New to forum-advice

[Droppinloads]

Hi all- I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Kubota this spring. Really excited about it & joining this forum because I know how valuable information here can be- especially with maintenance and use questions (I use forums for my cars as well).

I'm deciding whether to go with a BX2380/2680 or the B2301/2601. I was pretty set on a 2380, have visited dealership & got a quote, but having researched more I may want more tractor. I have about 5 acres of property, about 2.5 acres of which I mow. 1 acre of that is fescue in decent shape and the other 1.5 was brush-cut last year. the fescue is starting to spread & take over, but it's very uneven ground & there was a lot of burdock & other crap in there. I just keep mowing it- I'm using a craftsman garden tractor for that job, but I feel like it's just not powerful enough. the ground is very uneven in spots (although, the terrain is definitely flat).

I'd like the ability to even out the ground by filling in some of the low spots (box blade for this job??). Other tasks would be grading a 300ft rock/gravel driveway and other tasks such as moving firewood, etc. No snow removal needed at this point, although possibly in the future.

Kubota salesman though the BX would do the trick, although noted that if i'd be doing any ground-engaging tasks outside of the driveway surfacing I might want the B series. I would also be renting a brush hog from time to time, as there are areas i'd probably hit 1-2 times a year with that. .

Appreciate any thoughts or feedback in others experiences. I do have some pictures of the land that maybe i'll stick up here to give those with experience a better idea of what I'm looking to do. Thanks!

 

[Steve67]

Welcome to the forum, this is a great site for info on orange tractors and many other topics. I had a bx2660 for four years and it was a great machine but I wanted more ground clearance and lifting capacity so I sold it to get a b2601. There both great tractors you’ll be happy with the bx or the b

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Look at a Landplane with rippers for both the driveway maintenance and leveling the yard.

https://www.everythingattachments.com/Land-Shark-Compact-Tractor-Land-Leveler-p/ls-51-ll.htm

 

[skeets]

Welcome to the Orange,, Now this is just MHO understand, I am a BIG FAN of the BX, I have a BX 2360, and I have 5+ acres when I started it was wild grapes, multifloral ( wild roses) and wire grass,,nastys all over. I cut chopped and ground it all up with the MMM. And it has been one very tough SOB, and it wasnt all done in a week end, Im still wearing scars from the thorns,,lol. Plowing snow shes a beast I have stone gravel too and it seems to be up hill both ways, and the old girl has never missed a lick. A front mounted snow blower would be no problem, and as far as ground engagement equipment as long as it is sized to the tractor you will not have a problem. Granted the BX sits lower than the B, but the drive line motor and hydraulics are the same, just a little larger frame and a little higher and maybe some lift cap,PTO Hp is the same. Either way you go you are going to find they are both very capable little tractors. Remember that what you get the equipment should be sized to the machine, OH and remember pictures when you get her home,, we loves our tractor porn

 

[RCW]

I with skeets and have a BX2360. Love it.

I did look at a B2601 a couple years ago. because sometimes the BX is just not enough....

If you think you're going want a larger machine, do it the first go 'round.

Since you're in Vermont, is snow removal in the cards for the new tractor?

 

[Droppinloads]

Thanks for the replies. No snow removal in near future as I just don***8217;t have the time to get it done. It only costs $20 to have my driveway done, so rather than freeze my ass off early in morning trying to plow, I;ll just pay the $20. I understand I could add a cab, etc to BX or B, but that***8217;s adding $ and not needed for now anyway. This will be mainly mowing, driveway grading, some field grading, and lifting firewood for transport, mulch, etc with the bucket. Salesman seemed to think that if I***8217;m doing any ground engaging work other than the driveway grading I might want to look at the B. He wasn***8217;t pushing me that way, just was saying it***8217;s more capable for those tasks. Especially brush hogging

 

[Steve67]

Thanks for the replies. No snow removal in near future as I just don***8217;t have the time to get it done. It only costs $20 to have my driveway done, so rather than freeze my ass off early in morning trying to plow, I;ll just pay the $20. I understand I could add a cab, etc to BX or B, but that***8217;s adding $ and not needed for now anyway. This will be mainly mowing, driveway grading, some field grading, and lifting firewood for transport, mulch, etc with the bucket. Salesman seemed to think that if I***8217;m doing any ground engaging work other than the driveway grading I might want to look at the B. He wasn***8217;t pushing me that way, just was saying it***8217;s more capable for those tasks. Especially brush hogging

Ok I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed but what the hell does ***8217 mean?

 

[Droppinloads]

Sorry not sure why it did that. Seems wherever I put an apostrophe it turned into that

 

[BAP]

Ok I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed but what the hell does ***8217 mean?

Apparently it is a software glitch that when using a smartphone or other similar device to post it replaces the parenthesis with the numbers. It has been showing up a lot lately in many forums I am on.

 

[JustinB60]

I’m sure you could make either work. I was trying to decide between these two and ended up with a B2601 for the additional loader capacity and ground clearance. I live on 4 acres and most of it is woods so I wanted that ground clearance so I wouldn’t worry as much about getting caught up when out there. I also plan to move quite a bit of dirt, gravel, and fill sand so extra capacity gives me piece of mind. All of this being said I don’t use or own a MMM so BX might be a little better suited to doing a lot of that type of work.

 

[Droppinloads]

I’m sure you could make either work. I was trying to decide between these two and ended up with a B2601 for the additional loader capacity and ground clearance. I live on 4 acres and most of it is woods so I wanted that ground clearance so I wouldn’t worry as much about getting caught up when out there. I also plan to move quite a bit of dirt, gravel, and fill sand so extra capacity gives me piece of mind. All of this being said I don’t use or own a MMM so BX might be a little better suited to doing a lot of that type of work.

Yeah that’s basically the crux of my issue. I’ve been told the BX is a better mower and it should handle just about everything I need to do. I was pretty set on the BX until I realized the 2601 wasn’t too much more expensibe maybe a few thousand. Not that money is no issue with me, but 2-3k when I’m spending near 20k isn’t going to completely sway my decision. I just want to get it right the first time

 

[Creature Meadow]

Yeah that’s basically the crux of my issue. I’ve been told the BX is a better mower and it should handle just about everything I need to do. I was pretty set on the BX until I realized the 2601 wasn’t too much more expensibe maybe a few thousand. Not that money is no issue with me, but 2-3k when I’m spending near 20k isn’t going to completely sway my decision. I just want to get it right the first time

My experience was similar but was I was looking for a L3800 as I had used a L3400 for a number of years and I needed more weight and horses.

Then I found a L4600 just a few miles from my house bought in and really glad I did. While the L3800 would have done all I wanted I now have the extra horses and weight when I need it.

So, if the few thousand more you can swing get the bigger tractor.

Seldom do you read on here where someone says my tractor is too big going to trade or sale it for a smaller one.

Good luck in your quest for a new machine.

Jay

 

[DuckDog]

I’m on 10 acres and went with a B2650. No intent for mowing. I will handle that with a zero turn.

For any ground engaging tasks I honestly can’t think of going any smaller than a 2650. I push her to her limits a lot but am always surprised in the end when she gets it done.

I’ve had skid steers and excavators out to the property on many occasions prior to my 2650 and maybe that’s why I feel the 2650 is as small as I could go. If I’d never had known the power of the bigger machines a 2601 would probably do. Especially if you are wanting to mow as well. But I’d honestly say a 2650 and a separate machine to mow. The 2650 is a good size for storage and to get in tight places and can do any ground engaging task a normal everyday home owner would care to tackle.

I started out looking at a BX80 and ended up with the 2650.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Droppinloads]

Yeah i'd love to use a zero turn for mowing, but if i'm being honest, I've sold the Kubota to my wife as the do-all machine. That's how I got the ok to spend $20k- plus i'm selling my $3k craftsman garden tractor (hoping to maybe get $1k for it). I obviously didn't buy enough the first time thinking the craftsman would be adequate. But after living on the property for 3 years I've learned. The guy who owned the house/land before me had either a B or BX, not sure which. Wish I discussed that more with him before he sold it, but I was clueless about tractors at the time.

I could see adding another machine down the road for mowing, but if I want to get the tractor, I need to at least mow with it for the next few years until it's paid off. Is there really a big difference in mowing performance between B & BX? I would think there shouldn't be since the deck is the same. The BX being a little lighter would be less likely to rut the ground, but my field is pretty sun-drenched and I don't mow when it's wet.

 

[dirtydeed]

I had a bx23 TLBM (2006 model) and used to mow with it. It was a fine mower. Not sure how the B2601 mows, but in reality, I don't think it's significantly heavier than the BX series. It will have larger wheels, better ground clearance and certainly more lift capacity. I believe the small B series uses a suspended deck as well (similar to the BX belly mowers).

However, for what the mid mount mower decks cost, you could likely find a slightly used zero turn that would literally mow circles around a B or BX with mid mount mower.

maybe check out some of Messicks comparison videos of B vs BX...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhnhaS9Krdc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkW-rhJuv3I

 

[Missouribound]

I bought a B series rather than a BX for two reasons:
My property is quite rough and I wanted a tractor with larger tires to ease out the ride a bit when mowing. The other reason was the additional ground clearance. I have 5 acres, 3 as a lawn and the other 2 rough, rocky and overgrown. I also went with a three point finish mower rather than a belly mower because I wanted a quick attach and unattached when using the tractor with a loader or other equipment. But as everyone else has said either the BX or the B series will do great for you.

 

[Droppinloads]

Think I've decided on the BX. Really appreciate my dealer. Talked to them about it and said I was leaning B, but he actually talked me into a BX for my needs. My ground engaging work will be pretty limited, so he said if I had a one-time need for something big he'd just rent it (they rent equipment for 50% off if you buy a tractor from them). I like that he actually down-sold me. That doesn't happen often.

Going with BX2380, FEL, 60in MMM, box blade. Will try to post pics once it's delivered! Haven't actually signed papers yet but plan to do so this weekend or early next week. Thanks all for the advice!

Oh- and any last thoughts on this: my sales guy feels that the drive over deck is pretty much a gimmick and not worth the extra $. Said the regular MMM is fine. The only thing he likes the drive over for is the easy PTO attachment. I have a decent size garage so I have the space to attach/detach the deck when needed pretty easily.

 

[dirtydeed]

congrats.

If you have a hard (concrete) garage floor with adequate space, you'll be fine with the regular mower deck. They only take a few mins to install once you get the hang of it. They only get a bit more difficult if you have skid plates installed. They do a very nice job mowing and really don't lack for power.

 

[Droppinloads]

Yeah my garage floor is smooth concrete. Two cars can fit so plenty of space. May garage keep the tractor or I also have a carport attached to the garage so it could stay in that as well.