Advice on 25 hp tractor purchase

[Williy]

Have you test drove a Yanmar? 10 year warranty
LS is a nice tractor well made 6 year warranty
You need to get in the seat and test drive these
tractors so you get the feel of them and you will
find out if you like were the controls are if they
are easy to use etc.

willy

 

[jeff9366]

I haven’t looked at any LS

25-horsepower is 25-horsepower, regardless of tractor brand.


Let me clarify, I will be using to clear underbrush, thicket and small trees. What is too big for the tractor, I’ll take with a saw and then work on working the stump out with the tractor. I will get a ratchet rake to assist with these tasks.

You simply need to consider more powerful Kioti and Branson models or scrap your intention for commercial mowing work, which requires liability insurance, and use a 25-horspower tractor only on your own land, where you can work work without time pressure.

 

[tjm1982]

Have you test drove a Yanmar? 10 year warranty
LS is a nice tractor well made 6 year warranty
You need to get in the seat and test drive these
tractors so you get the feel of them and you will
find out if you like were the controls are if they
are easy to use etc.

willy

Unfortunately I do not have a Yanmar dealer close by.

 

[paulfun9]

I looked at them a few years back. They looked nice but when it came time for a test drive, it went into a limp mode of some sort and that got me to look real close at the wireing and computer. That gave me the impression that just like today’s cars you will be looking at having to deal with electronic and computer issues later in the tractors life, meaning issues only the dealer can fix just like in today’s so called high end cars.
Me I would recomend looking at the least amount of electronics and computerized controls. From my understanding that would be Branson at this point in time.

 

[Number15]

Sure. So the dealer then has his limited inventory down for absent parts, so the limited inventory cannot be demonstrated. When potential customers asks why equipment cannot be trialed, the sales person can tell the potential customer it is because parts are not readily available from the factory. Then the mechanic quits so the status of the dead tractor inventory becomes a mystery.

Do you want a Branson from this dealer?

Caveat emptor.

I was going to say something similar. This is a dealer I would avoid. I chose a Branson but if my local dealer had said something similar I would be using a different brand.

 

[rademamj1]

Can you imagine any Ford or Toyota dealer saying "If i don't have the part in stock, I will just take off a similar new vehicle". Just because its a Tractor, does clear the Branson dealer from his irresponsible statement.

 

[dzoller]

I've been reading posts on and off from this forum for years, but I'm finally posting just for this question.

I have a 34hp Kioti, and it is adequate. There is nothing major wrong with the tractor and it does what I need it to do. That said, I would never buy another thing from Kioti if I can ever help it. The reason is the company did not stand behind their product and the dealer turned out to be a piece of.. well, you know.

Barely a month after the electrical warranty expired, my ignition switch seized up mechanically. Neither the dealer or the manufacturer would stand behind it. I was told it was an electrical part and that it was no longer covered. It didn't matter that it was a mechanical failure. Now that's all understandable, right? Here's where they failed. They sold 2 replacement switches, the style I had and a newer redesigned one at twice the price. That tells me that they knew this switch was a point of failure, enough so that they redesigned it a couple years after they stopped selling that model! Normally, a new design just goes on the current model, not on past years' models yet this was the recommended replacement. That replacement switch should've been offered free to everyone with the old style, regardless of warranty status.

I know it sounds petty, but the bottom line is the manufacturer would not stand behind a part they KNEW would fail. So for a $100 part, they lost a customer and get bad press every chance I can give it.

When he delivered the tractor, the dealer knew there was no enough fuel in the tank. The dealer dropped it off and left like he was on fire, and it ran out of fuel before he was out of sight, not even enough fuel to drive it around the barn. I spent almost 20K on the tractor and he can't put in 6 gallons of fuel. Needless to say, he couldn't even bother to return my calls when I called about the ignition switch.

I tell this to everyone I see talking to him at the annual farm show. I wonder if saving that $100 on the ignition switch was really worth it to the company, or that $10 of fuel to the dealer.

That's just my $.02 from my experience. I hope yours is better, no matter which you choose and who you buy from.

Thanks for listenin'

 

[jpotas]

I have now had 1.2 years on Ls MT225S with loader. Tractor and loader was 16.3K. I chose to add mmm for 3k which has proven to be wise but. Just turn 151 hours on tractor its used for driveway construction and landscaping. Moved roughly 72 tons of dirt around my sons house. Tractor is light enough to get close to foundation. I have pushed this tractor no abuse. It has been a work horse no disappointments. The 25 horse motor is yanmar. The tractor is weighted well to its FEL. 3 speed transmission, rear and mid mount PTO, tilt wheel cruise control smooth power steering. No tier 4 emissions. It’s good starter tractor for first time owner. I also have 35 hp Ls it’s more sizable tractor I use for haying. Pick your tractor for your work, you may grow out of it. However many people are searching for compact tractors you can always trade up.

I have now had 1.2 years on Ls MT225S with loader. Tractor and loader was 16.3K. I chose to add mmm for 3k which has proven to be wise but. Just turn 151 hours on tractor its used for driveway construction and landscaping. Moved roughly 72 tons of dirt around my sons house. Tractor is light enough to get close to foundation. I have pushed this tractor no abuse. It has been a work horse no disappointments. The 25 horse motor is yanmar. The tractor is weighted well to its FEL. 3 speed transmission, rear and mid mount PTO, tilt wheel cruise control smooth power steering. No tier 4 emissions. It’s good starter tractor for first time owner. I also have 35 hp Ls it’s more sizable tractor I use for haying. Pick your tractor for your work, you may grow out of it. However many people are searching for compact tractors you can always trade up

Same tractor, 4 years now. No issues, has been great. FEL, backhoe, rear finish mower.

Also, for parts you can go to any New Holland dealer as well, same tractor with different stickers on it. Part numbers are identical.

 

[TheRusty]

I find my bobcat (kioti in white) really nice. Large easy on/off operator platform. It is a hydro and I use it for brush hog with no problems, except.......... i wish i could stand up on it to see what's coming up in front in the grass.

So, i ordered the cruise control kit for it. If one of your choices has that option, pick it.

I have a Bobcat 1025. As a first year model unit with a Kioti core and Bobcat assembled, it's got some obvious flaws (e.g. key bent too easily and needed a new design, removing the backhoe is incredibly difficult without removing the tires, replacing the tires on the hub is not user friendly). But it works. The dealer used my tractor as a rental for a year (120 hours), got a great financing deal from Bobcat to buy a new one and sold the rental to me cheap. If I used it more, serviced it more often, swapped out implements more, etc. the "little nits" might be more of a problem. It's my guess that when Bobcat comes out with "their" tractor design in a couple years it will be a vastly improved product.

I'm using the backhoe to dig stumps while I'm waiting for my stump grinder.

 

[timetobakethedonuts]

Let me clarify, I will be using to clear underbrush, thicket and small trees. What is too big for the tractor, I’ll take with a saw and then work on working the stump out with the tractor. I will be getting a ratchet rake to assist with these task.

I have removed about 90 stumps since buying my TLB. I did not "work out" any stumps with the loader, and can't imagine doing so. Mostly I used my backhoe and chainsaw. You can deform a bucket very easily using it for unintended applications - like working tree stumps.