Went form a b2620 to an lx2610

haveissues

New member

Equipment
LX2610
Sep 13, 2013
26
23
3
northeast
How do you like the R14's? I am torn between them or the R4's.
So far so good but I got them for 2 reasons and have not tested either yet in either condition - hopefully to be a little easier on the lawn when it is damp out and better than r4s in the snow.
 

BubbaC

New member

Equipment
Kubota LX2610
Aug 30, 2020
2
0
1
Connecticut
I hear you on both issues.. I worry slightly about them in the woods doing some work in there.. will they be as durable in rocky and brush etc.. But the thought of a nicer ride down the driveway which is paved especially in the snow pushing snow should they perform as anticipated would be nice.....
Tough one, gotta decide in next week as delivery is in a cple weeks..
 

Deuce

Member

Equipment
2016 B2650, 1977 B7100
Aug 8, 2015
73
15
8
New Jersey
Very nice! What size are those upgraded wheels and r14's? Curious if I can upgrade from my r4 to those on my 2650
 

Bob L.

New member

Equipment
LX2610 loader/backhoe, 64” snow blower, 42” pallet forks
Jul 2, 2020
6
3
3
Maine
Good to hear! Mine is still waiting delivery - I got the backhoe and QA loader too - waiting on installation of the 3rd function valve for the grapple. I am jumping up from a BX.
Ordered mine on 6-12-20 with backhoe, 3D function and snow blower. Still waiting for delivery. Many parts on back order.
 

PaulR

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 23S -- 100 hours seat time so far
Aug 3, 2020
581
456
63
Hadley, MA
I'm late to the party, very nice rig. If I had done more research I may have ended up with one of these instead of my BX23S
 

haveissues

New member

Equipment
LX2610
Sep 13, 2013
26
23
3
northeast
Update on the r14's in the snow-They make my 2620 with R4's look like it is on slicks. They are a huge improvement.
 
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Matteo

New member
Jan 10, 2021
2
0
1
Ontario, Canada
I'm late to the party, very nice rig. If I had done more research I may have ended up with one of these instead of my BX23S
Paul (and anyone else with experience),

Can you post what you're using your BX23S for and why you would have gone for a larger unit? We're currently stuck between a BX23S w/factory Curtis Cab, a B2601 with Curtis Premium Cab, and an LX2610 Cab model. Cab model to be comfortable in bad/cold weather and during bug season. The BX and B Curtis cabs seemed appealing in that we could take the back and sides off to have a more 'open air' experience. How relevant that is, hard to say, the family are first time tractor owners.

Multiple Kubota owners and two dealers have suggested going to the B2x01 series because it's the first 'real' tractor, not a built up lawn mower, and when you start doing cabs the dealers all just say to go to the LX2610 cab model, for the money.

We're looking at it to support the maintenance of two properties. The first is 2 acres where we'd be doing landscaping, collecting rocks/firewood, maintaining a road with box grader (1800ft), trenching, taking stumps out, pulling boats out of our lake at our beach, and other utility work, it's really to replace an ATV that has taken a beating with a land plane on the road and is on it's last legs. The the other property is in a suburb and is one acre where we'd be looking for snow removal on ~7500sq-ft between 3 driveways.

Also, any feedback on R14 vs R4's on grass, do they chew it up as badly as an R1 would or are they more R4 on the grass?

Long story short we don't want to kill the mosquito with a cannon, we also don't want to be in your position where you imply that you would have gone bigger now that you've had the BX23S for a while. We're looking to do it right the first time.

Any suggestions/guidance would be appreciated.

M.
 

PaulL

Well-known member

Equipment
B2601
Jul 17, 2017
2,098
1,106
113
NZ
You may want to make your own thread rather than tack on to an existing.

I had a BX2350, moved to a B2601. Big differences for me were:
  • more weight pulling the boat. The BX could do it, but was a bit traction limited and if I wasn't careful I got the front end well off the ground
  • faster - 3 speed gearbox
  • lifts more on the 3ph, we did some paving and it was a pain moving small stacks of pavers around, the B lifts twice as much on the rear forks
  • it's actually a lot easier to take the mower deck on and off - the extra height makes connecting the mid-PTO way easier, and being able to drive over the deck saves dragging it out
  • a bit quieter and less of a feeling that you had it roaring at high revs all the time - the BX is rated at 3300 RPM, the B at 2800, and it sounds quite different
For the uses you describe, all the usual questions:
  • You plan to tow between locations. How much weight can your tow rig and trailer take? The B is a bit heavier, the LX heavier still
  • At 2 acres you're really in BX and maybe B territory. Arguably not enough land for an LX. Towing a boat changes things - how heavy is the boat, how far will you tow it, how flat is the area, how steep is the ramp, does the ramp have good traction? My boat is about 2400 lbs including trailer, BX was fine with moving it, but we're flat with a relatively flat ramp. Stopping it would have been a problem on any hill at all, and our ramp is concrete. If you're pulling a 5000lb wakeboard boat you'll need more than a BX
  • The factory cab is a lot nicer than the curtis cab. But only available on the LX. That might tip you towards LX. Not sure you can have a backhoe with the factory cab, even with the curtis cab it might be a bit funny to use. I guess you'd have to open up to use the backhoe. But does that kill the point of having a cab?
  • The perennial question - how much work do you really have for a backhoe? 2 acres isn't a lot of land, there can't be all that many stumps or all that much trenching to do. Once it's done, what use do you have ongoing for a backhoe? Better to buy an old mini-ex, use it for 6 months, sell it for most of what you paid? Particularly if you're trailering between locations, will the backhoe put you over your tow limits, in which case the backhoe will only be in one of the two locations?
  • What sort of snow removal? Bucket, plow, push box, rear blower, front blower? A BX, B or LX will all do that fine, and probably not a massive difference in how much snow they move or how fast - with a snow blower HP starts to matter, otherwise it's just traction and the bigger tires on the B or LX would help
  • You don't mention mowing. If you don't need a MMM, then of course the L2501 is an option. Probably way too big, but if you have a big boat it'd be a good choice
Bottom line, if everything you've described you were doing with an ATV before, a BX will easily do it - it'll do anything an ATV did and more.

A B is probably a bit more comfortable for road maintenance and boat pulling. If your beach doesn't have a concrete ramp, the larger tires on the B will give you a lot more traction on sand or mud, and the extra weight will be worthwhile. The B also has a lower low ratio, in theory a bit more pull, in reality the BX runs out of traction before it runs out of pull, so the gearing isn't really what's limiting it.

If you mount the towbar on your 3ph, then you can lift the nose of the trailer using the 3ph to put more weight on the rear of the tractor and get a bit more traction. Not too high though, if you lift higher than the axle then when you pull you can lift your front wheels (although I've done that plenty of times and it's never killed me, you just stop and/or drop the 3ph, you're usually going slow pulling a boat out anyway).
 
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PaulR

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 23S -- 100 hours seat time so far
Aug 3, 2020
581
456
63
Hadley, MA
From what I've read here, and from what everyone always says "no one ever says I wish I got a smaller tractor". That said I would say from what you describe you'll be doing: go for the smaller tractor. From what you describe above, there is nothing the 23S cannot do very well, and at a price point that will allow you to get a few more attachments right away over a B series.

I took my tractor home and started lugging pallets of patio stone around with it, maxing it out every time, from ~500 pounds out at the arms and ~700 pounds at the curl point. I thought to myself the whole time, man this is great but I sure wish I had a bit more tractor so I could lift at least 1000 pounds. But now that I'm done with that job I'm sure I'll be loving the unit completely, and I do.

2 properties = transporting it as well. I'm very happy my tractor fits nicely on my EQ trailer. It's main job for the next year will be tearing up 700+ feet of curbing at our office, trenching and replacing with curb stone, which is the main reason I wanted the hoe in the first place. Not paying someone $20,000 to do the job means the machine pays for itself right there....then I get to keep the machine for future jobs.

If you have a well manicured lawn like I do, I have a 1.75 acre lot, 3/4 of that is nice grass, I would strongly recommend against using any of these with a MMM. I didn't even buy a MMM for mine, don't intend to, I have a zero turn. But the real reason: the 23S is 1600 pounds and the turf tires act like a steam roller over my lawn. When I built my patio, the tractor tracks back and forth compacted the soil down so hard it was like concrete, bad for the grass. I cannot imagine mowing with one of these all the time. You'd need to mechanically aerate 3 times a year if you wanted a nice lawn. Even at that rate it would not work.

If you see yourself with pallet forks wanting to lift 700-1000 lb objects a lot, the 23S is not for you, otherwise, I think it's the perfect little tractor for what you describe.
 

i7win7

Well-known member

Equipment
BX2370, B2650 grapple, tree puller, trailer mover, 3 point hoist, mower, tiller
Feb 21, 2020
3,170
3,636
113
Central, IL
Bigger tractors can hold more ballast in tires, heavier rear ballast and make dangerous operations slightly safer. After doing this with a BX a few times, I added a B2650 to my equipment arsenal.

FYI - tractor manuals tell you not to do this
20200531_152828.jpg
 

BX23D

New member

Equipment
BX23TLB, box scraper, 3pth 5' LP rake, JRW 53" 3pth snowblower, MMM
Mar 28, 2014
5
0
1
Belleville, ON Canada
Thank you PaulL, PaulR, and i7win7. Really appreciate your input.
Yes a lot of good info. Keep something in mind, I have not seen my BX23, from 2005, trying to get out of the yard because the yard is too small, 1/2 Acre. I would not even consider the LX2610 with cab or an L2501 too big and worry that it would jump the fence looking for bigger fields. A tractor is sized by the work you will be doing with it, not by how much room you have for it to run around in. People keep repeating the garbage info that stays in the back of their minds and comes out when they try to justify a purchase for themselves or someone else. Be assured that you have enough room for any tractor you want or can afford, just buy: 1st what you can afford, 2nd what you want and what for, and for me, third, fits the space I have to store it in. I live in a city and there are bylaws. I treat my tractor and house it very well. Buy it, use it, and enjoy it for tomorrow you might lose it.