Are the BX tractors top heavy and tippy?

[leonz]

Merry CHRISTmas Leonz and family and all TBNers!
YouTube - Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby-The Christmas Song / White Christmas
The orange camo RTV1140 is snuggled under my back deck and prepared to transport some burn trash over to the burn pile in the near future. It is a bit wider than my BX's so it's a snug fit until I remove the retaing wall stones and move them over a bit. It hasn't been near the other Oranges yet so not sure if they are going to fight or get along well. I'll let them sniff each other one warm day and take a picture of their meeting.

"Good to hear there are no jealosy issues yet, or food hogs at the diesel can and funnel" Just keep the garden hose handy in the corral to cool down the hot heads when the stomping and pushing starts.


I have sent you a quick PM-not quick -a tad long

About the duals-
The duals set up would be better if the spacer was between the rears with the wheels mounted at the axle to avoid stressing the axle stub more.
( I am unsure if the casting would tolerate having gussetts welded on them to stiffen the axle stub as a matter of repair later on)

 

[Tom_H]

I do not recommend this, but there was a woman on the board about 6 or 7 years ago who always kept her 60" MMM on when doing loader work on slopes. The purpose was to use the MMM as a lateral stabilizer.

There was not unanimous agreement, but the majority opinion was that the stresses were not good for the MMM mounting points. I share that opinion.

 

[beckmurph]

JOHNTHOMAS I was going to make a quip about spay/nueter, but your stable occupants don,t normally stay that long.

 

[Johnbro]

The BX is probably the most stable of the Kubota line. Very low center of gravity and very little ground clearance. It is built like a Porsche in that way.

However, don't get overconfident. There are a lot of Porsches in the junkyard for that reason.

When I went to comp school, one instructor said, "The Porsche is the only car in the world with a phone number on the back. If you lift out of the throttle in the middle of a turn, after you crash, look on the back and dial the number: 9-1-1.":laughing:

 

[Sam Mac]

I値l make two comments, first the reason a Porsche will spin so easily is that the engine is in the back and it痴 trying to get to the front where it belongs this was from a Skip Barber instructor.

Second I have loaded tires and 220lbs of wheel weights on my BX and it has greatly reduced the tippy issue. If your working with a FEL always keep the load as low as you can while moving and make sure your level when you raise the load.

 

[kday64]

Do you think any other manufacturer's lawyers would tell them to say anything different?

I am not sure. How many people have read their manuals?

 

[ClendenninTrail]

Before picking up my BX 25 in early December I was skeptical about how well it would perform on hillsides. After about 70 hours of use around my property, I'd like to say I'm very happy. The only TLBs I've used have been full size, and they have always made me nervous working around the hills of my property. This little machine is more susceptible to turnovers from uneven terrain than general slope angles. I'm not saying I won't flip this thing tomorrow, but it has proven to me that it is just as stable, if not more confidence inspiring, than any fullsize backhoes.
Below is a picture of my property, and some of the work yet to be done. The other shows my tractor. That day I moved boulders from the bottom of the hill to the top, and then used the tractor to transport bags of grass seed to be distributed.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Before picking up my BX 25 in early December I was skeptical about how well it would perform on hillsides. After about 70 hours of use around my property, I'd like to say I'm very happy. The only TLBs I've used have been full size, and they have always made me nervous working around the hills of my property. This little machine is more susceptible to turnovers from uneven terrain than general slope angles. I'm not saying I won't flip this thing tomorrow, but it has proven to me that it is just as stable, if not more confidence inspiring, than any fullsize backhoes.
Below is a picture of my property, and some of the work yet to be done. The other shows my tractor. That day I moved boulders from the bottom of the hill to the top, and then used the tractor to transport bags of grass seed to be distributed.

That is a hill! :confused2:

 

[RichInTheUSA]

I have a BX 1860 and i definitely find it "tippy". My property is on the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains. So many times I have felt like the tractor is going to tip over.... and many times one or two wheels are off the ground. Not a good feeling!

Perhaps the smallest of the compact tractors are more tippy than the bigger ones? Not sure.

I'm definitely looking into the spacers. Thanks for all the information on this thread.

 

[Kevinc2004]

Load the rear tires. It made a real difference in mine for the 4 years that I owned mine, before I traded up go a B2601. It has loaded tires as well!

 

[davesl708]

I have a BX 1860 and i definitely find it "tippy". My property is on the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains. So many times I have felt like the tractor is going to tip over.... and many times one or two wheels are off the ground. Not a good feeling!

Perhaps the smallest of the compact tractors are more tippy than the bigger ones? Not sure.

I'm definitely looking into the spacers. Thanks for all the information on this thread.

I use a ballast box so I can remove the weight when mowing or other non-FEL work. I don't need the extra weight when using the roto-tiller or tank sprayer.

 

[Grandad4]

The bare BX-style tractor is one of the more stable compact tractors owing to the small tires keeping the weight close to the ground. A "B" sized machine is a bit wider - helps stability - but that's offset by the larger tires and higher ground clearance.

Anything you add in the center or rear that's low to the ground (mower deck, liquid in tires, wheel weights), helps. Anything you add that's high up and/or toward the front (notably a loader with a filled bucket that's raised), makes it more tippy. Adding weight at the front makes it more tippy because it shifts more of the overall weight to the front axle that pivots side-to-side. Wheel spacers help, but getting the weights right also makes a huge difference.

 

[AStanton]

The beauty of a BX-25 on a slope is that you can shoot a stabilizer out on the downside for added protection.

 

[KYKub]

I have a yard (1 acre) that's pretty steep in spots. When I started using the BX 1860 late this summer I definitely felt it was more tippy than my G1900 Kubota mower. As others have said, having the FEL on makes a world of difference and spacers, loaded tires, wheel weights, etc. can be effective in mitigating the tippy effect.

I think it's also important to "know" your machine. I parked my BX sideways on the steepest part of my lawn, got off and tried to lift the machine as if I were trying to roll it down the hill. I couldn't budge it! Even though it "felt" tippy, it was actually quite stable.

I'll still keep things low and go slow until my pucker meter is calibrated, but it was surprising to me that the machine is more stable than it felt.