Asssment of Korean Tractor Manufacturers

[YardBikeBob]

Don't see myself getting a pink tractor, anybody out there have one?

My tractor ain't that color but my MF rotary cutter is getting pinker every season.

I don't wonder much if I'm normal but I spent an agonizing, OCDish, amount of time researching tractors before pulling the trigger. Was I affected by marketing programs? Maybe. Tech specs, reputation on this forum, distance to dealers, and impact on my wallet were the deciding factors.

Engine technology? It's a 2.5 liter, naturally aspirated, under-stressed, tier 3 motor from an established manufacturer: sold me. It should last forever. As for capabilities, the best complement I can offer is balance.

It's been over a year and rolling past 200 hours now. I tend to keep my stuff quite awhile. My only comment on dealer networks is the guy I bought mine from dropped it off shiny and new and I've had no reason to see him since.

To get to the caboose on this train, if a company makes a very good tractor and proves to be the best value, it should be a success. Marketing has to figure out the right feature configuration and the right price point. The company has to build it efficiently and distribute it through a large and honest network of dealers. Saying so is easy but its takes some smart people to execute.

After that we're left pontificating about paint color and free hats.

Bob

 

[bigcut]

Hi John. LS was always great to deal with. I know their upper management here in the U.S. and they are good people. Honestly, I can tell you a lot about them but have no idea why the dealer locator is as it is. I will be happy to tell you what I can. I'll send you a PM soon.

Thanks Maka...my remarks and contribution to comments are limited to what little I know about the CUT market, here in the US. I have no knowledge of the larger frames and the product offering in International Circles. Although, it is a bit puzzling for why they don't import product with added features available in Europe and Asia, but, not in the US.
Look forward to hearing from you.
John

 

[MinnesotaEric]

The XR series actually started out as only cab models, then added the open station later.

The NX series all have the same frame, dimensions, and weights. The 55 and 60hp versions just have larger wheels/tires, and Cat 2 lift arms/pins, but no increase in 3pt lift capacity (same pump, cylinders, etc). Essentially, they're the same machine with different wheels/tires, and lift arms.

The NX series are 218lbs heavier and a few inches longer/wider than the XR, but they're still similar size machines. The XR comes in HST or synch shuttle (no power shuttle) versions....not sure why anybody would offer straight gear right now, but an extra choice never hurt.

I may be blind, simple, or both, but no kidding, a quick look at the specs from the web site and I couldn't tell if they offered a cab-on version.

The specs on the Kioti claim the tractor is only 68" wide but my "as measured" with industrial tires is 78" wide without wheel spacers, and I noticed on the Kioti lot when I popped in last month that the industrial tires on a NX4510 where physically narrower than the fatties on the NX6010. Insofar as weight goes, as I recall (and TSO can correct me if I'm wrong :newhere: ), both the Massey MF1700 series and Kioti NX series were the class champs for heavy even though Deere uses a real planetary final drive instead of a bull gear like everybody else. Anyway, it sounds like LS has a comparablish size tractor, just not a comparable engine program to Kioti.

When I was considering purchasing a Kioti, I recall that I looked at Kioti's parent company's 10K to judge the forward financial health of the company and from that report, I could see that Daedong was increasingly reinvesting more and more profits into development, as debt grew, but that it had the cash-flow to pay down debt as needed without rolling a bond at lower interest. Anyway, my take-away was the Daedong was another company with typical margins in the middle of a reinvestment and development cycle and wasn't going to go BK and was financially strong enough to not be a likely takeover target--a�ll of which is what I needed to know in order to buy a Kioti beyond the regular equipment use considerations.

 

[hutchman]

I'll tell you who needs to be fired ... the EPA because that's the real reason behind this mess and why everyone else in the world has better choice than we do.

... Whomever's making the decisions on what's imported should be fired....

 

[bad69bird]

I'M still curious as to why you got out of it in the first place maka?

 

[biodegraded]

Doh! Discovered dyslexia struck and I read RX (Kioti) in place of XR (LS). Below is my confusion which can be ignored.

The XR comes in HST or synch shuttle (no power shuttle) versions....not sure why anybody would offer straight gear right now, but an extra choice never hurt.

I just went to Kioti's site and used their "product filter" feature. Selecting for HST transmission eliminates all RX tractors. Is their site out of date about HST availability in the RX line?

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I just went to Kioti's site and used their "product filter" feature. Selecting for HST transmission eliminates all RX tractors. Is their site out of date about HST availability in the RX line?

RX is a utility tractor, so like everybody, they don't offer an HST. The heaviest grunt company tractor with an HST is Deere's 66hp 4066R. I don't know why the tractor industry doesn't offer a larger HST as CAT offers them in their medium sized 100 hp wheel loaders and all the way up to at least their D5 dozers.

 

[biodegraded]

I'm sure I don't know why larger machines that do lots of back and forth don't get HST, but I was mostly wondering about GManBart's comment that the RX had a hydro option.

 

[jaydee325]

It is cost.

I used to be a heavy equipment tech. I worked on a lot of big (some really big) hydraulic excavators with hydrostatic systems for not only track drives but also to control the hoe because they could get speed as well as fine control out of a hydrostatic system. The bigger you get, the more complex and higher horse power you get, they need to design larger everything including filtering sub-systems etc.

The bigger more horse power hydro unit, the cost escalates pretty quickly. The equipment you talk about are pretty expensive units compared to what most of us own in the way of a CUT. Especially when you consider that a significant number of people who follow this website are hobbyists.

I'm thinking that the cost of a 100 hp compact tractor with HST is pretty much going to be a tractor for people who are using it to make a living or for those who are well off because of the price such a beast would command. Seems like a limited market to me. But, I'm no expert so maybe the market is there and all of the manufacturers are missing the boat.

RX is a utility tractor, so like everybody, they don't offer an HST. The heaviest grunt company tractor with an HST is Deere's 66hp 4066R. I don't know why the tractor industry doesn't offer a larger HST as CAT offers them in their medium sized 100 hp wheel loaders and all the way up to at least their D5 dozers.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . .

So why didn't I get a Deere which more or less offers the options? Base price: I could not justify paying 20K more for the base tractor while getting treated like an as shole by the a sshats trying to sell me their machine, which they knew nothing about. . . .

I see this type of comment periodically about Deere dealers, so I guess at least some of them must be true. I didn't buy a JD tractor, but I can tell you that I've been treated with nothing but prompt attention, respect and knowledgeable service at my local Deere dealer. I just wish they were closer to me.

I used to see similar comments about Harley Davidson dealers. I'm sure there were plenty of uppity Harley dealers at one time. But most of the ones I've dealt with were not that way at all.

And I've found that the customer's attitude makes a lot of difference. Some people have a chip on their shoulder, or want to act like a smarta$$, when they walk in the dealership. I think you get back what you give, at least in many cases.