Bought a new RK 24

   / Bought a new RK 24 #1  

RodgerF

Silver Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
163
Location
S.W. PA
Tractor
New Holland TC 30, Kubota L3901DT, RK24 with FEL and mower, Massey Ferguson 35 and 2 Farmal Cubs
The local Rural King just started selling their line of tractors here within the last month so I thought I'd stop by and take a look. The tractors appear to be well built and come with a lot of options as standard features. I was looking for a smaller tractor for maintaining 1.5 acres around the house and had been looking on and off for a while. I had previously looked at Kubota, John Deere and Branson.

I had originally wanted to look at the RK 19 with a 54" deck but they had just sold the one they had. They did have a RK 24 with a loader and 60" deck in stock but it had R4's on it instead of turf tires. After giving it some thought, I went back yesterday and bought the RK 24.

The purchasing process was a little painful. Mine was the second or third tractor sold so there was a lot of "I'm not sure what to do next" during the process. The people were very nice but it was definitely a new process for them and it took a while to get through it. The service/repair area was a little underwhelming as well. The "tractor guy" wasn't there yesterday so I didn't get to meet the service tech. He'll share shop area with the Stihl people. The tractor had been service at the assembly plant and at the store where I bought it and was ready to go.

I haven't got to use the tractor much yet due to weather. Yesterday, I woke up to 2-3 inches of new snow but it quickly melted off and left a muddy mess. Some quick first impression are I'm glad I got the R4's instead of turfs. It looks like they provide more traction and really didn't do any damage to the mud field, er, yard at all. I used the mower deck some too. It looks like it'll proved and nice cut and threw and scattered the clippings nicely even though the grass was wet.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it so far. It appears to be well built and has a lot of standard features. Mine came with a 12v power outlet, cup holder, cruise control, rear work light and a set of rear remotes. The one feature it has that I really like is it automatically raised engine RPM's as you press either the forward or reverse pedals. All my other tractors are gear tractors but any older hydro units I've used, the engine RPM's had to be set with the hand throttle. I can still set the engine RPM's with the hand throttle for mowing but for just driving or loader work it will do it automatically.

Based on my experience, I would recommend first time buyers stay with and established dealer. My store just started selling tractors but some have been doing it longer so you may have a different experience there. Mine was a little weak in the service area but hopefully that'll improve with time. Overall it seems like a nice little tractor though. Time will tell.

It's been a while since I've posted on here so I'll see if I still remember how to post pics. After all, It didn't happen without pics!! :p

Rodger
 

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   / Bought a new RK 24 #2  
Looks great! Your also near my area, I am in Beaver County... hill country.
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #3  
Nice looking tractor. When was it available for pickup after your purchase?
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #4  
Nice tractor! I was really impressed by the RK tractors value, size, and features when I was shopping, unfortunately the closet RK dealer was about 1200 miles away, so took them out of the running. Good luck and enjoy!
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #5  
Yes, if RK was out with them and the store was opened here in December, I likely would have went RK. Prices rock and the equipment looks as good as any.
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #6  
Thank you for the write up. Purchase experience on the ground is so much more informative than sales brochures. Standard rear remote valves, nice!
 
   / Bought a new RK 24
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks for the kinds words! I still haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet but we'll be cutting grass soon enough!

Nice looking tractor. When was it available for pickup after your purchase?

The tractors are fully serviced as soon as they get to the store. It was ready to go as soon as the paperwork was finished. I gave it a quick once over and everything looked good, all fluids, grease, etc but I'll check it out in detail before I put it to work.
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #8  
Thanks for the kinds words! I still haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet but we'll be cutting grass soon enough!



The tractors are fully serviced as soon as they get to the store. It was ready to go as soon as the paperwork was finished. I gave it a quick once over and everything looked good, all fluids, grease, etc but I'll check it out in detail before I put it to work.

OK, it's been a couple of days.... We need pics of the new tractor in action...at least with some dirt on it!:D:D
 
   / Bought a new RK 24 #9  
Rodger,
Rockcrawler has a you tube channel so you can see his competitor kubota at work.

Also you tube "outdoors with the morgans" is a western PA guy who is testing three RK tractors and implements on his channel and posting videos of the results. If not familiar, he posts his honest opinions. Sure he would love to see your comments about your experiences under his comments section for each video. Just a FYI.

Believe rockcrawler posted info about a brand new store near Pittsburgh.
 
   / Bought a new RK 24
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks for the heads up, I'll check out the Outdoors with the Morgans channel.

LS mt125 owner, I managed to put a little time on the hour meter the other day, the snow is the next morning. If you look close you can see a little mud on the mower deck! :laughing:

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