JD 4120 or Kioti DK45

[charleyfarmall]

Since I am moving and may need to leave a utility tractor with the farm in Tennessee I am looking at changing my tractor mix. My New Holland is going to Maine with me. The TN tractor needs to be very loader capable as my wife buys organic feed by the pallet for a local cooperative of people. It has to be capable of mowing a field, meaning a comfortable wheelbase. My experience says 71-72 inches minimum. Don't need a lot of Hp but we still run a 6 foot hog and flail as well as preparing growing space with up to a 6ft tiller.

I was looking at the 4120 with Mid PTO and extra valve, and self leveling loader ( great feature). The power reverser/ wet clutch is a big bonus. The down side is cost:
4120: $25,600
400cx: $5,500

The competition here is the DK45Se. Loader specs are close, regular syncro shuttle, mid PTO. Wheelbase is better at 74 inches ( vs 71.5). I don't have a quote so I don't know how well it will compare ( anyone?). I have heard rumors that the electrohydraulic PTO engagement is a little rough and may shear pins in the square baler which is not so good.

Not planning on a cab for either one. If I was going for a cab I would get the MF 1652/ DynaQPS. No interest in hydrostatic drive or 8x8 transmissions.

Comments?

 

[deereman10]

No experience with Kioti. Lots of experience with JD. I vote JD 4120

 

[charleyfarmall]

I have a ck27 which has been great for it was purchased for but it is a little redundant and too small for much of what we do. I am getting rid of a 50hp tractor and the Kioti to get one more general purpose tractor. There is certainly and appeal to the deere, it is just about 5k more than I wanted to spend at this point. The kioti's are very well made, solid tractors.

 

[jenkinsph]

Since I am moving and may need to leave a utility tractor with the farm in Tennessee I am looking at changing my tractor mix. My New Holland is going to Maine with me. The TN tractor needs to be very loader capable as my wife buys organic feed by the pallet for a local cooperative of people. It has to be capable of mowing a field, meaning a comfortable wheelbase. My experience says 71-72 inches minimum. Don't need a lot of Hp but we still run a 6 foot hog and flail as well as preparing growing space with up to a 6ft tiller.

I was looking at the 4120 with Mid PTO and extra valve, and self leveling loader ( great feature). The power reverser/ wet clutch is a big bonus. The down side is cost:
4120: $25,600
400cx: $5,500

The competition here is the DK45Se. Loader specs are close, regular syncro shuttle, mid PTO. Wheelbase is better at 74 inches ( vs 71.5). I don't have a quote so I don't know how well it will compare ( anyone?). I have heard rumors that the electrohydraulic PTO engagement is a little rough and may shear pins in the square baler which is not so good.

Not planning on a cab for either one. If I was going for a cab I would get the MF 1652/ DynaQPS. No interest in hydrostatic drive or 8x8 transmissions.

Comments?

Let's see you wan't to handle pallets but have no interest in hydrostatic drive, why?

 

[charleyfarmall]

Let's see you wan't to handle pallets but have no interest in hydrostatic drive, why?

Have the HST in the CK and do use it to move pallets. But I do it as easily with the New Holland and the powershuttle too. Pallets are only part of the equation. Much more of our work is traditional farm field work with a lot of ground engagement. Neither my wife or I care much for the HST except for the lawn tractor. I thought my wife would love the HST. I was wrong. Her favorite tractor is the powershuttle TN75.

 

[bigbull338]

well im going to throw a big monkey wrench out here.you can step way up to kubota MX5100 HST 4x4 fel for the same or less money than the JD your looking at,an have more hp to boot.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have a Kioti DKse40 which will do everything you ask. It is the identical tractor to the 45 minus precisely 200cc of displacement and 4hp and about $1500 when I bought it. I run a six foot flail at 400rpm less than PTO speed and it does a great job in fields and bush hogging. The KL401 loader is great with 2700lbs lift at PP so would do well for moving hay bales. The tractor is also pretty heavy so with loaded rears you might not even need (much) extra counterweight to handle bales.

I don't know the current price but I paid a little more than $18,000 for the HST version with loader and extra remotes three years ago. Tractor has been totally reliable and is a work horse.:thumbsup: The electrohydraulic clutch does lurch more than a manual clutch but I've never had trouble running the flail, a bush hog, chipper or a tiller. Just make sure the engine is at idle speed before hitting the button.


Kioti pricing is sometimes tricky as some small dealers quote list thinking that because the list is less than the Kubota list they will get your business. That is obviously wrong as most Kubota dealers discount by 10-15%. When I found a Kioti dealer who discounted a similar percentage, I saved about $6000 compared to the local price on an equivalent Kubota (L3940). I've never comparison shopped vs JD or NH. FYI, the Bobcat CT440/445 are the same tractor as the Kioti DKse with different paint and different but comparable loader. Not sure of the pricing but unfortunantely I believe it is only available with HST.

Addendum: Your thread is titled Kioti DK45, be aware that the DK45s and DK45se are completely different tractors. Both excellent but the "se" lineup is newer.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I figure that, like IslandTractor, I saved about $6k (in 2006) by getting a DK45SC rather than a Kubota, Deere or NH of comparable size. Alternatively, I could have bought a bigger Kioti for the same price of a lower HP/less capable model from a competitor, but the DK45 suits my needs very well.
BOB

 

[charleyfarmall]

I recognize that the SE is newer, and was referring to purchasing new. I started out looking at the DK40SE for basic utility work but decided I wanted the extra PTO ponies. My Kubota dealer does not discount, I don't want the HST, and i am not a fan of their gear ratios. Last year I borrowed a Kubota M7040 while baling and did not like it at all. To each his own.

I have a good Kioti dealer and a good Deere dealer. I have not seen any significant price advantage to going to the NH/ Case 48hp tractors compared to the Deere. Agreed that the K401 Loader has very good specs. The only advantage Deere has there is the self leveling feature which I love having on my New Holland for both pallets and my bale grapple ( square bales).

 

[Gittyup]

I thought self-leveling bucket was standard on the DK45.

 

[charleyfarmall]

Not any more. It seems that the SL loader was for the DK45S but not the SE according to their website loader chart.

 

[IslandTractor]

I thought self-leveling bucket was standard on the DK45.

Nope. At least not the DKse series loaders. I think it is available on some of the older Kioti loaders but not the KL401 (se series) or KL451 (s series). I don't see it mentioned even for the loaders for the DK75/95 so maybe they stopped offering it as a feature.

 

[IslandTractor]

I recognize that the SE is newer, and was referring to purchasing new. I started out looking at the DK40SE for basic utility work but decided I wanted the extra PTO ponies. .

Understood. Do check to see what those extra 4 ponies are going to cost you though. It was not a great bang for the buck when I bought.

Again, as a point of reference, I use my 41hp DK40se at well less than PTO speed for mowing with a 6ft flail and only raise the RPMs occasionally in the spring when mowing thick lush grass over 18 inches high. For other tasks like pushing with FEL or grapple I run out of traction in mfwd with R4s well before reaching any horsepower limit.

 

[DK35vince]

I thought self-leveling bucket was standard on the DK45.

I think the DK45S had the self leveling loader a year or 2 ago.
It must not have that feature any more.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'm interested to see what the final price difference is with someone who's obviously trying to compare apples to apples.

Is the price listed for the JD have anything else on it besides the FEL and powershift?

 

[charleyfarmall]

JD price includes Mid PTO, Loaded Tires, and Rear hydraulic valve.

 

[harp]

Few months ago purchased a JD 4120 with fel. Only thing I am sorry about is I waited so long to get it. Had a 4310 before and it too was a great tractor. I have a great dealer so I did not even shop another brand.

 

[wolc123]

I cant say nothing about the Koiti but have been running a JD 4120 P/R with 400X loader for more than 5 years now and it has been trouble-free. I have not needed any parts other than oil filters. It handles a 6 foot bush-hog with ease in any field conditions. There has never been a time I felt a need for more power and I understand the newer ones are up a bit here so you should have way more than enough, especially without the efficiency losses of a hydrostatic transmission. I also use an 8 foot pull-type disc behind the tractor on occassion and it does not even seem to realize that the disc is behind it (unless I disengage the 4wd, when I have to boost the throttle a good bit to maintain ground speed). It will pull that disc, fully angled and engaged, in 4wd, at a low idle. The ride is quite comfortable. The loader works great, just be sure you get the heavy-duty bucket. On rare occasions, I do use a set of forks up front and I can see where the leveling feature of the CX loader would be nice. Thankfully, I have enough tractors that I dont need to change implements too often but if I had it to do over, I would get the telescoping lower links to make that process a little faster. I am sure the Koiti is a fine machine also, but it only costs a little more green to go first class. For me at least, it has been well worth it. Back when I bought, a comparable Kubota (GL 4330) was about $1000 more and an NH T?40 was the same price when I added quick-attach bucket (standard on the JD), but significantly underspec'd in hp, lift capacity, etc.. We didnt have any Koiti dealers around so I never looked there, while I got a JD dealer just down the road. He was high priced compared to the dealer I bought from 50 mi away, but very convenient for oil filters. He only caries parts up the the 4000 series (top of the CUT line), or I probably would have sprung for a larger, utility model.

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

I have never had any problem shearing pins using my DK45 baling. I idle down when I engage and if the slipclutch is set right it should be fine. :thumbsup:

 

[charleyfarmall]

Your 315 is a little nicer than my 273's but they are steady and reliable. Very speed sensitive.