Will it Pull it? Kubota BX Subcompact Tractor Towing Capacity - How Much Should You Tow?

In this video we discuss the towing capabilities of the Kubota BX23S and talk about some does and don'ts when it comes to hooking up a load behind your tractor.

[@FabbedFun]

Towing capacity is not the first thing most people think of when purchasing a tractor but it ends up being a pretty important topic... weight/power/drivetrain/traction all have a part to play in making something "towable." This is important for towing a trailer, skidding logs, etc. The PHYSICS is something a lot of people need to chew on. Your ability to move something does not mean you have a capability to stop or control the load down a hill, on a side slope, in the mud, or other imperfect situations. That BX can probably pull a log that is big enough it might roll off a trail and jerk you over the edge as well. I've even been in a few situations with larger tractors where I realized I needed to slow down and think about those PHYSICS that you mentioned. This is absolutely one of the best and most thoughtful "simple" videos you've done. Great job, Lucas!

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

I appreciate the comment, Logan! I can be the worst at learning things the hard way, but towing or pulling logs like you mention is definitely an area where you want to make well educated decisions before moving. The consequences are too high if you get it wrong. 👊

[@mikewilliams7556]

Fantastic video, very informative! I wasn’t aware of the four-wheel braking system, that you explained, so thank you for that, you just may have saved me from getting hurt. Really like your videos, keep them coming, thanks!

[@chrislysyk1120]

Appreciate the info, had a bunch of questions about towing with this machine before I buy.

[@D70340]

Always great content, thoughts & ideas Lucas. I bought one of those bolt-on REESE receiver hitch plates, bolted it to the rear frame on our BX23s. Now i can use my receiver hitches to tow anything we have. I never trusted a 3pt system just for the simple reason that you explained so well... no down pressure. Most newb tractor owners don`t even know that.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

The Reese receiver is a great idea. Much better than having to get out the wrenches to swap hitch ball sizes for different trailers!

[@crxess]

I could have answered the Title question immediately. I have moved my 23" 6,000lb SeaRay on its dual axle trailer with my BX1500. Slow and easy, and only on relatively flat ground.

[@jacqueschagnon2278]

super great point , people don't tend to think about the 3 point not having down pressur ( I did not too ) little tip is to put a limit chain between your draw bar and the 3 point so that you can still lower it but have a limit to how hight it can lift in event you brake or the weight shift to the back of the trailer.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Good tip! Thanks for commenting!

[@OrangeismyNewGreen]

Really good information Lucas, thanks for sharing 👍🏻, for a minute I thought your were going to test out the ROPS by lowering the Bug onto the BX 😮🤣🤣.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

I had a whole inch to spare driving under there. 😂

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

BX putting in work everyday at PP. Nice fab job on box blade hitch!

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

I even made a good clean weld on that one. I should have zoomed in closer.

[@slayer66thfc]

I move our 24ft 3k lb trailer with the bx all the time. I have a receiver tube welded onto the back of the box and use a triple ball. Also no one said (or I missed it) that you want a place to hook your safety chains if it comes off the ball. These Bx are amazing machines!

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Good suggestion!

[@JustCaidsDayFarm]

Good info! It’s crazy what these little tractors can do. My B series backed a 5’X8’ trailer full of firewood up my steep hill in the front of our house no problem. That was a good answer to the question.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Thanks, Man! It really is amazing what you can do with them. 👊

[@BiffsEquipment]

Great video man! Hey I think I have seen you comment on my channel before if I’m not mistaken? I was checking out some of your videos inside your pole barn when I stumbled across one googling if pex was safe to use for compressed air cuz I had the exact same idea as you.. I figured pex would work just fine but I just wanted to see a few guys who had actually done it first so I knew for sure before I spent the money. Glad to know it’s worked out good in your barn and I see it’s still up 👍🏻 The Kubota Bx is certainly a little beast for it’s size! Have a good weekend. PS. I like your orange toolbox.. looks familiar 😉 also it looks like our barns are close to the same size, I built mine a 24x32x14 .. yours looks similar only you put your doors on the other side walls. I decided to run my doors legth wise because of the way my driveway and property is setup and I’m hoping it still leaves me plenty of space with my truck and tractor in here at the same time.. I think it will. Ttyl!

[@BiffsEquipment]

Apparently my mind is shot.. I remember you now lol. I don’t get out much apparently and that also goes for KZbin too 😂

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Brother, ain’t no way to remember it all. It’s all good. Yeah, we got a lot in common it seems. I’ve been meaning to go check out your pole barn build. I saw a video the other day about it but haven’t had a chance to watch. The pex has given me no issues at all. I will say, I made the mistake of using shark bite fittings because I didn’t have the crimp tool and they are holding up fine but it cost a fortune. I would have been much better off crimping. (I have the tool now). Sounds like our buildings are very close in size. I went 28x36 but only 12 high. I could’ve used a little more head space installing the lift, but I’m also afraid of heights so I was balancing needs with abilities. Lol. Glad you stopped by! I’ll go check yours out!

[@BiffsEquipment]

@@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead sure thing buddy! Yes I’m glad we were able to catch up! You’ll have to watch my “pole barn tour” video.. it wasn’t quite finished in that video tho as I still had work to do as you’ll see.. but I have all my Insulation finally done now and am currently working on wiring the rest of the outlets in. It shouldn’t be long now till it’s totally done. I have also changed the layout of the shop quite a bit since that video as well so it looks much better in there. I went with a 14’ ceiling purposely for a lift and for the fact that I may do a loft some day for added space/comfort. I also added 3 floor drains, 1 for a urinal, one for a slop sink, and one for the main drain. Not sure if I’ll ever use the one for the urinal tho as I only put that drain in as future proof type of thing.. Building the garage with the roof so high up def wasn’t fun, I never liked heights too but by the end of it I was so use to heights that I could stand on top of a 14’ ladder with one foot and no hands confidently lol. It’s amazing how fast you get use to heights (if your forced to) lol. We also did our insualtion the same way too using foam board. How thick is yours? Mine is 2” all the way around. I used poly foam which is what I think you used as well by the looks of it. Hope your having a great week 👍🏻

[@BiffsEquipment]

Also for the pex I already have all the pipe, fittings, and elbows, they are all the clamp style fittings and I have the tool. I got them all to run my water line this spring/summer so it wouldn’t cost me anything to run the air supply line at this point as I know I bought way more fittings and pex pipe than I needed to run the water line to the barn as I always like to buy more than I need for projects like these and return what’s leftover. Keep up the good work!

[@jeffhatton6156]

I always have the trailer breakaway cable by my seat when I am moving a heavier trailer so I can pull that cable to get emergency breaking… I even added brakes to my utility trailer, have not had to use it but I test that they turn on before moving anything downhill

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

This is smart! I haven’t moved my big trailer much, but I will keep this in mind. Good idea!

[@petep7227]

I do the same.

[@BurtsRanch]

Using 3 point is fine just shift the lift arms onto the fixed position. We use our bx to pull all sorts round ive even used it to move my kx018-4 on trailer with buckets etc its close to metric 2.5 ton. On flat only tho. Biggest thing is to never tow anything that weights more than the tractors weight when around hills.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Ah, of course! I never even though of moving the lift arm. Thanks for commenting this! 👊👍

[@wildbill23c]

4WD and LOW range is a must if you need to move a trailer around. Your points are great but you forgot to mention put the range selector in LOW Range. I move my 18 foot car trailer around with my BX occasionally. It weighs 2060 pounds empty....I have a 3 point receiver hitch that I use...the hitch plate on the BX is way too low to use LOL.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

I never use high on my place so it didn’t even cross my mind. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@BigDaddyKrapper]

Can pull a trailer fine with the 3pt just have to load the weight forward of the trailer tires so the tongue weight is on the 3pt. That being said it does float up on the bumps. LOL like my Kubota Dealership tells me when I send it in for its fix everything I break over the course of a year, "Mike just because you can make it push a 2 ton log does not mean you should push the 2 ton log with it!" A lot of the BX models particularly older ones DO NOT have a draw bar All my BX25 has is hole like you would find at the back of a riding lawnmower to pull a little garden wagon around. And no option for a drawbar. I use a 2pt adapter like you held up and a RK/King Cutter Trailer mover attachment so I can swap balls out from 1 7/8 up to 2 7/8ths LOL at last count Mrs Krap told me I have way to many trailers. Anyway the 3pt for pulling them works fine if you load them smart and forward and not on and behind the trailer tires creating negative tongue pressure. One of my trailers has the tires center of of the trailer, it is kind of a specialty trailer for hauling 20' steel I beams. My brother took it and my truck to get 4 stacks of bricks. Long story short every thing went fine until he had the bricks loaded onto the back of the trailer. Guess he got up to about 45mph on the highway before it lifted the trucks rear tires off the road and slung bricks all over the road for a half mile until he hit the brakes to try and stop the crazy swerving, jack knifed it and ate the ditch tossing even more bricks all over the road and in the corn field beside the ditch. Was a real mess to clean up and my brother is not allowed to use my trucks or trailers anymore :) Negative tongue pressure is real! Whether it is a truck or a tractor.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Oh man! Things get sketchy really fast with negative tongue weight! You’re right it is all about proper loading!

[@Scott-oe2vx]

I'm surprised it's rated that high. Looking to upgrade an old Ford 601. I pull a huge log cart over loaded. Big hills, whatever 😂 Was curious about these smaller tractor.

[@faulltw]

First comment Great Video!

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

😊 Thanks! I appreciate the support!

[@petep7227]

Have no trouble moving 6k camper around my parking pad with bx.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

I figured. That’s handy! I appreciate you sharing.

[@Nathan-kq2ec]

Love my Titan Attachments SSQA hitch plate, move my 7000 pound camper, 10x6’ utility trailer, and my 12’ livestock trailer.

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

@@Nathan-kq2ec nice!

[@davidpace3121]

Great info

[@PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

👍