I'm going to have to say price for what you get. Although I am really concerned with service and any warranty work that might be needed. I actually bought a used RK55HC that had 39 hours on it when I got it home. I made sure that the warranty was transferable before I bought it and had it all worked out before actually making the purchase. Rural King personnel in Morgantown, WV have been more than helpful in the warranty transfer. I'm about half way between the Morgantown store and the Parkersburg, WV store. Not sure which one I'll use yet for service. Probably the Parkersburg store. I've met the guy there and he seems really helpful when I was looking at buying one. I saved about 7000 dollars by buying a slightly used one, and got a 6 foot Land Pride brush hog with it. The finance company I used also financed it as if it was a new tracto,r so I was able to get the new finance rate for 84 months which was a really good rate compared to what other companies were offering at the time. I didn't do my homework as good as I had thought. The tractor actually has more features on it than I thought. I knew it had cruise control, but didn't know it had a sensitivity control on the hydro pedals, which I have found very convenient for different applications. The decrease/increase acceleration on the cruise control is something else that I didn't realize it had. I knew it had auto/manual selections on the PTO engage, but didn't realize how nice the auto feature would work. I love how the PTO engages so smoothly when lowering the implement when in the auto position.
I definitely wasn't afraid of the yanmar engine. I know it's one of the better diesel engines you can have. Hopefully the hydro transmission will be as strong and rugged as everyone says it is. This is the first hydro transmission tractor that I've every operated and so far I love it. Having to stop to change ranges really doesn't bother me at all; especially after operating manual transmissions all my life. Most of the time you are going so slow on a tractor that the tractor stops anyways by the time you shift, so I don't see it as a problem. It does seem a little hard to shift between the ranges, but I think part of that is just getting used to it, and being able to feel my way through the ranges, like shifting on a 13 speed road ranger transmission. It just takes getting the feel for it. I once operated an MCI tour bus that had a 7 speed manual transmission, and it took me a few miles to be able to shift smoothly through the gears, especially when down shifting. I just had to get the feel for the correct RPM's. I've noticed that just before the tractor comes to a complete stop is when it's easier to go into neutral, then as soon as it stops, slide it into the next range, works pretty good for me.
My family wasn't too keen on me buying such an off brand and especially a hydrostatic transmission, but so far I love it. As long as it holds up, I'll be way more than happy. I'm not really hard on equipment, you just have to use it for it's intended use. I hope I can report back in a few years and feel the same way. I was willing to take the chance though, it's only money. LOL
I definitely wasn't afraid of the yanmar engine. I know it's one of the better diesel engines you can have. Hopefully the hydro transmission will be as strong and rugged as everyone says it is. This is the first hydro transmission tractor that I've every operated and so far I love it. Having to stop to change ranges really doesn't bother me at all; especially after operating manual transmissions all my life. Most of the time you are going so slow on a tractor that the tractor stops anyways by the time you shift, so I don't see it as a problem. It does seem a little hard to shift between the ranges, but I think part of that is just getting used to it, and being able to feel my way through the ranges, like shifting on a 13 speed road ranger transmission. It just takes getting the feel for it. I once operated an MCI tour bus that had a 7 speed manual transmission, and it took me a few miles to be able to shift smoothly through the gears, especially when down shifting. I just had to get the feel for the correct RPM's. I've noticed that just before the tractor comes to a complete stop is when it's easier to go into neutral, then as soon as it stops, slide it into the next range, works pretty good for me.
My family wasn't too keen on me buying such an off brand and especially a hydrostatic transmission, but so far I love it. As long as it holds up, I'll be way more than happy. I'm not really hard on equipment, you just have to use it for it's intended use. I hope I can report back in a few years and feel the same way. I was willing to take the chance though, it's only money. LOL
