I may be joining the Pack!

[Dreamin_Tractors]

I sold my trusty New Holland TC30 today, it was a great little tractor, with not one problem in 2.5 years, and it was my first tractor, so it was hard to let it go, but I need more weight and loader lift capacity. I was expecting it to take a few weeks, so I had more time to prepare and think about it, but I got a call 40 minutes after posting it on Craig's list, and sold it the next morning.

I am looking for thoughts and opinions on it's replacement. My top contender is the Kioti DK40SE Hydro, with KL401 loader. I would also be getting the KB2385 backhoe and a AnBo Grapple. I looked at and drove the Kioti a couple weeks back, and all I can say is "Wow", I was impressed. The design was superb, fit and finish was excellent, engine was smooth and powerfull. My only hesitation is small dealer base in Washington. But if it is built like my TC30, I only need a dealer for filters and items that I can order and have those mailed to me. The dealer I talked to was Jenning's Equipment, and I liked them, good selection and big service department.

Any thoughts, good or bad?

 

[curly]

I bgt my tractor last week off of Craigs list...first thing I've ever bgt from there. I guess it works well huh. And it was a Kioti

 

[Dreamin_Tractors]

I sell lots of stuff on Craig's List, my last car sold in 3 days, I have bought some items as well. I will have to keep my eyes open for the Kioti as well

 

[albmn10]

Hello Dreaming, i was looking at the new Dk40hst a few weeks back.. Yes it is a fine machine.. The 401 loader is somewhat curved and specs out quite impressive.. Island is a new Dk40 owner and im sure he will chime in on your inquistion.. It should be a world of a difference in performance from your old machine.. Good luck.. Matt

 

[curly]

My top contender is the Kioti DK40SE Hydro, with KL401 loader.

Well, I had just went to the nearest Kioti dealer and test drove and got a quote on a DK40se manual. Seems like it was 19,800 with an extra 3rd function hydralic on front for a grapple (ran off of the rear remote) and possibly something else (it's late and I can't seem to find the paper ). I was really thinking about it til I found the DK55 with 360 hours and 3rd function hookup and 2 remotes on back for 16,500. The dk40 was really more that tractor enough for my needs.

 

[Oleozz]

If you do a little checking you will see two posters in this forum that are selling their cab 45's with backhoes and quite a few attachments. Both seem like good deals.

 

[Dreamin_Tractors]

I have been watching those, and they are very good deals, but a Hydro is a must, and I can imagine doing some damage to a cab in the woods.

 

[IslandTractor]

I've got only 20hrs on my DK40se HST so far but I've been mightily impressed and except for a few quibbles I really have got nothing but good things to say so far. The loader is tremendous and I'm pretty sure it must the the most powerful loader you can get for a 41hp tractor. It certainly has better specs than the Kubota LA853 or the JD300cx. The tractor is well thought out and the ergonomics are great. I'm still getting used to having an electrically actuated PTO and FWD but there is no doubting the convenience. My main quibble is with the width of the QA adapter which is narrower than an average skid steer QA...it works but I don't see any reason why they made it narrower as it allows standard QA implements to slide side to side(under force).

I have the Millonzi 48LD QA grapple on mine and would get exactly that if I were to do it again. The grapple is well matched to the loader performance despite the "light duty" designation. My thoughts on that grapple vs the heavier and much more expensive Anbo have been documented elsewhere on TBN if you are interested.

I had the KB2365 BH on my CK20 and think Kioti BHs are excellent. I did choose this time to get the Woods BH90x however for a few reasons. First I liked being able to get a factory thumb (I got the non hydraulic version). Second, I liked the Woods subframe better. I also liked the ability to slow the "swivel" time on the BH as I hated crashing my first backhoe from side to side when I wanted to move it without being delicate with the controls. Finally, the 90x is bigger and has better specs than the smaller KB2485. It was more money, I don't recall right now exactly how much more...about $1200 maybe. My second choice would have been the Woods BH80x which has almost identical specs to the KB2485 as I recall but has the other similar advantages I outlined above for the BH90x. I would not have hesitated to buy the Kioti backhoe if the Woods was not an option but you should at least check out the option. Note: I've been working mostly with mower and grapple so haven't even had a chance to do anything with my backhoe yet except put it on and take it off a few times for practice.

Bottom line: The DK40se is a very impressive "lux" tractor with tremendous bang for the buck in comparison to similarly featured tractors from the "Big 3" companies.