Shett
New member
Hi all, I've been lurking for a while but never got around to registering. There's been a few times lately where I've wanted to respond to a post but remembered that I didn't have a membership, so I figured I should fix that. I've been hanging out on another forum but this one has been just as useful so I figured I should sign up. I wanted my first post to be something helpful so I'm bringing some information over that I posted there as I think it may be useful to some members here.
Last year I bought a Kubota BX25 after much deliberation (and negotiation with my accountant *cough* wife *cough*). My one real point of concern was the HST fan since I live in an area littered with mesquite twigs, so I knew a skid plate was in order. I went with the BXpanded because it looked simple and I don't use the mid-PTO anyway so there was no worry about blocking that off. I hadn't seen a good tutorial on the installation process so I decided to make one :thumbsup: Hope you all enjoy and thanks for being so helpful.
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Alright here we go, I got my skid plate from Bxpanded today and was able to install it in about 20 minutes (including time to snap pictures). I probably could've gotten it done quicker but I'm still learning my tractor and since I don't have a mower deck there were two things I had to figure out right quick: the cutting height adjuster and the mower deck lever. Here's a pic for anyone else who never worries about these things, the green arrow points to the height adjustment and the blue arrow is the lever that controls the arms:
I found out that without a lot of weight on the arms they don't go down easy, so I held the lever and just pushed them down.
So, from the factory I think the design is ok really. The HST fan is pretty well tucked up in there but there is still a chance that a stick/root/fishing pole may find it's way up and strip off all the plastic fan blades. While the risk can be mitigated by being careful of where you are, I am of the mindset that I'll probably try to do things I shouldn't do and will keep that up until something breaks. I took a look under the tractor and snapped a pic of the vulnerabilities:
The green arrow points to the HST fan. The red is the tranny filter. The blue is the mid-mount PTO. All of which are somewhat vulnerable. Rather than face a $250 insurance deductible along with downtime, I decided a sub-$200 investment was worth while. This is what was in the box:
A skid plate of 1/8" steel and a pair of bolts. Looks easy enough eh?
Now on to the install. First step, open beer and add fuel to body.
Step 2, recycle the shipping box as a gravel mat:
Step 3, install the bolts to the frame. There are two holes in the frame about 16" in front of the mower mount spring pins (when the mower arms are up). The bolts just go right in, but you might have to finangle your mower arms a bit to make room to get them in. Just move the arms up or down as needed and it should work out. There are spacers on the bolts so make sure they are installed the right way, the instructions are simple to follow but if a picture helps, the green arrow is towards the middle of the tractor while the blue arrow points outward:
Step 4, orient the skid plate so the little arms are towards the bolts and slide it up onto the spacers. You might need to wiggle it a bit but again, easy peasy:
If your skid plate looks like this right now then you're doing alright so far:
Step 5, lift the back of the skid plate and insert the mower mount pins into the holes in the "ears" of the skid plate:
Again, here's a status check. If it looks like this you're almost done:
Step 6, start the tractor and slowly raise the mower lift arms. Ensure you peek under while lifting to make sure you don't have any issues with stuff in the way. I had no issues with clearance on mine but better to be cautious. Once the plate is lifted, you'll be pretty well covered:
Step 7, open beer and enjoy
Overall I am a lot more comfortable taking this into my rocky-desert back yard with the added bit of protection. Even if it's still possible for something to attack my tranny, the peace of mind for the price is worth while. The plate itself feels stout enough for all but the most hardcore, and if you're jumping stumps with your tractor then you might have problems only the guys in white coats can fix. So I think it's a good deal and will work well, and the fact that they threw in a free ground mat was great!
Last year I bought a Kubota BX25 after much deliberation (and negotiation with my accountant *cough* wife *cough*). My one real point of concern was the HST fan since I live in an area littered with mesquite twigs, so I knew a skid plate was in order. I went with the BXpanded because it looked simple and I don't use the mid-PTO anyway so there was no worry about blocking that off. I hadn't seen a good tutorial on the installation process so I decided to make one :thumbsup: Hope you all enjoy and thanks for being so helpful.
****************
Alright here we go, I got my skid plate from Bxpanded today and was able to install it in about 20 minutes (including time to snap pictures). I probably could've gotten it done quicker but I'm still learning my tractor and since I don't have a mower deck there were two things I had to figure out right quick: the cutting height adjuster and the mower deck lever. Here's a pic for anyone else who never worries about these things, the green arrow points to the height adjustment and the blue arrow is the lever that controls the arms:
I found out that without a lot of weight on the arms they don't go down easy, so I held the lever and just pushed them down.
So, from the factory I think the design is ok really. The HST fan is pretty well tucked up in there but there is still a chance that a stick/root/fishing pole may find it's way up and strip off all the plastic fan blades. While the risk can be mitigated by being careful of where you are, I am of the mindset that I'll probably try to do things I shouldn't do and will keep that up until something breaks. I took a look under the tractor and snapped a pic of the vulnerabilities:
The green arrow points to the HST fan. The red is the tranny filter. The blue is the mid-mount PTO. All of which are somewhat vulnerable. Rather than face a $250 insurance deductible along with downtime, I decided a sub-$200 investment was worth while. This is what was in the box:
A skid plate of 1/8" steel and a pair of bolts. Looks easy enough eh?
Now on to the install. First step, open beer and add fuel to body.
Step 2, recycle the shipping box as a gravel mat:
Step 3, install the bolts to the frame. There are two holes in the frame about 16" in front of the mower mount spring pins (when the mower arms are up). The bolts just go right in, but you might have to finangle your mower arms a bit to make room to get them in. Just move the arms up or down as needed and it should work out. There are spacers on the bolts so make sure they are installed the right way, the instructions are simple to follow but if a picture helps, the green arrow is towards the middle of the tractor while the blue arrow points outward:
Step 4, orient the skid plate so the little arms are towards the bolts and slide it up onto the spacers. You might need to wiggle it a bit but again, easy peasy:
If your skid plate looks like this right now then you're doing alright so far:
Step 5, lift the back of the skid plate and insert the mower mount pins into the holes in the "ears" of the skid plate:
Again, here's a status check. If it looks like this you're almost done:
Step 6, start the tractor and slowly raise the mower lift arms. Ensure you peek under while lifting to make sure you don't have any issues with stuff in the way. I had no issues with clearance on mine but better to be cautious. Once the plate is lifted, you'll be pretty well covered:
Step 7, open beer and enjoy
Overall I am a lot more comfortable taking this into my rocky-desert back yard with the added bit of protection. Even if it's still possible for something to attack my tranny, the peace of mind for the price is worth while. The plate itself feels stout enough for all but the most hardcore, and if you're jumping stumps with your tractor then you might have problems only the guys in white coats can fix. So I think it's a good deal and will work well, and the fact that they threw in a free ground mat was great!
