Looking to buy a BX23s

[BadAndy]

Hi all, I’m on an acre in Canada with fairly steep 100yard driveway. I am presently running a Craftsman YT4000 lawn tractor with a Bercomac snow blower, the blower works great but the hill is a challenge... I’m looking to upgrade to a BX23s which will allow me to do a lot of needed yard work... My driveway has about a 20% grade with a 35% grade spot, have any of you had trouble with that type of grade? Now to my point lol... This will be my first tractor and wondering what kind of questions I should ask the dealer, and get a reasonable deal.
Thanks

BadAndy (my old gamers name)

 

[GreensvilleJay]

The BX23S will not have a problem with those grades, in low...up you go, even with full bucket of fill. I do that at my neighbour's new house build. Bought mine 3 years ago,have about 500 hrs on it.
Have made a SSQA selfpowered 48" SB to replace my c/b snowrider. too old and beat up for a rear blower,and I didn't like the $$ for a front mtd one. It's a 'work in progress' .
As for pricing... I got mine, SSQA loader and 3PH kit, 'out the door' for less than 24K Canucks. Get them to to toss in the '50 hour' oil/filter change in the deal. See if they'll throw in an airfilter as well.There's a bolton 'edge' for the bucket,$100+-, see if they'll toss it in as well. I made my own Pirhana bar as I do a LOT of mulch moving,compost turning.
Buy yourself a NEW 'Kubota only' grease gun, 6 tubes of grease and dedicate a shelf for parts.
Find or make a 'filter screen ' for the fuel tank inlet !! Consider upgrading the OEM filter system ! I bought a 'filter with shutoff' from Kubota..will install..one day... This replaces the PITA primary filter( NO shutoff..).
Pretty sure it'll come with the HST fan guard, mine did.
I've never had the loader of BH off, did buy an HLA 900# pallet fork unit. it's been a GREAT tool to have.

 

[85Hokie]

Ditto to what Jay said - add rear spacers, they are needed !

 

[PaulR]

Newbie 23S operator here, 32 hours. Mine felt tippy going down the little hills from pavement to grass, I've learned to carry loads low very fast. I didn't have weight in the tires for the first week or two after I picked it up, then brought it back to have the dealer complete my package and put weight in the tires. Very Noticeable difference. I highly recommend weighted tires.
LOL: One day I took off the rear tire to try to find the diff oil fill, damn thing weighed about 150 lbs, lol. I was like Holy cow!

 

[SRRGC1]

If you are planning on removing the BH, you will want to add rear ballast by loading the rear tires and/OR attach a ballast box to the rear. Rear tires can be loaded with Rim guard (beet juice) or windshield/RV antifreeze fluid. Rim guard will be more $ than the other BUT will give you more weight. Also you will have to install the rear 3-pt to attach a ballast box or other 3-pt attachments, presuming you purchased it with your BX. Then remove the 3-pt arms to re-attach the BH. Way it is. I leave my BH attached as that give you 600# of rear ballast. Should I decide to removing my BH, I will load the tire. If you use rim guard to fill the rears, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RUBBER VALVE STEMS REPLACED WITH METAL ONES. The other fluids should not be a problem with factory rubber stems. My local dealer does NOT recommend rim guard in sub-compacts as it at times may allow the tire to rotate on the rim. My son has a BX with rim guard and has had only issues with the factory rubber valve stems, so far. I have windshield washer in my other BX. Also take a look at Bxpanded web site. They have quick attach unit for different sized buckets and other options for the BH if needed. BX23s will work great as long as you respect its limitations and NOT attempt stupid things.

 

[awesome]

I had a bx23s until last month (I traded it in for a b2601). It was an awesome machine.

It's a light tractor, so I learned to keep the backhoe on at all times. With the hoe on, you have enough weight to be stable almost everywhere. And when you learn how tonuse it well, you'll find that it's impossible to be stuck in mud or snow because the hoe will always get you out of these situations.

So for the hill: the bx is low off the ground. So this makes it very stable. If blowing snow going downhill, you should be safe but always keep the bucket low. You have all summer to learn how to use it.

One bad habit I have is that when the tractor feels like it wants to tip on the side, I have this reflex of extending my arm towards a tree to push myself back. Obviously, that is a very stupid reflex. Let's see if your brain works like mine

Congrats on the new tractor!

 

[MikeVDP]

Always keep your bucket low. The higher it is, the higher your center of gravity, hence why you feel more likely you'll tip over. I learned that the hard way when moving wet sand with the bucket high in the air. It's better to take a smaller amount in your bucket and be safer.

 

[Killingitcountry]

I have a 2016 BX25D TLB with 500 hours on the clock and a steep driveway. My recommendations are simple. First, consider rear chains on any tractor for snow clearing. Second, forget the BX and get a cab tractor if it's financially and logistically possible. The BX is a GREAT choice for an acre property IMO but moving snow with a cab is pretty great too. I love my BX but I've recently lost 50 pounds and I can almost not stand being on the tractor in winter. I can see myself upgrading to a cab machine once my excavator is paid for. BX is great ... just really think about it haha.

- James

 

[Crash277]

awesome Choice, I love my little BX. 108hrs in 10 months and this thing amazes me with what it can do on a regular basis!

 

[BadAndy]

The BX23S will not have a problem with those grades, in low...up you go, even with full bucket of fill. I do that at my neighbour's new house build. Bought mine 3 years ago,have about 500 hrs on it.
Have made a SSQA selfpowered 48" SB to replace my c/b snowrider. too old and beat up for a rear blower,and I didn't like the $$ for a front mtd one. It's a 'work in progress' .
As for pricing... I got mine, SSQA loader and 3PH kit, 'out the door' for less than 24K Canucks. Get them to to toss in the '50 hour' oil/filter change in the deal. See if they'll throw in an airfilter as well.There's a bolton 'edge' for the bucket,$100+-, see if they'll toss it in as well. I made my own Pirhana bar as I do a LOT of mulch moving,compost turning.
Buy yourself a NEW 'Kubota only' grease gun, 6 tubes of grease and dedicate a shelf for parts.
Find or make a 'filter screen ' for the fuel tank inlet !! Consider upgrading the OEM filter system ! I bought a 'filter with shutoff' from Kubota..will install..one day... This replaces the PITA primary filter( NO shutoff..).
Pretty sure it'll come with the HST fan guard, mine did.
I've never had the loader of BH off, did buy an HLA 900# pallet fork unit. it's been a GREAT tool to have.

Thanks for the great info.

 

[BadAndy]

Thanks everyone for the information, love that this is an active forum... I’ll be going to the dealers Monday/Tuesday to do some haggling lol. We shall see how it goes. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[BadAndy]

I have a 2016 BX25D TLB with 500 hours on the clock and a steep driveway. My recommendations are simple. First, consider rear chains on any tractor for snow clearing. Second, forget the BX and get a cab tractor if it's financially and logistically possible. The BX is a GREAT choice for an acre property IMO but moving snow with a cab is pretty great too. I love my BX but I've recently lost 50 pounds and I can almost not stand being on the tractor in winter. I can see myself upgrading to a cab machine once my excavator is paid for. BX is great ... just really think about it haha.

- James

Thanks James, I do have a generic cab I will use temporarily unless I bit the bullet and get it with a cab. I got the dreaded COVID lay-off for a year, so have to watch the pennies right now :/

 

[BadAndy]

Newbie 23S operator here, 32 hours. Mine felt tippy going down the little hills from pavement to grass, I've learned to carry loads low very fast. I didn't have weight in the tires for the first week or two after I picked it up, then brought it back to have the dealer complete my package and put weight in the tires. Very Noticeable difference. I highly recommend weighted tires.
LOL: One day I took off the rear tire to try to find the diff oil fill, damn thing weighed about 150 lbs, lol. I was like Holy cow!

I too have hilly slopes, I shall be careful and will put spacers on.

 

[BadAndy]

awesome Choice, I love my little BX. 108hrs in 10 months and this thing amazes me with what it can do on a regular basis!

Can’t wait to get mine... it’s going to get a lot of use and worth the investment not paying someone for snow removal, driveway leveling, garage pad leveling, ect.

 

[BadAndy]

If you are planning on removing the BH, you will want to add rear ballast by loading the rear tires and/OR attach a ballast box to the rear. Rear tires can be loaded with Rim guard (beet juice) or windshield/RV antifreeze fluid. Rim guard will be more $ than the other BUT will give you more weight. Also you will have to install the rear 3-pt to attach a ballast box or other 3-pt attachments, presuming you purchased it with your BX. Then remove the 3-pt arms to re-attach the BH. Way it is. I leave my BH attached as that give you 600# of rear ballast. Should I decide to removing my BH, I will load the tire. If you use rim guard to fill the rears, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RUBBER VALVE STEMS REPLACED WITH METAL ONES. The other fluids should not be a problem with factory rubber stems. My local dealer does NOT recommend rim guard in sub-compacts as it at times may allow the tire to rotate on the rim. My son has a BX with rim guard and has had only issues with the factory rubber valve stems, so far. I have windshield washer in my other BX. Also take a look at Bxpanded web site. They have quick attach unit for different sized buckets and other options for the BH if needed. BX23s will work great as long as you respect its limitations and NOT attempt stupid things.

Thank you for all the information, and no... will not do stupid things. Haha

 

[BadAndy]

I had a bx23s until last month (I traded it in for a b2601). It was an awesome machine.

It's a light tractor, so I learned to keep the backhoe on at all times. With the hoe on, you have enough weight to be stable almost everywhere. And when you learn how tonuse it well, you'll find that it's impossible to be stuck in mud or snow because the hoe will always get you out of these situations.

So for the hill: the bx is low off the ground. So this makes it very stable. If blowing snow going downhill, you should be safe but always keep the bucket low. You have all summer to learn how to use it.

One bad habit I have is that when the tractor feels like it wants to tip on the side, I have this reflex of extending my arm towards a tree to push myself back. Obviously, that is a very stupid reflex. Let's see if your brain works like mine

Congrats on the new tractor!

Thanks for the reply, I don’t have the tractor yet, will be visiting dealers Monday/Tuesday, and hopefully my reflexes are different lol

 

[DustyRusty]

Thanks everyone for the information, love that this is an active forum... I’ll be going to the dealers Monday/Tuesday to do some haggling lol. We shall see how it goes. Thanks again for the replies.

Don't know how much haggling you can do in a market that is severely short of inventory. When I was at a local dealer this week picking up parts, their showroom was devoid of any Kubota tractors, and there were none outside either, except for a lonely excavator. Same with the other dealer that I was at 2 weeks ago. Seems that Kubota is on a personnel limited assembly line, and the demand for tractors exceed their ability to build them fast enough.

 

[BadAndy]

Don't know how much haggling you can do in a market that is severely short of inventory. When I was at a local dealer this week picking up parts, their showroom was devoid of any Kubota tractors, and there were none outside either, except for a lonely excavator. Same with the other dealer that I was at 2 weeks ago. Seems that Kubota is on a personnel limited assembly line, and the demand for tractors exceed their ability to build them fast enough.

Ouch... crossing fingers.

 

[MuttCat]

Rim Guard in the rears for sure...never had a problem with tire slip or rubber valves, but possible I guess. One thing I read about the newer BXs, that there is some kind of hydraulic component mounted under the rear fender (right hand side?) that could be damaged by chains?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Not a fan of rimguard or any other liquid in the tires. It'll make a mess,sooner or later and if used for mowing, the extra weight is 'bad' for the lawn.
Options would be wheel weights,but again take off for mowing....
carry all with skid of ballast. easy to get on/off when needed.
In 3 years I haven't need extra ballast( BH is on) and I go up and down some steep hills here(well 1 a zillion times....)
BTW LOTS of 'orange' over at Galer's..big,small, they got them all....