Kioti vs Branson - New purchase 35hp range

[keith841]

I have a 2006 TYM 273 with 1735 hrs on it. I have loved this tractor and had very good luck with it and want to upgrade to a new one and one lever higher. However I have discovered many west coast TYM dealers have discontinued selling the tractors and just sell parts and service. I live in Oregon and there are NO TYM dealers left here. I have narrowed it down to the choice of Kioti or Branson for my next new tractor in the 35 hp range. I'm looking for any advice from owners of those tractors or with knowledge about them. Thanks!

 

[Omega Woods]

I love my Branson. Heavy built, loves to work all day. If you have a good dealer, they are a great deal. Nothing against Kioti, I have no experience with them.

Why not Kubota, if I might ask?

 

[Tractorable]

Have you checked out the new Rural King tractors? They're TYM's with Yanmar engines. A lot of tractor for the money.

 

[Omega Woods]

Have you checked out the new Rural King tractors? They're TYM's with Yanmar engines. A lot of tractor for the money.

No RK stores out west.

 

[LouNY]

I'm fairly satisfied with my Branson 8050, that said there isn't a lot of information around for them.
Branson USA is just about worthless they will not respond to an owner and I believe that there can be a lot lacking
in what information they pass on to a dealer. If you have a good dealer it'll be a good tractor.
Most of the manufactures have a website with complete parts breakdowns, NOT Branson and it is extremely hard
to locate service manuals. I have been told that they never produced a service manual for my tractor any repairs
they just tell the dealer what to do and as I said they don't communicate with owners. I have no experience with the
other imports but while the Branson seems to be decently built with a good feature content for the dollar I have a real bitter
pill to swallow when my dealer and others tell me that there is no service manual for my tractor. I find this hard to comprehend
and impossible to find acceptable. My dealer has been good and the tractor has been good it had a few quirks to work out
but that been done. So my advice is it will depend on your dealer and your abilities for maintenance and as an owner of one I can't recommend them
even though mine runs good and works good.
Good luck with your search.

 

[Teachu2]

Kioti appears to be here to stay. I believe Branson was purchased by TYM in 2016. 'Nuff said?

 

[ericm979]

There are service manuals for the current Bransons. You do need a good dealer, but unless you need to have them work on the tractor you can do mail order. There is an on line parts catalog run by Big Red (but it's not the best execution of a parts catalog that I have seen). TYM said that they bought Branson for the licensed Cummins engines. Then they recently came out with a joint subcompact model that uses a 19hp Yanmar engine! Maybe Branson's weren't small enough. So far that one model's the only sign that TYM owns Branson.

I have not looked at a TYM but I did test drive a TYM built Mahindra. There were somethings I liked about that tractor better but the fit and finish of the Branson is better. A lot closer to Kubota L01 level. I have been pretty happy with my Branson. Kioti was not an option as there's no dealers around. I'm sure they're good too, lots of people have them and like them. If I was looking now I'd also look at Yanmar. The list prices are high but people report a lower street price.

 

[3gunr]

Istopped a week or two ago on the way to my farm at a place selling the new yanmars He gave me a price of 34000 bucks for the 47 hp open station with fel .I think that's way overpriced compared to other similar sized tractors

 

[DK35vince]

I don't have a newer Kioti.
But my 2001 Kioti DK 35 sure has been good to me the past 17 years.

 

[Aquamoose]

I bought my 3520h Branson from Dave’s tractor in Redding Ca (delivered to Spokane, WA). The selling point was the engine, lifting capacity (out lifts others) and the weight (quite important to have as much weight to keep the tires planted on terra firma!) for the 35hp range.

A friend has a Kioti that I borrowed a few times before my Branson and it felt underpowered.

 

[sikmusicfreak8]

Branson does outweigh others, lift more than others, and has a great engine. But, as others have mentioned, having good dealers and information is worth its weight in gold. I bought a used tractor, and I do all my own work, so I did not need a dealer. Tractor has been great. Kiotis do look nice. The new YT3 Yanmars look REALLY nice. Kubotas lifting capabilities and light weight don't sit well with me, same as the Deere, and they command a premium, but they have amazing dealer support. So, 6 one way, half a dozen the other. Depends on what you value more.

 

[Omega Woods]

Kioti appears to be here to stay. I believe Branson was purchased by TYM in 2016. 'Nuff said?

They were purchased for the engine plant so that they can put Cummins designed engines in their tractor, so yes, that says all I need to know.

 

[ericm979]

I got my 3725 from Dave's too. Eugene is about 100 miles farther away than I am. Dave's has been fine with shipping me stuff (not that I've needed much, just filters).

 

[Omega Woods]

My advice would be to drive both and talk to both dealers. Whichever dealer you are most comfortable with, buy that one. I just bought a Kubota subcompact because I don't feel comfortable with the local Branson dealers.

 

[airbiscuit]

Kioti appears to be here to stay. I believe Branson was purchased by TYM in 2016. 'Nuff said?

We had a local dealer that sold Farmtrac. When they dissolved (and became an orphan tractor), he was looking for a different brand to carry. He originally looked into TYM because he thought the tractors were good, but passed because he said their parts availability was bad. He ended up carrying Mahindra and seems happy with that decision. TYM recently bought out Branson (who bailed on Century and Montana [who bailed on Farmtrac] tractor brands). Soooo, will there still be both TYM and Branson tractors in 5-10 years?

 

[DK35vince]

I bought my 3520h Branson from Daveç—´ tractor in Redding Ca (delivered to Spokane, WA). The selling point was the engine, lifting capacity (out lifts others) and the weight (quite important to have as much weight to keep the tires planted on terra firma!) for the 35hp range.

A friend has a Kioti that I borrowed a few times before my Branson and it felt underpowered.

My DK 35 according to my service manual is 33.5 HP, and 28.3 PTO HP.
I run a 6' tiller, 6' brush mower, 84" rear finish mower, 9' FEL mounted snow plow with it fine.
Doubt others in the same HP range do better.

 

[jeff9366]

A friend has a Kioti that I borrowed a few times before my Branson and it felt underpowered.

I think this comment, with no stipulation of Kioti model, a cheap, cheap shot at Kioti.

 

[Aquamoose]

I think this comment, with no stipulation of Kioti model, a cheap, cheap shot at Kioti.

Scuzi... it was a CK-35. I thought it was the norm with regards to operating it & moving dirt. When I tried out the Branson, I was surprised at the difference and thought my friend had a lesser horse powered model so I asked him. Nope, it’s the same. 35 hp. I believe it’s the weight of the tractor and the lifting capacity that made the difference.

Cheap shot? Just sharing my opinion with the OP at his request. How else should I word it?

 

[ptsg]

I have a Branson F36Rn, the same as the 3515R over there in the US but without all the DPF shenanigans, however I have been really really happy with it so far. 60 Hours on the clock and it just runs awesome, the weight is just spot on. I've mowed really heavy brush on a steep hill and it was really stable.

Over here we use chains instead of blades on brush mowers which requires more HP. I have a 4 ft mower and a 5 ft rototiller, I've never had any lack of power issues. Anyway, and just for comparison purpose only, I've seen several reports of similar 35 HP Kioti's that couldn't run a 4 ft rototiller due to lack of power and to be honest, before I bought the Branson, I've looked at Kioti and it didn't seem to have the HP that they state for, also the constrution doesn't feel robust like Branson does. The castings on the Branson are massive for a 35 HP tractor.

This is not to create more discussions or disagreements. It is just my personal experience and opinion.

Here a video of my F36 mowing. This was my first time using it, so I was going really easy with it. I've since mowed a lot heavier stuff with no problems at all. Keep in mind we use big chains instead of blades on our brush mowers.

 

[keith841]

Actually I have nothing against Kubota. I hear they are great, but a little pricy. I love the HST like on the TYM.