Comparison Bobcat 2025

[Henry Island Guy]

I am a first time tractor buyer. I am predominantly going to be doing loader/grapple work clearing fallen timber on 13 acres of forest. (no mowing or field work) I have been doing it do date with chain saws and a M274 Military Mule. It is slow, tough work. I am fortunate to have an old quarry where I can dump the timber and limbs I do not cut for firewood. I have decided on a the larger ~25hp compact model for price and ease of maintenance, since this will have to be barged onto an island and it is expensive to get it off for service. I have experience servicing small diesel engines (no Hydraulics experience though) I have visited all the dealerships, drove all the tractors, scoured the reviews and read lots of forums. JD did not have a model that suited my needs without going to one of the Rs with a larger engine. Then I read reviews on the all of the usual suspects and have found that the NH, Kubota, Kioti and LS all have excellent reviews. None of the tractors in my class seem to be lemons. Then I came across the new Bobcat tractors. The dealer told me that these are rebadged, white painted Kioti tractors. Sure enough the specs are nearly identical to the Kioti CK2610. The kicker is the price. I can get the Bobcat for ~16k with a loader.(they are giving free loaders with all purchases until Dec 31, 2020). The CK2610 is 18,900. The L2501 is closer to 22k. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks

 

[rademamj1]

Nearly every subcompact tractor brand today is reliable and capable, and separated mainly by price and dealer support. And dealer support becomes less significant if your tractor is well maintained by its owner. There is no doubt, that a 25hp tractor with a grapple will outperform the manual clearing method your using right now. I am not familiar with Bobcat tractors, but they certainly have a good dealer network and use the highly dependable Kioti diesel engines.

Since your working with a grapple nearly all the time, compare the hydraulic pump capacity of tractors, and also get that 3rd function hydraulic line for the grapple installed by the dealer at time of purchase. Make sure the grapple and loader bucket have the skid steer quick attach. Imagine taking only 3 minutes to change from your bucket to the grapple. That's how effortless the SSQA works. Avoid the proprietary pin loader setups, and go for versatility to get most of the tractor.

Considering all the branches your cutting, I recommend a 3pt wood chipper to quickly dispose of all the limbs on your large property.

 

[dodge man]

I agree, get something with a quick attach. I looked up the specs of the Kioti you mentioned, it looks good. It looks like one of those tractors they keep the horsepower low to keep it under the 25 hp limit thereby sidestepping the emissions requirements. If you looked at it, drove it around and worked the controls and like it, go for it. I assume you can get parts for it?

 

[lilranch2001]

All I can say id I have had my first iteration Bobcat for 11 years, and VERY happy with it!

 

[mikefunaro]

I looked hard at the bobcat 2025 and kioti CK 2610, and received quotes with a $2K+ savings on the bobcat vs the kioti. Ultimately I still decided to go with the kioti and am awaiting its delivery. While I have no doubt about the quality of the bobcat tractor, I felt that going with it was going against my gut and my experience with the dealers.

1. While two bobcat dealers were quick to get me quotes, they were very slow and unsure about additional options. I asked about changing out tires, adding rear remotes, etc. One was able to get back to me with some updated pricing after I called three more times and a week and a half passed. The other dealer never got back to me with pricing, despite me reaching out 3+ times and each time getting assurances that they were working on an update. He told me the rear remotes "shouldn't be a problem." Correct--they shouldn't be for any tractor dealer. Now how much will they cost?

2. Bobcat has openly said that they intend to develop their own compact tractors with possibly some of the kioti intellectual property. I can only assume that their interest in supporting the white kioti units will wane as they develop their own in house units. Tough to buy into a private label product that a manufacturer is openly saying they intend to move away from in the next 5-10 years.

3. CUT are small ticket items compared to skid steers and compact excavators, and I have a hard time believing that the dealers will take the tractors all that seriously. Some might but I think those that have strong construction markets will only see it as a side gig. Both dealers tried to sell me tractors they already had on the lot even though they were substantially larger or smaller than what I was looking for.

4. Bobcat corporate was slow to respond to requests for additional information. For a long while one could not find specs for the loader on the tractor (which is a different loader than that which comes on the kioti). This info has since surfaced on their website. None of my info requests on the website were followed up.

5. Small point, but I was pretty excited about R14 tires, and kioti now has them as an option. Bobcat was unable to tell me anything about when they might offer them, other than that they were "evaluating new tire options" and that they may be available in the next "year."

Long story short, between the dealers and bobcat corporate, I couldn't really get the vibe that this was an endeavor they really cared about. If price is more important than support and/or your experience with your bobcat dealer is different, would probably be a great unit for a great price.

 

[mikefunaro]

As an aside, bobcat also bought out the bob-cat (green) brand of mowers from schiller groundscare and is now selling them as bobcat (white) mowers, with minimal change to the product. I cant imagine that bobcat dealers are excited to also be responsible for the turf industry, which is pretty different from construction equipment and also a very competitive market with dozens of manufacturers. I think for all of these product offering expansions to succeed, their dealers will have to be both well educated on the product and also genuinely interested in selling and servicing the products.

 

[lilranch2001]

I believe most entrepreneurial dealers like having better options for their business!

 

[Henry Island Guy]

Thanks for all your replies. My dealer seems to be trying hard to gain my business. I will do some more homework and report back with my decision.

 

[finn1]

My dealer told me he expects to begin selling Kioti branded skid steers after the first of the year.

Sounds like they will be Bobcat produced, much like the Bobcat tractors in question are rebranded Kioti.

If that’s true, it sounds like a long term strategic marketing agreement. It’s a huge investment to design, develop, tool, and market a whole line of tractors. Billions of dollars before the first product is sold.

One doesn’t post a help wanted ad on Craigslist to assemble a design, development, and manufacturing team for something like this.

 

[nrosario]

Thanks for all your replies. My dealer seems to be trying hard to gain my business. I will do some more homework and report back with my decision.

Keep in mind that the Kioti loader is more capable than what Bobcat is using in those rebranded tractors.