Would a BX 1880 meet my needs?

[tractormd]

I'm trying to decide between a BX 1880 and 2380. My uses would be:

1. I have 3 acres. I cut 2 acres with a zero turn. The remaining acre is scary on the zero turn and requires something better on hills.
2. Moving mulch
3. Helping with tree work, e.g., hauling cut branches to the woods to dispose of them
4. Leaf removal (either with the Kubota bagger or some other type of system)
5. Snow removal from 200 foot driveway

Maybe there are other uses I have not considered.

Of course, all of the dealers say no one buys the 1880 because for $2-3K more, you get way more on the 2380. Money is money. Do you think the 18 horse would meet my needs, or would I be disappointed that I did not upgrade?

 

[85Hokie]

Typically you will spin a tire or 3 before you bog the engine down.

for that 2-3k more .........

you get a bit larger machine
A larger tire set up
A bit large engine

But you might want to spend that money on a rear blade or vacuum of some sort!

It will do the job well - and you will be impressed........

One thought - if getting tractor at ZERO % .......... BUY all the attachments you can NOW ----- they will get expensive later when cash is tight!

 

[Goz63]

I have said before on this site, no one ever says “ dang I should have bought a smaller tractor” but you will find a lot of threads saying they wish they went bigger. If you are financing as many of us too with the 0% interest available that will soften the blow. I doubt you would be disappointed if you went with the slightly bigger tractor but you might find you wished you HAD the bigger one later. Outside of a couple grand, which lets face it is a small percentage compared to the cost of these machines, do you see a disadvantage to going bigger? If not splurge a little. The fact you are asking means you COULD pay for the bigger one. Jmho

 

[B737]

if the hill is scary on a zero turn with low CG it will be even worse with a tractor.
Get the biggest machine you can afford. If you are working with woods clean up, you'll find yourself eyeing grapple. It sounds like a tractor will serve you well on your property. I think you could get into a B or LX for what you are doing, but that wont help on the hills....

did someone say leaf cleanup??

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: #5 snow removal .
will you be pushing snow or blowing it ?? Either way it'll be sloooow going, not a lot of HP. Maybe 10-14 out the PTO ? So think a mid size walkbehind snowblower..... To push snow, I'm assuming it has a loader, you'll need a blade, rear weights and chains. Hm..200' driveway..is it paved or gravel ? can you dump to the sides,far ,far away ? You'll need to figure out the cost of the 'snow removal equipment'.


there's a zillion factors that go into finding the 'right' package,so do your homework, WRITE it down as numbers in the brain get fuzzy over time !


BTW I bought SMALLER not bigger. The BX23S is 1/4 the size of my 'real' tractors.

 

[ve9aa]

if the hill is scary on a zero turn with low CG it will be even worse with a tractor.

THIS

Also, I had the same choice as you, but went with the BX2380 for slightly more HP, larger tires(smoother ride), nicer seat and tilt steering. I think there was something else, but now I forget.

 

[RCW]

Snow blowing sucks a lot horsepower. Mowing does as well, but not to that extent.

If blowing snow and you get a lot, go BX2380, or even 2680.

Not sure that pushing snow would have the same HP demand. Helps I’m sure, but like Hokie said, you’ll break traction first. HP won’t be the limiting factor.

Trust me, I know a little about moving snow with a BX…..

As far as slopes, my BX is also part mountain goat. I pull some slopes with it without spacers, and without issue (within reason) while mowing with the loader off.

 

[Rmay6850]

I purchased an 1880 back in March without fully researching my needs. After buying (loved the tractor) but it has little PTO hp which I realized quickly that it couldn’t do the things I need like wood chipper, bagging system, etc….
Yesterday after months of waiting my new BX 2680 showed up in the driveway. It wasn’t a cheap mistake but now I’m comfortable I have the tractor to run the implements I will be using.

good luck with your choice

 

[PaulL]

Both bagging and snow blowing suck HP. If those are a big part of your task list, then the 23HP or 26HP will be worthwhile.

Hauling branches into the woods will go better with more clearance. A B2301 or B2601 would do that better. I also find it a lot easier to remove the mower on my B2601 than it was on my BX - if you're hauling branches into the woods you'll probably want the mower off.

I agree that a BX will mow a lot of places that a zero turn won't. So good choice in that sense. I don't find my B2601 a lot less stable than my BX was.

 

[jaargh]

I'm trying to decide between a BX 1880 and 2380. My uses would be:

1. I have 3 acres. I cut 2 acres with a zero turn. The remaining acre is scary on the zero turn and requires something better on hills.
2. Moving mulch
3. Helping with tree work, e.g., hauling cut branches to the woods to dispose of them
4. Leaf removal (either with the Kubota bagger or some other type of system)
5. Snow removal from 200 foot driveway

Maybe there are other uses I have not considered.

Of course, all of the dealers say no one buys the 1880 because for $2-3K more, you get way more on the 2380. Money is money. Do you think the 18 horse would meet my needs, or would I be disappointed that I did not upgrade?

I have the 1880... I have 5 acres and my steepest grade is about 8 degrees. While I don’t have to worry about snow I have yet to find myself saying “ crap... I shoulda went bigger. The 48” brush mower took down 5’ tall mustard with zero issues. With the box blade I have leveled a couple hundred sq feet of hilly rocky areas that were about 30” high... the landscape rake worked great for cleaning and grooming an overgrown garden area.. moving dirt, hauling hay, digging several 12” postholes 4’ deep... no complaints... so at least in the desert of Southern California I’m good with the 1880

 

[skeets]

The 1880 will do a lot of things, but the 2380 will a bit more. My old 2360 has done so much more than people ever though I could do with it. Remember which ever you do get, it is a SMALL tractor it is not a 988, they both have limitations. Md gets some snow and a push blade makes sense, a MMM, well maybe not so much but again once you start mowing with a 60 inch deck on the BX, the Zero turn might just sit. The BX is NOT an over priced lawnmower, though most will spend their lives doing so. Im not sure of the price difference but for my money I would go with the 2380 or the 2680, you will find out it is money well spent,, just MHO

 

[FernandoJ]

I have the 1880... I have 5 acres and my steepest grade is about 8 degrees. While I don’t have to worry about snow I have yet to find myself saying “ crap... I shoulda went bigger. The 48” brush mower took down 5’ tall mustard with zero issues. With the box blade I have leveled a couple hundred sq feet of hilly rocky areas that were about 30” high... the landscape rake worked great for cleaning and grooming an overgrown garden area.. moving dirt, hauling hay, digging several 12” postholes 4’ deep... no complaints... so at least in the desert of Southern California I’m good with the 1880

What brush mower do you use in your 1880? Also, mine does not have a front loader, will this be an issue for running the bush mower?

 

[jaargh]

What brush mower do you use in your 1880? Also, mine does not have a front loader, will this be an issue for running the bush mower?

I have the land pride 48" brush mower... I took the fel off my tiny tractor and mowed about 3 acres that way with no real issue BUT having all that weight on the back without thr fel did make the front end a bit squirly going up hill but it wasnt a big issue

 

[FernandoJ]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.
Do you have a belly mower on yours? Do you know if you have to detach the belly mower to use the bush hog. As you can tell I am new at this.

 

[armylifer]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.
Do you have a belly mower on yours? Do you know if you have to detach the belly mower to use the bush hog. As you can tell I am new at this.

If you have the mid mount mower you do not need a brush hog. The MMM is more maneuverable than a brush hog and does a better job at mowing fine grass.

 

[Deleted member 47704]

If you have the mid mount mower you do not need a brush hog. The MMM is more maneuverable than a brush hog and does a better job at mowing fine grass.

Mid mount mower is easier on the neck too, you just have to look down to see where its cutting, rear mower you have to turn around to see where its cutting.

 

[PaulL]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.
Do you have a belly mower on yours? Do you know if you have to detach the belly mower to use the bush hog. As you can tell I am new at this.

What are you planning to mow?

If you're mowing fields with brush in them, then you can do it with a MMM, but it's a bit hard on it. If you're doing it a lot, a brush hog is the right tool. You can leave the MMM on while you do that, but it limits your ground clearance. If your field is rough enough to need a brush hog, it's probably also rough enough you wouldn't want to mow with the MMM on - you'll get hung up on things and unnecessarily bang it around.

A BX isn't really the right size tractor for a brush hog. So I'm guessing this is something you only do occasionally. The BX mower is reasonably strong, I mowed plenty of blackberry and thin shrubs with mine. But normally I'd mow that once to get it in shape (and just go slow, be careful that I'm not running into too many stones), and then once it's cut down, the MMM will be fine with it ongoing.

With my B (which replaced my BX) I recently mowed a roadside near me - about half a mile long, and with a messy mix of blackberry, gorse and shrubbery. The B was mostly OK, I bent a bit of the deck hitting a lump of concrete in the undergrowth and had to panel beat it. It's hard on it, but I did it once, and now I can see where everything is. I do have a FEL though, and the first pass I did with the bucket low so it'd hit anything too big hiding in the mess. Oh, and I also got a wire from the broken fence wrapped around a spindle, that wasn't ideal either.

Best case is you borrow (or rent) a brush hog for that first cut, then use the MMM ongoing. Brush hogs are OK with hitting concrete and rocks, the MMM less so. Or even borrow someone's bigger machine for the first cut. Once you can see the bottom it's much easier ongoing using the MMM.

 

[skeets]

I wonder what he went with