I don't have a lot of property (2.5 acres), but it seems I'm always tackling jobs where I'm straining my BX. It's mainly loader lift, but the few stumps I've dug (not that big) have been quite a chore as well. Recently I put in 3 new 8-12' trees , and I couldn't lift them from my dump trailer. I did manage to sort of curl them a little and pull them off, but it was really sketchy. Now I'm felling other trees and moving logs, and I struggle to load them in my dump trailer. I've managed to do it., but the loader just barely reaches over the side with enough curl down to get them in there safely.
When I purchased the BX ~5 yrs ago, it was also replacing a dedicated mower, and I got a 54" deck with it. I have a long very steep hill on the front of my property and felt it would do well mowing straight up and down in 4WD. I did, but it took forever, and this summer I picked up a steering-wheel 60" ZT that mows the hill crossways sooo much better. Cut over an hour off my overall mowing time. Initially needing to mow in some tight spots limited me to not considering larger than a BX, but I don't mow with it anymore, so I had been keeping an eye on Craigslist and local equip places for something bigger.
This week a 2018 L2501 4WD HST with a backhoe, SSQA loader, and forks with only 22 hrs came up on Craigslist 35 mins from me. Guy was asking 23.5k, and we settled on 21.5k after some negotiation. I made some calls around to price new, and the best I could get was ~30k with tax, so this seemed like a good deal. I felt like it was a good enough deal that if I didn't like it I could probably turn it around for what I paid or a little more.
It felt BIG at first, but I think I've gotten mostly comfortable with the size after ~3 hrs of operating. Am I crazy keeping a standard L for only 2.5 acres? I'm 100% certain the BX is too small for the majority of the jobs I end up tackling. I think a B50 or an LX would probably be the "perfect size", but they seem fairly close in size to this standard L anyway. I think I would likely be disappointed if I only moved up to the smaller-frame B.
I already had a 36x52 pole barn going up the end of this month to get the tractor, log splitter, a car, and my motorcyles out of the garage, so storage space isn't really an issue. It's definitely heavier, so I'll need to be careful not to rut up my yard when the ground is wet, but the tradeoff for that weight working for me when using the hoe or loader seems like it would be worth it.
I also had a front-mount blower for the BX that I was very happy with. I know front-mount isn't an option for the L, but I'd likely just pick up an SSQA snow pusher with pullback for the L. Maybe add a blower on the 3-pt in the future if I see a good deal come up to get rid of the piles I make with the pusher. My driveway and parking area is all paved.
Thoughts? Should I keep this beast?
When I purchased the BX ~5 yrs ago, it was also replacing a dedicated mower, and I got a 54" deck with it. I have a long very steep hill on the front of my property and felt it would do well mowing straight up and down in 4WD. I did, but it took forever, and this summer I picked up a steering-wheel 60" ZT that mows the hill crossways sooo much better. Cut over an hour off my overall mowing time. Initially needing to mow in some tight spots limited me to not considering larger than a BX, but I don't mow with it anymore, so I had been keeping an eye on Craigslist and local equip places for something bigger.
This week a 2018 L2501 4WD HST with a backhoe, SSQA loader, and forks with only 22 hrs came up on Craigslist 35 mins from me. Guy was asking 23.5k, and we settled on 21.5k after some negotiation. I made some calls around to price new, and the best I could get was ~30k with tax, so this seemed like a good deal. I felt like it was a good enough deal that if I didn't like it I could probably turn it around for what I paid or a little more.
It felt BIG at first, but I think I've gotten mostly comfortable with the size after ~3 hrs of operating. Am I crazy keeping a standard L for only 2.5 acres? I'm 100% certain the BX is too small for the majority of the jobs I end up tackling. I think a B50 or an LX would probably be the "perfect size", but they seem fairly close in size to this standard L anyway. I think I would likely be disappointed if I only moved up to the smaller-frame B.
I already had a 36x52 pole barn going up the end of this month to get the tractor, log splitter, a car, and my motorcyles out of the garage, so storage space isn't really an issue. It's definitely heavier, so I'll need to be careful not to rut up my yard when the ground is wet, but the tradeoff for that weight working for me when using the hoe or loader seems like it would be worth it.
I also had a front-mount blower for the BX that I was very happy with. I know front-mount isn't an option for the L, but I'd likely just pick up an SSQA snow pusher with pullback for the L. Maybe add a blower on the 3-pt in the future if I see a good deal come up to get rid of the piles I make with the pusher. My driveway and parking area is all paved.
Thoughts? Should I keep this beast?
