Went shopping today for a new B2601HSD

[dirtydeed]

I finally made my choice! I bought the LX 2610 TLB, I took the advice from the guys on this thread and didn't get the swift tach loader. I'm having the 3rd function added and the mechanical thumb, along with the tires loaded. My dealer has the tractor and loader in stock but I will have to wait two weeks for the hoe to come in. It just amazes me how many people locally who have bought tractors since covid hit! Why?? Must be people are tired of being in the house. The local Kubota and JD dealerships have only a few bigger tractors on their lots. Any other year they have at least 20-30 compact tractors on their lots at any given time. Im hoping I made the right choice and I'm looking forward to getting my first orange machine..thanks guys for you're input and I will post a pic when I get her home..

Congrats Jim. I hope you like it as much as I do mine.

One thing to check when your hoe arrives is to make sure they use the correct control sticks. Mine came with the short/straight sticks that are used on cabbed and L model tractors. With your flip seat, you'll want the longer (bent) control sticks. They are much more comfortable to use.

Anyway, congrats to you. Spring is just around the corner (hopefully).


Get yourself one of these....

 

[Jim in PA]

Congrats Jim. I hope you like it as much as I do mine.

One thing to check when your hoe arrives is to make sure they use the correct control sticks. Mine came with the short/straight sticks that are used on cabbed and L model tractors. With your flip seat, you'll want the longer (bent) control sticks. They are much more comfortable to use.

Anyway, congrats to you. Spring is just around the corner (hopefully).


Get yourself one of these....

View attachment 55896

Thanks DD! I'm sure it's going to work out well for me. Seems like the right size tractor for my property and the small jobs I will be doing with it. I retired last year so now I can work on my own terms..lol The exhaust extension you attached, did you point it down or out the side? I think that's a great idea and especially having asthma, diesel smoke doesn't agree with me, it's worse than someone smoking near me. I will also make sure the hoe has the longer sticks too, thank you for all the great information! Take care..

 

[Jim in PA]

The new LX model 2610 is super nice! You definitely won't be disappointed. Congrats!!

Thanks BD! I'm looking forward to my new toy and some nice weather, the last year has been long and trying!

 

[dirtydeed]

Thanks DD! I'm sure it's going to work out well for me. Seems like the right size tractor for my property and the small jobs I will be doing with it. I retired last year so now I can work on my own terms..lol The exhaust extension you attached, did you point it down or out the side? I think that's a great idea and especially having asthma, diesel smoke doesn't agree with me, it's worse than someone smoking near me. I will also make sure the hoe has the longer sticks too, thank you for all the great information! Take care..

see below. It'll keep the soot off of your loader arms and bucket.

 

[bird dogger]

Now the fun starts.....spending your money on all the attachments!! Once you get your tractor you might want to check out and consider adding a tooth bar to your loader bucket. One of the popular ones is the Piranha Tooth Bar by BXpanded: BXpanded Piranha Toothbar The difference in loader work is very noticeable. Of course you can't stop there. If you plan to pull any brush or stumps with your hoe, they also make a ripper tooth for your backhoe that turns it into a mean lean stump/brush pulling machine! It also works great for lifting/pulling light concrete work like sidewalks, landscape blocks, etc. And to make it real easy to swap between different buckets and that ripper tooth, they have a "Quick On" adapter that really works slick and makes changes easy. And you've probably already seen or looked into narrow trenching buckets and other attachments. But seriously, the tooth bar and ripper tooth are very worthy additions to consider right away or as soon as funds permit.
David

 

[brettskub]

I finally made my choice! I bought the LX 2610 TLB

Congrats! I just bought one as well (my first). I too was torn between the B2601 and LX2610, but the LX seemed so much more refined and responsive. I love the size of the B2601 but felt like I had to stomp the treadle to get it going. On the LX, I can just lift up the treadle with my toes to back it up. You can feel pretty good about the deal you got, as mine came in just over ~$29k with a few extras (bucket edge, tire fill, spacers). It was just a couple grand more than the B2601, so let's hope we both made the right choice for our properties and tasks. I did go with a smaller 54" bucket (to offload my landscape trailer and do some digging) and the smaller R14 tires...which tires did you go with? Hopefully I won't regret those decisions that I labored over. Keep us posted on your initial thoughts. Cheers all.

 

[Jim in PA]

Congrats! I just bought one as well (my first). I too was torn between the B2601 and LX2610, but the LX seemed so much more refined and responsive. I love the size of the B2601 but felt like I had to stomp the treadle to get it going. On the LX, I can just lift up the treadle with my toes to back it up. You can feel pretty good about the deal you got, as mine came in just over ~$29k with a few extras (bucket edge, tire fill, spacers). It was just a couple grand more than the B2601, so let's hope we both made the right choice for our properties and tasks. I did go with a smaller 54" bucket (to offload my landscape trailer and do some digging) and the smaller R14 tires...which tires did you go with? Hopefully I won't regret those decisions that I labored over. Keep us posted on your initial thoughts. Cheers all.

Thanks Brett! Congrats on you're new toy also!! Cant wait to get it! You're tractor buying experience sounds so much like mine. I really liked the B2601 and I'm sure it would meet all my needs as well. I just couldn't walk away from the LX though..kept thinking I'm going to regret not buying the bigger frame tractor!! I also went with the R14 tires, they won't be as hard on my yard when I'm driving over it and seem like the perfect tire for snow and dirt. I agree when I test drove the B2601, the peddle was so stiff I told the salesman, this is making me second guess buying a Kubota, I've only had green before this one and my knee was feeling the stress driving it around the parking lot. The LX peddle is so much easier to manipulate! I have the 60" bucket coming on mine only because that's what came on it. The backhoe should be showing up the first of next week so I would imagine I will have it before the end of next week. I will post after I play in the dirt with it a couple of times..take care and enjoy that new toy!

 

[Jim in PA]

Now the fun starts.....spending your money on all the attachments!! Once you get your tractor you might want to check out and consider adding a tooth bar to your loader bucket. One of the popular ones is the Piranha Tooth Bar by BXpanded: BXpanded Piranha Toothbar The difference in loader work is very noticeable. Of course you can't stop there. If you plan to pull any brush or stumps with your hoe, they also make a ripper tooth for your backhoe that turns it into a mean lean stump/brush pulling machine! It also works great for lifting/pulling light concrete work like sidewalks, landscape blocks, etc. And to make it real easy to swap between different buckets and that ripper tooth, they have a "Quick On" adapter that really works slick and makes changes easy. And you've probably already seen or looked into narrow trenching buckets and other attachments. But seriously, the tooth bar and ripper tooth are very worthy additions to consider right away or as soon as funds permit.
David

Yeah BD'er you're right my friend, I'm already buying addon's and a toothbar is next! I have led lights and I'm going to put a quad flasher on the top of the ROP . I saw a vid of that ripper, that's one serious piece of equipment! what's a good box blade to buy? I'm going to be needing one for my roads and trails pretty soon, the snow is starting to melt now. I ordered a 10" bucket already, these baby's get expensive quicklyl!! Lol!!

 

[SweetFreedom207]

I am torn on the same two! $2,500 price difference for me. Im torn

 

[Jim in PA]

I am torn on the same two! $2,500 price difference for me. Im torn

I know exactly what you're going through bro, I really think you can't go wrong with either one. The deciding factor for me was the hoe on the LX was bigger and that's the attachment I will be using most of the time. I also like the ground clearance, $2500.00 is a lot of money for sure! Good luck whichever way you go..

 

[brettskub]

I am torn on the same two! $2,500 price difference for me. Im torn

I know exactly how you feel. I flip flopped a few times and drove the salesperson crazy. Dealer had 6 LX’s on the lot, all spoken for, but one left at another location. For me, I’m certain the LX is more tractor than I need and that the B would have suited my needs perfectly. However, I just couldn’t get past the feeling I had driving the LX around, it made me giddy. The steering, treadle response, power, and ride was not something I could overlook. It’s a long time purchase that is going to hold value and last a lifetime. I’m fortunate that I could make the jump up to the LX without breaking the bank, but $2500 is still a lot of money. That could be the difference between a couple day one implements. They didn’t have the LP grapple, so in the end it was a wash for me. I just decided to wait the 3 month lead time on an EA grapple. Also, I was a little worried about the size of the LX, especially with the large R14 tires. I did opt for the smaller ones and 54” bucket. Best of luck!

 

[alfb]

Thanks Paul, very valuable information! The jobs that I will be doing are mostly landscaping, retaining walls, general home projects but i also will be doing trenching for an electrical contractor, most digging will be 4'-5' deep, under 200'. I have my JD X748 to handle my three acres of mowing and don't plan on using this tractor for mowing ever. My personal opinion is, why buy a 20 to 30 thousand dollar compact tractor, put a ton of hours on it just mowing, I know a lot people do it, just seems like major overkill. I just want to be sure the BH70 hoe is powerful enough to handle my trenching needs, the BH77 looks a little more stout. I never thought buying a tractor would be as complicated as buying a vehicle..sure is lots to think about. Thanks for you're input, much appreciated!

I bought the b2601 with tlb about 5 months ago. I was driving myself insane between what I got and the lx 2610 Su. There was only about a $1,000. price on the tractor and a bit more for the loader and backhoe. They didn't have much of a rebate on the Lx at the time of my purchase which helped make my decision. The weight was very important to me because of part of my property is fairly manicured, though the Lx is only about 150lbs more the attachments add to that. Biggest negative on the B2601 backhoe is that it only swivels 140 degrees vs 180 for the Bh77. That usually isn't a problem but would be nice to have. I didn't need most of the extra features the B2601 has vs the Lx SU but making the wife happy and not ruining her lawn etc was.

 

[Orange man hero]

I think the reason they are so close in price is because the dealer is not marking down the b2601 at all.

The build price on the Kubota website for the B2601 is $27,969. For the LX it's $31,960.

I know last summer I got my B2601 TLB, like you optioned yours, (except I didn't get the mechanical thumb) for just under $24,000 out the door (5.5% tax included in that figure). When I was shopping, the LX was around $3,500-4,000 more.

Clearly you get a lot more tractor for that few thousand, but at some point I realized that you could make the "just a few thousand more" argument until you were in a M9.

If you think the LX2610 is the right fit for the jobs you have buy it. If the B2601 is the right fit for the jobs buy that.

Like I tell everyone who comes on this forum - look to GP Outdoors to get a feel for what these machines can do. Brochures and test drives don't tell all that much. But seeing someone lift a log or do another task you know you will be doing tells the whole story.


Also - I like the swift tach loader with drop down parking stands from the operators seat. However, the 1 lever quick coupler is leak prone. I think it's just a "cheap" part. Alternatively, they could have positioned in a slightly different spot so when it did leak it wouldn't be onto the floor pan. The hydraulic oil will warp the rubber mat.

I just paid 26,000 for the LX2601 in Anchorage, Alaska with loader. Was that a good price? Shipping one here is about $3000

 

[Jim in PA]

I just paid 26,000 for the LX2601 in Anchorage, Alaska with loader. Was that a good price? Shipping one here is about $3000

That's a great price if it's a LX2610 TLB. That's more like the B2601 around here.