NHRich
Bronze Member
I've been lurking for a few weeks since I first ran across this great site -- lots of good info here, and thanks to everyone for making TBN such a valuable and useful place. Sorry if this post is long, but I figure I can't well ask for good advice if I don't give enough info to get it. Bottom line is that I'm thinking about buying a new Kioti, and am hoping for some advice from those who already have and know them.
I've got about 20 ac of mostly wooded land in west-central NH, with a 30x40 barn (currently empty, but that will change again next yr) and approx. 3/4 ac. fenced paddock. Most of the rest of the land is heavily wooded, mixed hardwood and softwood, somewhat hilly, some of it very hilly, with erosion valleys and banks of a few inches to 30+ ft high from a couple of good-sized streams, both full-year and seasonal, going through. I've got about 600 ft of hardpack gravel driveway from the road down to the house and garage, and another 300 ft uphill from there to the barn. The slope of the road isn't extreme -- the majority of it is flat or near-flat but there is perhaps up to 10 degrees of grade in a couple of stretches, particularly up to the barn.
I'm looking at getting a CUT for plowing, driveway maintenance/grading, some minor regrading work around the house . I also am planning an addition on the house, and will be wanting to move materials and do any of the smaller loader/backhoe stuff that I don't absolutely need the big equipment to do. I want to do some moderate tree clearing/trailbuilding through the woods (mix of small and large hardwoods and softwoods), possibly building a guest/hunting cabin and storage area up there at some point, and plan to do log skidding to pull out some of the deadfall and cleared trees for firewood. Once I clear some trees, I might end up doing a bit of bush hogging, especially if I end up creating new pasture or orchards. When I put livestock back in the barn again in addition to the tractor, I'll use the FEL for moving food and manure, etc. I'd probably consider using the BH to deepen/widen my swimming hole a bit if I can make a decent trail to safely maneuver the tractor though the woods over to the bank.
In other stream work, I'm thinking about dropping/placing some good-sized rocks into two of the streams-- one of the seasonals needs an erosion barrier on one bank (it abuts part of the road to the barn, and during spring floods will eventually collapse the steep 5' high bank and take out a chunk of the road bed if I don't do something about it), and for the other, full-year stream I'm considering building a small simple stone dam/spillway to run a microhydro generator for power generation (high flow/low head)-- just need to channel the flow and boost the head (drop) a bit. I may well end up bringing in heavy equipment to do this, but if it can be done safely, I could save some real money if I can do at least some of either job with my CUT.
Right now, I have just about zero need for any mowing more than what a small push mower and a string trimmer can handle, except temporarily grass and weeds in the paddock, which will be taken care of once I get livestock in there again (natural mowing...). Similarly, right now I don't need to do any serious plowing or ground engagement work other than what a box blade would handle. My wife would like more gardens and perhaps a small orchard, so at some point in the next year or three I may want to get a tiller and an auger/post hole digger, or just rent them when I need them.
My tractor experience is mainly with old Ford gear tractors doing plowing, mowing, baling, etc. I don't have any significant FEL/BH experience, though I have driven forklifts, so I at least understand the basic safety issues of balance, keeping loads low and slow, etc.
Okay, so here's where I am in my thinking, after having looked at a lot of tractors, talked to several dealers and taken a look at a couple of different color CUTs. I like the value and build of Kiotis, and I have a knowledgeable dealer nearby who knows his products and seems like a straight shooter (Dave/KiotiDave at Upper Valley Tractors), so I'm inclined to buy Kioti Orange locally if I can get a good deal that's inside my budget. The 0% 36-mo financing on the Kioti through the end of the month (and the upcoming price hikes) make it look good to do this now, or wait until next year and start looking again for a good deal.
I'm looking primarily at the CK30/gear and the DK40. I liked the LK3054 for value, but the additional year of warranty, the extra hydraulic capacity, synchro on the shuttle, and the better ground clearance (seeing as I'm looking to do woods work) on the CK30, make it worth the extra $800 or so the dealer quoted me between the CK30 and the LK3054XS.
Here's my dilemma. I think the CK30 might do what I need it to do, and the price/value on it is good. I don't know whether I'll need the extra 10 HP (and PTO HP) of the DK40, and it looks like it might be almost $4000 over the CK30. I'm not even considering the DK35, because from what I can tell, most of the stats on the CK30 are close to or as good as teh DK35, and in some areas (ground clearance, etc), the CK30 is even better. I'm sure the DK35 is a good tractor, but it just doesn't seem worth the extra $$ to me. The big pluses for the DK40 are the extra HP and the much better lift capacity of the KL1470 FEL over the KL130 (3400 lb vs 2046 lb breakout, 2100 lb vs 1155 lb full height at the pins). The DK40 comes with the remote I'd have to add to the CK30, so that saves a bit under $400. I'd be interested in considering the DK45 and DK50 (with the KL1590 loader), but I think those are out of my ballpark pricewise. The CK30 is a newer model, which could be good or bad -- maybe some improvements in the CK30, but I'm assuming most of the design bugs have already been worked out on the DK40 by now.
For addons, I'm looking to get filled R4s, at least a single remote, grill/brush guard for the woods work, bucket hooks, a good tooth bar, and I'll either buy or build a canopy for the ROPS. The fiberglass Kioti canopy might do for now at $275. A cab would be a nice plus for the winter snow work, but since I'd have to move up to a bigger machine to get one, it's probably not in the budget unless I build that too.
For attachments, right off I'm trying to keep it minimal other than the FEL/BH combo to keep costs down. I know I want a back blade for grading and snow removal work, and a box scraper for all purpose use. Dave makes an inexpensive log skid rig that I've seen here on TBN, and it looks so useful at the price that I'll probably get one as well.
If the FEL/back blade combo ends up being too much of a pain (or freeze) in the rear this winter, I'll likely invest in a rear blower for next year, but I was thinking I'd try at least one year without it to keep this in budget. Ditto for some of the other things I want-- forks, bush hog, tiller and log splitter will probably have to wait, though I think I'll want some of them before too long.
So, after all of that, I've got a couple of basic questions, particularly from those who have a CK30 or DK40. Could a CK30 handle what I need it to do, or am I better off moving up to the DK40? Does it sound like I've got the right list of equipment and add-ons for what I want to do? I've put my hours on ag tractors, but the TLB CUTs are a new and different animal to me.
Thanks in advance for any help and advice -- I'm looking forward to getting to work with my new tractor, but I can wait if I have to, and don't need to rush it. Since I expect this tractor to do a lot and last for a long time, I'd like to make sure I buy the right one the first time.
Thanks,
--Richard
I've got about 20 ac of mostly wooded land in west-central NH, with a 30x40 barn (currently empty, but that will change again next yr) and approx. 3/4 ac. fenced paddock. Most of the rest of the land is heavily wooded, mixed hardwood and softwood, somewhat hilly, some of it very hilly, with erosion valleys and banks of a few inches to 30+ ft high from a couple of good-sized streams, both full-year and seasonal, going through. I've got about 600 ft of hardpack gravel driveway from the road down to the house and garage, and another 300 ft uphill from there to the barn. The slope of the road isn't extreme -- the majority of it is flat or near-flat but there is perhaps up to 10 degrees of grade in a couple of stretches, particularly up to the barn.
I'm looking at getting a CUT for plowing, driveway maintenance/grading, some minor regrading work around the house . I also am planning an addition on the house, and will be wanting to move materials and do any of the smaller loader/backhoe stuff that I don't absolutely need the big equipment to do. I want to do some moderate tree clearing/trailbuilding through the woods (mix of small and large hardwoods and softwoods), possibly building a guest/hunting cabin and storage area up there at some point, and plan to do log skidding to pull out some of the deadfall and cleared trees for firewood. Once I clear some trees, I might end up doing a bit of bush hogging, especially if I end up creating new pasture or orchards. When I put livestock back in the barn again in addition to the tractor, I'll use the FEL for moving food and manure, etc. I'd probably consider using the BH to deepen/widen my swimming hole a bit if I can make a decent trail to safely maneuver the tractor though the woods over to the bank.
In other stream work, I'm thinking about dropping/placing some good-sized rocks into two of the streams-- one of the seasonals needs an erosion barrier on one bank (it abuts part of the road to the barn, and during spring floods will eventually collapse the steep 5' high bank and take out a chunk of the road bed if I don't do something about it), and for the other, full-year stream I'm considering building a small simple stone dam/spillway to run a microhydro generator for power generation (high flow/low head)-- just need to channel the flow and boost the head (drop) a bit. I may well end up bringing in heavy equipment to do this, but if it can be done safely, I could save some real money if I can do at least some of either job with my CUT.
Right now, I have just about zero need for any mowing more than what a small push mower and a string trimmer can handle, except temporarily grass and weeds in the paddock, which will be taken care of once I get livestock in there again (natural mowing...). Similarly, right now I don't need to do any serious plowing or ground engagement work other than what a box blade would handle. My wife would like more gardens and perhaps a small orchard, so at some point in the next year or three I may want to get a tiller and an auger/post hole digger, or just rent them when I need them.
My tractor experience is mainly with old Ford gear tractors doing plowing, mowing, baling, etc. I don't have any significant FEL/BH experience, though I have driven forklifts, so I at least understand the basic safety issues of balance, keeping loads low and slow, etc.
Okay, so here's where I am in my thinking, after having looked at a lot of tractors, talked to several dealers and taken a look at a couple of different color CUTs. I like the value and build of Kiotis, and I have a knowledgeable dealer nearby who knows his products and seems like a straight shooter (Dave/KiotiDave at Upper Valley Tractors), so I'm inclined to buy Kioti Orange locally if I can get a good deal that's inside my budget. The 0% 36-mo financing on the Kioti through the end of the month (and the upcoming price hikes) make it look good to do this now, or wait until next year and start looking again for a good deal.
I'm looking primarily at the CK30/gear and the DK40. I liked the LK3054 for value, but the additional year of warranty, the extra hydraulic capacity, synchro on the shuttle, and the better ground clearance (seeing as I'm looking to do woods work) on the CK30, make it worth the extra $800 or so the dealer quoted me between the CK30 and the LK3054XS.
Here's my dilemma. I think the CK30 might do what I need it to do, and the price/value on it is good. I don't know whether I'll need the extra 10 HP (and PTO HP) of the DK40, and it looks like it might be almost $4000 over the CK30. I'm not even considering the DK35, because from what I can tell, most of the stats on the CK30 are close to or as good as teh DK35, and in some areas (ground clearance, etc), the CK30 is even better. I'm sure the DK35 is a good tractor, but it just doesn't seem worth the extra $$ to me. The big pluses for the DK40 are the extra HP and the much better lift capacity of the KL1470 FEL over the KL130 (3400 lb vs 2046 lb breakout, 2100 lb vs 1155 lb full height at the pins). The DK40 comes with the remote I'd have to add to the CK30, so that saves a bit under $400. I'd be interested in considering the DK45 and DK50 (with the KL1590 loader), but I think those are out of my ballpark pricewise. The CK30 is a newer model, which could be good or bad -- maybe some improvements in the CK30, but I'm assuming most of the design bugs have already been worked out on the DK40 by now.
For addons, I'm looking to get filled R4s, at least a single remote, grill/brush guard for the woods work, bucket hooks, a good tooth bar, and I'll either buy or build a canopy for the ROPS. The fiberglass Kioti canopy might do for now at $275. A cab would be a nice plus for the winter snow work, but since I'd have to move up to a bigger machine to get one, it's probably not in the budget unless I build that too.
For attachments, right off I'm trying to keep it minimal other than the FEL/BH combo to keep costs down. I know I want a back blade for grading and snow removal work, and a box scraper for all purpose use. Dave makes an inexpensive log skid rig that I've seen here on TBN, and it looks so useful at the price that I'll probably get one as well.
If the FEL/back blade combo ends up being too much of a pain (or freeze) in the rear this winter, I'll likely invest in a rear blower for next year, but I was thinking I'd try at least one year without it to keep this in budget. Ditto for some of the other things I want-- forks, bush hog, tiller and log splitter will probably have to wait, though I think I'll want some of them before too long.
So, after all of that, I've got a couple of basic questions, particularly from those who have a CK30 or DK40. Could a CK30 handle what I need it to do, or am I better off moving up to the DK40? Does it sound like I've got the right list of equipment and add-ons for what I want to do? I've put my hours on ag tractors, but the TLB CUTs are a new and different animal to me.
Thanks in advance for any help and advice -- I'm looking forward to getting to work with my new tractor, but I can wait if I have to, and don't need to rush it. Since I expect this tractor to do a lot and last for a long time, I'd like to make sure I buy the right one the first time.
Thanks,
--Richard
