Dead horse
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85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Good question - and to answer, I don't think I have ever heard anyone say "I wish I had bought a smaller tractor like the BX" - I have a BX25D - love it, it does everything I need it to do - H O W E V E R ....... if and if I had larger pieces of land, and if I had to use larger implements - I would (knowing what I know now) have bought a B2650 ..... but I am very content with my machine.
BX has a couple of advantages - lower center of gravity, more compact, gets in tighter places - but the B series is simply a bigger more capable tractor - it outlifts and outperforms the BX.
You will have a lot of fields to cut and or keep in shape. The BX would do it - but I think if your money is not tight, I would really look hard at the B or even the LX or L models.
You going MMM or finish or rough cut 3 point mower? I would think large fields would be more of the 3 point cutter, which means you want more PTO HP.
Where 'bouts you in Virginia?
johnjk
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B3200 w/loader, Woods RC5 brush hog, 4' box blade, tooth bar, B1700 MMM,
Greetings, What area is home for you? I have 25 acres, 10 is fully wooded, six being actively farmed and the remainder being overgrown fields. Flat lands NW of Columbus out near Raymond. We brought over my Brother in Law's JD rated for around 27HP and it really struggled with the overgrown property to clear the build site. When I stopped at the dealer a few months later I knew I wanted something a bit bigger. He showed me a new L2501 and the used B3200 with around 80hrs on it. The L had a wider stance, quick attach bucket, lower HP and the new exhaust on it. The B3200 did not have the quick attach but had an unused loader with bucket. Long story short, I went with the larger B3200 and never looked back. Perfect for a 5' brush hog, box blade or rear blade. Getting back to the BX question, I just picked up a B1700 off family in June with a MMM that does a great job finish mowing. Get it in to anything heavier than that and she easily loads down. That being said, she is 1 cylinder shy of the B3200. The only option I miss off the L is the quick attach.
I would also go down to the dealer and get some seat time on each. You may find you like one better due to ergonomics. Lastly, if you have friends in your location that are running similar sized tractors, get some seat time there and see what you like. Factor in where you live, soil type, what will you be doing with it... plowing for food plot, snow removal, clay vs sandy soil vs rocky soil, attachments you want to run, finish mower, belly mower, brush hog, box blade, landscape rake, etc.
I would also go down to the dealer and get some seat time on each. You may find you like one better due to ergonomics. Lastly, if you have friends in your location that are running similar sized tractors, get some seat time there and see what you like. Factor in where you live, soil type, what will you be doing with it... plowing for food plot, snow removal, clay vs sandy soil vs rocky soil, attachments you want to run, finish mower, belly mower, brush hog, box blade, landscape rake, etc.
I have a BX and over 5 acers mostly field not yard but field, and woods, the little beasty has done everything I wanted and some things I probbly should have my butt kicked for asking it to do.
The 60 inch deck cuts fine, and with SHARP blades munches wild roses and grape vines and thumb sized branches with out a problem. It is low, and that is a problem in some ways.
See, the BX hydro cooling fan is shall we say a real weak spot in the tractor.
Many a fan has been cleaned off due to a stick going up under the machine and into the fan, and they are a BYTCH to change out.
There are skid plates you can buy to protect everything on the under belly.
Now the B say like the 2601 like I want has about 12 or so inches of clearance and the fan is not located where it can be easily snagged by a stick.
Still use a 60 inch MMM, is a tad heavier and not much wider. I want a FEL grapple and MMM for the new one all of which will make old dads life a bit easyer. You can get them for the BX as well. But for what you are going to do I would go with the B or the LX. And like the man said, see if the dealer will bring out what you are thinking of and get some seat time on it, driving around a parking lot is one thing in your fields is something else.
The 60 inch deck cuts fine, and with SHARP blades munches wild roses and grape vines and thumb sized branches with out a problem. It is low, and that is a problem in some ways.
See, the BX hydro cooling fan is shall we say a real weak spot in the tractor.
Many a fan has been cleaned off due to a stick going up under the machine and into the fan, and they are a BYTCH to change out.
There are skid plates you can buy to protect everything on the under belly.
Now the B say like the 2601 like I want has about 12 or so inches of clearance and the fan is not located where it can be easily snagged by a stick.
Still use a 60 inch MMM, is a tad heavier and not much wider. I want a FEL grapple and MMM for the new one all of which will make old dads life a bit easyer. You can get them for the BX as well. But for what you are going to do I would go with the B or the LX. And like the man said, see if the dealer will bring out what you are thinking of and get some seat time on it, driving around a parking lot is one thing in your fields is something else.
The BX tractors do not have position control whereas most B models do.
Lack of position control is a show stopper for me.
SDT
I would personally never own a BX tractor. This is just 100% my opinion. If i was going to spend thousands on a tractor, I wouldn't consider anything under a B series. I don't dislike the bx, as it works for many people, but to me, I just cant see spending thousands for essentially a lawn mower with a weak loader, when I could spend just a little more and get what I consider an actual tractor. A BX I think works if you just wanna do little chores on a small acreage lot, where you dont anticipate ever having to lift heavy logs, rocks, or other loads. To me a BX would be a lawn mower replacement with added benefits, its more a machine of convenience to me for a residential property. I could use the bx as my lawn mower while also being able to move light limb piles and debris, and run a small rototiller to put in a little garden or something. As soon as you need to move big logs from a fallen tree or something though, you quickly surpass the BX's capability. The 3pt is also crowded and sits close to the ground on the bx, so its really just for small, light attachments. I class it though as a yard tractor. The B series takes a substantial jump up in capability however. Massive jump in lifting capability. Got some big logs or rocks? You can pick them up and move them now. Need to move hay bales or something? you can do that now. Anything over about 4 or 5 acres in size I would go to a B or L series.
85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
I was born and raised in Lynchburg ..... live in town of Bedford now.
You buying for Kubota on 29 south? or in Vinton?
85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
When you set your scraper blade down on your M ..... you hit a spot or a numbered area ..... and iT stays there, and the next time you lift and place it back to that spot - it stops on that spot.
1/4" inch control is like a guessing game of where do I want this implement to stop -
position control is set it and forget it
1/4" is guess and pray .... and then guess again.
85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
As much as I agree with most everything you say - it is a hellva lot more than a yard tractor......
No argument that a B/L series is a better overall machine - but my BX has picked up some things that places it beyond "yard tractor"
In looking back on the money spent...... I might have gone with a B 2XXX series - but the BX is a good size to get in and around most places.
Of course you do.
You can control the position of the lift by moving the control lever to a specific position.
Cannot do that with a quarter inching valve as used on a BX.
SDT
There is a reason people don't go out and buy B's off the bat. The BX is a gateway drug on the cheap. There is a big used market for them. Used BXs are readily available, easy to get into under $10-$12k. They are a good fit for seniors, small properties, even suburban. Their limits are easily found and outgrown. For some, they'll serve dutifully for decades. Others will learn their limits and move up.... If by "a little more", you mean twice the price....
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For sure. I think on 2 to 3 acre properties, where perhaps the owner likes to work in the yard, grow a small garden, etc etc, a BX can fit the bill good for this, but in such a case the bx would essentially fill the roll/budget of my lawn mower. In my personal case though, I could never see myself owning a BX tractor. I think back on all of the jobs Ive done on my 13 acre property the past nearly 2 years of ownership, and the vast majority of what I've done would not have been doable on a BX tractor. A BX with a back hoe and a front grapple can do a lot more obviously, but youre over $20,000 at that point. My thinking is if I want all that in a tractor why not spend a few thousand more and literally double my capability. I think there just comes a price point where once you get there, you need to just upgrade to a B rather than sink a couple 10 thousand on a BX.
Bought a B series and wished I'd have gotten an L series. First L was an L3200 (below), but I wanted A/C and more HP, loader capacity and weight. We have 3-1/2 acres. Here's what the L3200 would lift.
I can do that too but I can pick up the entire vehicle, not just the backend.
Don't know if I ever related the story about the guy across the road... His kid was learning to drive and high centered his Chevy pickup truck on a large rock he has by his driveway. Couldn't figure out how to get it off so he asked me if I could do it. I said sure but I'm not responsible for any damage underneath. I slid my forks under the truck and lifted it off the rock and set it in the driveway. Dented the rockers a bit. Oh well. it was a bit heavy but the M9 did it. Had my snowblower on the back for ballast. Don't usually put anything on the back. The M9 will handle 3000 pounds on the forks with no ballast. I move full skids of fertilizer and seed corn all the time.