GCK60-26BX Grass Catcher Feedback and Info Needed

[Jeff H]

The shaft on the -23BX is shorter because there is no shaft, just a double u-joint.

 

[tjkubota93]

You might consider a Cyclone Rake.
I have one and made a little trailer hitch/adapter to hook my 3 point to it.
It will suck up everything you can run over and then some. Big sticks or wet leaves will plug the tube, but usually I just kick it near the clog and it unclogs it.
I have the optional tube to suck up leaves and stuff away from the mower deck too.
Mine is the 2nd smallest, you can get them way bigger that would probably suck up a hubcap.
The only disadvantage I see is having another small engine to care for. It would be cool to put a hydraulic motor in place of the briggs.

 

[bellweather]

One more point - Kubota no longer makes the 3 Pt mount grass catcher, so if you want one you will have to locate a used one, which is how I got mine.

 

[JWR]

Not near my bota at current....Don't remember the model number on my catcher...I have a 2370-1 with the catcher mounted to the lift arms. On mine the lift arms are held stationary by disconnecting the short arm link. My only complaint is that the set up has to be just right or the deck to catcher delivery tube will come disconnected. The other being that wet grass will clog the chute. As suspected any sticks etc. instantly clog the tube. Its not hard to remove the boot just an annoyance. If your looking to do catching its not too bad. It has three two bussel bags.

Concur. I have a Kubota GK60BX 3-bag bagger (since 2004) that mounts on the 3pt lift arms. Have not had the tube disconnect problem (maybe his tube is too short?) Mine is pretty well jammed tight between the blower and the deck flange and stays put. Yes, they will clog at times with too much heavy wet grass or piles of leaves. I totally depend on this unit for leaf removal/bagging in the fall making 3 or 4 bagging days during the leaf season and totaling around 20 some bags per day of it. I use it to bag grass only when I got caught with the grass too high and making hay. The unit is somewhat of a struggle to get on and off BUT after several cycles I can do it in 20 minutes. Very solid, well designed, best in class in my opinion. It better be at $1500 and that was 2004. Being PTO driven and with a large solid steel welded plates fan it will blow your arm sideways at the top of the chute. Powerful but like all of them it can be clogged. One post said leveling was critical and the near-chute bag would fill and the others not fill. I disagree. The near bag is supposed to fill first by design and then the material goes to the next open bag until all 3 are full. At least mine does & never failed doing that in 12 years. Finally found that leveling is counter intuitive but you can level the bagger real well by using the turnbuckles for lift arm swing. Once they are taut, just see if it is level and if not cut and try with left and right turnbuckles to get it right. I'm Long winded BUT I would think this bagger has to be compatible with all the BX series. Mine is a BX2200. All it needs is the PTO, the 3pt lift arms and the deck flange to fit the deck and mate to the tube going to the fan. Dealers may know better but I see no reason why it would not fit all of the BX series. I know it does theBX2200, BX2320, etc. Meanwhile if in fact they are no longer sold (why on earth would that be ??) I see where Messicks has one for sale used. Picture attached here.

 

[super dave]

I hope this helps?! We moved into a neighborhood at the time had a gravely pm148z turn. Now we have leaves to get up. The bagger was no longer available so called peco and many others to no avail. Purchased a used vac system for newer gravely which was told would not work. Well bought two different size belts n worked awesome. Sold it when I got kubota w/mower. Then PROPERLY adjusted linkages and leveled deck (rck60-27ba). I figured after countless hours on the phone and at kubota dealerships yes plural that they don't much about what they sell just parts #s. For $300 I found older style vac. Bought pulley for deck that accepts gear box (pulley new $106). Then spent $160 on cold stock steel (1inch square and half inch by 2 inch stock bar). $101 on stainless steel mesh. I fabbed a five sided bar that bolts to draw bar n built a new hopper that opens and closes from the bottom while in the drivers seat. It is not off set for fear of my clumsiness. It holds a whopin 30 bushels. They recommended vac for my b3200 is $3200, ridiculous!!! I don't care for rear pto driven blower, awkward n time consuming to mount/remove. My set has two pins one hose n that's it, and you leave the 3pt arms on. If need be send me private message n I'll tell how n what is needed for your deck for this to work. I'm impressed with mine was unsure when I sold my zero turn because I hadn't even started building this

 

[bellweather]

Kabota discontinued the 3pt-mount bagger and went to a frame-mount design (fact). The 3pt unit should fit all the BX tractors, as JWR notes above. Because I installed telescoping stabilizers on my 3Pt hitch, which replaced the turnbuckles, fine tuning the leveling is not so easy. I think the leveling issues I encounter are a result of the previous owner backing up into something and distorting the frame, making it hang lower on one side. That said, it's a solid unit and performs very well.

 

[buckslayer5676]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far everyone. Sounds like both type of models are pretty solid from everyone's feedback.

To make matters more confusing, I just got off of the phone with my dealer and he indicated they are phasing out the GCK60-23BX model (non-3 point mount). Not sure if he knew what he was talking about so I'm waiting to hear back from another dealer.

This would almost make sense though since I believe the GCK60-26BX model just came out in 2014 (from the limited amount of info I could find on this model) and I have a hard time believing they would discontinue that new of a model, but we'll see what the other dealer has to say about this model and I'll post what I find out.

 

[buckslayer5676]

It appears that Kubota is going back to the 3 point mount for their baggers. Other dealer also confirmed that the GCK60-23BX (fixed mount) is being discontinued and the GCK60-26BX (3 point mount) is the new replacement model. Wonder why they are discontinuing the fixed mount? He said a person may still be able to get their hands on one of the fixed mounts, but they are subject to availability.

 

[JWR]

It appears that Kubota is going back to the 3 point mount for their baggers. Other dealer also confirmed that the GCK60-23BX (fixed mount) is being discontinued and the GCK60-26BX (3 point mount) is the new replacement model. Wonder why they are discontinuing the fixed mount? He said a person may still be able to get their hands on one of the fixed mounts, but they are subject to availability.

Between bellweather and buckslayer's posts we see that Kubota has apparently been on again/off again about whether they favor the frame mount versus the lift arm mount versions. I'm not in the market but if I were I'd locate the regional marketing rep for Kubota and ask him to explain the waffling back and forth. Better yet, find the regional customer service rep (normally the guy who has to referee differences between dealers and customers) and ask him what the real story is. No doubt there are service or reliability issues.

 

[JWR]

Kabota discontinued the 3pt-mount bagger and went to a frame-mount design (fact). The 3pt unit should fit all the BX tractors, as JWR notes above. Because I installed telescoping stabilizers on my 3Pt hitch, which replaced the turnbuckles, fine tuning the leveling is not so easy. I think the leveling issues I encounter are a result of the previous owner backing up into something and distorting the frame, making it hang lower on one side. That said, it's a solid unit and performs very well.

Say bellweather, I can sort of see that fine tuning of the leveling of the bagger is not so "fine" with your telescoping stabilizers. They would mean that you only have finite discrete steps of adjustment instead of continuous fine adjustment that the threads give you with turnbuckles. However, my own ignorance may serve as a lesson here -- I went thru multiple seasons with the bagger obviously off level and (like you) concluded the prior owner had somehow bent the frame or some such. I was wrong ! That is what I meant by the "counterintuitive" part of leveling with the turnbuckle struts. Best way I can describe it is that "when it looks like you need to shorten the right side it is in fact the left side" and vice versa. Once I finally did enough cut and try (loosen one side and tighten the other , back and forth) I was able to find which bias raised the right side of the bagger viewed from the rear and which bias did the opposite. Since you have the luxury of telescoping stabilizers (I do not) may I suggest the following: Pull the pins on both of your stabilizer links. Use a floor jack and raise the "low" side of the bagger frame letting the stabilizers float. Once you have it level (or better yet just slightly beyond level in the direction counter to where it had been "low") then put the pins back in the stab links. You will have a tiny bit of play and maybe able to select pin holes that give you the tightest/stable configuration. That should work. Let me guess: Your bagger has been "low" on the right side looking from the rear , true ?