An upgrade?

[mudcat47537]

I've been seriously thinking about swapping my nearly 4 year old CK30 for a bigger frame tractor possibly the DK50.
The CK has 600 hours on it and I've had zero problems with it. It does ok but I need a little more loader capacity. I can handle round bales ok dry but if they sit outside and get wet I cannot pick them up with the loader. I mostly use my tractor for pasture, trail and right away mowing, 6 foot mower. Plowing the garden with a 2 bottom and a John deere 660 tiller. I pull logs and load to maintain a wood lot. The tractor does fine except for the loader needs more grunt.

Any problems with the DK series? Any idea what my tractor would be worth? Is the DK going to be enough tractor?

 

[DieselBound]

I believe that the KL5510 is the loader on the DK50:

KL551 | Kioti Tractors

Your CK30's loader is spec'd to lift 1155 lbs?

 

[IslandTractor]

Be careful about mixing up Kioti model number and loaders. The recent DKse series is very different from the older DK series and uses different loaders. I'm pretty sure that all the DKse tractors use the KL401. The older DK series may have used the KL551 but hasn't been in production for about five or six years.

 

[IslandTractor]

I loved my CK20 and upgraded to the DK40se about nine years ago. I'm still on the original battery on the DKse and it has never failed to start with first turn of key. It has a very powerful loader (2700+lbs lift) and has been a great tractor. I'm still convinced it is the best bang for the buck in the CUT world.

Only problems I had were a seatbelt retractor that exploded the first time I used it and a fuel bowl that leaked after three or four years. The tractor has never needed to go back to the dealer for anything.

The DKse line is identical except for bore and stroke of engines. All great. Highly recommend a DKse as upgrade to any CK. Ignore horsepower comparisons, it's the frame size and loader that makes it great.

 

[mudcat47537]

I'm not worried about horsepower, I've not really needed anymore but will probably go with the 50 if I jump.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm not worried about horsepower, I've not really needed anymore but will probably go with the 50 if I jump.

Just be aware that there is a significant premium for more horsepower when buying either a DKse or NX tractor from Kioti even though the tractors are all basically identical except for HP rating. You get the most bang for your buck with the DKse40 and the NX4510. If you really haven't had any issues with HP with your CK30 I can guarantee you won't have issues with the DK40se.

 

[mudcat47537]

That's good to know Island Tractor.
There may be a possibility of using it for a baler in the future. I currently have my baling done on shares but as my herd grows I may need to keep more of my hay. I have a few years to start acquiring some equipment if I go that way. That is the only reason for the 50.

 

[IslandTractor]

That's good to know Island Tractor.
There may be a possibility of using it for a baler in the future. I currently have my baling done on shares but as my herd grows I may need to keep more of my hay. I have a few years to start acquiring some equipment if I go that way. That is the only reason for the 50.

Baling certainly requires PTO power and most folks do it with utility size tractors but there certainly are some square balers that can be run on bigger CUTs.

 

[mudcat47537]

I'm still waiting for my dealer to call me back. They've always been real fast to return any calls before and very helpful. But the dealership changed owners last year after the owner retired. I hope the service didn't retire too.

 

[paulfun9]

I have a DK se series myself and know a few others with them. None of them have had any problems worth mentioning after the first few years of ownership.
The new DK--10 tractors are slightly different than the older DK and DK se models but seem to be well built tractors as well.