The right choice?

[Gary T.]

I recently purchased a BX1860 with a 48" MMM, loader, and box scraper. I originally just wanted to replace my old riding lawn mower. I was looking at the Kubota GR2110 (I wanted diesel and 4wd). When I went to my local Kubota dealer they recommended I look at the BX1860 for about 2k more with the mower. I was sold.

My question is, did I make the right choice with the 1860? Should I have looked at the 2360 or the 2660? The biggest difference between the 3 is the hp, PTO hp, and a slight difference in loader lift. My thinking is, I already own a bigger tractor for heavy stuff. I mainly bought the bx for mowing my big lawn and a few other areas I keep cut down, getting into tight spots that I can't get my big tractor into, and I figure the small size might get the wife to use it for horse chores. So far this tractor has amazed me. I have mowed 2' tall grass, pulled a middle-buster through hard ground, and I can't stop this thing. I run out of traction before I bog down the engine.

Did I make the right choice?


Gary T.

 

[ChuckinNH]

For use primarily as a mower you made a good choice. It will turn a bit tighter than the larger BX tractors, and is the only one available with the 48" deck if that is what you want. You are saying that it is doing everything you ask of it, so that is another indication you chose right. I would want to be able to run my chipper occassionally with a tractor that size so I would go with more pto hp for that reason. All in all, I've never heard anyone that owns a BX1860 complain about lack of power.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Did I make the right choice?


Gary T.

You know you did! You just want us to tell you how smart you are by making the right choice and letting us know you now own a new Kubota.

 

[easygo]

I think you made good choice too. For any of the tasks your 3130 is too big it should be great. I had a conversation with a guy not too long ago who was considering a 2320/B7500 to mow his 4 acre lawn. He has a 40+hp JD for the big stuff. I told him to look at the BX size because it was designed with mowing as a primary task and will do a LOT more. Suggested that he should give it a try and it would surely pack a surprise.

 

[LBrown59]

BX1500

BX1850 and BX1860 are bascilly the same
and are ideal for what you chose to have done.
the only place I would have chosen different is i would have selected the 54'' MMM or 60''MMM.
60'' being first choice.

I recently purchased a BX1860 with a 48" MMM, loader, and box scraper. I originally just wanted to replace my old riding lawn mower. I was looking at the Kubota GR2110 (I wanted diesel and 4wd). When I went to my local Kubota dealer they recommended I look at the BX1860 for about 2k more with the mower. I was sold.

My question is, did I make the right choice with the 1860? Should I have looked at the 2360 or the 2660? The biggest difference between the 3 is the hp, PTO hp, and a slight difference in loader lift. My thinking is, I already own a bigger tractor for heavy stuff. I mainly bought the bx for mowing my big lawn and a few other areas I keep cut down, getting into tight spots that I can't get my big tractor into, and I figure the small size might get the wife to use it for horse chores. So far this tractor has amazed me. I have mowed 2' tall grass, pulled a middle-buster through hard ground, and I can't stop this thing. I run out of traction before I bog down the engine.

Did I make the right choice?


Gary T.

 

[Gary T.]

Thanks guys. You're making me feel a little better about my decision. I normally don't buy things without doing some research, but the weeds and grass were starting to get out of hand. I needed to do something fast. My dealer knows me and my property pretty well, so I didn't think they would sell me something that wouldn't be right for me.

Sometimes you just need someone else to tell you that you did OK.


Gary T.

 

[Gary T.]

LBrown59,

Originally I wanted the 54" mower (60" won't fit the 1860) but the dealer didn't have one in stock. I took the bx home with the 48". It didn't matter that much to me. Plus my wife tends to plant trees and things to give me an obstacle course to mow. Judging your property from your pictures, you have way more grass to mow than I do.

How does your 48" tiller work with your BX1500? I've thought about getting one to use in the wifes garden area.


Gary T.

 

[dodge man]

I also was looking at a GR when I bought my BX2350. My salesman also steered me towards a BX and I'm glad he did. I'm glad I got a 23hp instead of a 18hp, but I'm sure I would be happy with what you have. There just isn't that much difference between them. I tell people don't get hung up horsepower numbers when it comes to diesels. I'm sure you could have got a low dollar riding mower with more horsepower but a gas engine, that 18hp Kubota diesel will make much more usable power.

 

[fish6942]

I've spent the last week or so moving a 30 yard pile of top soil with my BX2350. On numberous occasions the engine would bog quite a bit when driving into the pile and lifting with the FEL. I couldn't imagine trying to do this with any less power. However, I've never bogged the engine during heavy mowing or pulling a 3PH implement which is what it sounds like you're doing most of the time.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I recently used my BX2230 to do some charity work on a commercial property, which involved transporting stone from a pile about 0.2 miles away on a dirt path. It was ONLY THEN, that ONE TIME when I wished for a bit more 'bucket'. (Of course, my friend came with a CAT Loader to move 3CY in a single scoop.) I've often wondered if I could do what I do with an 18HP tractor, and my answer has always been 'yes'. I love my BX2230, but in the previous generation, the cost differential to get 4 more HP (BX1850 to BX2350) and larger tires was a cool $500...an absolute no-brainer! That's why they did away with the "three tractor" BX line and reduced it to two.

In the newer generation, you get the smaller tires, but you also get the smaller FRAME (you needed a 2-cylinder BX1500 to do that previously), giving the tractor an edge in maneuverability.

Unless you're using a PTO Chipper or Generator, you will likely never, ever, ever notice the lower HP. And unless you mount a Woods BH6000 BH to the BX1860 without the FEL, you probably won't ever miss the extra stability-through-length. Meanwhile, you'll turn sharper and use less fuel than an equivalent larger tractor, and you paid a couple thousand less.

Rest easy with your choice. Personally, I WOULD have gotten the largest mower deck possible, but you saved money there, too. I absolutely adore my 60" deck...mowed my heavilly tree'd acre last Thursday...bagged, too...in 40 minutes.