls, so it was a scut for me. I can't afford multiple tractors, plus storage and maintenance. Although a larger tractor would be nice sometimes, it's never not gotten the job done, just takes a bit longer sometimes. Heck the other day I was dragging at least 40 aspens out (uphill)with ease, granted not the heaviest tree, but I was impressed.

crazyal · May 1, 2011

How big are your rocks and do you plan on moving them?

Johndeere3720 · May 1, 2011

my vote is on the B. :thumbsup: You will get a much bigger tractor that will do evrything you listed and you wont have to deal with the hydro fan on the BX as it is one tough part to replace without major work.

OrangeRidge · May 1, 2011

I'm with a B too,on your needs . Proper trans and engine cooling and
lower operating rpm too. I've got lots of steep mowing , and I'd
roll it !

CompactTractorFan · May 1, 2011

My vote is on the B too...:thumbsup:

skspurling · May 1, 2011

I went with the B for ground clearance purposes. The nice thing about the B2620 is that it has the ground clearance and power. I needed the ground clearance because I live on clay, and the wet spots can bottom out a lot of stuff. What it lacks is weight. I loaded my R4's, and think that did the trick. I can still trailer it easy, and it mostly stays on the ground when I am working.
I have not encountered a lack of horsepower, but I was doing a little dirt work with the FEL the other day. I bought the tractor with a tiller and leave it on the back most of the time. 3point implements are a pain in the butt to hook up because the arms always swing in to the middle when unattached. So, I had removed the tiller for some reason, and figured I move some dirt. Boy, that ballast makes a big difference with a load of heavy clay in the bucket.
Weight really makes a difference when doing things, and not always in an intuitive way. Think of those old John Deere Ag tractors. They always had 12HP, 15HP, or 20HP. It wasn't the horse power that did all the work. The heavy castings and big wheels allowed them to get more bang for the buck. There is something to be said for a larger size and weight, even with the same HP rating. These aren't race cars here.

montelatici · May 1, 2011

There is not a whole lot of difference between a BX and a B. If you need more than a BX you probably need an L. That's the conclusion I came to as you see I bought an L3700SU to care of the things my 2 BXs were unable to take care of in a reasonable amount of time.

chriscos · May 1, 2011

There's actually a ton of difference between the BX and the B's

brandoro · May 1, 2011

I'm on my third "B". Before buying the second one I walked around a BX several times but couldn't get past the short tires and limited ground clearance. For what I use the tractor for most of the time the B is a far better choice. I didn't know about the vulnerable cooling fan under the BX at the time. I would have been choked if I had bought the BX and snapped the fan off cruising through the forest.

skspurling · May 1, 2011

The BX is like a really large garden tractor on steroids. No offense. Neat little tractors, but the tires are so short.
The B's are like what they used to sell for small Ag tractors. And if I remember correctly from my last visit to the dealership, the small L series isn't much larger than my tractor. I was kind of interested in one, until I got the price. What cracks me up is there used to not be CUT's (pre-1970's). They just made small tractors, and that was that.

Tom_H · May 2, 2011

skspurling said:
The BX is like a really large garden tractor on steroids. No offense. Neat little tractors, but the tires are so short.

I think you will find that anyone who owns a BX will disagree with that. The BX may look like a garden tractor on steroids, but it will do virtually anything a bigger tractor will do, just not as quickly. I have recommended a B or L for the conditions the OP has, rather than a BX, but a BX is a real tractor, not a garden tractor on steroids.

ashdump · May 2, 2011

Tom_H said:
I think you will find that anyone who owns a BX will disagree with that. The BX may look like a garden tractor on steroids, but it will do virtually anything a bigger tractor will do, just not as quickly. I have recommended a B or L for the conditions the OP has, rather than a BX, but a BX is a real tractor, not a garden tractor on steroids.

Ditto. My dad has a Case Ingersol 448, that is a garden tractor on steroids and it can do nothing even close to what the BX is capable of, nothing! A SCUT is not a garden tractor, not even close.

TripleR · May 2, 2011

skspurling said:
The BX is like a really large garden tractor on steroids. No offense. Neat little tractors, but the tires are so short.

I consider my BX2660 a tractor just as I consider our L5030 or M8540 a tractor, just built for different purposes. As for the tires being short, that was one of the reasons I bought one over a B as it fit my needs better than a B. As I said I believe a B is "better" for the OP, but it was not for me.