In case anyone is searching I thought I would do a quick review of my Kubota bx1860 on my Minnesota vineyard. I have the front end loader and 54 inch deck. And, of course, the engine heater.
Background: 600 foot gravel driveway with hills and curves. 2 acres of vineyard. 4 acres mowed. Live on a lake. Had used a bobcat 610, an atv for spraying and the largest garden tractor Sears sold (the monster).
The hydromatic drive in the Sears tractor died completely 1 month after the warranty was up. Sears would not help at all in the cost of the rear end or labor. To repair it would cost $900 if I did the work. I checked the net and discovered Sears put the lightest duty transmission on their heaviest tractor and there were dozens of postings from others with the same exact problem (and it still had a higher rating than the JD!). I decided not to fix it since I would definitely need to fix it again in another year or 2. So, I decided to get a machine that could replace the bobcat, the dead lawn tractor and the atv - And I sold all of them.
1) Mowing: Much more comfortable and did a better job than the Sears. Fit perfectly between the grape trellises and had a much higher clearance - So I never bottomed out. There are only 2 negatives: It takes a few seconds for the blade to engage and the mower deck will drift down when all the way up (only when not in use). Handles the hills excellently. I give it an A- on mowing.
2) Moving dirt. Ok, it can only carry 1/4 to 1/2 of the dirt that the bobcat could carry. If I have too heavy of a load and I am on the hill it has a tendency to roll to the right. On the other hand, I used it to carry dirt to places my bobcat couldn't go because it was too heavy - Down by the lake I moved about 6-10 tons of class 5, and moved several tons of used hay (per animals) to the compost pile up, down and around hills. Yes, it didn't carry as much, and it was a little unstable when overfilled, but, I never would have been able to do those things with the bobcat due to wet ground by the lake and damage to the lawn, etc. Grade it with a B. Higher if I was smart enough to stay within the limits of the machine.
3) Snow with the FEL and rear chains (gave up on trying to put front chains on). Ok, I almost bought a snowblower when I got the 1860. Then I thought I should get a back blade. Then I decided to just try the fel first. I have been plowing snow with my bobcat's fel for about 20 years and thought it was the perfect machine. After our 17 inch snowfall I am starting to think the 1860 with the fel is better. The bx1860 can move faster. Because the bucket is smaller I can push the snow just as far as I could with the bobcat. It still takes 3 trips down the driveway with pushing the snow off the side every once in awhile. It is much more maneuverable so I can clean out places that were very difficult to get to before. But, did I say how much faster it is? Got it done in 1/2 the time. Grade for snow removal with the fel and rear chains: B+. An A would be someone else doing it. Oh, hint for plowing: The bucket needs to be very slightly tilted up from level for most plowing. The bucket should just slightly touch the ground. When on a hill, tilt it down slightly to scrap down to the gravel so you will have better traction with the cars.
4) Spraying: I'm a wimp. The first time I sprayed with it and saw the layer of semi-permanent residue on my beautiful orange machine I groaned. It handled the spraying perfectly. Better than anything else I have used. It was very easy to keep a steady speed. But, I hated wrecking the paint. So, I picked up an old riding lawn tractor from craigslist for free and converted it to a sprayer. Oh, one funny thing: My sprayer uses a 12v battery. I connected the battery to the tractor battery in parallel so it wouldn't go dead (plugged it into the 12v outlet). Then I couldn't shut the tractor off! I finally unplugged the sprayer and it went off. Seems the power in the dc outlet also powers the fuel pump, etc. Funny.
In summary, I made the right decision getting the 1860 vs the 2360. I was pretty nervous about it thinking I needed the higher horsepower. Never once have I thought I needed more horsepower. A little wider would be nice for on the hills, but then I would have a harder time between the grape vines. I like it so much I sometimes find myself wanting a second one. I don't know what for, but when I get something that does what it is designed to do I always want a backup.
Oh, had 1 problem. Once the temp gauge pinned to the hot end, but dropped down again when I tapped it.
Background: 600 foot gravel driveway with hills and curves. 2 acres of vineyard. 4 acres mowed. Live on a lake. Had used a bobcat 610, an atv for spraying and the largest garden tractor Sears sold (the monster).
The hydromatic drive in the Sears tractor died completely 1 month after the warranty was up. Sears would not help at all in the cost of the rear end or labor. To repair it would cost $900 if I did the work. I checked the net and discovered Sears put the lightest duty transmission on their heaviest tractor and there were dozens of postings from others with the same exact problem (and it still had a higher rating than the JD!). I decided not to fix it since I would definitely need to fix it again in another year or 2. So, I decided to get a machine that could replace the bobcat, the dead lawn tractor and the atv - And I sold all of them.
1) Mowing: Much more comfortable and did a better job than the Sears. Fit perfectly between the grape trellises and had a much higher clearance - So I never bottomed out. There are only 2 negatives: It takes a few seconds for the blade to engage and the mower deck will drift down when all the way up (only when not in use). Handles the hills excellently. I give it an A- on mowing.
2) Moving dirt. Ok, it can only carry 1/4 to 1/2 of the dirt that the bobcat could carry. If I have too heavy of a load and I am on the hill it has a tendency to roll to the right. On the other hand, I used it to carry dirt to places my bobcat couldn't go because it was too heavy - Down by the lake I moved about 6-10 tons of class 5, and moved several tons of used hay (per animals) to the compost pile up, down and around hills. Yes, it didn't carry as much, and it was a little unstable when overfilled, but, I never would have been able to do those things with the bobcat due to wet ground by the lake and damage to the lawn, etc. Grade it with a B. Higher if I was smart enough to stay within the limits of the machine.
3) Snow with the FEL and rear chains (gave up on trying to put front chains on). Ok, I almost bought a snowblower when I got the 1860. Then I thought I should get a back blade. Then I decided to just try the fel first. I have been plowing snow with my bobcat's fel for about 20 years and thought it was the perfect machine. After our 17 inch snowfall I am starting to think the 1860 with the fel is better. The bx1860 can move faster. Because the bucket is smaller I can push the snow just as far as I could with the bobcat. It still takes 3 trips down the driveway with pushing the snow off the side every once in awhile. It is much more maneuverable so I can clean out places that were very difficult to get to before. But, did I say how much faster it is? Got it done in 1/2 the time. Grade for snow removal with the fel and rear chains: B+. An A would be someone else doing it. Oh, hint for plowing: The bucket needs to be very slightly tilted up from level for most plowing. The bucket should just slightly touch the ground. When on a hill, tilt it down slightly to scrap down to the gravel so you will have better traction with the cars.
4) Spraying: I'm a wimp. The first time I sprayed with it and saw the layer of semi-permanent residue on my beautiful orange machine I groaned. It handled the spraying perfectly. Better than anything else I have used. It was very easy to keep a steady speed. But, I hated wrecking the paint. So, I picked up an old riding lawn tractor from craigslist for free and converted it to a sprayer. Oh, one funny thing: My sprayer uses a 12v battery. I connected the battery to the tractor battery in parallel so it wouldn't go dead (plugged it into the 12v outlet). Then I couldn't shut the tractor off! I finally unplugged the sprayer and it went off. Seems the power in the dc outlet also powers the fuel pump, etc. Funny.
In summary, I made the right decision getting the 1860 vs the 2360. I was pretty nervous about it thinking I needed the higher horsepower. Never once have I thought I needed more horsepower. A little wider would be nice for on the hills, but then I would have a harder time between the grape vines. I like it so much I sometimes find myself wanting a second one. I don't know what for, but when I get something that does what it is designed to do I always want a backup.
Oh, had 1 problem. Once the temp gauge pinned to the hot end, but dropped down again when I tapped it.
