CK20 will I be satisfied with it's performance?

[Agentiron]

CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

I know, this is one of a million similar posts. I have read and read with much enjoyment many posts on this great site. I am leaning very strongly toward the CK20 for my landscape business and personal use.

My intent it to do landscape installs, moving rock, mulch, planting a variety of plants and trees as well as maybe digging out some stumps or making some decorative ponds.

I also hope to do some bush hogging, primarily 1/2 acre lots that are mainly heavy grass. I will do some soil leveling and prep with a box blade and likely soil pulverizor.

I plan on using the unit for doing some tree removal, cutting and holding logs for splitting and some skidding of sections out of the dense growth. I also would like to make some trails in the woods as well.

I have looked at the ck20 and seen one drive around but am not able to test one out. It looks like a great little machine, with the small size an asset for getting into tight areas.

I am baseing this decision not on money, although it is a consideration, but on perceived fuction. Is the 21hp enough to run a 52" bushhog? I know it will work, but how fast can I expect to drive in 5 foot dense weeds? Speed is not everything, but I don't want to be plodding around a 1/2 acre lot for an hour either.

How big of a box blade would you reccomend to be able to move with reasonable speed? I was told by the dealer I could use a 60", which seemed awful big for that horse power? I was also told I could run a 60" pulverizor which seems possible.

I just don't know how much benifit there is in going up to a ck30 or a dk35 for what I do. I would love to see a 30hp on the ck20!

I have been looking hard at the b7800 and the L3400, but the 7800 does not lift very high with the loader, and the L3400 is alot more money with very little in the area of features that make me leave the ck20.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Purchase day is this week!

Thanks
Jay

 

[Highbeam]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

There's also the b3030 from Kubota, lighter, more powerful and pretty fancy.

" I don't want to be plodding around a 1/2 acre lot for an hour either" I recently brushhogged 6 acres of weedy growth at a rate of 1.5 hours per acre. With a 60 inch hog and my ck30hst. Could have gone a bit faster but the ground was a little bumpy. I would guess 1/2 acre lots would take a couple hours to do (even on my ck30) if you need to follow a fenceline and if you are at all cautious about ground conditions.

You want the boxblade as wide as the tires. I use a 60 incher and it is about right. A 6 footer would be too much to use fully in my conditions for grading work.

Digging stumps can be hard work for any tractor. I am convinced that a tractor without a backhoe is not the right tool if you plan on lots of stumping.

Your needs sound too large for the ck20 but dense grass means different things to different people.

 

[cag]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

Well Jay with the job description you gave sounds like that tractor will be working hard, after reading your post I would be looking in the 30hp range your better off being over power than under power, I wouldn't go for a light weight tractor like the b7800 simply because you mention the bushhog, if you plan to go with kubota go with the L series, kioti I would suggest the CK30 as for the trany it's a question of choice, I would also look closely at deere and massey cause in the end what maters is the tractor your more comfortable on, and most important Jay, get a dealer that will be there for you in the long run regardless the brand you chose...cag

 

[KAB]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

I rented a 5' brushhog for use behind my CK20 about a reat and a half ago. It worked good. This was in a field that had not been mowed for probably 5yrs. When it got thick I slowed down. I covered about 2.5 "open" acres in about 4hrs and did the heavy brush edges in about another 2-3 hours (Up to about 1.5" - 2" in diameter and 15'-20' in lenght).

I also use a 5' box blade. The only issue that I generally have with it is... the box starts to overflow before I run out of power /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. You will be using low range to do all of this, so speed will not be all that great anyhow.

Part of the reason that I bought the CK20 over the compitition was weight. When doing ground engaging work. weight is on your side. For me, I could not justify loading the tires when I could buy a tractor that had the weight that I wanted.

If I was doing work commercially I would look at a CK30 (provided that you have the equipment to tow it with.), but If I wanted a smaller footprint, I would stay with the smaller tractor.

If you fill out you profile you might actually find somebody here on TBN that will let you try one out.

Welcome to TBN and if you fill out your profile you might find a member that will let you try one out.

Good Luck with what-ever you choose.

Kurt

 

[Agentiron]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

You guys are awesome!

I liked the idea of a lighter weight tractor because I will often be working in high end lawns of different soil profiles. I wanted to keep impact to a minimum. I was thinking the other day that as far as compression goes, maybe there is little difference between a 1800 pound tractor and one in the mid 3000 pound range. My thought is the bigger tractor has bigger tires for one, and for another often times one will have a good deal of weight in the bucket, and with all that weight over the small front tires, I would imagine that much damage would come from those front tires. Just a thought, or perhaps a way to justify a larger tractor.

What would you fellas say the max speed is in low on an hst? It would probably be nice to have 3 speed ranges like that of the ck30. It is just so much larger in appearance then the ck20. I liked the ck20 because I have some projects in back yards where manuverabilty is important or the tractor will spend more time on the trailer. I know the B7800/B3030 and the L3400 are all about the same size as the ck20. The ck30 looks half again as big.

I would say that Bushhogging is the lowest on my list of priorities. If I were a bit slow here, I could live with that to have a machine that fits in tight areas better.

It seems that I could drop a box blade with the hooks all the way down on a 5 foot model, and the ck20 would have the grunt to drag her through. That sounds like one torque monster! I can't imagine a ck30.

I know the hoe will not be a tree ripping monster and guys spend alot of time to get a troughy stump, and more power to them, but I have alot of opportunities to get out some 6-7" pine stumps, or some large bush shrub stumps that I think the hoe would be nice for. Will it remove these size stumps in very short order? I have a job where there are about 14 stumps of this size to uproot should I get the hoe.

Would a 14" pine stump likely be a multi-hour project with the hoe?

Wow, so many questions!
Thanks for your patience and willingness to help me.
Jay

 

[KAB]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

AG tires would probably be pretty hard on a nice yard. Industrial Tire (what I have) don't tear up the yard that bad but if it is wet will leave small ruts in the yard. Not noticable when looking at the yard but noticable when driving across them.
Turf Tires should be a little better.

Many landscapers use bobcats which are usually heavier and harder on a yard yet.

If you plan on boxblading long distances you won't be digging that deep. Even at 1" deep it does not take long to fill the box. If I use the diggers the whole way down you will either loose traction or power. Easy fix... don't go as deep in a single pass and it will get done faster. Roots are the worst. PIA.

6-7" stumps have come out fairly fast for me but those 12" and larger have always required more time consuming work. As you get better at using a hoe it gets faster. Just remember that curling the bucket gets the most work done.

You will definately want to get a chance to try ALL of the tractors that you are looking at. For me and the dealers that I visited, Kioti was the best choice for me.

Max low speed is around 4.5mph if I remember the sticker correctly.

Hope this helps and Good Luck


Kurt

 

[KiotiJohn]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

It's really a tough call, because on one hand, I know how much I can get done with my CK20, and on the other hand, it sounds as though you may end up in some job where you really need more tractor. I've done a lot of stumps with my backhoe, and most of them, especially pines, are time consuming jobs. One has to work around all sides, moving back and forth from out away from the stump, constantly going deeper. Depending on just how deep the tap root is you can go to the end of the hoe's depth and still not be able to budge the tap root on 12" and above stumps measured at ground level. They're wider below ground at first. I haven't really done anything that was less than about 14" diameter with most being at least 24" diameter. Hours of work, but I got them done. Weight wise, I'm convinced that I went the right way with Kioti over Kubota's B7510. I don't have to bother adding weight when I need it, and almost never wish I could remove some. I don't do "nice" lawn cutting at all, but I use my tractor all over my yard with no problems unless it's soaked. Then just about any weight would do it.
Overall, the CK20 could be just what you need. A 5' box is quite possible when you learn how to control the hitch and not let the rippers try to drag you to China. There is usually a lot of up and down maneuvering to get through tough digs, but the CK20 can do that. I bought 4', but should have gone 5'.
Best of luck in your decision, but by all means, work one with the implements you want to use before you buy, or don't buy.
Any dealer should allow you to try out some tools.
John

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

I'm also going to chime in on the side of you needing a bigger tractor. For commercial type work its going to pay you in the long run to spend an extra $1500-2000 to get a larger machine.

One huge importance is going to be the dealer. Make sure you buy from a place with an experienced and well stocked parts dept. WHEN that tractor brakes its going to be putting you out of work and you can't afford that to happen too often.

I'd also add the New Holland TC26 to your shopping list. It is more expensive, but its on a small chasis and have alot of punch for its size.

Also make sure you balast ANY tractor you buy. Even the most heavy AG tractors should have their rear end loaded to balance out the loader. Balance is far more important than raw weight.

 

[Agentiron]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

Thanks so much fellas!

Wow, so much to consider. Thanks for the info on the stumps, that is pretty much what I expected. Since I have been concerned about the hp of the CK20, it was probably an indication that I should look to a bigger machine, and more weight to boot.

I was going to avoid filling the tires, I was thinking I would probably have an implement on the rear such as a box blade, would this be sufficient for ballast?

Wow, if I fill the tires and have a loader and hoe on a ck30 type machine, it is going to be one heavy mama! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I really love some of the features on the New Hollands like the Super Steer. I like the loader set ups on the TC26 and up. Seems they get great elevation and strength. The problem is, I would have to go to a dealer over an hour away! Maybe if it promised never to breakdown I would go that route.

So far it seems that it would be best for me to get not only a bigger hp tractor, but also one of greater weight. So I am assumeing a ck30, dk35, L series Kubota, or a New Holland TC26 or greater. I trust the Kubota dealer and he is who I do all my business with for work. The Kioti dealer seems like a good guy and I trust he would take care of me. I am not real impressed with the Deere products in this size, and am unfamiliar with the local dealer but he is very close by.

I think my wife is going to kill me if I don't make up my mind soon! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I wish I could test out some of these units, but none of the dealers seem to have units you can work for a day. The Deere dealer has a rental unit I could try out, but not sure it is the unit for me anyway.

I sure do like the Kioti's even though I want to like the Kubota!

Any other thoughts would be great!

Thanks so much
Jay

 

[Highbeam]

Re: CK20 will I be satisfied with it\'s performance?

"Wow, if I fill the tires and have a loader and hoe on a ck30 type machine, it is going to be one heavy mama!"

Yep, the naked ck30hst with only a loader is 4000 lbs. That backhoe has got to be heavy.