Buying Advice How Many of you bought a BX TLB and then..

[owner66]

Hi, just signed up. I live on 7 acres. Approx 2 acres are 'lawn', currently have a Cub SLT1554 that mows it fine. Wife uses it, guess I messed up mowing 1 time to many :thumbsup:
Anyway, the other property is pretty overgrown with everything from saplings to decent sized cedar etc.
I'm looking at getting a BX25 to take care of things i have to do, such as digging for a few hundered feet of retaining wall, digging out stump, loading up branches from tree trimming, leveling 200' drieveway, extending paitio, etc,etc.
So how many of you buy one of these tractors (or similar) and end up using it for a few months to play around with and then it sits because you get bored with or don't enjoy using it as much as you thought you would?

 

[TripleR]

The whole time I have been on here, I have only heard of this happening once. We liked our first BX so much, we bought another one to take its place and it gets used quite frequently. We don't have the BX25 though, just a BX2660.

LOTS of happy BX25 owners on here, JOHNTHOMAS and Compacttractorfan to name just a couple so they will show up I am sure.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I'm showing up as you were warned.
I started 8 years ago with a BX2200, MMM, FEL. Thought I was wasting money on the FEL but was wrong. I bought 5 acres of partly treed hillside gullied land to build my home on with wife and brother helping me. I was retired so had time to do something I wanted to do. Build my own home.
I cut trees for a month with a chainsaw. Had Larry come in with a dozer to level house site. While he was there I also had him clear the rest of the scrub trees and push up all my stumps that I had after cutting trees. He did in about 4 to 8 hours what would have taken me months to do.
I used the BX2200 for a year and used it so much and was so impressed with what it would do that I traded it for a B7800 FEL RFM and a BX1500 MMM. Worked them for three years till paid off. Traded them for a L3240HST FEL and a BX2350 MMM. Both of them were a mistake for different reasons. L was to big and scary on my hillside and BX2350 has an issue. Traded them for a BX2660 MMM FEL and a B3200 FEL. Also sold Kubota gas mower and bought a F2680 for mowing rental property.
A year later I reviewed my actual needs after working on property for 7 years and decided I needed a BX25 for home and rental property tractor work and a F3080 4wd 72" deck for home mowing. Later decided I needed a B2320 for tilling, overseeding, boxblading, plowing and bushhogging. BX25 would have done those tasks but I hadn't bought any Kubotas in several months except for the RTV1140 so bought the B.
Any way, I have used the BX25 with RatchetRake more than any of the other Kubotas in the same amount of time. I will plant a tree or move a tree or shrub at the drop of a hat. Don't know how I did without the BH and thought I'd rarely use it. I was wrong again. Some things you can't realize how much you will use until you get one just outside your door for you to jump on at any time for any size job, big or small or tiny.
Now I'm saying the BX25 is my favorite Kubota tractor for where I'm at with my past, present and future landscaping work. I still use it frequently and forsee that I will always have jobs for it to do. A BH adds anothe totally new dimension to what a tractor can do with the reach and digging power of the BH bucket.
I don't have a grapple and can't believe I'd need one (at what one costs) for the jobs I do but may be another one of those things I'm confused about.

 

[radioman]

Same here- I thought I wouldnt use my BH much after a fewe projects that would pay for itself but I always found uses for BH work, even for little things. just last week I used it to pull my old mailbox out of ground and then dug new hole for new mailbox post. 2 months ago I used it to dig test holes to find water for my garden in a drought. Just having it ready at any time is awesome. it goes on and off in 5 mins or so each.:thumbsup:

 

[CompactTractorFan]

So how many of you buy one of these tractors (or similar) and end up using it for a few months to play around with and then it sits because you get bored with or don't enjoy using it as much as you thought you would?

Well, even though I don't use my BX25 as much as when we first got it, I use it every couple of days or so...The BH sometimes sits for a while, but when you need it its invaluable. :thumbsup:

 

[timswi]

My BX 23 does everything I expected it to do and much more...With an MMM it's kind of like a Swiss army knife...Does nearly everything, just not everything perfect. I never regret the day I bought it.

 

[megaboz]

I had a BX24, the BH was nice to have, but I found it to be very slow when digging, powerful yes, fast no. You mention a few hundred feet of digging for a retaining wall, personally unless you have time to kill, you would be better off renting a small excavator for the backhoe work. But for smaller projects, the BH is great, but it is an expensive add on to have for just occasional work in my opinion.

 

[Volfandt]

I've had my BX23 for 7 seasons now and will admit that the BHoe sits alot more than it's used. That said, and has already been posted, when I do needs it, it's the best implement I have

I noticed you indicate you have acreage in woods, I have 2 recommendations for you if you go w/a BX TLB.
1) Get or make a skidplate. All BX's use an HST cooling fan and their HST filter is mounted low and in harms way. Generally this is mitigated by the MMM but inorder to get your max ground clearance in the woods, you'll want to have it dismounted. Once dismounted theres very little OEM protection for the fan & none for the filter. Many have made basic el-cheapo plates and theres a very nice Bro Tek plate system available for purchase. Definitely get a skidplate if your going to operate a BX w/o the MMM mounted...

2) Get a thumb for the BHoe. This makes the BHoe a whole new implement. It's get for lifting heavy objects and depositing where you want them. Large stones/rocks and whatever else that fits between the bucket & thumb.
It's also great for wood processing. I use mine to grasp & lift the log/limb I'm cutting up, to a nice easy to work height where I can easily slice & dice the wood. Theres no dulling a cutting chain in the dirt when you're standing nice and level easily cutting up the wood

As been pointed out, it'll take the little 12" bucket awhile to dip a long trench and/or a large hole but then again, you have the implement there and ready to go when your ready to go and it will do the job. Just think about how many projects get put on the back burner when you figure in having to go and rent a machine, transport it to & fro and you just loose interest in doing it. With the implement there, easily mounted, alot of things tend to get done around my small ponderosa, outside that is

I only have alittle over 4 acres, mostly lawn & pasture but with really overgrown fence rows that need constant attention, especially after storms, and I find the easy on/off capability of the BXTLB BHoe to be invaluable in cutting up the debris. Since I burn wood in the shop, it's a win/win for me.
But yes, the BHoe sits quite a bit. I've probably been avg'ing perhaps 10 hrs a yr on it over the past 4 or 5 yrs but like I said, when I needs it, it's the best implement I have
I keep mine on a dollie so I can easily roll it around the shop and out of the way when not needed, so it's not in the way.
In my case, theres no buyers remorse on my purchase of my BX TLB.
Good luck
Dave
P.S, I also wanted to add that w/the FEL & BHoe dismouted, the BX TLB is about 1000lbs lighter and coupled w/a 60" MMM, it makes a very nice and nimble finish mower too. Just wanted to add that

 

[DelSc]

I was in a similar situation, and got a BX24. After I got it, I mostly wished I hadnt waited so long to take the plunge, as I found the loader and backhoe extremely useful for maintaining and improving the property. The power of the backhoe on the BX is nicely sized for that weight of tractor, and you can do a lot with it. I eventually got a slightly larger B series tractor, but you can really do a lot with the BX, and its not likely to sit if you have a long list of projects to tackle. You probably wont get much discouragement on this forum for buying a tractor. But you can also get a lot of good advise here to help you get the proper one that is best suited for the jobs you want to do.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have never regretted my BX 23 purchase... it is just so darned handy and a real back-saver...

Sometimes I wish it was bigger but then I wouldn't have been able to build a ramp and use it to dig out my basement...