30HP or 35HP?

[acy]

I am looking at buying a new tractor in the next week or so. Contenders are a Kubota L3240 w/FEL, for $16,600, a Kioti CK35 w/FEL for $14,220, and a Kioti CK30 w/FEL for $12,900. All with loaded Ag tires. On the Kioti, the loader is "free" til end of Feb. Kubota dealer is 8 miles from home, Kioti is 85 miles. Both dealers have good rep.

My use for the tractor will be moving a bit of dirt/sand/gravel/snow, creating and expanding food plots by removing tag alder clumps, 3" to 4" trees, etc..
I have a 6 foot cultivator for breaking up the ground, will also use a 6.5' disc, 6' back blade and a 5' brush hog to keep plots mowed. Ground is quite level and pretty light(no clay).

Is 30HP enough, or should I spring for the 35HP? Not very familiar with the Kioti, but haven't found anything negative. What do you think?

Thanks, Al

 

[ScottK]

I wouldn't want my nearest dealer to be 85 miles away, but if price as opposed to resale value and convenient dealer are more important, then Kioti is fine.

 

[greenmule]

Depends on how much you think 1300 is worth I guess[price between ck30 and ck35],with 35hp you'd be able to use 6 ft hog. But if you already got a 5 ft hog and other stuff that a 25-30 hp will work with, I heard a ck30 and ck35 are same sized tractor,just different motor. I got a ck30,nice tractor,if it had 5 more hp,it wouldn't be used in my case.

80 miles is a good piece though,but if dealer is willing to deliver and pick up cheap[if needed],than that don't really matter.Talk to him about your concern,he may commit to helping in this regard if he really wants to sell you a tractor. Plus,filters and such can be mailed to you from him,or another dealer.

One or more of those kabotas people on here have said three point is real jerky,might want to read about that on kabota section if you havn't already.Kabotas a good tractor too,but evidently they have their problems as well sometimes. Be a real shame if after spending 3 grand or so more,it would have issues.

 

[Gittyup]

The CK30 will do what you want. But, if you have the bucks, I'd spring for the CK35. The Kubota listed is also a very nice tractor, and does not suffer from the 3PH jerkiness. That would be the L3400 and L4400 models with that problem. Not sure it's better than the Kiotis, and certainly not $3000+ better. But, I do think you would get most of that back in resale, if you were to ever sale.

The mileage difference wouldn't be an issue for me. I bought mine (CK25) from a dealer over 200 miles away. Unless you are one of the very few unlucky owners, you'll probably never have to take your tractor in for service. Of course, others think a close by dealer is a must.

For what you are doing, and the implements you currently have you could even go with a CK25 or CK27. The best deals are on the CK25's and CK30's as they are being replaced by their more powerful brethren.

 

[john_bud]

I am looking at buying a new tractor in the next week or so. Contenders are a Kubota L3240 w/FEL, for $16,600, a Kioti CK35 w/FEL for $14,220, and a Kioti CK30 w/FEL for $12,900. All with loaded Ag tires. On the Kioti, the loader is "free" til end of Feb. Kubota dealer is 8 miles from home, Kioti is 85 miles. Both dealers have good rep.

My use for the tractor will be moving a bit of dirt/sand/gravel/snow, creating and expanding food plots by removing tag alder clumps, 3" to 4" trees, etc..
I have a 6 foot cultivator for breaking up the ground, will also use a 6.5' disc, 6' back blade and a 5' brush hog to keep plots mowed. Ground is quite level and pretty light(no clay).

Is 30HP enough, or should I spring for the 35HP? Not very familiar with the Kioti, but haven't found anything negative. What do you think?

Thanks, Al

30 should be enough for the attachments you list. Don't get caught up in the specs. Each company writes them to make thier own product shine. Best thing is to sit in each and operate it for as long as possible and see which one you LIKE the best.

Now on to politics.....

The Kubota folks will tell you to buy Kubota. It is the current top of CUT tractor quality --according to many here, myself included. Deere being a very very close second. A supporting bit of information is that Kubota diesels are widely used in small mobile equipment. They are very good.

The Kioti folks will tell you that they are nearly as good or just as good as the kubotas. There is not the long term large user base with kioti here to support that like Kubota has (yet), but they are never the less good machines. They may be (IMHO) lower on the ladder than Kubota, but they are far from being a Yugo! Bobcat has chosen to sell them with the BC label on them, so they can't be bad.

The low end kubota do suffer with a 1/4 inching 3pt valve. I wonder if that was done to lure people into the Grand L versions (like the L3130)?

Sit in both and see which feel more intuitive to operate. Then check out the Deere's, the NH and the Mahindra's. After that bit of fun, you will know more about each and will have a much better feel for what you like about each.

jb

 

[flusher]

Depends on how much you think 1300 is worth I guess[price between ck30 and ck35],with 35hp you'd be able to use 6 ft hog. But if you already got a 5 ft hog and other stuff that a 25-30 hp will work with, I heard a ck30 and ck35 are same sized tractor,just different motor. I got a ck30,nice tractor,if it had 5 more hp,it wouldn't be used in my case.

80 miles is a good piece though,but if dealer is willing to deliver and pick up cheap[if needed],than that don't really matter.Talk to him about your concern,he may commit to helping in this regard if he really wants to sell you a tractor. Plus,filters and such can be mailed to you from him,or another dealer.

One or more of those kabotas people on here have said three point is real jerky,might want to read about that on kabota section if you havn't already.Kabotas a good tractor too,but evidently they have their problems as well sometimes. Be a real shame if after spending 3 grand or so more,it would have issues.

You're right about the 3 point. Check it out before you buy. The specs on the L3240 say that the 3-point is "standard", but doesn't say what "standard" means. I had a new 2005 Kubota B7510HST, admittedly a smaller tractor from a different Kubota product line, that had the "quarter inching" feature on the 3-point. Did not like this "improvement" at all. Be sure that L3240 has conventional 3pt position control, not "quarter inching".

 

[teg]

I'm pretty sure ONLY the L3400 and the L2800 are the only tractors that you have to worry about... regardless, you should try it out before you buy!!!

How tight is money? The L3240 is a sweet tractor. Have you test driven any of them or are you just going by our words? All those tractors will get the job done.

 

[GreenWannabe]

The specification sheet available online (http://www.kubota.com/f/products/GL40/pdf/gl40_spec.pdf) indicates that position control is standard on the Grand L series. Note the lift control type in the hydraulis section.

 

[kthompson]

Acy, I own Kubota and have been very pleased with mine. Even with $1500 in transmission repair to my M series. I bought from a dealership about 80 miles away with no concerns, but have two dealerships closer if needed. Yes I pick up filters and such from the one I almost drive by but they were way higher on selling price. Acted as if they were doing me a favor to even talk with me. My concern on the Kioti dealership being 85 miles away is this, if they were to close and that does happen with no notice, where is the next one. In my case it was the dealership I bought from. They got ticked with Kubota due to how close they were putting dealerships and change product line.

Being as fair as I can, there is a Kioti dealership I have been on their lot a lot and it seems the Kioti may offer additional features to me that were nice such as extra remotes compared to the Kubota. There also has been at least one post here about shody welding on a Kubota fel. Again, I have been very pleased with my Kubota's and would have no problem buying them again. I have a 27 hp with Hydro stat trans and run a 52 inch rough cut mower on it, that is all I want for that HP with rough cut but run a 6 foot RFM with no problems.

 

[AndyMA]

Now on to politics.....

The Kubota folks will tell you to buy Kubota. It is the current top of CUT tractor quality --according to many here, myself included. Deere being a very very close second. A supporting bit of information is that Kubota diesels are widely used in small mobile equipment. They are very good.

I realize this forum started out as a Kubota forum, bit I just don't see any evidence to support the fact that either Kubota or John Deere make better tractors than New Holland. Are there reliable satistics to prove this or is this just an opinion? If I go to my dealer who sells both Kubota and New Holland, I see equal numbers iif not more Kubota tractors split.

Andy

 

[lawn_king]

Both make very good machines. 5 hp is substancial, you will notice 5 horses. Im partial to kubota as i have worked them in my business for a decade and they have proven to be superb! Only kubota offers the hydrostat plus tranny?

 

[coobie]

I am looking at buying a new tractor in the next week or so. Contenders are a Kubota L3240 w/FEL, for $16,600, a Kioti CK35 w/FEL for $14,220, and a Kioti CK30 w/FEL for $12,900. All with loaded Ag tires. On the Kioti, the loader is "free" til end of Feb. Kubota dealer is 8 miles from home, Kioti is 85 miles. Both dealers have good rep.

My use for the tractor will be moving a bit of dirt/sand/gravel/snow, creating and expanding food plots by removing tag alder clumps, 3" to 4" trees, etc..
I have a 6 foot cultivator for breaking up the ground, will also use a 6.5' disc, 6' back blade and a 5' brush hog to keep plots mowed. Ground is quite level and pretty light(no clay).

Is 30HP enough, or should I spring for the 35HP? Not very familiar with the Kioti, but haven't found anything negative. What do you think?

Thanks, Al

I shopped Kioti DK40se with fel and Kubota grad L4240 and mahidra 4110 and a few other brands.I ended up with the Kioti,no regrets yet.coobie

 

[Valorum]

Having just gone through this process myself, i'd recommend you sit on each model and operate it and see how you like the layout of the controls and pedals etc. The specs are probably close enough that the things like ergonomics and such become what may help you settle on a model. No sense in having a tractor of which you don't like climbing into the seat and playing with it

 

[acy]

I really appreciate the responses so far. I am getting the shuttle trans, whichever brand I get. The Kioti dealer would charge me $42 to pick up and $42 to deliver if repairs are needed. He is a "5 Paw" dealer. I have driven the L3240 around the lot a bit. Tomorrow I am going to the Kioti dealer to check them out. I think the price of the Kubota, $16,600, is a good deal, but $2,400 extra for much the same capability is quite a difference.
I am sure the Kubota would have better resale, but I am not planning on getting rid of it(my pickup is 15 years old and still going strong). I want to be sure to get what I want now, so in a couple of years I'm not wishing I had done something different. Thanks again, Al.

 

[coobie]

I really appreciate the responses so far. I am getting the shuttle trans, whichever brand I get. The Kioti dealer would charge me $42 to pick up and $42 to deliver if repairs are needed. He is a "5 Paw" dealer. I have driven the L3240 around the lot a bit. Tomorrow I am going to the Kioti dealer to check them out. I think the price of the Kubota, $16,600, is a good deal, but $2,400 extra for much the same capability is quite a difference.
I am sure the Kubota would have better resale, but I am not planning on getting rid of it(my pickup is 15 years old and still going strong). I want to be sure to get what I want now, so in a couple of years I'm not wishing I had done something different. Thanks again, Al.

IMHO a tractor is a long term investment,get what you want now and hang on to it for many years to come.coobie

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Don't rush into the purchase, sit on and get a feel for all the models that you are considering. Maybe even look and sit on some makes and models that you haven't considered. Just about all the tractors these days are pretty good machines. If it were me, I would look at everything within whatever I considered to be a comfortable driving distance. Your driving 80+ miles to look at Kioti, stop and look at other makes that might be along the way. If none, that's OK too, just give everything that's in the radius that your looking at a chance, that way you will know for yourself which tractor fits you best. Like you said, you plan on keeping this tractor for awhile, you don't want to get the wrong one, look at them all, besides it's fun to look at all of them.

Good luck

 

[john_bud]

I realize this forum started out as a Kubota forum, bit I just don't see any evidence to support the fact that either Kubota or John Deere make better tractors than New Holland. Are there reliable satistics to prove this or is this just an opinion? If I go to my dealer who sells both Kubota and New Holland, I see equal numbers iif not more Kubota tractors split.

Andy

Read my post, the answers to your question are already there.


Also, Kubota sells what, 35:1 to 50:1 the number of units that NH does in the scut, cut and ut classes? The entire NH product line has changed manufacturing hands several times in just the recent past. Who knows where they are manufactured today? (I don't).


If you want to post some contradictory sales volume, customer satisfaction, warranty claim or reliability data --> I would love to see it. So would many others here. That information is kept close to the vest by the companies and I for one have not seen it, but would like to.

jb

 

[smfcpacfp]

I realize this forum started out as a Kubota forum, bit I just don't see any evidence to support the fact that either Kubota or John Deere make better tractors than New Holland. Are there reliable satistics to prove this or is this just an opinion? If I go to my dealer who sells both Kubota and New Holland, I see equal numbers iif not more Kubota tractors split.

Andy

If I wanted a New Holland, I would have to travel a minimum 4 hours. The local JD abd Kubota dealers are 15 miles away. Maybe there isn't a new Holland dealer near him to even make it a consideration.

 

[Lunk]

Both make very good machines. 5 hp is substancial, you will notice 5 horses. Im partial to kubota as i have worked them in my business for a decade and they have proven to be superb! Only kubota offers the hydrostat plus tranny?

Ditto on the 5 hp difference. As has been quoted many times here:

"You rarely hear of anyone complaining about buying too big."

That being said - A 30hp tractor will do what you outlined...

My .02

Lunk

 

[polo1665]

I realize this forum started out as a Kubota forum, bit I just don't see any evidence to support the fact that either Kubota or John Deere make better tractors than New Holland. Are there reliable satistics to prove this or is this just an opinion? If I go to my dealer who sells both Kubota and New Holland, I see equal numbers iif not more Kubota tractors split.

Andy

When I was tractor shopping my local Kubota/New holland/Case dealer wouldn't even show me a New Holland. Steered me directly to the Kubota line. I guess I thought this was kind of strange because I was trying to compare all brands that were close enough to consider. I didn't end up buying either and am extremely happy with the tractor I did buy, but I am still confused by that salesman. Trying to sell the more expensive tractor I guess.