LX3520 or L3302?

[PaulL]

The problem with a mmm deck is that they limit the use of the tractor for other uses, and aren’t fun to remove and install.

People keep saying that.

I disagree. People have different experiences.

I can take my deck off in 1 minute, and put it on in 2 minutes. I've had this discussion many times, so I even made a video of me doing it. It's like anything, practice helps, and so do some good tips. I can do it without lying on the ground, and I don't have to heave the deck around. It's actually quite well designed and somewhat self assembling if you use it how it's intended. I reckon it's as easy to put on and take off as a 3ph implement is.

I take my mower off when I use the loader for anything serious. I take the loader off when I mow. Loader takes about as much time to attach/detach as the mower deck does.

I'm not saying that everyone should have a MMM. Plenty of people like rear mowers or zero turns or whatever. I'm just saying that we shouldn't give people incorrect information. For some people MMMs are a great solution.

Kubota B2601 MMM deck removal and reattach

 

[PaulL]

Zero turn is still better

That's an opinion, not a fact. If you're just being deliberately argumentative, then fine, that's the internet I guess. You clearly either didn't read the list of things I was doing (that a zero turn can't do), or you just didn't care and want to argue.

I'm not in the habit of telling other people they have to be like me. Choices are always good, and people should be allowed to make choices. People have very different needs and different solutions may meet their needs.

To be blunt, zero turns ride like they have no suspension, they're useless on hills, and they're yet another machine to maintain. If they're gas then they use more fuel and cheap ones break down. If they're a good one that's diesel then they're unreasonably expensive for a single purpose machine. If your lawn is suitable for a zero turn, then brilliant, you should buy one. If your lawn isn't suitable, if you don't have storage, if you need a loader, if you need to tow things, etc etc, then what you need is a tractor. You presumably know that Kubota sell an awful lot of mid mount mowers?

 

[jyoutz]

People keep saying that.

I disagree. People have different experiences.

I can take my deck off in 1 minute, and put it on in 2 minutes. I've had this discussion many times, so I even made a video of me doing it. It's like anything, practice helps, and so do some good tips. I can do it without lying on the ground, and I don't have to heave the deck around. It's actually quite well designed and somewhat self assembling if you use it how it's intended. I reckon it's as easy to put on and take off as a 3ph implement is.

I take my mower off when I use the loader for anything serious. I take the loader off when I mow. Loader takes about as much time to attach/detach as the mower deck does.

I'm not saying that everyone should have a MMM. Plenty of people like rear mowers or zero turns or whatever. I'm just saying that we shouldn't give people incorrect information. For some people MMMs are a great solution.

Kubota B2601 MMM deck removal and reattach

Not all mmm are easy to attach like yours. The old JD mmm I used to have wasn’t very quick to attach and detach and you actually had to do this on concrete. The other reason I don’t like them is if you mow any dry field grass, they are notorious for directing chaff into the radiator and causing overheating. The 3ph mowers don’t do this so bad.

 

[mcmxi]

But you're not using a belly mower on that stuff either

I used to have a BX25D with a mid mount mower. It was mostly a hate-hate relationship. The small wheels and tires on the tractor made it unenjoyable to cut a couple of acres, let alone 10+ acres. Removing and installing the mower was a pain, as was storing it. I will never own a small tractor or mid mount mower again, and I sure as heck will never again do any cutting or mulching using an open station tractor.

This is just my opinion based on my own experience, wants and needs. Life is way too short to be miserable or unhappy.

 

[chim]

Zero turn is still better

You may prefer a Zero, but that means nothing to many who would rather use something else. I mow 3-1/2 acres with trees, creek and sheds in less than 1-1/2 hours while doing unnecessary stripes at a leisurely pace. Can do it in one hour flat if I drive like a moron and skip the cute stripes.

That's with a 7-1/2' RFM in an air conditioned cab. Love it. My BIL next door has an L4740HSTC and a Ferris. He does different areas with each. He's really happy with his equipment. Neither of us feels the need to convert the other.

 

[jyoutz]

That's an opinion, not a fact. If you're just being deliberately argumentative, then fine, that's the internet I guess. You clearly either didn't read the list of things I was doing (that a zero turn can't do), or you just didn't care and want to argue.

I'm not in the habit of telling other people they have to be like me. Choices are always good, and people should be allowed to make choices. People have very different needs and different solutions may meet their needs.

To be blunt, zero turns ride like they have no suspension, they're useless on hills, and they're yet another machine to maintain. If they're gas then they use more fuel and cheap ones break down. If they're a good one that's diesel then they're unreasonably expensive for a single purpose machine. If your lawn is suitable for a zero turn, then brilliant, you should buy one. If your lawn isn't suitable, if you don't have storage, if you need a loader, if you need to tow things, etc etc, then what you need is a tractor. You presumably know that Kubota sell an awful lot of mid mount mowers?

My zero turn has 4 wheel suspension.

 

[fj40dave]

Two tractor route!!

No better words of wisdom have been spoken!

 

[jyoutz]

Lots of reasons people might want to have a belly mower. Not everyone is the same. Plenty of people like to tell people to buy a zero turn, or buy a cheap riding mower. But just because it works for them, doesn't mean it works for everyone.

I mow 5km of roadside with my B2601 and belly mower. I mow things that a zero turn wouldn't mow, and I wouldn't want to be driving a zero turn on the road the way I drive my tractor. I also wouldn't be able to get a zero turn up and down the ditches I drive through to get to some of the areas I mow.

In the large areas of flat grass that I mow (including about 2 acres of community reserve), the B2601 does fine. I mow about as fast as my back can handle, and I'm pretty sure my B rides smoother than a zero turn would - I think I'd be shaken apart trying to do that on a zero turn.

If I had a manicured lawn then a zero turn might make sense. But I couldn't get a zero turn for the price of the mower deck on my tractor. I have nowhere to park two machines. I have tasks that my tractor does that a zero turn cannot do.

If we're imagining that we all have unlimited parking and unlimited money, then I'd have an F thanks very much, that's much more of a mowing weapon than any zero turn will ever be.

For rough mowing, I’ll take a rotary cutter or RFM any day over a MMM.