Buying Advice First time tractor owner - soon

[LMychajluk]

@OP - Just to re-iterate what others have said - the $27k seems a bit high for the CK2510.

Like NYCheese, I recently bought a CK3510SE TLB, filled tires, and a back hoe thumb from a NY dealer which came to just over $27k (w/o tax). I also got a 55" grapple and WR Long 3rd function kit from EA for an additional ~$2500, and the installation of the 3rd function was included in the dealer's price. With the CK2510 being smaller w/ fewer standard features, I would think it would be somewhat less, even with your additional implements.

FWIW, my dealer also said I could have my choice of buckets (front and back) at the same price. I went 66" and 16".

The -SE model includes the following equipment as standard, along w/ an Independant PTO:
Headlights
Signal Lamp
Parking Brake
Hydrostatic Power Steering
Wet Multi Disc Brakes
Single Lever Joystick
Rear PTO
Flip Up PTO Cover
Illuminatated Dashboard
Cup Holder
Tilt Steering
Horn
Dual Armrest
Telescopic Lower Link
Telescopic Stabilizers
Side View Mirror
Toolbox
Floormat
Dual Air Cleaner Element
Dual Remote Hydraulic Valves (4 port) (Spring/Detent)
Cruise Control
Link Pedal

 

[CozInCowtown]

Mike,
For that sized property I am going to say the 2510 is a bit smaller than you will need.
I would suggest a CK3510 or CK4010.
JMO.
I sell a couple tractors a year knowing what the customer picked is not going to be big enough for what they want to do. Never sold one that was too big.
Kioti is a great tractor, we have been selling them for 20+ years.
DMC

 

[DieselBound]

Mike,
For that sized property I am going to say the 2510 is a bit smaller than you will need.
I would suggest a CK3510 or CK4010.
JMO.
I sell a couple tractors a year knowing what the customer picked is not going to be big enough for what they want to do. Never sold one that was too big.
Kioti is a great tractor, we have been selling them for 20+ years.
DMC

I'd second this. 30hp should be a minimum if you're going to be doing a lot of tractor work. Keep in mind that there are more HP losses with HST. And consider require'd PTO power. Further, and I don't recall seeing it noted here in this thread (though I only just skimmed), is there consideration on loader work/capacity? This starts to become a little more of an issue when looking to use pallet forks or grapples: weight leveraged out further is rapidly diminished.

All said, I ran with a B7800 on 40 acres for many years. I don't think that any other similar tractor could have held up to what the venerable B7800 did/can hold up to.

No matter what you end up with be sure to get the rear tires ballasted: add on a good box blade and you're going to greatly enhance traction.

Also, thinking about only having 2 ranges... Only time I run in my highest of three gears (both B7800 and NX5510) is if I'm running down the paved road. Generally I'm toting a bunch of weight (one should be in a lower range) or am on rougher ground (most of my place qualifies!).

As someone who regularly rents excavators I have to state that they way out-perform backhoes. If one has a constant need for a backhoe then, yes, probably worth having. Otherwise queue up your jobs and rent. Might be surprised at what you find that you really want to dig up, but cannot with the machine that you have (renting allows you to pick the right tool).

 

[DieselBound]

Mike,
For that sized property I am going to say the 2510 is a bit smaller than you will need.
I would suggest a CK3510 or CK4010.
JMO.
I sell a couple tractors a year knowing what the customer picked is not going to be big enough for what they want to do. Never sold one that was too big.
Kioti is a great tractor, we have been selling them for 20+ years.
DMC

I'd second this. 30hp should be a minimum if you're going to be doing a lot of tractor work. Keep in mind that there are more HP losses with HST. And consider require'd PTO power. Further, and I don't recall seeing it noted here in this thread (though I only just skimmed), is there consideration on loader work/capacity? This starts to become a little more of an issue when looking to use pallet forks or grapples: weight leveraged out further is rapidly diminished.

All said, I ran with a B7800 on 40 acres for many years. I don't think that any other similar tractor could have held up to what the venerable B7800 did/can hold up to.

No matter what you end up with be sure to get the rear tires ballasted: add on a good box blade and you're going to greatly enhance traction.

Also, thinking about only having 2 ranges... Only time I run in my highest of three gears (both B7800 and NX5510) is if I'm running down the paved road. Generally I'm toting a bunch of weight (one should be in a lower range) or am on rougher ground (most of my place qualifies!).

As someone who regularly rents excavators I have to state that they way out-perform backhoes. If one has a constant need for a backhoe then, yes, probably worth having. Otherwise queue up your jobs and rent. Might be surprised at what you find that you really want to dig up, but cannot with the machine that you have (renting allows you to pick the right tool).

 

[bigcut]

Mike,
I'm following your quest with interest. I'm in Central PA and my Son-In-Law maybe in the market for a tractor with some similar requirements to yours. So, I will be interested in your final choices such as model, features, options, dealer and pricing. I am also interested in your experience with the various dealers (ease of doing business/responsiveness) in the CPA area.

Best wishes in your journey.
John

 

[oosik]

I think your choice is probably a bit small for what you plan on doing. I would suggest 32 to 38 hp. And - unless I missed something - I didn't see any list of on-going projects for the backhoe you plan on purchasing.

I suggest - use the backhoe attachment $$$ to get the bigger tractor and line up any backhoe projects and rent a unit. I see so many on here that "just have to have a backhoe" and after that one or two projects - - the backhoe attachment becomes the MOST EXPENSIVE BALLAST you could ever instal on your tractor.

I have a grapple on my FEL and a rear blade on the 3-point. EVERY TIME I start the tractor I use one or the other or both for whatever project I'm doing.

 

[DieselBound]

Spot on, oosik!

Bigger tractor and THEN, after using it a bit (especially on new property), assess your real needs for attachments. And base your largest expenditure on the most needed task(s). If you think that you have LOTS of ditching/digging to do then perhaps it might be worth considering an excavator. And keep in mind that needs change.

I went many years with my B7800 before getting my larger tractor. And at this point I was pretty clear on my needs for attachments. I've spent thousands of dollars renting excavators, BUT, I've also gotten far more work done that I could ever have done with the same amount of money spent on a backhoe (that I'd be having to attach and disconnect all the time- not an easy task): and, yes, even if I were to turn around and resell the backhoe I'd still have not have gotten as much value based on the total amount of work that I've been able to do.

Here's some recent work (20k lb excavator- took me at most 1 hr to extricate this stump):


Most stumps I bury, which requires digging huge holes (easy with an excavator like this). The one above, however, I decided to dump further down on my property; I couldn't carry OR push the stump, in which case I had to roll it, operating the backhoe going backwards. I would NOT be able to have done this with any CUT backhoe.

In another month or so I'll be renting a smaller excavator to clean out ditches. I can knock off hundreds of feet clean-out in no time. With a backhoe you have to keep raising and setting the stabilizers. Do not underestimate the value of your time: keep in mind that doing something the first time seems like spending a lot of time is OK, and it probably is, but later on, once you have a lot more things to maintain, doing it a subsequent time you start to feel the need to get it done a lot faster.

I see a few folks around me with backhoes on their CUTS, but I do not see them operating them. No doubt, however, getting stuck with a backhoe is a lot harder than without one.

 

[oosik]

Thirty six plus years ago - we moved on my 80 acres here. I've got a mile long gravel driveway - 80 acres of Ponderosa pines, bunch grass, a ten acre lake that 80 feet deep and small patches of deer brush. All the "trenching" I've ever done has been with a single tine ripper. I borrowed the neighbors big yellow backhoe and dug up one big Ponderosa pine stump. What a mistake - it took me two day - lack of experience & size of the stump. Besides - nearest neighbor - - 4 miles away, by road. Who in the world is going to see my pine stumps - a trespasser???

I started out with a 26hp - 4WD tractor and a rear blade - Ford 1710. I knew that some day I would have to upgrade to a larger tractor. Ford 1710 - new in 1982 - - traded in for a new Kubota M6040 in 2009.

In those 27 years(1982 - 2009) - I purchased a Wallenstien chipper and the original rear blade. When I upgraded to the M6040 in 2009 - those were the only two implements that had to be upgraded also.

Give yourself a chance to determine EXACTLY what you will need, the type you will need, how big it should be and all the other variables that you are now only guessing at.


Wait until you are actually "playing the game" before you start spending all your money on implement that may never or seldom be used.

 

[DieselBound]

Single tine ripper!

I started several of my ditches using a middle buster plow. The beauty of going slow like this is that if it turned out that the ditch/trench wasn't going to be as viable as hoped I would only have had a minimal deformation of the ground to deal with (easy to fill back in and try again somewhere else).

A big point here, that I think ossik is also making, is that often times you get ahead of yourself before you even know for sure what IS possible. I know that what I've ended up doing has varied quite a bit from when I first got my land. I figure it was a good thing that I had to do a lot of exploring and probing before I really went at it: had I had the understanding of excavators early on I might have done a lot of stupid stuff- that's the downfall of really effective/efficient machines- you can screw things up a a LOT faster! :laughing:

I had to do a lot of stump removal in oder to run some fence lines. Some stumps also were deal with in oder to drastically open up areas: mowing around big root crowns is a pain.