John Deere 3046R vs John Deere Z970R Which mower is right for your property? Both mowers have a 72 inch deck. Do you use a tractor or a zero turn for your property, and why?
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I've been mowing with a 955 4x4 72" cut now for over 31 years. Zero turns are really nice and probably more comfortable to ride and faster. I usually mow 6 to 8 acres every week so the durability of the diesel works better in the long haul. I do live where the ground has more hills than flat land so having the 4x4 option is pretty much a must. Great video content you have here and I'm sure it has helped someone looking to make a purchase.
My Dad's M4050 (50hp) Kubota spent the majority of it's life mowing. Much to it's detriment. That tractor was $16k in 1982. My new Kubota 50hp is $50k. I'm determined not to beat the $hit outta mine mowing. My thoughts are to purchase a Bad Boy "Maverick" for $7k. Basically a throwaway. If I get 5 to 8 years out of it then I'll go get another one. $50k tractor still like new. Makes sense to me.
@@dryrunoutdoors 23hp Kohler 60" deck. Definitely not in the John Deere, Gravely, Scag range but affordable. My place is rough. Wouldn't want to beat up a high end mower until I get "control" over what I'm mowing. Lot's of mesquite thicket and gopher mounds.
Great video! I will take comfort any day over the speed of a Z, I have a 3046R cab model with same 72” deck, only mine has an mulch kit on it. I use to have Z997R pretty much hated the Z owned it maybe 4-6 months and traded it for a X758. The Z was always getting stuck. To get a bit more apples to apples take look at the John Deere Cab version of the 1585. That’s a cab version of a Z with 4wd. The 1585 comes in around the mid 50k range new, which matches the 3046R with cab and mower deck and loader.
I use a lawn tractor and walk behind zero turn with sulky for my 1 acre because I get tired of using one type of machine after awhile. Gotta mix it up because we all do a lot of mowing year after year
You can get a bagger, and mulching system for the tractor as well. They're ridiculously expensive though. A better comparison would have been the 1025R, that 3 series is way oversized to mow a lawn.
@@dryrunoutdoors That would be interesting. See if you can get a hold of a 1025R as well and do some maneuverability tests too...curious if a small tractor is really gonna save much time when it comes to maneuverability VS a larger model. For me I can't really tell any difference between my lawn tractor with a 42" mower deck VS my BX2680 with a 60" deck...no time savings really because I have to do more prep work with the tractor, a lot more trimming around stuff because with the ROPS on the tractor you can't get as close to stuff.
That is exactly why I don't mow with my sub-compact tractor, the roll bar alone is annoying when trying to mow around trees...although it really don't have much larger of a footprint than my regular lawn tractor, the roll bar itself is counter intuitive....you have to do much more trimming because you can't get as close to stuff with the tractor. Granted I can mow with the tractor if I need, I just don't feel like it makes any sense to spend more time mowing with it over my lawn tractor LOL. I have the lawn tractor so I can run my snow blower, can't run stuff like that with a zero turn.
@@dryrunoutdoors If I recall the ROPS on my BX2680 is right at 7 feet. It can be folded down, but its just one of those little annoyances that you just learn to deal with LOL. Mowing an open area the BX is fine, mowing my yard with all the trees and other obstacles isn't very productive at all. The cut quality is great, but having to dodge tree limbs and everything else makes for not such a great mowing experience.
I use a 1026R TLB for everything , my hills need 4x4. The Z would get stuck in wet spots. Even with loader and BH it cost closer to the Z than the 3 series. (2012 model) . I don't have a lawn tho it's a yard...😃 We have an ordinance that requires us to remove the loader before mowing....😅 Not sure if that's an option for the one in the vid. Seems like that should be pulling a wider mower instead of using a MMM ?
@@dryrunoutdoors yeah, they’re around 10 or 11k. That 1575 is around $35-40k, may as well pay a bit extra and mow twice as much, twice as fast and if ya live up north ya can put a snowblower machine thing on the front (sorry, south Louisiana, I don’t know what the real name of the snow thing, a blower? My inner 16 year old makes me laugh at that, but I think ya know what I mean lol.) I’d grab a 10’ finish mower for that 3 series and go to town but everything’s flat here, easy to do.
@@dryrunoutdoors I have one on my 3046R with the same 72 deck, it is a genuine Deere accessory product, the kit comes with mulching shrouds that mount in holes already in the deck, also comes with Deere mulching blades.
When we purchased this property, I bought a 60 inch deck for my 2025r to mow on this property. It was not the right decision for us. Expensive mistake. Bought a zero turn shortly after
Come on now let’s be real here with the zero turn all you can do with it is cut grass and that’s it. The tractor has way more functions that you can use.
@@dryrunoutdoors no I respect that. The faster it gets done. The better. I have 15 acres I cut with a 54 inch z turn..I love doing it. But sometimes, for the mosquitos and burning heat. I wouldn't mind hopping in a tractor like that .
Hi guys, great videos. Apologies if I missed the answer to this question. I have a zturn for my 15 acres. Was thinking of adding a belly mower to my 3R as an additional asset. Is the cut decent enough? Is there a mulch kit for the belly mower on the 3R? If so, is the mulch kit decent? This would be for sod/lawn, not field grass, I use a pull-behind rotary cutter for the field grass. Thanks.
I would not want to mow with the 3046R unless it’s a straight level field with no obstacles. It does not mow nearly as good as a zero turn and it takes about twice as long.
