Comparison 2011 KUBOTA L3800&2011 KIOTI DK35SE

[RCABOWHUNTER]

HI ALL,
I am looking into buying one of these tractors in next week or so
looking for pro and cons of each tractor (gear shift kubota,shuttle shift kioti)
thanks
RCA , VT

 

[hayraiser]

What is the price difference? Also if you are getting a loader I would definatley suggest the kioti for no other reason than the shuttle shift makes a world of difference. Go drive them both if you haven't already? You will see what I mean. I have nothing bad to say about either brand I am fan of both currently own a small b8200 kubota that's tuff as nails and own a kioti dk 50c that I am very happy with. My wife's uncle owned a dk 35 for about 4 or 5 years traded it off for the 45 only complaint he had was the 35 was a little low on hp at higher speeds for the 6' bush hog but he used his for commercial use. Good Luck

 

[Chilly807]

I can shed some light on the gear drive Kubota, from the point of view that it's essentially the same tractor as my L3400 with different bodywork and a few more horsepower. That may not be 100% accurate, but they are very similar.

Pros- proven design, very comfortable to operate, great steering and handling.

Good power and fuel economy, really nice engine, easy starting in cold weather.

Excellent brakes.


Cons- 3 point hitch MAY be jerky when raising small increments. Try it with something attached (rotary cutter for example) and see if you can live with it.

Gear shift is very long, interferes with legs and boots getting on and off if you're in 2nd or 4th. I shortened mine about 5 inches, much better now.

Loader joystick is also very long, hooks on jackets, makes it very tricky getting on from right side if you want to. Again I shortened mine about 6 inches, helps a lot.

Diff lock pedal is in the worst place imaginable, under your right heel. That foot already has enough to do with the throttle and brakes on the same side. HST has it under the left heel, where it belongs. Someday I'll look at moving mine if I can.

ROPS rattles when up, I added wooden wedges to quiet it down, they work well.

Turn signal lever hooks on pant legs, I cut the long end off to cure that.

Check to see if a hydraulic rear remote "kit" (pre-bent pipes, valve, fittings, and quick connects) is available now for the L3800 if you foresee a need for rear hydraulics. None was available for the L3400, I had to build mine from scratch.

Suspension seat may be sticky. I freed mine up (it was stuck solid from new), and it works great now.

The clutch effort is a little high, and "hung" pedals would be an improvement over the lower pivot ones the L3400 has.


It may seem I've found a lot of cons, the L series is a good tractor overall, but they aren't perfect. Not much is.

If you're buying one, you deserve to know what others have found issues with, and those are mine. Some were easily addressed, others are more problematic.

Good luck!

Sean

 

[k0ua]

The clutch effort is a little high, and "hung" pedals would be an improvement over the lower pivot ones the L3400 has.

I agree with every thing you said except the clutch pedal effort. my 2010 L3400HST has VERY low clutch pedal effort.. aha now that I think about it, I wonder if it is because it is a hydro? or did they improve it in the different model years.. ?? anyway, just have to use the clutch to start, and pto engagement on mine.

James K0UA

 

[kco]

I recently considered Kubota L3400, L3540 vs Kioti CK35 and DK35 (all HST's, loaders, and industrial tires). I too, decided the L3540 offered much more over the L3400 which is a basic tractor not that much more sophisticated than my current Kubota L275DT.

I thought the Kioti CK35 was somewhere in between the Kubota L3400 and L3540 in features (but closer to the L3540) and the DK35 and L3540 similar. But the L3540 has a more sophisticated HST transmission, a stronger dealer network (at least in Canada) and higher brand recognition.

If prices were close I would have gone with the L3540. But the DK35 was about $22,500 vs the L3540 $28,000 so I purchased the DK35SE HST.

The DK35 deal was helped by the current "free loader" event and a competing offer from Bobcat for a "demo" 2010 CT335 with 9 hrs and full warranty (the CT335 is a rebranded Kioti DK35).

I went for the DK35 over the CK35 because of the beefier frame that I feel might give it some additional ability to handle the loader stresses. The DK35 is also 38 hp vs the DK35's 34 hp.

I'm still waiting for the DK35 I ordered a couple of weeks ago but quoted my previous post for buying it above.

I think the L3540's features more closely match the DK35 than the more basic features of the L3800 and therefore only seriously considered the L3540 when making my decision.

Some features that drew me to the L3540 and DK35 over the basic L3800 (L3400 in my case) were ability to add a mid PTO (which I likely will not ever do), tilt steering (minor importance), deluxe 3 point hitch, dual hydraulic pumps, dual entry/exit (I work in the bush a lot), cruise control, hydraulic pump capacity, loader lift capacity, tractor weight.

They are both fine tractors. I have a 1981 L275DT and can't say enough about it and the Kubota dealer network. The Kioti performance and servicing is an unknown and I hope it works out well for me.

 

[kco]

I forgot to mention the other BIG factor in the L3540/DK35 over the more basic L3400 for me was the flat deck vs the L3400's semi-flat deck.

 

[TripleR]

I can't improve on the information provided so far, so I won't try. I will however add that having geared, HST and Hydraulic Shuttle Shift tractors, for general utility work especially loader work, I find the HST the best second the shuttle shift and then the regular geared type.

As mentioned, try all types before buying and good luck.

 

[RCABOWHUNTER]

thank you all for your wisdom,I surely enjoyed reading your post.I surely will take in concidreation your veiws when buying my tractor.
thanks again
Reggie from VT

 

[klgnhahn]

I am awaiting the delivery of my 2011 DK35 HST. Only 4 more days. I went with it because of the overall standard options vs add-ons from other companies and the price was right. Tractor, loader, bush hog mbx72 box, and loaded tires for $20,900. There are a lot of comparable tractors out there, but you just have to get out sit on them to imagine being comfortable operating. I jumped up the to DK series with the bigger frame for stability in the woods. Good luck!

 

[kco]

I am awaiting the delivery of my 2011 DK35 HST. Only 4 more days. I went with it because of the overall standard options vs add-ons from other companies and the price was right. Tractor, loader, bush hog mbx72 box, and loaded tires for $20,900. There are a lot of comparable tractors out there, but you just have to get out sit on them to imagine being comfortable operating. I jumped up the to DK series with the bigger frame for stability in the woods. Good luck!

Congratulations. You're going to love the new tractor and I can relate to the waiting--sort of like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. I had to wait over two weeks. I took delivery of my DK34 HST a week ago and can't believe how easy it is to operate. I had never driven an HST before. It makes loader work and driving on hills much easier. And the tractor feels rock solid.