Kubuto BX1880

[JohnN99]

I'm thinking about buying a BX1880. My primary use would be cutting grass. However, my yard has lots of landscaping and I generally have to spread 30 yards of mulch every year. Loading it and spreading it myself via a wheelbarrow is too hard on my back to I usually pay someoeme one to do it. The BX1880 with a front end loader should allow me to do it on my own and would save me several thousand per year. So over time the 1880 should pay for itself. I also have a long hilly driveway and it can be difficult to get out when it snows so a snowblower would be nice also.

Would apprecaite any thoughts on whether this would be a wise purchase. My main concern is that I am on a hill so in parts of my yard I worry about tipping over. I assume (hope) I could alleviate that risk with a ballast box and keeping the front low to the ground while moving the mulch.

Currently I have a John Deere X300. I put a 40 inch tractor shovel on it but it only moves a max 1.7 cubic feet at a time. It takes forever to get the mulch moved with it.

 

[RjCorazza]

For spreading 30 yards of mulch alone I would think a small tractor and front end loader would be worth the money (and time).

If you are concerned with just getting around on hilly terrain, there is almost always an angle or path to traverse terrain safely. Doing work on slopes is another matter, as you are aware. You are correct that ballast and keeping the fel low to the ground are good ideas. Also consider filling the rears with fluid and widening the rear tires with spacers. Spacers are a frequent addition to BX sized machines. Throw some numbers out on the slopes you are concerned with. 10-15 degree slopes are GENERALLY doable with common sense operating. I personally stay off my sloped areas that are over 10 degrees or so, and run other equipment across my 28 degree bank, usually the zero turn or walk behind. There are too many variables to make blanket statements concerning operating on slopes, like the machine itself, smooth or rough surface, moisture, etc...

I would never be without a loader tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

In succession to a 2-WD Lawn & Garden tractor a 4-WD Kubota BX will be a significant upgrade.

The BX, like most Subcompact category tractors, sits low to the ground. Not good for woodlands nor lumpy pastures. Fine for smooth lawns.

The BX, like most Subcompact category tractors, sits low to the ground. Because of minimal 7" front / 8" rear ground clearance many operators feel comfortable with the stability of a subcompact tractor but less comfortable on a Compact tractor with 12" to 15" of ground clearance.
Wheel spacers on a BX will certainly make a BX feel more stable.

Bro-Tek

Welcome to Bro-Tek! We make some of the best tractor accessories available. Learn about our high quality offerings on our product pages, or see what fits your tractor.

bro-tek.com

Most only add wheel spacers to the rear. Front spacers increase tractor turning radius.

My primary use would be cutting grass.

My yard has lots of landscaping. I generally spread 30 yards of mulch every year.

Kubota BX Tractor Light Material/Snow Bucket 60" - Redline Systems Inc. Equipment Attachments

The Redline Systems Inc. 60″ light material bucket was designed to work specifically with the Kubota BX tractors. It gives you the capacity that the factory dirt bucket doesn’t have for moving light material like leaves, mulch, wood chips, firewood, snow or anything that’s bulky and light. The...

www.redlinesystemsinc.com

I have a long hilly driveway and it can be difficult to get out when it snows so a snowblower would be nice.

BX1880 has only 13.7 PTO horsepower. With this minimal power snow will not be blown far. Consider a plow or snow-box.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=BX+plowing+snow

Consider if BX1880 will have enough power to climb your hills when laden.

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/spec-sheets/new_bx80_specs.pdf?sfvrsn=c33ba332_2

 

[jeff9366]

John Deere X300​

2006 - 2015 Model year 2006-20102011-2015 Select X300 Series Lawn tractor

Mechanical

Two-wheel drive

Manual steering

Dimensions
Length	72 inches 182 cm
Width	38 inches 96 cm
Height	43 inches 109 cm
Operating weight	501 lbs* 227 kg

Engine Detail
Kawasaki FH491V
gasoline
2-cylinder
air-cooled vertical-shaft V-Twin
Displacement	472 cc 28.8 ci
Bore/Stroke	2.68x2.56 inches 68 x 65 mm
Power (gross)	17 hp 12.7 kW
Fuel system	carburetor

 

[JohnN99]

In succession to a 2-WD Lawn & Garden tractor a 4-WD Kubota BX will be a significant upgrade.

The BX, like most Subcompact category tractors, sits low to the ground. Not good for woodlands nor lumpy pastures. Fine for smooth lawns.

The BX, like most Subcompact category tractors, sits low to the ground. Because of minimal 7"/8" ground clearance many operators feel comfortable with the stability of a subcompact tractor but less comfortable on a Compact tractor with 12" of ground clearance.
Wheel spacers on a BX will certainly make a BX feel more stable.

Bro-Tek

Welcome to Bro-Tek! We make some of the best tractor accessories available. Learn about our high quality offerings on our product pages, or see what fits your tractor.

bro-tek.com

Most only add wheel spacers to the rear. Front spacers increase tractor turning radius.

My primary use would be cutting grass.

My yard has lots of landscaping. I generally spread 30 yards of mulch every year.

Kubota BX Tractor Light Material/Snow Bucket 60" - Redline Systems Inc. Equipment Attachments

The Redline Systems Inc. 60″ light material bucket was designed to work specifically with the Kubota BX tractors. It gives you the capacity that the factory dirt bucket doesn’t have for moving light material like leaves, mulch, wood chips, firewood, snow or anything that’s bulky and light. The...

www.redlinesystemsinc.com

I have a long hilly driveway and it can be difficult to get out when it snows so a snowblower would be nice.

BX1880 has only 13.7 PTO horsepower. With this minimal power snow will not be blown far. Consider a plow.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=BX+plowing+snow

Consider if BX1880 will have enough power to climb hills when laden.

View attachment 797379

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/spec-sheets/new_bx80_specs.pdf?sfvrsn=c33ba332_2

Thanks for the info. Very helpfu. In regard to the snow, where I live we don't get a lot of snow and it's usually less than six inches. Does that change your opinion on wether the BX 1880 would be powerful enough for that task? (I currently have a Husquevana walk-behind snow blower which works great but it takes a long time to get the whole driveway cleared with it).

 

[Paystar]

Quote: "Consider a plow"

I'm sorry Jeff, but that is the worst advice ever. No plow, on ANY machine will ever outperform a snow blower. And the snow blower is the easiest thing for a machine to handle because it is eating it's way through the snow, not trying to push it.

I have an RTV-X1100C with a Boss vee plow. It has way more heft than a BX and when the snow is wet heavy it gets steered by the snow. So I couldn't even imagine trying to plow with something as light as the 1880.

My B2620 and blower will run circles around that RTV and plow, and never spin a tire or lose traction.

Edit: sorry that sounded harsh. Not the worst advice ever, but I strongly disagree with a plow.

 

[Paystar]

Edit to above....the front loader would be better than a plow.

And I'm sure that even at 13.7 PTO h.p. that Kubota diesel is going to have more torque than a 16 h.p. gas lawn tractor that can blow snow just fine.

 

[jeff9366]

Thanks for the info. Very helpfu. In regard to the snow, where I live we don't get a lot of snow and it's usually less than six inches. Does that change your opinion on wether the BX 1880 would be powerful enough for that task?

A BX with turf tires and tire snow chains should have ample traction to move snow either with a plow, snow box or the FEL bucket outfitted with low cost Edge Tamers or Snow Edges.
(Some use snow tire chains on front tires, some on the rear tires.)

snow chains on BX tractor front or rear tires site:tractorbynet.com

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tractor+edge+tamers

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=snow+edge+by+ratchet+rake

Most here would not buy a snowblower for just occasional six inch snowfalls.

Others may differ with my recommendations.
It is the diversity of opinions offered that gives T-B-N its value.

 

[jeff9366]

Bear in mind:

Your Deere X300 has a 17-horsepower gas engine mobilizing a 500 pound piece of equipment.

The BX1880 has a 16.5 horsepower diesel engine mobilizing a 1,336 pound piece of equipment. FEL adds more weight over bare tractor weight of 1,336 pounds.

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR
​

 

[al3]

Knowing what area of the country you live might increase the utility of the advice for snowfall removal.



You’ve got a walk behind blower, so you know the joys of trying to remove high water content snow/slush when the temps are hovering at around freezing. A back blade/rear blade on a sub compact could turn that task into something a lot less onerous. Instead of having a blower chute/auger repeatedly freeze/jam up, you can simply push it to the side using a blade. Often very useful in the spring/late fall.



As other have pointed out, a sub compact tractor doesn’t have a lot of weight, so pushing anything more than a few inches of wet slush would likely be out of the question. Still, if you blade one way (down hill only) the results can be surprising.



We get enough slush in central Wisconsin that my BB gets a lot of use cleaning off a Northern exposure hillside. Some years almost as much use as the blower.



Pushing snow with a FEL bucket isn’t something I’d want to do too often. BTW, take the FEL advertised lift capacity figures with a grain of salt, as they say. Do your homework to avoid any unexpected surprises.



Good Luck.

 

[jeff9366]

Knowing what area of the country you live might increase the utility of the advice for snowfall removal.

It fit difficult, sometimes impossible, to post solid information without knowing where the OP will operate the tractor.

Here are reasons for wanting OP's location.

ALTIITUDE - Tractors lose 3% of engine power output for every 1,000' altitude increase, over 1,500' Sometimes twenty posts will be made advising on tractor horsepower, then we find OP is a 6,500 feet altitude and is considering a low power, naturally aspirated tractor.

WEATHER - ESPECIALLY SNOW - Blowing snow and mowing are the two tasks that require considerable engine power. If we know an OP is in Buffalo, NY rather than Key West, FL snow needs are apparent.

WEATHER - Large swathes of the country have a continental climate, four seasons, with great temperature variations between winters and summers.
Areas near the coast have varying maritime climates.

PRICING - Tractor and implement pricing and dealer service pricing varies a great deal. Lowest prices are usually in the south. Prices along the west coast and in the northeast are usually highest.

Some states exempt agriculture and forestry equipment from state sales taxes. Florida is one example of liberal ag sales tax exemptions.

IMPLEMENTS - Availability of implements brands are regional, not national. ie: CountyLine, Rural King, etc.

SOIL AND GROWING SEASON - Whether game food plots or market crops, soil and length of growing season(s) in important. Soil type influences tire selection.

USED TRACTORS - When the OP posts a location, OP is often referred to good used tractors nearby or provided local tractor listings from Craig's List, eBay, TractorHouse, Machinery Peter or other sites.

Everyone on T-B-N has a screen name, as anonymous as they like. Any other profile information is contributed voluntarily, such as age and tractor brand/model. Relative to the massive data heists reported so often, with names, address, Social Security and credit card numbers stolen, this site is nearly anonymous.

 

[Williy]

The 1880 is more like a riding lawn mower

willy

 

[JohnN99]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and suggestions. I'm just outside of Richmond, Virginia. When I first moved to my current house 12 years ago, I had a basic John Deere riding mower (I think it was a D100). I bought a snow blade for it and was able to clear the driveway as long as it was only a few inches. Anything more than that and I would get stuck on the hill. (See attached pictures).

You can't see it on the pictures but there is also a fence around 3 sides of the property with about an 8 foot mulch bed in front of the fence all the way around. My main concern is the hill in the front of the house and the risk of the BX1880 tipping over when carrying mulch. Perhaps I should keep the X300 also and just dump the mulch in a tow behind cart.

 

[dodge man]

I owned a Kubota BX for 10 years, a BX2350. It’s a slightly larger version of what you are looking at. About 4 years ago I traded for a John Deere 2025r, which is bigger than a Kubota BX but not a lot bigger.

My driveway is paved and 600 feet long. With the BX and my JD 2025r I use a rear blade to plow and the end loader. In my opinion for snow much more than a few inches the BX is to small to plow with. The JD does a better job because it has higher ground speed, weighs more and I have a bigger heavier blade on it. I had a walk behind snow blower for years and got rid of it because I never used it after I got a tractor. I always thought snow blowers weren’t very good with small snow falls but were great in deep snows.

Have you thought about a slightly bigger tractor? Kubota makes some compact tractors that are solid. I liked my BX, great little tractors but take a look at something a little bigger a compact tractor instead of a subcompact. They can seem too big but once you get used to it they don’t seem that way.

Nice looking place!

 

[2manyrocks]

If you don't have a digital level, I suggest you install a clinometer on your phone to measure the actual slope. Lay a long straight edge down like a 2x4x8...measure the actual slope with the app.

There's a huge difference between the traction of 4x4 on a subcompact vs 2wd on a garden/lawn tractor.

5 cubic feet bucket vs 1.7 feet dump trailer doesn't begin to tell the story of how much more efficient and labor saving it is to move material with a front end loader. Think about not having to shovel mulch into a dump trailer over and over again.

Diesel engine performance and durability is outstanding.

HST will allow you to slow down to a crawl if needed. Going fast on a slope is not a good idea.

BX1880 should come with a ROPS.

dodge man has a good point to consider larger options in light of his own personal experience.

 

[dj1701]

I have the BX2680. It's great for mowing and does a great job of plowing snow. Like anything it has its limitations. I can't speak for loader capacity or snowblower performance because I have a big JD for those things.

I believe the BX1880 would be a nice tractor, but I also believe you would soon outgrow it once you find how handy they are. I understand cost is a factor, but so is long term satisfaction. Just my two cents.

Dave

 

[2manyrocks]

I don't know how you transport mulch to your house, but I will add this for your consideration. The bucket on my L2501 is roughly the same width as my truck bed. I can unload gravel from the truck bed into my bucket using this HF truck bed unloader without any shoveling. 2000 lb. Capacity Truck Bed Cargo Unloader I just position the bucket under the tail gate and roll the gravel right into the bucket. Super easy. Would make handling mulch way easier than having to shovel it.

After you use a front end loader, you won't voluntarily go back to shoveling.

As for cost, diesel tractors aren't like lawn mowers that wear out after 7-10 years. I would expect 20 plus years of service. If you buy a tractor that is appropriate to your needs, you will be able to do things with it that you couldn't do without it and get it all done much faster. When you look at the cost over a period of 20 years, the cost difference in going with a larger tractor won't be that much relatively speaking, but saves you money if you avoid buying something too small and taking a loss on wanting to trade for something larger later on.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm just outside of Richmond, Virginia. When

Please make your LOCATION part of your T-B-N PROFILE, so your location appears with every post you author.

All but one of your responders show their location.

 

[tractor-mower project 1]

Please make your LOCATION part of your T-B-N PROFILE, so your location appears with every post you author.

All but one of your responders show their location.

jeff, if the poster doesnt wish to post his location on his profile, then i doubt you'll persuade him otherwise, and its very understandable as if you delete a thread, then your location is hidden again

 

[jeff9366]

If the poster doesnt wish to post his location on his profile, then i doubt you'll persuade him otherwise. If you delete a thread, then your location is hidden again

You are confusing THREAD data and PROFLE date. Data entered into one's profile remains there, unchanged until altered by the writer later.


The OP has figured how to enter his Powhaten, Virginia location permanently into his T-B-N PROFILE.