Hi all, I purchased my first tractor this year a bx1880 with an fel and midmount mower. Within 30 minutes of owning the machine I loaded the front bucked with some rotted firewood, drove 20ft and got stuck. Over the last couple of days I've managed to get myself stuck a couple of times while digging up a new garden bed. I tried removing the midmount mower but still manage to get stuck even if the front bucket is empty. It seems like the front wheels love to dig themselves in to which I have to use the fel to lift and wiggle my way out. I've been told that here in upstate ny we have an abnormally high water table right now and I believe it as I can hear the water bubbling around in the yard and every step is a squishy mess. My question is should my bx be getting stuck like this or am I doing something wrong? I hardly get to use the machine out of fear of leaving more tire ruts and getting stuck. Neighbors have mowed 5+ times this year while I was only able to do around the house where it is dry, I chickened out on doing the back lot out of fear of getting stuck again. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
BX Tires Sinking
- Thread starter Titan Missile
- Start date
Common sense will tell you that if the ground is so wet that water is bubbling up out of it that any vehicle with tires will get stuck. Don't try taking your tractor any place where you wouldn't drive your car. Also, if you are going to be doing tractor work, remove the mower deck, and put it back on when you are going to be doing grass cutting. The BX can do a lot of things, but it is limited by the experience of the operator.
Yeah, you're doing something wrong. You're trying to drive your tractor and mow grass in a swamp.
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85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
You have turfs or R4 on that BX? Turfs are useless on wet anything - grass, mud......
And I assume that you are in 4wd all this time? IF SO - one thing to consider - the 4wd is NOT really 4 wheeled drive. You will spin the right rear and the left front very easily if in the right setting - now you can press the diffy lock and have 3 tires pulling or pushing. The best you will get is 3 wheel drive - yes, the purest will say all four wheel will drive, but once the tire spins it will continue to do so until something acts upon it.
For a garden - you should never turn over wet soil, it will be sooooo hard when it dries you will work a lot harder to make it smooth again.
Sounds as if you need a french ditch or a drainage path to alleviate the problem.
I am using turfs. I also picked up on the open front differential behavior. I learned that while lifting the front up and watching those front tires spin with dif lock on and off.
Garden beds are getting new topsoil and the stuff I dug up is drying out up high away from the muck, I'll likely use that to fill the tire ruts once things are dry.
If things are not dry by mid June I will likely be putting in drainage ditches, drain tile, downspout rerouting, the works to get the water out of there. Till then I'll be convincing myself that it's just an abnormally wet spring.
North Idaho Wolfman
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85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
If you are gonna stay in the muck - getcha some chains! They will help - but muck IS MUCK!
And with turf tires, simple cross chains work quite well...was the same thing I was thinking...
AND in upstate NY, chains can also help when the ground is frozen...LOL
I had that thought. But my fear would be if I get stuck without the loader, I won't be able to get myself out.
I used to luve in upstate NY. April and May were.tge worse months. We had horses. My leg woukd get swallowed up in mud with just my weight. Would not ever dream of drving equipment on certain spots til June.
You get stuck enough times and you'll learn WHEN to not get in the mud. That's how we learn common sense, make choices and evaluate them.!
Your owners manual will probably have a section about weight distribution and the need for something on the back of the tractor to balance the loader and whatever is in the bucket. The reason the back tires are so much larger is because it is expected that most of the weight will be on the back, the way most farm tractors work. The loader kind of works against that and something heavy in back will give the rear wheels more traction.
Of course more weight won't prevent sinking into soft places (more likely to make things worse!), but if and when things dry out, getting the BX properly balanced will give you the best traction and take some of the load off the front axle and those little front tires.
Of course more weight won't prevent sinking into soft places (more likely to make things worse!), but if and when things dry out, getting the BX properly balanced will give you the best traction and take some of the load off the front axle and those little front tires.
Years ago I read the statement "Experience is what you get right after you needed it".
Your tractor is apparently not suitable for the current conditions. Sounds like you need to adjust the schedule or get something completely different. When my front yard has excess moisture as in the pic below, I wait a few days to mow
Your tractor is apparently not suitable for the current conditions. Sounds like you need to adjust the schedule or get something completely different. When my front yard has excess moisture as in the pic below, I wait a few days to mow
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RCW
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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
I’m in upstate New York also. There’s times our silt/clay soils are not conducive to tractor traffic. Need to let things dry out.
xrocketengineer
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BX1880, FEL, Grapple, 36 in. Forks, 48in. MMM, Quick Spade, Ripper
I have the same issues with mine. Our wet season start in May and lasts until September. Mowing is needed every week. At least you got turfs. Mine came with R1's and they would create ruts everywhere and dig all the way to China when I got stuck. I replaced the tires with the bigger BX2380 size wheels and all terrain tires and that helped. I also added a 2 inch receiver on the front so I can attach a removable ATV winch with remote control in case I get stuck and it comes very handy when cutting down trees. I filled the rear tires with water (no freezing down south) and I use a cheap load carrier on a 2 inch receiver on the back with 4 97lbs blocks as counterweight for heavy loader operations.
However, even though things are better and I don't get hopelessly stuck, there are areas where I still can not mow like the ditch in front of my house.
However, even though things are better and I don't get hopelessly stuck, there are areas where I still can not mow like the ditch in front of my house.
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RCW
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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
I would usually post in the “What you did “ thread, but fitting here.
I was just trying to mow. Usually wouldn’t mow this wet, but we’ve got another 5-6 days of rain predicted.
Like @xrocketengineer, it’s juicy.
I wasn’t trying to push, pull, or carry anything. Just driving over to mow…..SQUISH…..
I was just trying to mow. Usually wouldn’t mow this wet, but we’ve got another 5-6 days of rain predicted.
Like @xrocketengineer, it’s juicy.
I wasn’t trying to push, pull, or carry anything. Just driving over to mow…..SQUISH…..
So many BX owners leave the loader on while mowing and also leave the mower on while digging and moving material. BX's are better, more nimble mowers without things hanging off the front and back, and better at tractor chores with the mower deck removed. It's worth learning and practicing how to mount and remove those things as appropriate. Just one guy's opinion, backed up by many years of experience. Your mileage may vary, of course.