ct 450

[dirtmonkey]

Any one have experience with the ct 450 ? Thinking about making it my new light/medium grading tracator. All comments good/bad welcome! Thanks

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Any one have experience with the ct 450 ? Thinking about making it my new light/medium grading tracator. All comments good/bad welcome! Thanks

Nice tractor, but NO draft control.

 

[dirtmonkey]

Well thats not good, none at all ? I ve been told by the Kioti dealer that it has one but ???

 

[DK35vince]

Well thats not good, none at all ? I ve been told by the Kioti dealer that it has one but ???

The Kioti se models do have draft control.
I believe it is an option on the Bobcat model.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The Kioti se models do have draft control.
I believe it is an option on the Bobcat model.

What I know of, the DK Kioti's have draft control. The Kioti DS & CK models do not. I may very well be wrong, but I think that the Bobcats do not offer any draft control. I do not see it offered on their website and was told at an AG show by the Bobcat rep that it is not available through Bobcat.

Only relaying what I have seen and been told.

 

[dirtmonkey]

What I know of, the DK Kioti's have draft control. The Kioti DS & CK models do not. I may very well be wrong, but I think that the Bobcats do not offer any draft control. I do not see it offered on their website and was told at an AG show by the Bobcat rep that it is not available through Bobcat.

Only relaying what I have seen and been told.

Thanks I'll check it out! May not be a total loss, my Kioti dealer is also my Gehl dealer. Dealer parts and support net work is pretty important to me but sometimes it is what it is .

 

[dirtmonkey]

What about power and reliability so far ? This tractor will be used on residential house pads and drive ways mostly. I own other heavy movers so its not like it will be moving mountains. I have looked into commercial skiploaders but to me the price is just too much. Don't get me wrong , the weight and H/P would be nice , but we have always used ag tractors since 1979 and with great results:thumbsup:

 

[DK35vince]

What I know of, the DK Kioti's have draft control. The Kioti DS & CK models do not.

Your right.
I meant to say DK models have draft control

 

[MtnViewRanch]

What about power and reliability so far ? This tractor will be used on residential house pads and drive ways mostly. I own other heavy movers so its not like it will be moving mountains. I have looked into commercial skiploaders but to me the price is just too much. Don't get me wrong , the weight and H/P would be nice , but we have always used ag tractors since 1979 and with great results:thumbsup:

From what has been said here on TBN, the Kioti-Bobcat tractors have been very good machines. Since you are mainly finish grading, I would recommend that you get the 40hp model. Everything that the 45 & 50 hp models have except the HP and the cost. Same tractor weight, lift ratings and pump capacities. No real need for the extra HP. I'm sure that you would be able to get by fine without the draft control, just nice to have it and makes the job a little bit easier as long as a person understands how to make use of it.

Don't forget to get the 2 rear remotes for your top and tilt hydraulics for your 3pt. Makes getting that finish grade all that much faster and easier.

 

[HK45]

I have a Bobcat hydro CT450 Loader backhoe setup. Its a pretty good machine. I only have about 100 hours on it. The only thing i can complain about is fuel consumption and front loader. I feel the loader is not that strong. The machine its self is build very strong. Hope this help

 

[gkh7890]

I would second MtnviewRanch's comments on the DK40. I have one and absolutely love it. If you don't need the PTO HP of the 45 or 50, definitely go with the DK40! He's correct about the weight, gpm, etc. I went to the DK 40se HST over the DK35se HST b/c of the lift capacity of the 401K FEL alone!

You get 1 set of the remotes as standard equipment and you will love the 3pt rear lever (Bobcat has it too) when it comes to hooking up attachments!

I don't use the draft control simply b/c I don't have attachments that take advantage of it. Though I am getting ready to add a hydraulic top link.

I have 177 hrs on it since May '10 and no problems (knock on wood) to date.:thumbsup:

Good luck!!!

 

[dirtmonkey]

Thank you everyone for your replys !! I havent bought a new grade tractor since the 90's so i havent really caught yet with the newer models.:confused2: I see alot of you use yours to clear snow and thats one thing this will do along side my skidsteers. Any suggestions on attchments. I was looking into another snow blade and front mount blower for the ct450. The last few years we really got alot of snow for Oklahoma I hate pushing snow:2cents: Thanks for your comments, keep'em coming

 

[dirtmonkey]

Test drove the ct450 and it did have what I call a draft control ( under the seat, controls the speed of lift ) and I think it will make good grade tractor. Bobcat has an 84" " heavy duty " box blade but I'm thinking it might be to big for just a 49 hp , may have to go with a Gannon 6 or 6.5 footer. Any suggestions ?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Test drove the ct450 and it did have what I call a draft control ( under the seat, controls the speed of lift ) and I think it will make good grade tractor. Bobcat has an 84" " heavy duty " box blade but I'm thinking it might be to big for just a 49 hp , may have to go with a Gannon 6 or 6.5 footer. Any suggestions ?

Bobcat tractors DO NOT HAVE DRAFT CONTROL. The knob that you are thinking about is to control how fast the hitch will fall. I would say that a commercial 6 foot box blade would be the best. The weight of over 1000lbs is not what you need to be afraid of, in fact that is what you want. But the volume that the 7 footer can move is probably a bit to much for the tractor. Stay with a heavy unit and you will be much happier with the end grading job. If you grade very much, don't forget about top and tilt hydraulics so that you can get that perfect grade much easier.


Just my :2cents:

 

[dirtmonkey]

Volume was more my concern than physical size. Too much to drag. Never too old to learn ! What are you calling draft control then?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Volume was more my concern than physical size. Too much to drag. Never too old to learn ! What are you calling draft control then?

The knob that you are talking about does not perform the draft control function, it only adjusts the rate at which the 3pt hitch falls or can be shut off so that the hitch will not lower at all.

This is taken from Tractorsmart. com
Draft control. Draft control, while not essential, makes life a little easier when plowing, sub-soiling, or using other ground engaging implements. For illustration purposes, let's assume we want to go plow up the back forty. We've mounted our plow to the three point hitch and adjusted things so that the plow will run straight and track properly behind the tractor. A note about plowing- if you have adjusted the plow properly, you should not have to use the stabilizer system to keep it running true behind the tractor. As you let the lift arms down, and begin to move forward though the field, the plow will start to enter the ground. As the plow continues down, traction and horsepower requirements increase. The natural tendency is for the plow to continue down until the tractor either loses traction, runs out of power, or the lift arms reach their lower limit. It is very unlikely that the latter will happen. We want to be able to plow at a reasonable depth without straining the engine or having excessive tire slippage. We also do not want to have to continually fiddle with the lift controls, raising and lowering the plow by small amounts, as ground conditions vary throughout the field. That's where draft control really helps. Draft control senses the amount of strain that the tractor is being subjected to from the plow. If the strain exceeds a predetermined level, the draft control will automatically raise the plow just enough to restore normal loading of the tractor. After you get past the hard spot in the field, the draft control automatically returns the plow to the pre-selected, ideal depth. There are two main types of draft sensing in wide use today. They are: lower link draft sensing, and top link draft sensing. Both achieve the same end result, and much discussion could be made over which is the best method. Generally you will find lower link sensing on larger, higher horsepower tractors. In the case of lower link sensing, the front of the lift arms are attached to a common bar that flexes with variable loading to impart movement to linkage that is ultimately connected to the control valve. There are also tractors on the market that incorporate an electronic lift control system. With these, the lower draft bar contains a strain sensor which sends a signal to an onboard computer. Movement of these electronic bars is almost undetectable to the eye. For tractors that utilize top link draft sensing, there are several methods in use to transmit draft load information to the control valve. For a large portion of North American style tractors, there is a rather large (usually internal) coil spring, which is compressed (by the top link) as draft load increases, and relaxed as the load diminishes. This compression/relaxation causes movement in the draft control linkage, thus changing the position on the control valve, raising and lowering the lift arms as needed. Other tractors (namely European style) have a massive leaf type spring between the top link and the lift cover. Still others use a torsion bar that is actually twisted as the top link moves toward and away from the tractor. Now, with all of this draft action going on, we've got to slow the lift system down some, or we'll end up with a rapid, out of control oscillation of the lift arms going up and down. This is accomplished with something called?
Response control. Response control (in most systems we know of) simply serves to control the rate at which hydraulic oil is allowed to escape from the lift cylinder. By slowing this rate, we minimize undesirable oscillations that would otherwise occur. Response control has no effect on rate of lift, and that is good, because we want the plow to raise quickly when we hit a hard spot. However, if we let the plow go back into the ground at an uncontrolled speed, we will end up pulling a plow that jumps into and out of the ground. We have to give the system a little time to settle down somewhere in the raise/lower cycle, and that is the function of the response control.
To get the maximum benefit from draft control, you must use it the way the manufacturer intended for it to be used. Do you need draft control? On the smaller tractors, probably not, as these tractors are rarely used to do much plowing. On larger tractors, it is pretty much standard equipment anyway, so the choice is made for you.

 

[dirtmonkey]

Wow! That was very informative. Now I know. Thanks!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

A lot of people think that Draft Control is only used for plowing. They are wrong. If you know what you are doing it can be used while you are grading also. I personally do not use it much with my box blade, but use it quite often when cutting a new road in with my rear blade. There are others here on TBN that do the same. The Draft Control feature is a nice thing to have, but in no way is it a MUST HAVE feature.

In these pictures I moved the road over about 8' to get a better arc in the road. The things that you do when you CAN

 

[dirtmonkey]

What kind of blade are you using ? Brand ? Looks well built.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Dirtmonkey,

I have the Kioti DK50se and I LOVE it.

It has capabilities I have not even tapped into yet.

Either the Bobcat version, or the Kioti will make a great addition to your fleet.

Be well,
David