info please, Kioti vs Kubota.

[Typhoon]

Of course keep in mind, that when asking the question you are asking in the Kioti forum, your answers are going to be a little biased! But then again, where else are you going to get Kioti info?!? My last tractor was a New Holland TC29D, and I loved it! It did everything I ever asked of it, and more. So when it came time to upgrade, I was 99% dead set on another NH.. probably the TC34DA. Well, I live out in the country and noticed that several guys up and down my road were buying Kioti's, and had stopped and talked to a couple of them about them. Some of them are farmers, and have owned their share of tractors. I heard the same from each owner. "Best tractor for the money, heavy built, incredible loader capacity, no problems!" So, I started looking at them myself (crawling underneath, test driving, etc). When I saw how heavy they were built, and saw all of the nice features that the NH didnt have, I was sold. Not to mention I saved about 5K. I have put 40 hours on my DK40SE so far, and have been very impressed with it, and have had no problems whatsoever. I would recommend Kioti to anyone.

 

[JoelD]

I agree with the heavy built comment, my brother's first comment when we went to a Kioti dealer was, wow those front axles and steering cyls. look hard core heavy duty. I guess you could say that goes for most of the machine. There is just nothing, from the ROPS, to the loader frame thickness to the metal fenders on my machine that feel in anyway flimsy or fragile.

Joel

 

[Knobby1]

Typhoon/Joel, yes sure there will be some puffing, bragging, etc but you get that on the Kubota and JD sites too. But your experiences are better than BS I get from someone who owns a NH, JD, Kubota, etc. At least with regards to Kioti for sure. The property I own and will be working on is rocky, very hilly (pucker factor extreme in some cases) and generally rough enough to just beat the crap out of a machine when mowing, hogging, etc, its not soft soil, so just moving across it will create a beating on the equipment. Heavy built is good in this case for sure. Appreciate your comments on all this .............. thanks. PS, typhoon how heavy a brush hog will you machine handle, or what are you using?

 

[IslandTractor]

Regarding how heavy a brush hog the DK40se can handle, I'd say it could handle a 6ft heavy duty model if you really needed one but I cannot imagine that for non commercial use you'd need more than a medium duty like a Bush Hog 296 or something equivalent. I imagine it could handle a 7ft hog as well but most people seem to put 6footers on. I have a six foot flail on mine and the tractor hardly knows it is back there.

 

[Knobby1]

Yes I.T. thats about what I've got in mind, 6' med duty will do me fine.......thanks.

 

[woodyacres]

Have you posted a similiar question in the Kubota or Deere pages? I would be curious to hear how they "justify" spending more money for less power and weight?

Resale value??? If that's the only argument, I have a house to sell you!!

I am biased as I own a Kioti DK35. However, like you, I did my research too. I wanted a Kubota really bad at the time because they were supposed to be the best. Well, my research showed they were only second "best" to JD, in price!

 

[Knobby1]

Woody, no I have not posted a question directly to those sites, but I have had info given me from those owners mentioning that; Kioti may not exist in 10 years, Kioti uses inferior materials & so more of it must be used in the build so thats why they weight more, & "you get what you pay for" discussions. Curiously nobody really has anything bad to say about how the Kioti actually does its job, or that it broke continuously, etc. I have heard a comment or two about bad Kioti dealers or poor warranty response, but I have heard that from Kubota owners bitching as well (maybe even more). So, I am not seeing too many red flags waving as far as Kioti is concerned. Sometimes you can tell a lot just by looking. BTW do you have a shuttle unit, if so how do u like it.

 

[IslandTractor]

Kioti uses inferior materials & so more of it must be used in the build so thats why they weight more.

I love that argument. They like to think that Korean steel is somehow inferior. I doubt there are many more modern steel plants in the world (and certainly not in the good ole USA) than in Korea. They do build more supertankers than just about any other country after all.

I think most know better but some Kubota guys just parrot BS that dealers like to bring up in an attempt to bamboozle newbies or gullible shoppers. I'm sure the JD and Ford dealers did it to Kubota twenty years ago. Toyota dealers still try to do it with regard to Hyundai (oops, did Hyundai just win a car of the year award and higher ratings on JDPowers than most of the Japanese car makers....must be that inferior steel they are using).

 

[Highbeam]

I have logged 754 hours on my CK30 that I bought new instead of a GL3130 from Kubota at great savings. Other than one attachment issue, the Kioti product has performed above all expectations and I have been very happy.

I am supposed to adjust the valves or some such thing at 800 hours so I guess I'll have to finally put a wrench on this thing.

 

[woodyacres]

BTW do you have a shuttle unit, if so how do u like it.

Yes, I have the shuttle and I love it. I have never owned a gear unit, so my background is limited. However, with using the FEL it has been great! I am glad that I went that way and paid a little extra. The one thing that settled my decision on the shuttle were I had only 3 controls (throttle, range, and pedals) verses 4 on the gear (clutch). Plus I love how quickly I can go from forward to reverse effortlessly. This also comes in handy when plowing with the 3PH. The one down side is I have some big hills that I can, at times struggle to get up in Medium and I need to shift to Low gear.