All you CK owners, why did you .....

[Arky217]

Yes, I still haven't bought a tractor yet, (Shame on me) but I think I'm getting closer. Anyway, I'm looking hard at Kioti again, specifically at the CK series.

Looking at the specs on the Kioti site, it looks like there is no difference whatsoever between the CK27, CK30, and CK35 except the Hp. And at 28, 30, and 34 hp respectively, there is not a lot of difference there either.

So, my question to all you CK owners is why did you pick the particular model that you did ? Was it Hp or price that motivated you ?

By the way, what did you find from your dealer to be the average difference in price between the three models ?

Another question: the Kioti site shows that on the gear model, both the shuttle and the 'main gear' are synchronized. (the 2 ranges needing a complete stop, of course). By this, do they mean that all 4 gears are synchronized or just 3 and 4 ?

Also on the Kioti site, they seem to indicate that all three models will accept either the KL120 or KL130 loader and either the KB2465 or KB2475 backhoe.
Is there that much difference in price that would motivate someone to chose the smaller loader or smaller backhoe ?

Finally, all you CK27 owners (especially if you have the gear model), have you regretted in any way not getting the CK30 or CK35 ? If so, was it only because of more needed PTO Hp ?

Thanks much,
Arky

 

[DK35vince]

All 4 gears are sycronized in both forward and reverse.

 

[Gittyup]

I have the CK25 gear. I chose it because I really didn't need any more hp. I was mainly looking for a digger where weight and hydraulics were the most important. PTO hp was less of an issue.

I've used a 12" PHD and a 5" chipper/shredder on the rear PTO. Tractor handled both quite well, only bogging down slightly when pushing 5" branches through the chipper too fast.

I have a Rhino 75 (7.5') backhoe that works great off the rear remotes. The KL130 is an adequate loader. Though I think the tractor could handle one with a little more capacity (like the woods).

The shuttle shift manual works good, and maximizes your hp vs. the slight loss with HST. Though, if I had had the money I would have gone to the CK30 in HST. HST is a nice convenience and adds a great deal of safety. When I bought, the CK30 in HST was like $2300 more than my CK25 gear.

What is really important is what you plan to use your machine for. If you need PTO power and want HST, pay for the extra horses. I'd go for the CK35. If you just need a ground engager, get the gear in the CK27.

 

[jimmyj]

For me the motive was price. It was the "most" tractor I could afford.

 

[SunnyJim]

I have a CK25HST and find the power adequate except when running the bush hog through tall thick grass. Then I could use more then 18hp of PTO power. I just have to go a bit slower compared to a CK35 would while cutting.

 

[IslandTractor]

I agree with Gittyup. The CK27 has adequate power for almost anything that any CK tractor could do with the possible exception of heavy duty bush hogging where the CK35 would be champ. I suppose you could argue also that the CK35 would be able to pull a six foot tiller instead of a 5 footer but the point remains that except for PTO power the CK27 should be essentially the same. They all have the identical hydraulics, 3PT and loader so PTO power is the only consideration.

I don't know what the difference in price is between these three CK's now. I personally wouldn't pay much extra to get a CK30 as 2hp is next to nothing and would only get the CK35 if bush hogging in difficult settings were my goal. I had a CK20 and upgraded to the DK line for the simple reason that there was not all that much difference in loader capacity moving up the CK ladder which is what I was really looking to upgrade. Point is simply that you need to figure out what you intend to do with the tractor before deciding whether you need more HP or loader strength and then let that analysis dictate your choice. Too much emphasis on HP alone here on TBN.

 

[Loren49]

I'm also very satisfied with CK27 gear and agree that there is too much emphasis on HP. During my first 100 hrs of use the only time hp would have shortened my work time was when tilling about an acre - Maybe would have saved an hour over the three times I tilled it. In a past life when I was a dairy farmer hp made lots of difference with the hours of field work.
My other 2 cents is that I see no safety advantage to HST-most of safety is related to the operator. As stated in earlier posts, your planned tasks and how often you do them should have the most weight in your choice along with how much you want to spend.

Loren

 

[Sandlot]

Dealer was just down the street, price, and the size was right for my 2 acres.

 

[Mark_G]

I wanted 30 HP in a platform that could skid logs and move in the woods, I found my CK30 gear lightly used (I think it had 340 hr) and well cared for at a great price ($14K with FB, backhoe, rear blade and 13KW pto generator). I have found there is little need to skid logs as it just picks most of them up. I moved several large logs this past weekend. I often lift one end of downed trees with the bucket, cut the logs to length, pick up the cut piece and take it to my chainsaw mill for processing.

Mark

 

[Tim M]

If you decide on HST keep in mind that the HST pressure relief valves for the CK25-CK35 are identical. I have a CK30 and can easily hit relief in 1st gear when digging. Keep in mind this is with good traction conditions and I do have weighted tires and a backhoe. Point being is there would be no difference if I had a CK35 HST. It will hit relief at the same pressure and not be able to deliver any more "drive force" than a CK30 and I suspect given the same conditions the CK25 would also hit relief before bogging the engine. My application is mostly digging and pushing dirt/stone around. I do not do any PTO work.