RK Tractor reviews???

[s219]

Not every is as highly skilled and experienced as you clearly are, but there are a lot of people that watch Mike’s channel to learn, or they just enjoy seeing him work on his projects. Fortunately, no one has to watch if they know so much already, and yes, Mike is a very nice man, and his family is great.

I will never consider myself an expert, I am a lifelong learner and ask plenty of questions the whole way along. If we're lucky I am 50/50 ask/answer questions here on TBN. As far as learning from a Youtube channel, there are some gems. One of the best instructional videos I have seen (in this case I know enough to say that) was from TBN member "daveknowshow": how to resurface a gravel driveway - YouTube . He won't win awards or get sponsored but he's the real deal and he understands the mechanics of the implements in ways most Youtubers never figure out.

 

[s219]

RK Tractor Guy,
I like your input, and wish this thread can get back to the original intention... RK tractor reviews. Since RK is so new to the market and with it's unique marketing approach, I'm sure a lot of the new RK tractor owners are first time buyers. Have you thought about becoming a sponsor on this site? Maybe there's a way for RK to promote this site with each new tractor sale so those new owners have a place to go to get a lot of good answers to their questions about farming, tractoring, how to use implements, etc. Just a thought.

I think this would also make your posts more legitimate and give folks the impression you're not just spamming the forums. My understanding from many years on TBN is that dealers and manufacturers and reps should register as a sponsor or advertiser so that their role is clearly visible. An example is the fellow from KTAC insurance who posts here periodically.

 

[Soundguy]

HST+ (and associated throttle controls) is nice to have and makes the tractor a lot nicer to use and enhances productivity. If you're used to mechanical HST controls you will start to appreciate some of the features of HST+ very quickly. But it's not a must have -- I'd say it's a luxury "pro" feature.

I will be honest, I am not a fan of that Youtube channel. I am sure some people get something out of it, but I have a hard time watching any Youtube channel where someone tries to make a show out of what I consider to be routine work. And I really have a hard time with some of the technique and lack of experience. As I have said before, I have dozens of farmers on my road who are loaded with life experience and know how to use tractors and equipment and figure out problems. I don't get anything out of watching an amateur on Youtube. Might be a perfectly nice guy and have good intentions, but it's not for me.

IMHO.. actually watching an amateur test out a tractor is in a way, very telling. How many people watching are amateur's as well. What someone farming for 20 years see's as routine work, someone who has never done it is watching for tips and pointers, or just to set expectations.

Ever watch people post how-to's on youtube? Ever see a pro mechanic show you a 30 second way to change a belt on a volkswagon bug? He's not doing it for the thousands of pro mechanics out there.. he's doing it for the guy that has a bug in his driveway that has a bad belt that needs to change it, and is barely comfortable putting oil in it.

Kinda nice to watch a few minutes of video on how-to and repair stuff right before you go do it if you have never done it before.

I've been working on tractors and small engines for a good while now, but when I put a timing belt on a friends ranger, a 6 minute video on how to retime everything sure made a huge difference.

 

[Soundguy]

To RKtractor guy.

Question on something you mentioned earlier. You mentioned pretty much that the prices were locked across the board, no promotions, no monthly ups and downs, but there would be a yearly bump to allow for price increases etc. Is that a january thing? Asking from a perspective buyers point of view. IE, for instance, if one were in the buying mode, and timing wasn't super critical, and one was thinking of a december to january window... if the yearly up-tic hits 1-1-xx, then that makes a difference... as in for the buyer.. buy in december.. etc. Or is it not a calendar thing?

thanks

 

[s219]

As previously stated, go get actual quotes, out the door including assembly, freight and the product itself and compare to RK, no one, not even TYM is close, and keep in mind that with the latest upgrades, the RK55 has many features not included in the T554. 3-pt Hitch control from the rear, high back leather seat for example, plus it has HST sensitivity control, stall guard and all of the 吐ly by wire features of the Grand L.

I wish you all had a store closer to me (closest is 3 hours away) because I would like to test drive a RK55 and make an honest comparison to a Grand L. If it truly is a match for a Grand L and $15K cheaper, I won't eat my hat but I will tell the truth and I'd probably buy one. I came close to buying a Grand L about a year ago in order to have a cab for field mowing. At the time it was by far the nicest cab tractor of any brand I looked at, including Deere (who has a dealer about 4 miles from my house). I also had looked at TYM and LS.

I do find it curious RK has no stores in southeast VA, where there is a ton of farming activity and rural life. I live in a town of only about 3,000 people, yet it's got a large Deere dealer and a TSC along with several feed&seed shops. Down the road is a Lowes and HD serving the larger area. Same type of market for 100+ miles in all directions.

 

[s219]

IMHO.. actually watching an amateur test out a tractor is in a way, very telling. How many people watching are amateur's as well. What someone farming for 20 years see's as routine work, someone who has never done it is watching for tips and pointers, or just to set expectations.

I think the best instructors are ones with life experience and/or training, but who are able to relate to regular folks and beginners. In fact, in my line of work, that would be a mark of expertise and maturity. If you can teach a complicated thing to a beginner, it means you're good at what you do.

I guess my aversion to some of the Youtube videos comes from the fact that a lot of the folks doing it are more focused on their camera equipment and video editing and money, and when I watch the actual content it's kind of flat or they are clearly beginners/amateurs and giving out bad information. I'd rather see a rough video done by somebody who has genuine experience. Either way they need to know how to relate to their audience, and that is not something that is automatic for a beginner or expert.

 

[Soundguy]

You are missing the point. Don't look at the guy as an instructor. Look at it as a person learning on the go. You can lead from what they learned. Ie, mistakes to avoid.

Also, watching the machine perform with a non skilled operator is a huge tell as to the robustness of the machine.

I've put a free worker on a brand new JD 544 loader and within a half hour the footrest was ripped off.

If equipment is designed to be easy to use by unskilled people, or at least SURVIVE, that tells you something.

I don't care much for what someone with 60thousand hours and 2 million years of experience can do with a piece of equipment... If my experience is not in any way compatible, then I'm not going to see the results.. I want to see what I can reasonably expect to get out of the machine.

When you hit the emergency room with a piece of metal in your hand, do you want a nurse and PA to give you a local, remove it, stitch you and hand you a script and give you a tet booster, or do you want a panel of doctors to explain all the functions of your skin, muscles, dynamics of injury, possible infection types, blah blah blah... ???

 

[kkilli]

I think this would also make your posts more legitimate and give folks the impression you're not just spamming the forums. My understanding from many years on TBN is that dealers and manufacturers and reps should register as a sponsor or advertiser so that their role is clearly visible. An example is the fellow from KTAC insurance who posts here periodically.

I don’t know how anyone with more than an ounce of reading comprehension could conclude that RK Tractor Guy has been doing anything remotely close to “spamming the forum”. He’s done nothing but answer questions and POLITELY dispel inaccuracies spewed forth by a few of the resident “experts”.

In reading some of this “expert” rhetoric though one might conclude that a few of these “experts” must actually be intimately involved in running a multi-million dollar tractor business.....instead of the other way around.

...but then again, what do I know. I’m just a fool who got tricked into buying an RK.....and couldn’t be happier!

 

[kkilli]

Oh, and just to be extra clear.....when I said “tricked” I was being facetious.

fa·ce·tious
fəˈsēSHəs/

adjective
treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don’t know how anyone with more than an ounce of reading comprehension could conclude that RK Tractor Guy has been doing anything remotely close to “spamming the forum”. He’s done nothing but answer questions and POLITELY dispel inaccuracies spewed forth by a few of the resident “experts”.

There's the right answer right there!

SR

 

[RTBee]

I don’t know how anyone with more than an ounce of reading comprehension could conclude that RK Tractor Guy has been doing anything remotely close to “spamming the forum”. He’s done nothing but answer questions and POLITELY dispel inaccuracies spewed forth by a few of the resident “experts”.

In reading some of this “expert” rhetoric though one might conclude that a few of these “experts” must actually be intimately involved in running a multi-million dollar tractor business.....instead of the other way around.

...but then again, what do I know. I’m just a fool who got tricked into buying an RK.....and couldn’t be happier!

I would agree. I shop at Rural King all the time. I didn't know that Rural King sold tractors. The 2 closest to me did not. When I bought some property in southern Ohio, I needed a tractor so I started doing my homework. I'd borrowed a Kubota for some grading work before and my dad owned an older JD, but I personally have never owned one. So I checked out several (JD, Kubota, Kioti, Mahindra and a few others) and had pretty much decided on Mahindra. Tough tractor, not all the bells and whistles of some of the others, but solid and a good price. And then someone asked if I'd checked out one of the new RK tractors from Rural King. I hadn't. But I was glad I'd looked at some of the others first so I knew what I was getting for what price. Like I said, I was pretty much decided on a 40hp Mahindra with FEL (hoping to get a backhoe soon). What I found at Rural King was great! I bought a 55hp tractor with FEL AND a backhoe for less than what I was quoted for on the 40hp Mahindra with FEL only. Huge difference in price and I feel I've got a great tractor.

I and my wife (cause she uses it as much as I do) have logged a little over 80 hours now with a lot of backhoe work, brush cutting, driveway grading with no problems. I love this tractor and would highly recommend anyone interested in a quality built machine to give it a look. Do your research and if you're uncomfortable buying from some place that's still relatively new and still getting things set up, then buy somewhere else. That's your choice. This tractor is more expensive than any car or truck I've ever owned. I was not going to spend my money buying something I wasn't comfortable with. Every day that I use this tractor, I'm that much more convinced that what I bought was the right tractor for me.

This thread is 'RK Tractor reviews???' Well, I give it 2 thumbs up! I don't own a crystal ball and can't say how long some store or brand is going to be around. I don't know how long I'll be around. But as long as I am, I'll be a happy RK tractor owner!

 

[4get gto]

RTBee.... If were looking a new tractor that's the type of review I would like to see. Good or bad points.

In the end everyone should decide for themselves what works for them and how much they want to spend.

Why some keep pushing until they get the answer they want to hear is beyond me.....:drink:

 

[4tillingdirt]

Sir,

Our selling prices are on average 30% below those of comparably equipped tractors sold by the top three brands; Kubota, Mahindra and Deere. Together they have 80% of the market. We do not consider the other 20%, which is divided up between 10 other brands as our pricing targets. Kioti has less than 3% share, less than we have in only our second year.

That means that there are 14 brands in total selling compact tractors in the U.S. including RK.

We know the range of negotiation that tractor dealers have. The pricing is not a mystery at all. Each dealer (of every brand) buys their tractor at a 27% trade discount from list, and is then given incentives such as cash back or low rate financing to use as tools to negotiate. Selling prices are easily determined. Yes, an individual dealer way go super low now and then, but usually when they get close to the end of the free floorplan financing term.

Please understand what the word average means. Go get a quote for a Kubota L5460HST equipped as an RK55HC is. You can configure the Kubota on their website, and make sure you add in all of the optional features on a Kubota such as rear remotes, audio system, work lights, drawbar, etc., all of the things standard in an RK55HC. You can go to rktractors.com and select the 澱uild your own function.

RK will be at $29,998 and the Kubota $52,307. Take 15% (more like 10% but let痴 do 15% for this purpose) max off that to get to selling price and the Kubota is $44,460. That puts the RK $14,462 under the Kubota - selling price. The Kubota sells for 1.5 times the price of the comparably equipped RK, plus the RK has $400 of RimGuard liquid tire ballast in the rears plus an 8-year, 3000 hour powertrain warranty vs 6-year, 2000 hour for the Kubota.

I won稚 even begin to tell you the price difference between our RK74 Cab with loader at $42,999 and any other competitor. It is North of $20k.

We are in the tractor business, we know how it works, how every competitor is priced and what the individual range that a dealer will sell a competing tractor for. We understand that people such as yourself will try to find ways to find a flaw in our approach, and we are not naive enough to think we can get every tractor buyer on board with our brand. That痴 ok, there is enough business to go around.

I壇 suggest that before you state on this or any other forum that what another contributor is being untruthful, that you consider the fact that you may not know all of the the facts, you only know what you know.

Our best to you.

So what you are saying is that dealers are making 12 - 17% on their tractors to start?

 

[s219]

I don稚 know how anyone with more than an ounce of reading comprehension could conclude that RK Tractor Guy has been doing anything remotely close to 都pamming the forum?

I think his current participation is great and I appreciate it, but when he joined the forum all he did was bump every RK thread with URLs to the RK website and added no comments/discussion. All those posts got deleted by the mods as they were spammy as heck, and I think that was the right decision back then. The threads had been doing fine with just regular discussion at that point. If you know how to use the search function on the site you can get an idea how many were deleted, but it's a good chunk of posts.

I think it would make sense to register as a site sponsor/advertiser, which will give him a special badge next to his username and simultaneously support TBN. It's not expensive and it creates a lot of goodwill and patronage. In fact I can't think of a reason for RK to not do it.

I don't claim to be an expert but I participate heavily on TBN and see/remember a lot of things. If you don't participate on the site (as I am guessing from your many years but low post count), you might have missed some of this history.

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

I think this would also make your posts more legitimate and give folks the impression you're not just spamming the forums. My understanding from many years on TBN is that dealers and manufacturers and reps should register as a sponsor or advertiser so that their role is clearly visible. An example is the fellow from KTAC insurance who posts here periodically.

You ask a great question. In an earlier post, I talked about the guy that founded TBN as a 13 year old in 1998. Muhammad Chishti. He and I have had very good discussions about RK Tractors and our presence on TBN. That is why this RK Tractors forum exists, and you won’t find us posting outside of the RK Tractors forum going forward. We are a new brand, and getting the dedicated forum will help us and our current and future customers. With respect to becoming a sponsor of TBN, that is certainly in the cards, and we are developing our plan to do so.

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

So what you are saying is that dealers are making 12 - 17% on their tractors to start?

Margins for dealers on compact tractors range from 8-15%, generally speaking. Some outside those ranges. Some go low for volume and future parts & Service support, some try to maximize the margin. Not unlike any other business where pricing is variable.

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

To RKtractor guy.

Question on something you mentioned earlier. You mentioned pretty much that the prices were locked across the board, no promotions, no monthly ups and downs, but there would be a yearly bump to allow for price increases etc. Is that a january thing? Asking from a perspective buyers point of view. IE, for instance, if one were in the buying mode, and timing wasn't super critical, and one was thinking of a december to january window... if the yearly up-tic hits 1-1-xx, then that makes a difference... as in for the buyer.. buy in december.. etc. Or is it not a calendar thing?

thanks

Very good question. We plan to change prices on Jan 1 each year, and based upon the price change we get from our tractor supplier, TYM and any variability in container shipping costs. TYM will only change their price to us once per year, and we already know what it is for 2019. You have to with the long lead times from placing the order to receiving the tractors. Jan 1 is a good time to do it as there is a pause in tractor sales after Dec 31 with the end of year end purchases and the predominance of cold weather in most U.S. markets. Meaning, it’s the slowest time of the year.

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

I will never consider myself an expert, I am a lifelong learner and ask plenty of questions the whole way along. If we're lucky I am 50/50 ask/answer questions here on TBN. As far as learning from a Youtube channel, there are some gems. One of the best instructional videos I have seen (in this case I know enough to say that) was from TBN member "daveknowshow": how to resurface a gravel driveway - YouTube . He won't win awards or get sponsored but he's the real deal and he understands the mechanics of the implements in ways most Youtubers never figure out.

I’m a big fan of daveknowshow. Something we can agree on!

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

I think his current participation is great and I appreciate it, but when he joined the forum all he did was bump every RK thread with URLs to the RK website and added no comments/discussion. All those posts got deleted by the mods as they were spammy as heck, and I think that was the right decision back then. The threads had been doing fine with just regular discussion at that point. If you know how to use the search function on the site you can get an idea how many were deleted, but it's a good chunk of posts.

I think it would make sense to register as a site sponsor/advertiser, which will give him a special badge next to his username and simultaneously support TBN. It's not expensive and it creates a lot of goodwill and patronage. In fact I can't think of a reason for RK to not do it.

I don't claim to be an expert but I participate heavily on TBN and see/remember a lot of things. If you don't participate on the site (as I am guessing from your many years but low post count), you might have missed some of this history.

You are a good observer of TBN. On those other forums of other brands, we saw so much misinformation being shared about our tractors, we had to do something. In response, one choice was to enter the discussions and face the onslaught of negativity, or drop the link to our website asking people to go there if they indeed wanted to learn about RK Tractors. We chose the latter.

The actually led to the establishment of the RK Tractors forum. A great discussion with Muhammad did the trick, he’s an amazing guy having started TBN at 13, and now we have a place on TBN to center the discussion on RK Tractors, rather than have it spread around the forums of every other brand.

We are actively planning our sponsorship program with TBN. That was always in the cards, we needed to get into the market first, and are at that point.

Thanks for you comment and long time participation on TBN.

 

[s219]

Well I am glad to hear all of that. And one more suggestion -- if the RK55 has digital controls for HST/Throttle, that is something to brag about and should be in brochures and on the website (I hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere). It would be something to brag about at any price point, but even more so in your case. HST+ and eHydro have been selling points for Kubota and Deere but you don't often hear about it in other brands, or if it's there, it's not marketed well.