RK Tractor reviews???

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Those RK's are built by TYM. TYM also built the Cabella's ones and currently builds several different ones for Mahindra. There are other brands as well that sell (or have sold) TYM rebranded tractors. If having a strong dealer relationship is important then you might also look at Mahindra since they have a large network. I looked at TYM but the only dealer nearby wasn't a "real" tractor dealership with a shop and they only had the line for a few months. I have four top-notch Mahindra dealers with the furthest being just over an hour away so the brand decision was pretty easy. My second choice was a Kioti but the closest dealer was over an hour away and I wanted someone a little closer.

I see this word "rebranded" a lot. That usually means someone else designed, engineered, manufactured, and assembled the product and then another company just stuck their name on it. I haven't found any SCUT or CUT that isn't assembled from various components that were made in various countries. Is that what we mean by a rebranded tractor?

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

I see this word "rebranded" a lot. That usually means someone else designed, engineered, manufactured, and assembled the product and then another company just stuck their name on it. I haven't found any SCUT or CUT that isn't assembled from various components that were made in various countries. Is that what we mean by a rebranded tractor?

There are 14 under-60HP tractor brands sold in the U.S., and only 7 companies that supply those 14 brands. That means that some of those 7 companies are making tractors for other brands. That's the little secret about the under-60HP segment that many people are not aware of. As an example, CaseIH and New Holland brand under-60HP tractors are made by LS Mtron, a Korean manufacturer that also makes tractors in their own brand, LS. Making things more interesting, CaseIH and New Holland brands are the same company, CNH Industrial, with the "C" being Case and the "NH" being New Holland. The interesting thing is that people will call an RK Tractor "rebranded" and not a CaseIH or New Holland brand under 60HP tractor rebranded, but they are in fact, both rebranded tractors. TYM (Tong Yang Moolsan) makes the TYM brand, many Mahindra brand models, the RK brand and the Branson brand through their acquisition of Kukje Machinery about three years ago. There is paint color and styling differentiation, plus each brand determines what standard features go into their specific brand, plus powertrain systems such as the engine and transmission. TYM is actually the second largest manufacturer of under-60HP tractors sold in the U.S., behind only Kubota. They have that ranking because they build in multiple brands. Cannot speak for the other brands, but RK Tractors are of the highest spec possible, we do not have options for our tractors because we put everything into the base. Yes, they are rebranded, but they are unique to the RK brand in terms of how they are equipped. Hope that helps.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Hope that helps.

Thank you, yes it does. Is there any tractor company that manufactures the entire tractor (under-60 HP) except for the engine? I understand JD makes their own over-100 hp tractors?

The reason I ask is I just see a lot of people referring to certain brands as "frankensteins," meaning put together from various parts made by different companies, implying that results in an inferior tractor.

When I see people call Mahindra a rebranded TYM, but the TYM-brand tractors have different specs and even a different length/width.

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

Thank you, yes it does. Is there any tractor company that manufactures the entire tractor (under-60 HP) except for the engine? I understand JD makes their own over-100 hp tractors?

The reason I ask is I just see a lot of people referring to certain brands as "frankensteins," meaning put together from various parts made by different companies, implying that results in an inferior tractor.

When I see people call Mahindra a rebranded TYM, but the TYM-brand tractors have different specs and even a different length/width.

I would not be concerned about any tractor brand using parts or even major subsystems that come from different suppliers. All tractor manufacturing today, regardless of HP, is basically the assembly of parts made either internally or purchased from a supplier, just like cars. There can be literally hundreds of different suppliers providing parts to GM for one model of car or a tractor made by John Deere. Tractor companies decide whether to make something such as an engine themselves or buy it from someone else purely for economic reasons, it has no impact to quality, the supplier's products must conform to the specs provided. John Deere makes their own higher HP engines, but buys the smaller one from Yanmar. Why, because Yanmar makes great small diesel engines and can produce them at less cost than Deere can. We use the same Yanmar engines in RK Tractors. They are great engines. As for Mahindra specs being different, you have to look at the model to know what TYM, Mitsubishi or Mahindra makes. Mahindra uses their own engine in many of the tractors TYM makes for them. They make the engine and ship to TYM in Korea to be assembled into the tractor. Differences in length and width are simply the fenders being wider or the hood being longer or shorter, changed simply for styling differentiation. People who make comments that the tractor is rebranded and somehow inferior, or because parts come from different sources they are "Frankenstein" tractors do not really understand how similar tractors are to the way most powered products are made today. People are sometimes biased. On this forum, it is easy to spot someone that has a stake in a particular brand. They seldom mention that, but it really comes through when someone decides that the only way to defend is to bash the competition. We are pretty up front. RK Tractor Guy is my username and we make no attempt to mislead. We only provide information when asked, or when something untrue is said about our brand. Thank you for your questions, happy to answer anytime.

 

[kkilli]

There are 14 under-60HP tractor brands sold in the U.S., and only 7 companies that supply those 14 brands. That means that some of those 7 companies are making tractors for other brands. That's the little secret about the under-60HP segment that many people are not aware of. As an example, CaseIH and New Holland brand under-60HP tractors are made by LS Mtron, a Korean manufacturer that also makes tractors in their own brand, LS. Making things more interesting, CaseIH and New Holland brands are the same company, CNH Industrial, with the "C" being Case and the "NH" being New Holland. The interesting thing is that people will call an RK Tractor "rebranded" and not a CaseIH or New Holland brand under 60HP tractor rebranded, but they are in fact, both rebranded tractors. TYM (Tong Yang Moolsan) makese TYM brand, many Mahindra brand models, the RK brand and the Branson brand through their acquisition of Kukje Machinery about three years ago. There is paint color and styling differentiation, plus each brand determines what standard features go into their specific brand, plus powertrain systems such as the engine and transmission. TYM is actually the second largest manufacturer of under-60HP tractors sold in the U.S., behind only Kubota. They have that ranking because they build in multiple brands. Cannot speak for the other brands, but RK Tractors are of the highest spec possible, we do not have options for our tractors because we put everything into the base. Yes, they are rebranded, but they are unique to the RK brand in terms of how they are equipped. Hope that helps.

Thank you for your insight and participation here! Its refreshing to hear from someone who is obviously very knowledgeable about the industry and has the data to back it up. It certainly helps offset and dispel allot of the fallacy's some of the "experts" around here like to continually regurgitate.

Then again, I may be a bit biased since I am admittedly a happy RK owner.....

 

[RK Tractor Guy]

Thank you for your insight and participation here! Its refreshing to hear from someone who is obviously very knowledgeable about the industry and has the data to back it up. It certainly helps offset and dispel allot of the fallacy's some of the "experts" around here like to continually regurgitate.

Then again, I may be a bit biased since I am admittedly a happy RK owner.....

Very kind of you to say, and thank you for having the confidence in us to buy our tractor!

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

It doesn't worry me at all. It's a global economy; can't fight it. And frankly, I see little advantage to one company making everything from the seats to the engines on a tractor, as it's pretty hard for one company to be the best at everything. Why not source the seats from a company that specializes in seats and makes the best seats? and the engine from a company that only makes engines and makes the best engines? Also cheaper, as a specialized engine manufacturer, for example, makes zillions of them and can take advantage of economies of scale, plus a highly trained, specialized workforce.

RK Tractor Guy, I wish your company the very best of success. Equipping your smaller tractors with all the bells and whistles is very appealing. Now please develop an electric tractor and I will be your first customer.

 

[GSVette]

Thank you, yes it does. Is there any tractor company that manufactures the entire tractor (under-60 HP) except for the engine? I understand JD makes their own over-100 hp tractors?

The reason I ask is I just see a lot of people referring to certain brands as "frankensteins," meaning put together from various parts made by different companies, implying that results in an inferior tractor.

When I see people call Mahindra a rebranded TYM, but the TYM-brand tractors have different specs and even a different length/width.

Yanmar, for one

 

[s219]

Kubota makes the whole tractor, including the engine.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

That's nice. Of course Yanmar and Kubota are both Japanese companies. But fine, they make great tractors, which is the most important thing. Which is my point, I think.