Big tractor syndrome

Cherokee140 · Feb 27, 2014

rjwerth said:
Seriously though, you should probably be thinking a bit bigger than you are especially if you are thinking backhoe. I couldn't imagine having a smaller hoe than my 2485 and have it be worth the money spent and you are looking at smaller machines than that....

That is just what I don't understand. Like I said I have zero experience with a backhoe on anything other then a purpose built machine....never on a tractor....so all I have to go off of is really videos I have seen on youtube. Yea not a real great way to tell what the machines can do.

That said you see machines in the size of the BX and 1 series doing some real work. A great many videos. Leveling ground, digging up stumps, water lines....gravel....stuff I want to do. I listen to the engines on the machines and they don't seem to bog down when lifting stuff that looks pretty darn heavy. Does not look like anything is bending or straining. They seem to like those machines.

I am not saying this to try to justify the machine to myself, but that is really what is out there and really all I have to go on. Then so many people say...oh that is too small it will never do it....you need the next size bigger, it will not have the power, you will bend/break, or not be able to do it. Well I think if that was the case the net would be full of people that pushed the machine too hard and broke it....lets face it if it says it will lift 100lbs people will try to lift 200 with it....If the speed limit is 65 you will go 70...people always push the limit....you know they do....but there is just not the flood of this busted or that is weak on the smaller machines.

If they are really too small, give me some real facts....not your stories of your buddies friends brothers uncles sister cousin that had one and the wheels fell off of it the second he moved the backhoe.

But right now I only have stories and people saying I would not do it.

I am not wanting to be a jerk or anything, and I am sure people will come in and say...well sounds like your mind is already made up....no it is not, but I have no real proof that the smaller machines are going to be damaged, not last, not be able to do it....I assure you that is not the case.

I am sure that people buy the smaller machines and then decide that it is too small....one of the dealers has a used 1025R that the story is just that, he bought it but thought it was too small....only thing is the machine has .4 hours on it....how in the heck can you determine anything in .4 hours.....or are you that daft you bought it thinking it would run your round bailer.

Snow storms for this weekend so likely I will have another week to try to figure this out.....I really think I am over thinking it....but one thing I do know....I don't want to buy less then I need....but I also don't want to buy more machine then I will ever use.

You also read that people say the machines will do the work....just a little slower....well ok, not a problem....this is not my job, and it is sure going to be faster then me getting my 17yr old kid out there with a shovel.

TripleR · Feb 27, 2014

Cherokee140, it looks like we are going to get some bad weather too even down here in the sunny south, so it looks like I will be grounded too. I just finished doing some much needed road maintenance; man it was nice to get out.

Look up threads started by bp fick and JOHNTHOMAS, they have gone back and forth from BX to B and back, both are very knowledgeable, have no bias one way or the other and are a great resource if you want to PM them. Anything that applies to the BX goes for the JD one series.

GPintheMitten · Feb 27, 2014

No one is going to prove it one way or the other.

Just buy the BX and be done with it.

murphy1244 · Feb 27, 2014

GPintheMitten said:
No one is going to prove it one way or the other.

Just buy the BX and be done with it.

I said that in post # 2

k0ua · Feb 27, 2014

Cherokee, this is James down in Branson, and if you wanted to come down here and play with my Kioti Dk35se machine I would sure let you. (I would not recommend this weekend either) But If I had your 13 acres and want to clean out fence rows.. well now this is just an opinion, but I sure would not want much smaller than what I have.

I have had 3 tractors on this place alone, and it is just 7 acres, of which I can run around on only about 4 of it, but I have traded up in size and capability each time. Started with a B7500DT, then an L3400HST and now the Kioti. Which is not a whole lot longer or wider than the Kubota L3400HST but weight 1066 lbs more and has a stronger loader. The difference in adding 1066 lbs of build in weight is a lot, because weight equals the ability to put power to the ground. The Kubota and the Kioti are near identical in the HP department, but the Kubota L series is just not as heavy as the Kioti.
And the L series is so much heavier and stronger than the B7500dt It replaced it is not even funny. Rocks I struggled to push around with the B7500, I could lift up and carry off with the L3400.. and the B7500 is larger heavier and has far greater ground clearance than the BX or 1 series you are considering.

I gave $19,300 for my Kioti with loader and loaded tires and canopy as you see in my avatar. I do not have the backhoe, as it is just too darn rocky around here or I would have one.

So I have a tractor 4 sizes larger than what you are considering, and less than 1/2 of the property to maintain.. You mentioned grapple, well I have one, and it is real handy. But I suspect you will want to lift things that might weigh close to 1000 lbs, and you sure are not going to do that with a loader rated for 400 lbs minus the weight of the grapple Plus you have to step up in tractor size to get one equipped with the standard SSQA for the front end so that you can change out your front end implement easily.

Of course now they are starting to make a proprietary QA for the BX to try to address that, but the availability of SSQA compatible implements that fit all brands is a real advantage.

Now I might be crazy, (and plenty of people have said just that), but If I were you, I would consider something a little larger. Again this is just one mans opinion.

Good luck in what ever you decide

motownbrowne · Feb 27, 2014

There's another thread started by Nanook a few days ago. Similar thing, wants a bx or a b to get his property ready to sell and then to maintain the 40 acres he's going to buy. Sounds crazy to me. If you're gonna spend the money anyway, spend a little more and get something that will lift more, do more, and use regularly sized implements.

rjwerth · Feb 27, 2014

Cherokee140 said:
That is just what I don't understand. Like I said I have zero experience with a backhoe on anything other then a purpose built machine....never on a tractor....so all I have to go off of is really videos I have seen on youtube. Yea not a real great way to tell what the machines can do.

You also read that people say the machines will do the work....just a little slower....well ok, not a problem....this is not my job, and it is sure going to be faster then me getting my 17yr old kid out there with a shovel.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I had never run a backhoe of any size before I bought mine. Like you, I watched a lot videos of people on their tractor backhoes and of course had seen plenty of real backhoes in use. And after all that, I still wish more from mine. As fun as it is to use, it feels like it takes forever to do what I want to do. Am I the type of person who wants everything done fast and efficient? Guilty. When you tell me that you've used a real hoe, I worry you will be disappointed. It takes a lot of weight to run a hoe well and a BX just doesn't have it. Will it be faster than a shovel? You bet. Will it do more than a shovel? A little...but not much.

GPintheMitten · Feb 27, 2014

You know you try to help people. They want your opinion, then they want you to prove it. I'm done with this thread. Unsubscribing.

jenkinsph · Feb 27, 2014

While we all know that a little backhoe can dig a hole with smaller bites recognize that the small boom and stick makes it difficult to move the dirt far enough when stacking. This can be a real problem for you on larger holes. In addition to this is trying to get a stump out of the hole once you get it loosened up, much easier with a larger hoe. My experience is that a 40hp tlb will dig up stumps about 4 to 5 times faster than a 25 hp tlb. That may not seem important to you now but when you come to the 100th stump you have to dig up you may wish you had bought a larger tractor.

If I were buying a new machine for 13 acres that I planned on fixing up extensively then a 35 to 40 hp tractor/tlb is what I would get. Get a tractor that will handle six foot implements and a decent fel, that will eliminate needing to move up from a "too small tractor" and lower cost in the long term.