Kubota/Kioti/Deere Utility Tractor Advice/Pricing

[doabbs]

First post, great site very informative and helpful. I've been reading through a ton of threads of people doing similar comparisons but figured I'd throw my scenario out there for comment.

Background: I have a 2 acre property with both a lot of animals and in need of a lot of landscape work. We've got about 10 dairy goats and about 1 acre that needs to be regraded, sand, loam and some gravel here and there. In the fall a coworker asked me, if I wanted to use his Massey 1528 he had bought 2 years ago and had only put 10 hours on. That was my first mistake, now that I've had to return it, I don't see how I got anything done around here without a tractor

Needs: The tractor has to have a rear PTO with enough height to operate a Land Pride PD-15. That post hole digger allowed us to quickly add and reconfigure animal pens and saved a ton of time.

FEL needs to have enough capacity to turn our compost piles. I'm also planning on moving ~10-20 yards of loam and sandy fill. Also have a lot of decent size rocks up here in New Hampshire (Granite state afterall) but there is a finite amount of really heavy work that needs to be done.

Wants: Once all this landscaping work is done there will be enough lawn to make it too large task to mow with a push mower, which currently takes about 2 hours. Kinda interested in a MMM but wonder if it will be too much weigh as one of the lawns is over the septic as well as to cumbersome to navigate given that it's not a large open area. Backhoe: There are a number of big pine stumps, large rocks, etc I'd like to dig up, but not sure if it justifies the cost of a backhoe. I was able to get some of them up with the Massey by just digging around them and pulling them out with chains and the FEL. Forks would also be nice as I split about 4-8 cords of wood a year and stack on pallets, would be cool to just lift up those pallet and move to the side of the house.

Last week I tested out a couple of different tractors that I thought would be a good fit for both what I need now and if we ever moved to a larger property with the animals, I think that later will occur sometime in the next 2-4 years.

John Deere: Looked at the 2320 but read on this site that the 2520 has some good promotions going on if you by 2 implements. Priced from dealer with FEL ~16500.

Kubota: Looked at the B series 2620, 2920 and 3300. Dealer, MB tractor, priced them all around ~16000-16500.

Massey: Looked at GC and 15xx series, didn't like them after driving the other ones. GC seemed way underpowered and 15xx series seemed way overpriced. ~14500 for GC and $19-20k for a 15xx series.

Kioti: The only dealer around here is having a "issue" with Kioti corporate. They don't have any to test but they said if you bought from another dealer, which is about ~100 miles away, they would have parts and service. Really disappointed as I wanted to test those out as well.

I put all of the models into a spreadsheet for comparison.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AviIK8x8h4eldEphOXNJUUNNRVo0VzZaU3VTWkN1N2c&hl=en

Curious what folks think and if I should try and get some quotes from remote dealers w/ delivery? Any cons to that approach? I'd like to make an offer on something in the next week as the snow is finally melting up here and I can see all the work I have in front of me.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

First post, great site very informative and helpful. I've been reading through a ton of threads of people doing similar comparisons but figured I'd throw my scenario out there for comment.

Background: I have a 2 acre property with both a lot of animals and in need of a lot of landscape work. We've got about 10 dairy goats and about 1 acre that needs to be regraded, sand, loam and some gravel here and there. In the fall a coworker asked me, if I wanted to use his Massey 1528 he had bought 2 years ago and had only put 10 hours on. That was my first mistake, now that I've had to return it, I don't see how I got anything done around here without a tractor

Needs: The tractor has to have a rear PTO with enough height to operate a Land Pride PD-15. That post hole digger allowed us to quickly add and reconfigure animal pens and saved a ton of time.

FEL needs to have enough capacity to turn our compost piles. I'm also planning on moving ~10-20 yards of loam and sandy fill. Also have a lot of decent size rocks up here in New Hampshire (Granite state afterall) but there is a finite amount of really heavy work that needs to be done.

Wants: Once all this landscaping work is done there will be enough lawn to make it too large task to mow with a push mower, which currently takes about 2 hours. Kinda interested in a MMM but wonder if it will be too much weigh as one of the lawns is over the septic as well as to cumbersome to navigate given that it's not a large open area. Backhoe: There are a number of big pine stumps, large rocks, etc I'd like to dig up, but not sure if it justifies the cost of a backhoe. I was able to get some of them up with the Massey by just digging around them and pulling them out with chains and the FEL. Forks would also be nice as I split about 4-8 cords of wood a year and stack on pallets, would be cool to just lift up those pallet and move to the side of the house.

Last week I tested out a couple of different tractors that I thought would be a good fit for both what I need now and if we ever moved to a larger property with the animals, I think that later will occur sometime in the next 2-4 years.

John Deere: Looked at the 2320 but read on this site that the 2520 has some good promotions going on if you by 2 implements. Priced from dealer with FEL ~16500.

Kubota: Looked at the B series 2620, 2920 and 3300. Dealer, MB tractor, priced them all around ~16000-16500.

Massey: Looked at GC and 15xx series, didn't like them after driving the other ones. GC seemed way underpowered and 15xx series seemed way overpriced. ~14500 for GC and $19-20k for a 15xx series.

Kioti: The only dealer around here is having a "issue" with Kioti corporate. They don't have any to test but they said if you bought from another dealer, which is about ~100 miles away, they would have parts and service. Really disappointed as I wanted to test those out as well.

I put all of the models into a spreadsheet for comparison.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AviIK8x8h4eldEphOXNJUUNNRVo0VzZaU3VTWkN1N2c&hl=en

Curious what folks think and if I should try and get some quotes from remote dealers w/ delivery? Any cons to that approach? I'd like to make an offer on something in the next week as the snow is finally melting up here and I can see all the work I have in front of me.

I wouldn't hesitate to check in with Barlow's. Many here at TBN have had good transactions with them.

 

[Western]

The biggest "con" to me would possibly be dealer after care, If you can get good warranty work and trust your local tractor mechanic then you should be golden.

You may want to ask around locally for a good Ag mechanic shop, or check out the dealer near you that services your brand. Some of the best help I have gotten has been from independent tractor mechanics and most have trained at a dealer, some are just "naturals".

Out of the tractors I've had, I have never used the warranty, but I have had to have repairs done that I couldn't do. That is when a great mechanic shines.

Some of the work you detailed may be cheaper to rent than to buy, like a BH for instance, allot of $$ for 2-3 days work a year. I would put that extra expense towards more HP on the new tractor.

 

[Gittyup]

It would be worth your time to drive to a Kioti dealer and try out the CK series. Better tractor than anything you tested thus far.

Or have you looked for a Bobcat CT series? Same tractor as Kioti with a different loader.

As far as mowing, a tractor well suited for loader/digging work will generally be heavy for mowing. This is an advantage that tractors like the JD2520 or bota B-series have. You can add/remove weight. Kioti's are heavy inherently.

But, if you want a digger/lifter/puller, Daedong (Kioti/BC) will give you way more bang for the buck. In fact the CK20 might be perfect for you. You can run a 60" finish mower, and a 4' bush hog nicely, yet it's beefy enough for loader and backhoe work. Light enough to tow, if you need to as well.

However, I don't think you can get a midmount mower for a Kioti, at least not directly. BC offers one for their CT220, and I think it can be fitted to a Kioti too. Just make sure you get the mid PTO; it's an option on the CK's.

 

[doabbs]

Kioti was on the top of my list, lots of people in my area have recommended them and highly recommended the local dealer as one of the best they've dealt with. Unfortunately Kioti ended the relationship with the dealer a couple weeks ago since it didn't fit there corporate image. Closest dealer for warranty work is now 2 plus hours away and I do not have any desire to deal with that. Not sure I want to support a company that doesn't support there dealers. Have to drive by a taunting Kioti billboard for tractors that I can't test without taking a day off from work.

 

[daveinnh]

doabbs:

We have goats - 2 wethers that we had to have penned in in a ~ 30' x 40 enclosure (due to persistent gnawing on our house) with prefab 10' x 20' goat barn.

Plus a horse in a pole barn. Roams over 7 acre pasture.

We bought a used Kubota L4310HST that has worked well. I'd consider used Kubota - NH- MF on craiglist or itsclassified.com (Upper Valley).

Feel free to PM to schedule visit.

Dave
Hillsboro, NH

 

[Gittyup]

Kioti was on the top of my list, lots of people in my area have recommended them and highly recommended the local dealer as one of the best they've dealt with. Unfortunately Kioti ended the relationship with the dealer a couple weeks ago since it didn't fit there corporate image. Closest dealer for warranty work is now 2 plus hours away and I do not have any desire to deal with that. Not sure I want to support a company that doesn't support there dealers. Have to drive by a taunting Kioti billboard for tractors that I can't test without taking a day off from work.

Certainly can appreciate your view point here. I personally think dealer proximity is over rated. Unless you plan to go to the dealer for routine maintenance, you're aren't likely to ever need to take your tractor to the dealer.

I have a JD. It's on its 18th season. Been to the dealer once. I also have a Kioti CK25, now heading into year 6. It's never been to the dealer.....but the dealer has been to my place twice to do warranty work (loader and injection pump in years 1 and 3). And my dealer is over 250 miles away. It isn't how far the dealer is away. It's how good the dealer is. And that local dealer that's been dropped by Kioti would appreciate your parts business.

I think Kioti is trying to restructure its dealer network. Unfortunately some very good dealers are losing out in this scenario. Doesn't necessarily mean Kioti is a bad company. It's just business. And we seldom have all the facts behind the reasoning. And if we did, we might be making the exact same choices that Kioti is. But everyone has different views priorities on matters like this. The good thing is that just about every make and model are quality machines. So, it's hard to go wrong.

 

[doabbs]

We have goats - 2 wethers that we had to have penned in in a ~ 30' x 40 enclosure (due to persistent gnawing on our house) with prefab 10' x 20' goat barn.

We've got 10 goats 5 in milk and 3 junior does. If you ever want some Nigerian wethers send me a pm

 

[doabbs]

Certainly can appreciate your view point here. I personally think dealer proximity is over rated. Unless you plan to go to the dealer for routine maintenance, you're aren't likely to ever need to take your tractor

Yeah I'm sure there are always two sides to the story. Just don't know when I can get time away to go seek out a dealer. I hope I don't need to do anything more than basic maintenance so I doubt proximity after the sale will be too big a deal. Any advice as to what a comparable model would be to the JD 2520 or Kubota B2920?

 

[Gittyup]

Yeah I'm sure there are always two sides to the story. Just don't know when I can get time away to go seek out a dealer. I hope I don't need to do anything more than basic maintenance so I doubt proximity after the sale will be too big a deal. Any advice as to what a comparable model would be to the JD 2520 or Kubota B2920?

Those models are both lighter than their Kioti/BC CK/Ct counterparts. The CK line is:

CK20, CK27, CK30, and CK35. The CK20 is about the same size chassis-wise as the JD and bota, but has a little less hp. Other than the HP, I think they spec out prettly close and the CK20 will cost thousands less.

The CK27, CK30, and CK35 are on the same chassis/transmission with the only difference being hp (27,30,35). These are little larger and a lot heavier than the JD and botas. They will probably be a little cheaper too. Other than HP, they have much better specs across the board: loader, 3PH, hyd. flow, 3-range HST, etc. They come in shuttle shift gear or HST. Notwithstanding the advantages/disadvantages of the weight differences and how important that might be, the CK35 is way more tractor for similar or less money. I'd recommend the CK27 if going gear, and you don't need the extra HP for pto stuff. It'll have plenty of power for ground engagement work. I would not recommend the CK27 in HST unless you have completely flat land. It's just too heavy for the HP. If you can afford it, the CK35 in HST is the best of the bunch.

I have a CK25 (replaced by the CK27) in gear. It's a beast for ground work. With loader, backhoe, and loaded tires, it weighs in at about 5600 lbs. Very strong and stable. Never been lacking for power. However, I don't mow with it or use super power-hungry pto attachments. I do run a chipper on the back of it that'll take 5" branches and it runs it just fine as long as you don't feed it 5" stuff too fast. The only other PTO implement I run is a 12" post hole digger, and it just goes right in, even through heavy roots without so much as a grunt. I've finished most of my "heavy" projects and have considered selling my CK25 and getting a 2520 because the JD is smaller and a better mower. But, after looking at it and thinking it over. I decided I didn't want to give up my "real tractor" for what would be a downgrade with the deere (IMO). I'll just keep mowing with my trustee ol' JD 425.

The Bobcat versions (CT220, CT227, CT230, CT235) are only available in HST.

It's a big purchase. Worth taking the time to research all your options. When I was looking, I really liked the TYM T273. In order to test drive one, I had to drive 2.5 hours one way to the nearest dealer. I did it and I liked (and still do) the TYM. On my way home I swung by the nearest Kioti dealer (still 45 minutes from home) and tested the CK's. I fell in love with it from the start. They're brutes compared to just about everything else in that size.