The Little Tractor

Choosing the Kubota BX23S, Fixes, and Mods

I am not sponsored or endorsed by Kubota or other mentioned companies in any way. This is simply a write-up of my experience.

When we embarked on this mile-high adventure we knew that we’d need some equipment. Something to dig holes, move lumber and who knows what else. We didn’t know just how much we needed it until it arrived. Being accustomed to using our own brute force - we now have a powerful helping hand.

Cutting in the road to the spring

The Decision

We looked at listings for used equipment and discovered that there were no ‘deals’ to be found by buying used. Tractors hold their value, and old ones cost just as much as new ones.

Curt is a master researcher and so the decision was in his hands. Our criteria were;

• Small enough that rolling it back over when flipped will be possible. With such steep terrain, a rollover is likely (almost inevitable) no matter which piece of machinery we buy.

• A front-end loader to put logs onto the mill.

• Big enough that it won’t fall into a mineshaft.

• PTO options

• A backhoe

• 3-point hitch

After hours of laborious research, the BX23S checked all of the boxes. Not only that, but one of the nearest mechanics shops is also a Kubota dealer - making the little orange tractor an obvious choice.

Delivery Day

The delivery truck bringing our new shiny machine wasn’t 4x4, so the tractor had to be delivered down the Mountain. For its maiden voyage I drove it 5km up the road. Bouncing all the way, and occasionally panicking as the machine felt a bit tippy.

Included with the BX23S is a backhoe and front-end loader. On top of that, we ordered a brush trimmer, pallet forks, and a back blade.

Fortunately, some friends brought up the brush trimmer in their bigger truck. Using the forks I began offloading the heavy brush trimmer, when I felt the new tractor twist as if it were going to roll. To avoid disaster I quickly dropped the forks to the ground, scaring everybody but also not squishing any toes. Crisis averted and lesson learned about which modifications we might need to make.

Fixing the throttle linkage

Modifications

Seat Sensor - It’s a safety device, but an annoying one. One little switch under the seat, is designed to turn off the engine if you fall or jump out of the seat. It was a menace, always turning off the engine when I hit the brake. We disabled it by zip-tying it so that it always stays compressed. I don’t usually encourage anyone to disable safety features but in this case, it had to go.

Wheel spacers were a must. The BX23S is a fairly long and narrow machine, meaning that going straight up a hill isn’t tippy, but if you need to cross the hill sideways it’ll roll more easily. Like how you’re more sturdy with your feet wider apart, the tractor became more sturdy with a wider stance. We got wheel spacers and skid plates from a Canadian company called Bro-Tek.

The factory skid plate doesn’t cover much. Like the weak spot on the Death Star, there’s a fan in the underside of the tractor called the HST fan (Hydrostatic Transmission fan). Since our property is wild and unmanicured, sticks are a constant threat. To protect it, we got a heavy two-piece skid plate.

Tire chains are a must for us. We got our chains from Quality Chain Canada.

Fixes

So far, only a few small but important things have broken on the tractor.

First was the parking brake. It was inconvenient, to say the least. With such hilly terrain, I had to park strategically so that the tractor wouldn’t roll away. It was months before I figured out the simple fix - the mechanism that locks the brake is on a rod that had twisted, all I had to do was twist it back!

The throttle linkage nut was much more concerning and disabled the tractor. It could still go slowly, which made me worry that I’d killed the transmission in some way. I was very relieved to find the problem after dropping the skid plates. A simple nut had fallen off just beyond the accelerator pedal, allowing the rod and plate that it was holding together to still function - but loosely, which is why the tractor still worked, but not well. After I replaced the nut with two nyloc nuts, we were back in business.

Two winters ago, I chained up the tractor tires and began plowing snow. I noticed one of the front tires had a slow leak and topped it up before I embarked. On my second pass - disaster. The front left tire had already gone entirely flat, undetectable in the deep snow. It was now unseated from the bead and flopping around on the rim. As it turns out, the rims that these little tractors come with are prone to this and we needed an upgrade. The new front rims have a much wider lip, which protects the bead.

I 🧡 My Tractor

Curt made the right choice. We’ve had the little tractor for three years and have put it through it’s paces. It has cleared snow, moved trucks, carried lumber, cleared roads, dug a pond, and more. Though it’s had a few small hiccups, it’s been an excellent machine to have around the property. My only complaint is that the front-end-loader doesn’t lift more than a barrel of water. I know there’s a modification for that, but prefer not to mess with hydraulic systems.

A Little Background About Myself and Curt

Curt is a Truck and Transport Technician by trade and used to rebuild massive engines for Cummins. He’s an expert with Diesel and very confident when it comes to maintaining our little Kubota. I’m a Parts Technician by trade and used to operate massive forklifts to deliver parts and equipment to super heavy-duty shops. He does most of the scheduled maintenance on the little tractor, while I’m very comfortable in the operator’s seat and doing the occasional fix.