First tractor, First post, Just picked up a BX25d... Break in?

[kenneyd]

Hey

I was tired of renting bobcats at $500 a weekend and shoveling dirt and rocks in between. My wonderful wife of all people talked me into buying a tractor.

We need to clear out about 1/4 mile of ditch, dig out about 400' of new ditch, move around about 2000yrds of dirt, dig up a dozen stumps stumps, auger 100 fence holes, grade a driveway and do about a 100 other things and the bxXX seemed to be the perfect option.

I scoured the web for a few weeks and there really aren't any used tractors within 600 miles of florida and so a new one became more appealing.

I first went to a dealer in Jacksonville who really gave me the impression i was bothering them. They didnt know anything other then how to read the brochure.
They did quote me $19500 for a bx25d with R4 tires, and 8'' bucket.

The next day i drove out a little west to a dealer in Macclenny and Bought a BX25d with 0hrs on it, R4 tires, 12'' bucket, thumb, 3pt hitch for under $17k out the door.
They were so nice, gave my kids frisbees, hats, and HD straps for my trailer.
Very impressed.


I've put a few hours on it now, its extremely helpful and fun lol.
If i had one con; Its a little light. Digging with the backhoe takes some technique not to lift the tractor off the ground instead of digging.




I may ask this in another forum, but the manual essentially says 'take it easy for the first 50 hours'. no specific numbers like, "don't exceed this rpm" etc... any tips or good threads to read?



My boy loves it to!

 

[jb62901]

Oh No! Now the fun begins, Ops I mean work.

 

[85Hokie]

Hey

I was tired of renting bobcats at $500 a weekend and shoveling dirt and rocks in between. My wonderful wife of all people talked me into buying a tractor.

We need to clear out about 1/4 mile of ditch, dig out about 400' of new ditch, move around about 2000yrds of dirt, dig up a dozen stumps stumps, auger 100 fence holes, grade a driveway and do about a 100 other things and the bxXX seemed to be the perfect option.

I scoured the web for a few weeks and there really aren't any used tractors within 600 miles of florida and so a new one became more appealing.

I first went to a dealer in Jacksonville who really gave me the impression i was bothering them. They didnt know anything other then how to read the brochure.
They did quote me $19500 for a bx25d with R4 tires, and 8'' bucket.

The next day i drove out a little west to a dealer in Macclenny and Bought a BX25d with 0hrs on it, R4 tires, 12'' bucket, thumb, 3pt hitch for under $17k out the door.
They were so nice, gave my kids frisbees, hats, and HD straps for my trailer.
Very impressed.


I've put a few hours on it now, its extremely helpful and fun lol.
If i had one con; Its a little light. Digging with the backhoe takes some technique not to lift the tractor off the ground instead of digging.




I may ask this in another forum, but the manual essentially says 'take it easy for the first 50 hours'. no specific numbers like, "don't exceed this rpm" etc... any tips or good threads to read?


My boy loves it to!



Welcome to ORANGE!


I think the "take it easy part" is a natural man thing, you will take it easy, due to the fact that it is expensive machine and you are not sure what it can and cannot do!

It will do damn near anything you cam think of, it may do it slower than something bigger but like eating an elephant, one bite at a time!

On the backhoe, first get "better" at digging, there ways to dig that will not lift the tires off the ground and depending on your soil you may need to scrape rather than dig! I would get your rear tires loaded, this will help a lot all the way around.

Maybe more importantly, teach that young one "how" to do things as he gets older.....let him make the bucket go up and down - teach him how the hoe moves, set up soda botttles and see if he can knock them down, by age ten he will be BETTER than you! And he will be lightyears ahead of anyone else using a piece of equipment!

If you did not get the MMM, go and buy one of the undercarriage shields for the BX, only real problem with this series is the underside Hydro pump fan can get beat up if a stick finds it's way in there.

Also get a toothbar if you plan on doing a lot of digging and scraping with the loader side!

best of fun !

 

[skeets]

OUTSTANDING !!!! Yep like he said just take is slow till you find out what this little beast will do and its a bunch,, As far as break in,, like a man told me,,, run it like you stole it,, And that munchkin is gona be your best buddy

 

[gpreuss]

Up here Home Depot rents them out, and we both know the guy renting it will not take care of it like you will.
Hydraulics can really rip things apart! Take it slow and easy until you have a pretty good idea what you are doing. If you watch a bunch of backhoe videos you will see that regardless of size and weight, a backhoe will toss about a tractor!
Enjoy that machine - it will do about anything you ask!

 

[Kubota_Man]

First I wanna say welcome to the neighborhood.

Second my dealer told me when I bought my BX24 to only go up to about 75% of the top 3200 RPM and vary it and WHATEVERR YOU DO DON'T LUG IT DOWN. If you are digging in to a muck pile and it boggs down back up and take what you have in the loader and dump it where you want to move it to. After the 50 hr service she will handle what you throw at her

 

[TripleR]

Congratulations on your new tractor, as you can see there is no consensus on break-in, from "take it easy" to "run it like you stole it" no different than what you'll hear on about anything with engines.

I can't say definitively who is right only that I don't run full throttle, vary RPM and allow occasionally cool down periods. I find that even keeping within these parameters I can work one pretty hard and do pretty much the same things pre break-in as post break-in. We have tractors made in the 50's and one close to two years old.

These things are very robust and I doubt you will notice any difference short term, but more of a long term longevity issue. Most of us won't wear one out for many years either way you go.

 

[kenneyd]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I put 4 hours on it yesturday and it worked great. im getting the hang of it, especially the hoe. Drainage is big problem im working to fix on my property, but for now there are no really muddy areas and haven't got stuck yet.

The backhoe seems very stong, but I will now say the loaders lifting power seem a bit lacking. It CAN pick up a full bucket of lose dirt, but not much more (like een small roots or grass). I saw a company selling a bucket expander that "increases capacity 70-100%" i dont see how it could lift that? (note, i haven't tried anything above 2750rpm)