Beginning the Decision Process

[Rivendel]

My wife and I have just moved onto our 5 acres in the wilderness. LOTS of trees, steep slopes, no grass to mow! We are living in a Mobile Home while we work on the place and get ready to build our new home. We will be working on quite a bit of landscaping, building around 350 feet of driveway for the new house, excavating for the foundation of my workshop and the basement (walkout) of our new house. I'm wondering if a CK20 TLB would be capable of handling these chores or if a bigger tractor would be better. I've borrowed my brother's orange L2800 and it's been too big to get through the trees in many instances and has been top heavy on the slopes (tires not loaded). I've been really impressed with the Kioti LB1914 a friend has but want an HST instead of a shuttle shift. Any thoughts/info would be appreciated.

 

[RedRocker]

You might jump over top the Kioti board, there are quite a few CK20 owners there that could give you some insight.
Welcome to TBN /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Dmace]

We purchased a brand new house last April on 2 acres of untouched land. I bought a new CK20 HST with FEL,BH,Cab, and snowblower. The FEL and BH were great while clearing a 1/2 acre area of land packed so tight with pines and hardwoods, that a 4 wheeler could barely get through. The land was also a little wet, but the loaded industrial tires never gave up and the rear differential lock got me out of the mud many times.

The CK20 is a great tractor. I have had mine since Oct. 05 and have no regrets.

You can see my pictures here

 

[Rivendel]

Luckily the snowblower and cab wouldn't be something I'd get a lot of use out of. Have you run into anything that the the CK20 didn't have enough power for? I've used several different size tractors in the past mostly Kubota's or NH and usually the issue has been speed vs. power. More power gets the job done faster, however in my case a bigger tractor just won't fit in a lot of the places I need to work and we don't want to cut trees just to get a tractor thru to some areas.

 

[IslandTractor]

I've had very good luck with my CK20 TLB. I love it. In looking at your needs/situation I'd say there is not much doubt the CK20 has the capacity to do what you want. There are a couple of things you might consider though. First, you are in a very hilly area. So I'd wonder if a tractor is best or if something like a PowerTrac might be a better choice. Check them out before you decide; powertrac.com. The advantage for PTs in hilly areas is that they are lower to the ground and have a stability advantage. Otherwise the CK20 has higher capacities for digging etc. The only other point I'd make is that the KB2365 backhoe has a digging depth of just under six and a half feet. That might be a problem for foundation work depending on how deep you need to go.

I don't mean to knock the CK20TLB, I think it is the best bang for the buck in a compact TLB available. Just make sure your needs are compatable.

 

[Rivendel]

I've looked at the Struck Crawlers, but I havn't checked out the powertrac. I'll take a look at those also.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Steiner / Ventrac is another to look at.

 

[Dmace]

I honestly haven't found a limit to the CK20's abilities yet. I have not been trying to push over 24" Oak trees either. Being brand new I am going easy on it for the first 50 hours. This Spring I will put it to work clearing another 1 acre of trees and hills.

Don't take me wrong, though. I do put the tractor to work when I need it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Batche33]

Derek
I may have to put this picture in your folder. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Becky

 

[Dmace]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Derek
I may have to put this picture in your folder. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Becky )</font>

That little rock couldn't weigh more than 300 lbs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif . I had to ease it up because the loader would lift too fast and drop the rock. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I <font color="red">love</font> my <font color="orange">Kioti !</font>