Tractor Sizing Upgrading tractor - are my size and power thoughts on target?

[saboism]

On the Branson, it just didn't 'feel' as good as the Kioti to me. I can't really pin it down what I exactly didn't like, but it just wasn't in my comfort zone. Also, the dealer with Branson didn't have or look to sell a lot of CUT/SCUTs, more of a zero turn shop, so maybe their assembly quality effected my opinion? Bad example, but park brake handle was loose, I don't expect anything loose on a new machine.

So this Kioti dealer had all models, and I seriously looked at the CK30 and CK35. CK35 comes in just under $21K and is a candidate. I liked it a lot... BUT... he also had just gotten a Kubota B3300SUHSDP on trade. Which, while a somewhat lighter machine than the Kioti, is 33hp and 25 on PTO. It had the FEL and only 330 hours. It does have turf tires on it. He wants $15600 for it. He also said he'd fill the tires for no charge. The Kubota really caught my interest.

Now here's the kicker with the Kubota and this dealer. While the shop is over an hour away, the GM and the shop manager both live close to me, so he said any service I wanted they will pickup/deliver no charge as long as they live in the area and I give them a day or 2 heads up. And the bigger ALSO... he saw how interested I was in the Kubota but nervous about the weight and turf tires, so he's offered at no charge or commitment to drop off the tractor later today and told me to beat it up and see how it works on the driveway. That was a heck of an offer and I just got a call that it will be here in about an hour and a half. So with this, I'm pretty settled on this dealer any way I end up. The CK's did feel big to me but I know part of that is what I'm used to. I'm hoping the B3300 fits the bill because I really liked it, even with the slightly smaller 54" bucket. The bucket also isn't quick detach but the loader is. If the Kubota doesn't do the trick or feel right in practice, I'll likely go with the CK35 just given what this dealer is doing already to make a sale.

Now to do a bit more research on the B3300 before it shows up.

Oh, and Kubota/LS dealer - good experience. They are right up the road too. He only had shuttle shift in my size range of the 3033 and 3038. He's got 3 more coming this week but not sure if shuttle or HST, which is odd but he's going to call me once he knows for sure. After driving both, I want HST. He's got a L3301 with HST but at a higher price than the Kioti as you'd imagine, not too horrible. It wasn't built yet so didn't drive that one. Again, I feel this Kioti dealer is going the extra mile to make me a customer and ensure I get the right machine, that is worth the difference in a few bucks as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TripleR]

Sounds reasonable to try it out. Personally in that size, I'm not a big fan of the Kubota even though I own four Kubotas. I looked at it's predecessor and hate quarter inching three point, light weight and no extendable lower arms, my choice would be a comparable Kioti.

Good luck.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Sounds reasonable to try it out. Personally in that size, I'm not a big fan of the Kubota even though I own four Kubotas. I looked at it's predecessor and hate quarter inching three point, light weight and no extendable lower arms, my choice would be a comparable Kioti.

Good luck.

Kioti CK35 all the way from the current prospects.

 

[GManBart]

Of everything you've tested, the Kioti CK35 offers the most capability...very nice machine. The B3300 isn't a bad machine, but it's over 1,000lbs lighter, and has 10" less FEL lift, and over 200lbs less lift capacity...when you start dragging the driveway, or lifting stuff on the FEL, those are pretty significant differences.

 

[saboism]

Well the B3300 handles the driveway grading with ease. I was impressed with the machine. That said, I will play around on it a bit more today in the wet since we had rain all night, but I think I'm back to the Kioti CK35. If the B3300 already had R4's my decision would be very difficult. Looking at my property I think it's time to move away from turf tires, I'm just too hilly, with woods in the back being all up and down with no pattern. I don't like the 'bounce' of the turfs comparably.

B3300 is about 6" narrower on width than my L235. I didn't like the hitch or how it operated, can't directly set the height on the 3ph. No quick attach bucket, and bucket is 58". Everything else was great on that machine, enough that I could overlook those things. But stability is a big concern. The bigger machines, heavier, with R4 just felt more 'grounded' if that makes sense.

At this point I'd love to give the LS dealer a few days to see if he gets a 3033 with HST, since it's about $3000 less than Kioti, but I can't ignore what the Kioiti dealer has done for me to make the sale and ensure I get the right machine for my needs. I know the "try the machine" is also a tactic to lock me in to him, but no one else came close to this level of making the sale.

 

[GManBart]

At this point I'd love to give the LS dealer a few days to see if he gets a 3033 with HST, since it's about $3000 less than Kioti, but I can't ignore what the Kioiti dealer has done for me to make the sale and ensure I get the right machine for my needs. I know the "try the machine" is also a tactic to lock me in to him, but no one else came close to this level of making the sale.

The G3033H would be a pretty close match to the CK35 and definitely worth considering. A while back I noticed that TractorData has errors on the pages for the G3033H and G3038H...must be some old info. The G3033H loader actually has 1,600lbs of max lift rather than the 1,135ish that shows on their page. The G3038H actually uses a slightly different loader that has 1,900lbs of lift capacity.

If nothing else, the extra FEL capacity would make it worthwhile to get a number on the G3038H.

On the flip side the CK has a more powerful 3pt setup. For whatever reason, every time I've compared LS to Kioti models they always seem to have offsetting strengths. Both are really nice machines.

 

[saboism]

I did get a number on the LS G3033H, almost $3000 less than the Kioti, but he didn't actually have one in HST. And while he said he had 3 tractors coming this week, he didn't know if one would be an HST, which I found completely odd that he didn't know what he was getting.

It had rained a lot last night so I gave the B3300 another run at the driveway, this time with some mud. With a full box plus of dirt rock, teeth down, on my steepest part of the incline, I lost traction and had to ease up the box a bit. So I told the dealer pick it up, I'm going to talk to him about the CK35 tomorrow.

Thing is, while I'm tempted to wait to see if the other guy gets the LS G3033H, this Kioti dealer has really gone the extra mile letting me test out the Kubota to see if it was enough tractor, which it wasn't. I respect that. So given that, I'd kinda feel like a jerk not buying from him now. But then $3K is a lot, but I haven't actually seen or tested the 3033H yet either. If the Kioti dealer was just looking to tie me to him for a sale with the whole 'borrow the tractor and test it out', it seems it worked.

 

[GManBart]

I did get a number on the LS G3033H, almost $3000 less than the Kioti, but he didn't actually have one in HST. And while he said he had 3 tractors coming this week, he didn't know if one would be an HST, which I found completely odd that he didn't know what he was getting.

It had rained a lot last night so I gave the B3300 another run at the driveway, this time with some mud. With a full box plus of dirt rock, teeth down, on my steepest part of the incline, I lost traction and had to ease up the box a bit. So I told the dealer pick it up, I'm going to talk to him about the CK35 tomorrow.

Thing is, while I'm tempted to wait to see if the other guy gets the LS G3033H, this Kioti dealer has really gone the extra mile letting me test out the Kubota to see if it was enough tractor, which it wasn't. I respect that. So given that, I'd kinda feel like a jerk not buying from him now. But then $3K is a lot, but I haven't actually seen or tested the 3033H yet either. If the Kioti dealer was just looking to tie me to him for a sale with the whole 'borrow the tractor and test it out', it seems it worked.

I wouldn't stress about it...the CK35 is a very, very nice machine that should be more than capable of handling all of the tasks you've mentioned. Having a dealer that will work with you, and go the extra mile is a bonus, and probably worth more than any minor difference in specs to another machine. $3K isn't chump change, but when you break it out over time it's really not all that significant in the grand scheme of things.

 

[grm61]

Glad you passed on the Kubota with no quick attach....Don't buy one of these tractor without quick attach on the bucket, to many useful implements..pallet forks, grapple bucket,snow blade etc.....

As long as you are thinking...by moving to the 40 horse frame size you double your lift capacity of most 27 to 35 horse tractors.. my DK45 will lift 2765lbs to full height properly ballasted. I know you have to draw a line is the sand somewhere, but you get a lot more tractor for not much more money by moving to the 40/50 horse frame size.

Good luck

 

[TomSeller]

Don't discount the LS, they are very nice machines. Feature and price wise, I think they are hard to beat. Of course, the dealer needs to be credible, but $3K is $3K.