BX Too Heavy For Mowing

[kcender]

I know a lot of people use their BX to mow their lawns.I have started to notice depressions in my lawn from the tires on my BX 2360.I try to mow in different patterns to avoid this but in some areas it is not possible such as mowing around the house or garage.The tractor,mower deck,fluids,and me is probably around1750 to 1800 pounds which seems like quite a bit for a mowing tractor.I have been seriously considering selling the BX and getting a GR 2120 as I only use the BX for mowing and the GR is about 500 to 600 pounds lighter.Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this and if they notice depressions from mowing with their BX tractor.I realize the GR is not as much tractor as a BX but for strictly mowing I am thinking it should do just as good a job.I don't need a 4WD tractor for mowing but it makes it a lot easier as I have some hilly areas to mow.This is why I am considering one or the other of these two tractors.

 

[XSKIER]

Easy. Trade the bx in on a new simplicity prestige awd.

 

[dodge man]

Yes, mine does it some, but not that bad. Its not bad enough I would even think about getting rid of it. The truth is, a push mower probably gives a better cut than any kind of rider.

 

[RJD2516]

Why did you spend that much money on a tractor just to mow? I saw an add on a Husky 0-turn mower today for $3885.00. If all you are doing is mowing, sell that bad boy. Get a zero-turn, and pocket the rest. No-brainer IMO.

Great little tractor though, huh:thumbsup:

 

[kcender]

Why did you spend that much money on a tractor just to mow? I saw an add on a Husky 0-turn mower today for $3885.00. If all you are doing is mowing, sell that bad boy. Get a zero-turn, and pocket the rest. No-brainer IMO.

Great little tractor though, huh:thumbsup:

When I bought the BX I had future plans for it other than mowing but you know what they say about the best laid plans.My situation now is that I will probably use it for mowing only.Other than the financial loss I will take from selling it,I would have the GR, but that is what is making me question selling it.

 

[BrianR]

I have a BX2200 with the ag (bar) tires on it and have mowed for 10 years now, without rutting up my yard. The key for me is to not mow when the yard is saturated from rains. I also mow 4 directions staggering tires every so often just be sure that I don't have issues.

I would mow this way even with a lightweight craftsmen (MTD) garden tractor in the past as well. The best your yard will look is by cutting with a push mower, but for me, that ain't gonna happen!

 

[devildog1]

Gee I mowed with a BX23, a B3200, and now a Grand L3540. As others have said before, mow when it's not soaking and change your directions. I mow about 2 acres and do not have an issue, but then again my grass is green but like a golf course either.
DevilDog

 

[jpm1]

I mow with my zero which weighs about 900lbs, the 2810Hst Mahindra is heavy and my Kioti Dk35SE HSt has loaded rears and FEL on and leaves no marks. Unless you have a lot of ambution bottled up some where keep doin what your doin, life is short man! . . .:laughing: John

 

[DieselMonk]

My NH 1030 weighs 1517lbs empty and add on another 521lbs 6ft rear finish mower to that and I sink in less and never get stuck like I did before with a Toro Zero Turn ZX480 mower with a 48" mower deck. Lighter is not always better in soft ground. It is how wide your tires are and how you deliver the power and weight from the wheels to the ground.

 

[radioman]

IF you are noticing depressions, then you are mowing when its still wet. When soil is claylike, wet and still cold then it will "part" when driving over it. You just gotta time it better between rain and drying time, otherwise just wait a bit longer. My yard does the same, and there are couple areas that I just skip until it dries out.

Right now its spring, you just need to wait a few weeks before saying its not worth it with BX as reason to sell. I really don't think its too heavy all summer long mowing. I do admit though- I have a el cheapo mower for 200 bucks just for keeping grass low in wet areas if it gets too high. You can't beat the dependability with a BX.

 

[TripleR]

Simple, if it doesn't work well for your needs, get rid of it.

If our ground isn't wet, nothing hurts it; lots of clay. I mowed my son's yard last week with our M8540 pulling a 10' Woods DS1260, so our BX or JD2305 are nothing.

If all I was going to do was mow, I would have bought something other than the BX even with our ground; probably.

 

[Barnone]

kcender,
What tires do you have on your BX? I have turf tires on my BX2200 and the cross between ag and turf on the BX2660 and don't notice any ruts but I don't mow if the ground is soggy.
I'd try and keep your BX if possible since your reason for initial purchase might reoccur.

 

[Danner]

I do a lot of mowing with a BX2660 and 54" Fine Cut Deck. About 3 acres of turf on black clay. I never have a problem, but I am careful not to mow when its wet.

 

[LD1]

I know a lot of people use their BX to mow their lawns.I have started to notice depressions in my lawn from the tires on my BX 2360.I try to mow in different patterns to avoid this but in some areas it is not possible such as mowing around the house or garage.The tractor,mower deck,fluids,and me is probably around1750 to 1800 pounds which seems like quite a bit for a mowing tractor.I have been seriously considering selling the BX and getting a GR 2120 as I only use the BX for mowing and the GR is about 500 to 600 pounds lighter.Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this and if they notice depressions from mowing with their BX tractor.I realize the GR is not as much tractor as a BX but for strictly mowing I am thinking it should do just as good a job.I don't need a 4WD tractor for mowing but it makes it a lot easier as I have some hilly areas to mow.This is why I am considering one or the other of these two tractors.

Lets see,

BX...1800lbs setting on two 18x8.5-10's and two 26x12-12's

OR...

A G2120 @ 1200lbs on 16x7.5-8'x and two 23x10.5-12'x

So.....you are considering going to a machine that is 33% lighter, BUT that machine will have tires that are 2" shorter and 1" narrower in the front, and 3" shorter and 1.5" narrower in the rear.

What does this mean.....I dont know. Because I dont know of any good formula to calculate the contact area of the tire. But what I can tell you is that I dont think the results are going to be as you expect. It is possible that the smaller mower may be worse??? But you get where I am going.

Heck, a kid on a bicycle with a total weight of 150lbs will rut up your yard more than the BX will. So what I am getting at is, its about GROUND PRESSURE and NOT weight.

 

[kcender]

I do a lot of mowing with a BX2660 and 54" Fine Cut Deck. About 3 acres of turf on black clay. I never have a problem, but I am careful not to mow when its wet.

I do try to mow when the ground is dry but it is not always possible.My yard is ready for it's first mowing of the year but I am waiting because we just had a lot of rain the last week.It is not calling for rain now until Friday so I will try to mow on Thursday.Last fall we had a huge amount of heavy rains so that is probably why I am noticing the depressions,maybe any lawn tractor would have left depressions.I was just curious what other BX owners experiences were with mowing and depressions.It is quite possible that a GR2120 wouldn't be any better,that is why I am thinking on it.Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

[BrianR]

Lets see,

BX...1800lbs setting on two 18x8.5-10's and two 26x12-12's

OR...

A G2120 @ 1200lbs on 16x7.5-8'x and two 23x10.5-12'x

So.....you are considering going to a machine that is 33% lighter, BUT that machine will have tires that are 2" shorter and 1" narrower in the front, and 3" shorter and 1.5" narrower in the rear.

What does this mean.....I dont know. Because I dont know of any good formula to calculate the contact area of the tire. But what I can tell you is that I dont think the results are going to be as you expect. It is possible that the smaller mower may be worse??? But you get where I am going.

Heck, a kid on a bicycle with a total weight of 150lbs will rut up your yard more than the BX will. So what I am getting at is, its about GROUND PRESSURE and NOT weight.

With the tire dimensions you could always calculate the tire's "contact patch" in square inches and divide that into the weight of the machine to figure out PSI the tire exerts on the ground. I would suspect that they are pretty close to the same between those two machines......meaning no real advantage to downsizing.

 

[CAgnoli]

My John Deere x748 would leave depressions if I mowed at the wrong time. Don't sell your BX, as mentioned, maybe pick up a nice walk behind you can use when it's real wet, or do what I do.....I pay the neighbor kid forty bucks to mow my grass when it's too wet for my big tractor, he uses his little cub cadet and we are both happy.

I've made the mistake you are about to make...... Trust me, I wish I never traded me JD 3320Cab in on the x748..... I've since gone full circle and have a large tractor again....

 

[kcender]

I am now thinking I will wait and mow with the BX later this week before making any decisions.Will probably keep it but you never know,I do like the BX and it is a nice little tractor.I may try lowering the tire pressures to see if it makes any difference.I don't remember what they are now but I know the tires are fairly hard.What do other BX owners use for tire pressures?

 

[LD1]

With the tire dimensions you could always calculate the tire's "contact patch" in square inches and divide that into the weight of the machine to figure out PSI the tire exerts on the ground. I would suspect that they are pretty close to the same between those two machines......meaning no real advantage to downsizing.

"could" calculate it if I could find a formula for it. But I cant,

We know the width of the tire, that is a given. But what percentage of circumfrence contacts the ground???

Just guessing, but if I use 10% of the circumfrence:

that gives the G2120 about 225 square inches of contact. with a weight of 1200, that is 5.3psi

And the BX would be at about 290 square inches and at 1800lbs that would be 6.2psi.

So going to the G2120, you would only drop 14% ground pressure even though the machine is 33% lighter

 

[Chilly807]

I hear what you're saying.. we've had wet weather and an early spring, the ground is hardly settled from the frost coming out.

I left some depressions the last mowing in the fall, and that was with a Craftsman ride-on, maybe 450 pounds or so plus another 220 for me.

I could use a push mower in the soft spots, but the whole dam* lawn is soggy right now.

Like the guys are saying, it's all about ground pressure and the size of the contact spot at the bottom of the tire. Our excavator buddy Jeff told me once his Hitachi has a ground pressure of 7 pounds per square inch of track, which is nothing compared to any wheeled vehicle. Same thing applies to the zero-turn and the tractor.

Sean