Happy Kioti owners?

[Oleozz]

Bought my DK 45 in 2006 from Wallace, excellent dealer and he saved me money. I have about 650 hrs of use, does everything on the farm that I've asked of it. My big decision at the time was a cab or backhoe, went with the cab and am glad I did.

 

[Armed in Utah]

Bought my CK 35 gear in Oct '10....very happy thus far but only 36 hrs on it...
Has FEL installed with purchase....60" box....General PHD w/12" auger and also a 60" landscape rake.....great machine with enough power for my small farm & 22 acres......money well spent !

 

[Gittyup]

I have an 06 CK25 gear. Love it. I have had some issues, which I 'd charaterize as early design bugs, such as loader cracking and fuel injector pump failure. But, Kioti made good on them and the tractor has been rock solid, now at 430 hours. I'd say it's been long enough for all the design bugs to be worked out and you'd be hard pressed to find a better tractor.

The one area Kioti could do a better job on is paint. The finish is good, but the weight of the paint is too thin. The paint on my John Deere is easily 3 or 4 times thicker than on my Kioti, and you know it if you scratch it. Not sure how the difference is created, whether it's better paint product, number coats, process, or all of the above. The difference though is very obvious. I dumped a few small 57's stone (size of a quarter) on the hood of my Kioti from a few feet up out of the bucket. One wouldn't have thought it would have perforated the paint, but it did all over the place. That would not have been the case on the JD. Doubt it would have even left a mark.

 

[Patches]

Don"t know what model your Deere is, but if it's comparable to the CK25(CUT), it's hard to chip plastic

 

[jeffva]

I've got a dk55c about 5 years old and about 400 hrs... haven't used it much in the last 6 months or so. I also have 2 kubotas and a ford. I though about getting another kubota, but to be honest, the ROPS sold me. Take a look! THen I started looking at the bits and pieces, basic size and weight, which really is important when trying to do some loader work.

Overall, I'd say I made the right choice. I think the hydraulics could be a bit faster... they may have addressed this issue by now. The engine is a 4 cylinder and is smooth as butter... I'm not a fan of 3 cylinders... just my thing.

Also, I have a shuttle shift, which I really like. I didn't want to give up the power for the HST, although there are times when doing loader work, when I might have wished for it...

Bottomline... It's a good tractor... it can be repaired, and as long as we have support from Kioti and dealers... we'll have a good, working tractor... and hopefully by brother-in-law will stop borrowing it and get his own!

 

[Rhinorider]

Really can't give you an honest answer on this one yet. Just bought a DK-45 HST, going to pick it up this morning. Give me a couple days and I will give you my unbiased opinion. Wish me luck.

 

[Gittyup]

Don"t know what model your Deere is, but if it's comparable to the CK25(CUT), it's hard to chip plastic

No, I'm talking metal. And most of the synthetic parts are also painted. And that paint too is far better than on my Kioti.

I have one very deep scratch on my JD fender. You can feel it very predominately whey you rub your finger across it. It's also about 1/16" wide or more. And the scratch does not go all the way through the paint. Not saying this is the case for all JDs, but the Kioti paint is very very very inferior in comparison to the paint on my little 425. That goes for hood/side panels (synthetic), fenders (metal), mower deck (metal), and frame.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Has anyone heard of problems with the robustness of the front drive or axle? I havnt, but am curious because some brands seem not up to full-on work tasks ... leading to a tendency for some to feel they have to baby the front drive.
Thanks,
larry

 

[Gittyup]

Well, I certainly haven't babied mine. I've moved over 900 tons of dirt, boulders, stone, and mulch with the loader overflowing onto the toothbar in many cases with no problems. A lot of this work was done on a steep hill with the front end down hill. I did bend a tie rod climbing up on some big boulders. But, I understand they have bulked up that tierod on newer models. It's the beefiest front end I've seen on anything is this HP class.

 

[DK35vince]

Has anyone heard of problems with the robustness of the front drive or axle? I havnt, but am curious because some brands seem not up to full-on work tasks ... leading to a tendency for some to feel they have to baby the front drive.
Thanks,
larry

I use mine like a bulldozer in 4WD often. Looses traction before it breaks the tractor.
I do all my loader work in 4 WD. I have moved hundreds of tons of dirt, rock, sand, gravel etc.
I run chains on all 4 wheels plowing snow in the winter.
Front axle and gears are solid on my DK 35. Never needs babied.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Well, I certainly haven't babied mine. I've moved over 900 tons of dirt, boulders, stone, and mulch with the loader overflowing onto the toothbar in many cases with no problems. A lot of this work was done on a steep hill with the front end down hill. I did bend a tie rod climbing up on some big boulders. But, I understand they have bulked up that tierod on newer models. It's the beefiest front end I've seen on anything is this HP class.

I use mine like a bulldozer in 4WD often. Looses traction before it breaks the tractor.
I do all my loader work in 4 WD. I have moved hundreds of tons of dirt, rock, sand, gravel etc.
I run chains on all 4 wheels plowing snow in the winter.
Front axle and gears are solid on my DK 35. Never needs babied.

Thanks for the replies. Altho not a Kioti, it is the same with me. The particular issue I think about is lifting and pushing to the limit. By sequencing you can get almost all machine and load weight on the front. The traction is tremendous ... and 100%- is coming from the front drive. I have seen no indication of fragility, even with the traction AGs provide in good ground, and am intrested in others experience.
larry

 

[DK35vince]

The particular issue I think about is lifting and pushing to the limit. By sequencing you can get almost all machine and load weight on the front. The traction is tremendous ... and 100%- is coming from the front drive. I have seen no indication of fragility, even with the traction AGs provide in good ground, and am intrested in others experience.
larry

If someone is pushing or pulling under heavy or full power all the time with the rear wheels off the ground and the front axle doing all the work there is a very high chance something in the front driveline could break. I don't care what brand compact tractor it is.
The front axle on my tractor seems strong and there is no need to baby it. But I also try to use proper rear ballast and a little bit common sence.

 

[SPYDERLK]

If someone is pushing or pulling under heavy or full power all the time with the rear wheels off the ground and the front axle doing all the work there is a very high chance something in the front driveline could break. I don't care what brand compact tractor it is.
The front axle on my tractor seems strong and there is no need to baby it. But I also try to use proper rear ballast and a little bit common sence.

Oh. I appreciate the clarification.