I agree the Kubota does seem to be heavier duty and I really like that it is mounted on the 3 point hitch instead of some other mount thing. Also really like that the hoses on the Kubota are flexible which makes them much easier to clean out. That hard plastic chute on the Deeres are a real pain to clean out, especially when clogged up, however it can be easier to whack it on the ground and beat stuff out, but still cant reach all the way inside to get to everything. Also the off set of the Deere is really nice when mowing up close to large shrubbery and small trees as there is a lot less to get hung up on the machine and damage the plants. And the bags falling off is no issue at all. There's enough friction there from the weight and bits of grass between the fabric and metal that they dont go anywhere. That clip on the Kubota honestly would be a pain in the spring and fall when everything is wet and there is so much more weight than normal that having to fight that would be pretty annoying. I would chop them off pretty fast actually. Havent used the Kubota set up though, so can't say its the beat all, end all. Kubota is definitely coming up with some nice stuff though recently. I realize I'm a bit behind as to when this was posted, but I look forward to seeing what the other side is up to.
I'm a Deere guy but I will be the first to agree that the deck setup and bagger on the Kubota BX is world's better than the Deere. The 1-series bagger is an abomination. It's interesting that you measured the raised height of the decks. That is something that soured me right away on the 1-series. When the deck is raised it barely clears the ground. Maybe not a big deal if used as a dedicated mowing machine but it certainly means you'll want to remove the deck for loader work. I have a slightly larger Deere model and elected NOT to use it for mowing. The deck setups on most of these small tractors is just too kludgy. For what I would have spent for a decent mid-mount deck and the extra hardware to go with it I was able to just get a dedicated riding mower. :-)
Yea, we see that a lot too. The decks for these bigger machines start getting really expensive. Once your into a Kubota L-series \ Deere 3xxx \ etc you can buy a small ZTR for the cost of a deck.
The kubota seems to be a more user friendly from a multi purpose side of things like if you wanted to drop the mower to do some landscaping. Thanks for the video it has helped me make up my mind which one to buy
I have a 1025R with a 60” deck. Very heavy construction and the auto connect works great for me since I bought it back in 2013 (with no adjustment since new!) a real time saver. The Kubota bagger looks much nicer. For the Deere (and Kubota) you can get a TKV20 bagger setup which is much better, with a PTO fan and the ability to dump from the seat.
My neighbor has a Deere with a 54" deck and bagger. First thing he did with his bagger is utilize his OLD plastic canisters from his Crapsman bagger in place of the mesh bags Deere has. MUCH easier to dump. Almost a direct fit. All he had to do was reinforce the top of his canisters with some 3/4" pvc pipe. As far as mowing, his Deere does 10 times better job of mowing than my 60" Kubota does. My deck does not pick up behind the front wheels especially on the discharge side. I put on Gator blades and that made a huge difference, but I'm still not pleased with the result. I've also watched him take his deck on and off many times, never had a problem with the drive over. Personally, I don't mind the "old way" of removing it and I would never leave it on when tilling a garden. You end up with too much dirt on top of the deck. All in all, I would still buy the Kubota over the Deere
Your mower deck should cut way better than the deere deck. Make sure you have it balanced left to right and set the pitch to .25 inch lower in the front. Your kubota deck will out do that deere deck easily
@@Stegs I was wondering this too if 48VAC's deck isn't properly leveled. I know with my regular lawn tractor if the deck isn't level side to side, it not only cuts uneven (duh) but the overall cut quality just sucks, it don't lift and blow clippings out properly and it don't cut very clean either. I think you have to run at just about max engine RPM to get a nice clean cut too, many people I guess just try and run at lower RPM's for whatever reason which lowers the blade speeds on the mower and gives a lower quality rough looking cut as a result too. I skipped buying the mower deck for my Kubota because I already have a lawn tractor, but at some point my buy the deck for mowing the pasture, only the future knows what I'll end up getting HAHA. I'm waiting for my dealer to get more BX tractors in, they're completely out due to high demand for some reason, its weird, but I guess with this COVID stuff going on everyone got rich somehow and bought a tractor LOL. So I'm about a month and a half away from taking delivery of my BX2680 with loader, tiller, and box scraper. Can't wait. I realized while researching sub-compact tractors that the JD 1-series has a limited category 1 hitch and a slower mid-pto speed too (2100RPM, instead of the 2500RPM of the Kubota). The 1 series John Deere I swear is a over-priced lawn mower really in the way its built they skipped a lot of stuff that would really make it a sub-compact tractor it seems.
I will admit if I was going to use a Factory bagger I would rather have the Kubota. However there is an aftermarket bagger that would kick both of their butts. Tractor time with Tim just demonstrated it 2 weeks ago. I have no idea how much it costs but I thought about buying one and I don't even use a bagger. You don't even have to get off the tractor to dump the bags. And it does mount to the 3 point hitch. And it also uses the rear PTO for the fan.
I have had a BX2200 since 2001 with bagger. I LOVE the tractor. The ONLY thing I don't like about the tractor is the rocker foot pedal. The JD twin touch is much better. The Bagger works VERY well. I have the older style and is a little difficult for me to put on alone. I am thinking of making a larger container out of screen and a metal frame for when I pick up the leaves since it fills up quickly.
We got a new tractor (bx1880v), and it also has the rocker pedal, which I don't like. Our old tractor, also a kubota, had a different pedal. Wish they hadn't changed it.
As a mechanic I saw features on both that I liked and didn't like. Although for the most part I agree with your talking points. For example that is an older Deere. Not vintage by any means but older non the less. The newer ones have separate height control of the mid and rear implements. I don't know if this one does or not. I believe it does...And if in fact it does...Why not use the 3pt hitch for the Bagger mount? That's just silly... I am personally a fan of Kubota Tractors over MOST Deere products...Meaning that there are a Couple of Deere Tractors I would buy before a Kubota Equivalent. But I can say the reason most manufacturers use a deck mounted blower is simple...It's in the name "Blower". These type of Fans Blow a whole lot better than they Suck. So having them closer to the deck discharge makes them more efficient. Now as I said earlier...I agree that the way the Bagger is mounted on the Deere doesn't really make any sense when there is a perfectly good and capable 3 pt hitch back there. I can see the thinking behind offsetting the bagger. There are 2 obvious reasons from my perspective. 1. You get a straighter shot from the blower to the Hood. (NO 90 degree bend from the fan to the hood like the Kubota) and 2. It allows you to THEORETICALLY get closer to garden beds and other such obstacles on the non discharge side of the machine. As far as the bags being held in by a latch...I do not have that feature on my current bagger. And it has NEVER been an issue. When a bag is full they are HEAVY and that causes a lot of friction. They're not going anywhere. Unless you leave the hood open and start pulling wheelies. Which is an idiotic thing to do with or without a bagger... You also forgot to mention that you have to alter your 3pt hitch on the Kubota to be able to use the bagger meaning you have to reassemble your 3 pt to get back to normal 3pt hitch operation is also quite inconvenient...Even if it is just pins...It's still an inconvenience that the bagger needs to have the 3pt set up differently to be able to use either the bagger or any other implement. And finally...Drive mower decks are no different than any other decks in terms of maintenance. They ALL need to be serviced and maintained to work correctly. And that includes checking adjustments.
On the newer Deere 1-series (and others) the separate deck lift mechanism is still an option. The default is to still use linkage from the 3PH to raise and lower the deck.
your not the first to ask that. Its probably possible, but no one will be able to say for sure. I'd get a deck boot from Trac Vac, and mount the bagger and I'd guess your good to go.
I have both John Deere 1023E and Kubota BX 1820.I personally like the John Deere better I take the loader off and on a lot and also the mower deck. It takes me maybe 2 mins to do either one with JD. The Kubota is a lot more steps and I personally hate the Kubota toe heal petal. I don't have a bagger for either of them I am currently looking of one. Both are nice tractors there the same but way different.Thanks for the video!
+Dakota Ellingson I'm sure you're aware, but the BX1830 (there never was an 1820) is 4 generations old now. Deere has been largely sitting still, so in today's models there is a significant gulf.
yes my fault it is BX 1830. I would be more then happy to buy another Kubota if they change the toe an heal petal. mine runs great never had a problem.
The JD dealer tried to have me buy their bagging system. I did tell them about the extra weight on the deck. So after battling with that sales guy I left the dealership without a John Deere. I went to another dealership bought my 1025r. For collection materials I went with Agri Fab tow behind mow vac. Yes I’ll have to create a boot. I was going to go with Terra King TK20 but they never answered my emails or calls My mower deck is off my JD 1025r when I till or work around the yard. Is it a hassle. Over time I’ll figure out a way to streamline it
Something else to point out, the 3 point on the 1023e is a limited category 1, I hadn't realized this till I started researching tractors. The bagger on the JD is just a 1/2 assed attempt it seems, and the tractor itself is just a very large lawn/garden tractor in the way its built it seems.
There's 2 different bagger setups for the Deere. The one in the video is the cheap option. They do have a 3 point option as well but like the Kubota you have the issue of raising and lowering the bagger when you raise/lower the deck...problem solved if you opt for the optional separate valves I believe. If you don't want to bag, you remove the whole system including the blower. Its not meant to be uninstalled and reinstalled all the time so requiring a couple tools to install/remove the system isn't a deal breaker. Most people either bag all the time or maybe just a few times during the fall picking up leaves. So its not something that is put on and taken off every time. I have heard several people say that the auto-connect decks are a joke and not to waste the money on them. Like you they've had similar experiences in the PTO coupling. Myself I'd skip that as well. The deck wheels spin 90 degrees to allow you to drop the deck onto the deck wheels and simply roll the deck out from under the tractor. No you aren't going to just pick the deck up by hand and carry it around, but it still allows easy removal if you are going from mowing to tractor work like with a loader or other implements.
On my 3042R, It's really not that hard to put on the drive over deck, as long as someone is available to guide the driver to keep the tractor centered over the deck. Doing it alone can be a challenge. So, it's not as easy as Deere says, but it doesn't take 2.5 hours unless something is seriously screwed up. Or maybe the 1 series is massively different from the 3 series.
something was screwed up. We where lifting the entire deck trying to guide it in and could not. Eventually it went on and we walked away saying we would not touch it again. I am sure a technician who knows how to set it up could have gotten it working properly.
I have the power flow vacuum on my 2025 , not really in love with it! I always remove the fan whenever I'm NOT bagging the grass or leafs! You have to remove the drive over ramp! It's just 2 nuts, not bad. Don't like the way the fan matches up to the deck. I have the 62 inch deck. I don't have any trouble with the 3 bags sliding out of the hopper. On the 2025, that L shaped bracket that holds the bags is bolted to the drawbar with 3 large bolts. I bought it sight unseen, I first talked to my dealer about some way to collect the grass/leafs, and he recommended the power flow. I feel a trac vac would be better then the power flow from John Deere.
The X-series is a garden tractor if I recall, so its not a sub-compact tractor like the BX series Kubota if I'm not mistaken. Those X-series John Deere garden tractors are pretty dang nice though especially if all you do is lawn/garden chores.
We have a X360 deere with the bags, and i gotta say it's probably one of the better lawn tractor designs, but i see where the good points of that design become a nightmare with the sub compacts. I gotta agree with you guys on this video 100% Edit: although I will say, and this is not a good point at all for deere, the whole mower system with the bags seems like an afterthought for the 1 series. I see things that they get great marks on their smaller tractors for that simply were not changed what-so-ever for the bigger machine.
Let’s be clear on this, John Deere only made this tractor in recent years where as Kubota has been doing it longer. JD just wanted a piece of the pie that Kubota has been enjoying for years!
The fan and the tubing in place, remove the bags. I did that on my MTD when I was too lazy to remove the bagger. Walker Mowers has a solution similar to that as well where the back opens up and the snow blower-style oscillating chute fires it out the back.
Neil, I noticed the BX had wheel weights. Can you offer your opinion (or do a video on ballast)? Wheel weights (or suitcase weights) would be quicker to remove if need be vs. filling your tires, but weights cost more, thanks. Also, one thing I noticed about the JD is that you said that on a slope the bags could slide out, but it looks like once the lid is snapped shut, it acts as the retaining mechanism for the bags.
I think it’s only fair to point out kubota makes a grass catcher just like the deer’s for their Gr2120 and it sucks just as bad . That being said I think this kubota grass catcher for the BX is the best on the market today.
I have a 1025R with that same deck and have only had 1 issue with connecting the deck. That was the front linkage was not adjusted properly. It literally takes me 5 minutes to put the deck on and take it off. As far as the deepness of the deck Deere offers the Accel Deep Deck for that.
Accel deck is for the lawn tractors, not the 1-Series. Like I said, I'd like to do a demo on that deck but we need to get one though that's adjusted right.
I like the simple disconnect by the decks discharge chute. John deere has a better drive over deck set up than kubota, but I would prefer a pull behind on a 3point though. If I want a mower I buy a mower. However one sarcastic advantage to owners in wooded areas, kubota orange is safer aroundhunting season than the green paint lol. So there is that. As far as apull behind goes, that's why one of many reasons I am looking at the m5-111 though:)
So why didn't you actually run both machines and show them in action...I wonder if you disconnect the belt on the JD and had mulching blades if it would just mulch at that point and the blower would just act as a mulch plug being disconnected? Since that Green mower is so terrible you better load it up and just drop it off at my house I'll properly dispose of it for you for free.
Was looking around and ran into European review. They had several rear discharge with bagger riders - Looked like it worked well and dumped from the seat. Have to look for something similar here.
+jake legg Europe has all kinds of Bagger options that don't exist in the US. I've asked several times because there's a lot of stuff there that I would like to have. It seems the reason why they don't exist here is because those designs don't handle thick heavy grass as well. There are concerns that it wouldn't meet the performance expectations of the US market.
Messick Farm Equipment not only that but I believe composting and bagging grass is a little more common over in Europe and I think they might have slightly less grass then some of us around here I would never get a bagger personally seeing as I live on a farm and after cutting each little chunk of grass having to empty a bag vs just leaving the clippings there also we do have a could hills so we have a commercial cub cadet zero turn with back weights for the hills I like the mower just make sure to run with premium gas at all times mine seems to have lost power over the years and I blame that on not running the better gas in it I think if I was to buy a new mower it would be a grasshopper diesel
Unfortunate to not have any input on which grass catcher works best. Seems like the Deere with blower near mower deck would be better but wonder about the Kubota?
In ease of installation and removal the Kubota catcher system would be the best, plus you can control the bagging system with the PTO, so if you don't want to bag, you can simply remove the bagger chute, leave everything else attached and just side discharge or mulch....with the John Deere, you have to remove that stupid blower from the side of the deck, otherwise you'll pack that thing full of grass and clog it to the point you'll have to take it off anyways to unplug it before you try and use it again. Both baggers work, its just a matter of looking at the installation and removal side of things, as well as the overall setup to be able to use the tractor for other tasks by being able to quickly remove the bagging system.
I'm a Deere fan, but their newer MCS are disappointing imo. They just seem like a lawn tractor's collection system on steroids which personally isn't something I'd want (except the trusty MC519 which is a great collector). The old 3 Bag and Hydraulic Dump Power Paks they made in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s I always thought were much better units. Better engineered and very well built, almost exactly like the Kubota's design but they had an auxiliary engine rather instead of being PTO powered. If I was in the market for a Deere collection system I'd either find a nice used older unit, or get a unit from another company.
I love Kubota, I use tractors to plow snow. Almost no issues. We also run a mowing business. I would love to buy a Kubota mower, but the cut quality sucks why?
Well I think JD and Kobota designed these models to used in a frequent lawn maintenance setup. Your don't till or plow your garden 1 to 2 times a week etc. If YOU WANT a perfect no problem in design setup. You WILL PAY MORE.
ya know that's probably not as hard as you may think. The only thing you may need might be a different length hose. The boot part from Kubota is a separate kit so you don't have to buy it, so you could go to a company like Trac-Vac and buy a boot to fit your specific deck.
I have a 1023 with a quick release deck, it is not at all. I only take it of once a year. I have taken my tractor back to the dealer 3 times. The last time it was for a cracked deck. The tractor is only 2 years old. I liked the kubota but it was to small for me thats why I went with the deere.
Yeah good comparison, except for the fact that bagging is basically irrelevant now. Idk how it is up there, but at my dealer in East Texas, we haven’t sold a bag kit or mulch kit for that matter in probably a year
You john deere fans are about as childish as ford powerstruggle fans. "Muh john deere" It's all about Case, Massey Ferg, and Kubota. Kubota is by far the superior compact tractor manufacturer. Unlike these over priced, green, plastic, yanmar powered deere tractors. Keep it up Neil! Love your videos!
SteelEagle33 yanmar engines are good, deere just doesnt put a big enough engine in any of their machines. I prefer the kubota tbh, the deeper deck is something i look for in lawnmowers not just ride on or these style installed on the tractors
Yanmar engines are superb, Kubota and Yanmar are as good as each other, it's the JD build quality that lets them down. I'd argue that Yanmar compact excavators are slightly better than Kubota's, but they're both very good.
I suspect there is little reason why the Kubota bagger would not fit, then call Trac-Vac for the boot portion for your specific mower deck. It probably can be done, but its uncharted territory.
One more and I quit. Who in the hell buys a tractor like these with intentions of bagging the grass clippings? Who even does this? Cut your grass and leave the clipping for nutrition, makes a better looking yard and no waist to dispose of.
Any idea how these mower decks do for mulching? I mulch with my lawn tractor most of the season, first couple of cuts when the grass is really thick and tall I side discharge, after that I swap to mulching blades and throw the mulching cover on and mulch the rest of the season including the leaves in the fall. I'm curious if anyone uses the BX or the 1-Series in a mulching setup how it performs.
the belt has 2 V belts glued to a backing. Over time the backing will develop holes or start to peel off. On my ZD326 my first belt lasted less than 200 hrs, the next belt lasted 600 hrs, the next one lasted 1200 hrs, then as the last one was about 500 hrs and the one I am on now has 50 hrs and the backing is starting to peel, but I think a stick poked it. If you want pics I can email what it looks like when they start to peel. If oil gets on these belts it eats the glue that holds the back.
that's interesting. I never heard this before. I looked at our parts sales history and while we have some volume of that part, nothing that would reflect the experience you seem to have had with it.
How many of your customers are putting 500 hrs on a mower a year though? 500 hrs on a deck belt is pretty darn good. For a home owner that could very well be 10 years of use. On normal ztrs you might go through 1 to 2 decks belts a year as a commercial cutter. I go through one every 1-3 years, just depending on the quality of belt from the get go and if my gear box seal is leaking oil.
Objectivity bypass as usual, For instance the bagger is offset to the fan side for an obvious reason, but this guy pretends its a complete mystery. Its the same with the how he cant fathom how the individual bags are secured by the weight of the lid at the rear of the tractor.
Why thehell would some one create a bagger system like that on the deere those tractors are designed to use as small farm equipment with that set up you just made it in to a glorified lawn mower the only thing you can do with the 3 point hitch now is scraping your drive way .. the designer of that system need to be fired .🤣🤣🤣
@@Tchristman100 there are no import duties on tractors from anywhere but China. Been to the factory. They make stuff there. Stamp metal,paint, machine parts, etc. The production is every bit as red-white-blue as a Deere (maybe more so, because they use far fewer parts made by outside suppliers). The Engine does come in from Japan. I'd expect some money does ultimately does go back to Japan, but what's sold here is taxed at a subsidiary based in Texas.
All you do is talk trash to John Deere how about you talk bad to Kabota for once it would be a whole different tractor, You didn’t say 1 bad thing about Kabota but you made John Deere sound like it’s the worst tractor you can get
Cam Tunstall I have no issues with either one, it's a different design. No it wont be a perfect video they are a Kubota dealer but they're a lot better than most of the other guys who flat out talk down the competition. No and I would have to agree with the bagger unit, that's literally the same as the bagger setup that's on my X300 lawn tractor the way it hooks up anyway. If I'm going to pay 16k plus for a tractor plus the extra 3 grand for the bagger setup I would expect it to be sturdier and using the three point I agree would make more sense here. As for the blower setup, that's basically the same setup used on every zero turn and every other compact tractor with a mower deck it works, a pain to take on and off but it works the advantage I can see is less clogging than the Kubota
I bought a 1025r last year and now after seeing this video, I wished I had bought a Kubota. You got to admire Japanese engineering, I should have learned my lesson after loosing all 4 of my Cadillac door handles.
Digging deep to find something Kubota does better. I just wonder who even bags leaves when they have a yard big enough to justify a large machine like this. Lol
I mulch mine and just have a regular lawn tractor with an acre to mow. It works great for me. I don't have a bagger, thought about getting one but have no clue what I'd use it for really.
I bagged for years worked out of town alot. If I didn't get to mow in time no problem! All the grass was picked up. Lots of trees , leaves and small branches picked up. Can mow in any direction, no need to worry about flower beds etc... mow in the rain no problem. I don't use my 1025 to mow even though I have the auto connect 60 deck. The tractor is to heavy I use a 425 or the ferris.
@@bucket1249 That's why I like mulching too, I can mow in any direction. I haven't had the need to bag leaves for several years and my rakes hang in the shed untouched too LOL. I use the leaf blower and blow all the leaves out of the flower beds and walkways then mulch them up when I mow. I think the only time I may bag now is if I get a chance to do a garden then I'll bag the clippings and leaves to put in the garden. I don't have a bagger for my lawn tractor though and would be quite time consuming using the push mower to bag clippings and leaves.
I'm quite obviously a Kubota dealer. I do go out of my way to be pretty objective though, if there's something I say that's factually wrong I'd be glad to hear about it.
Messick Farm Equipment I understand some things about deere are bad but you bash it a little too much. It makes it very hard to watch some of you videos even though I like your channel.
It's funny how Kubota guys have no ideas on how to set up a real tractor ! It's like comparing a Toyota Yaris against a RAM 3500 Cumins ! LOL > Keep your Toyota , i will keep my real tractor .
I have case Massey Kubota and new Holland and drive a dodge with a Cummins I also cut and bale 3 to 5000 bales a year and nothing is more purpose built for doing hay like a Kubota from the loader to the wet clutch to fuel burn and weight it's the best baling tractor we have used so I don't know what the joke is maybe you should go to messicks and try one you might be suprised
Not everyone needs a 70hp utility tractor to run a baler and field mower... For the guy with 2 to 5 acres who's tired of wearing out cheap store bought garden tractors these sub compact tractors are perfect or the rancher that needs something to get into his stalls. There is a time and a place for these tractors and stuff like that is exactly what they're for. Everyone has their own application and frankly not everyone needs a 70hp utility tractor or the dealers would be selling them like crazy like they do these...