John Deere 3033R Purchase advice

[68SS]

I was at the dealer today to finalize the purchase of my new 3033R. Dealer offered me an upgrade to a 3046R for an extremely reasonable amount of money. I can afford the difference with no issue. I am already buying more tractor than I need, so that's not really an issue, this is just the tractor I want. My main question is there any negative to going up to the 3046R vs the 3033R.
I am relatively new to all of this, so thanks in advance for any advice that can be offered. I have to decide tomorrow morning.

 

[kevinjd]

I have a 3033r cab, could of got the 3046, but I did not need the hp or want a turbo. I am very happy with my tractor. Everyone is different.

 

[Kubota 2350]

I got the 3046R cab, never heard anyone complain about having too much HP.
Get what you think you need or want.

 

[kevinjd]

There you go, two happy Deere owners! All 3 series are good tractors.

 

[Stowe Boy]

3046R would be my choice.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

One of the mantras here is to generally go for more HP than you 'think' that you need (and we here at TBN always love to spend other peoples money :laughing. However you need to provide us with more general information on your previous tractor experience, the type (even amount) of land you'll be working and what you're planning on using the tractor for.

We're more than happy to help!

 

[68SS]

Thanks for all the quick answers. I have no tractor experience at all. The dealer I am purchasing from has been under ownership by the same family for 70 years. The customer service is excellent, I went in to the dealer in April to by my dad a new Garden Tractor, that experience made this decision easy about brand and dealer. I did look at other equipment, Kubota and New Holland. In the end I kept coming back to the Deere. Mostly because of the dealer, and I really do like the Deere brand
I will be using it for brush hogging, clearing paved driveway (1/4) mile and light loader work
The property I have is large but all of it is wooded, except for the area I will be brush cutting.
I assumed the 3046R would get a positive response, just making sure that there isn't anything negative about that over the 3033R
Thanks to everybody that helped. I will finalize the deal this morning, dealer says he can have it delivered to me next week.

 

[ArlyA]

If you have a good dealer, that's golden. We're looking at JD's here for the same reason but still haven't figured out if we'd like the 30 or 40 series. One comment on HP. If you have extra, you throttle back some. If you are short, you buy a new tractor. Which is cheaper? Let us know how it goes.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would go for the 3046R and never look back. It will do everything the 3033R will do but a lot faster. Some thing such as pto driven work mowing and rototilling will be much better.

 

[68SS]

If you have a good dealer, that's golden. We're looking at JD's here for the same reason but still haven't figured out if we'd like the 30 or 40 series. One comment on HP. If you have extra, you throttle back some. If you are short, you buy a new tractor. Which is cheaper? Let us know how it goes.

That is an interesting point, for basically the same money he is offering me a 4066M, the tractor is there on his lot. It is a 2015 leftover, that is why there is a discount. That being said he talked me out of it because it really is just to physically large for my use.
It was to his benefit to sell me the 4066M because it's leftover and I would have bought it based on his opinion. I really like this outfit and there upfront way of dong business.
When I bought my dad's garden tractor they mistakenly delivered it with the wrong deck. We were supposed to get a 48" and it was delivered with a 54" deck.
They called me a week later to let m know about the mistake. They asked me what I wanted to do, return the entire tractor for the correct one (model was correct just wrong deck) or he could just keep the upgraded deck at no charge. Obviously my Dad kept what he had. The dealer never once asked me for more money, just asked me what we wanted to do to make it right. At the time the dealer had no idea I was going to be buying the 3033R/3046R He just did the right thing

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

You have received some good responses. Here is a slightly different twist. I've had a 3320 since 2007 and have never needed extra HP, but there have been several times when additional FEL capacity would have been great. I have a MMM and obviously drive on my lawn, so soil compaction is a consideration. I hear you saying a 4xxx is too big, but in my case if not for the MMM a 4xxx would have served me as well or better - especially if the price was the same. The extra PTO power of the 3046R would be usable, but for ground engaging you will probably run out of traction before running out of HP.

If more HP is a goal obviously the 4066M has even more, but in addition, I assume (haven't compared all the specs) the M series has more bells / whistles as standard when compared to the R series.

 

[richardhorne]

I have the 33r and find i run out of traction before hp. Great tractor i love it. Could possibly have done with more hp to get it up the hill quicker to the house but that's all. I would suspect the 33 would be better with fuel than the 46, but could be wrong. It depends what you are going to be doing with it to whether you can justify the extra money. I spent ages trying to work out the best fit for me, i didnt want something that wouldnt do what i wanted but then i also didnt want too much tractor either. Although i am sure many will argue you cant get too much tractor or have too much hp. Just go with your gut in the end. I am on 11acres on a hillside and so far have done fel work disc'd the fire breaks and graded the drive. All done without missing a beat.

 

[ArlyA]

I can't speak for 68SS or what he wants his tractor to do. But we need the HP at the PTO to rotate a medium duty brush mower. Not traction.

 

[68SS]

I can't speak for 68SS or what he wants his tractor to do. But we need the HP at the PTO to rotate a medium duty brush mower. Not traction.

The dealer told me that the 3033R had plenty of HP to operate the 60" Brush cutter that I am buying with the tractor, same cutter is going to be used by the 3046R

 

[Kubota 2350]

The dealer told me that the 3033R had plenty of HP to operate the 60" Brush cutter that I am buying with the tractor, same cutter is going to be used by the 3046R

No doubt it'll run it OK, I ran a 60" brush Hog on my 4310 with about the same HP as your new tractor, and it did fine.

Congratulations on your new tractor. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[bigtiller]

The 3033R has 24 pto hp. That is the same as my 2720, which is a slightly smaller framed tractor. I have plenty of traction but wish it had more horse power. Buy the 3046R, you'll never regret it.

 

[68SS]

Thanks for all of the great responses I finalized the deal earlier today for the 3046R it will be delivered sometime next week.

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks for all of the great responses I finalized the deal earlier today for the 3046R it will be delivered sometime next week.

Congratulations on the new tractor, it should serve you well.

Have to say I am a little humored by those who think their is much difference in physical size between the 3xxx and 4xxx tractors. Very little difference in where the two sizes will fit in most cases.

 

[richardhorne]

Congratulations on the new toy i am sure you will be very happy with it.

 

[Kubota 2350]

Let us know when your new play toy gets delivered to your house.

Congratulations! :thumbsup::thumbsup: