Comparison CK30HST or?????

gregfender · Feb 13, 2013

I have a dilemma. I am wanting to downsize a bit but struggling with which direction to go. I have a John Deere 1070 with a 4-n-1 bucket that is a great machine. Less than 1200 hours on her. However, I find myself doing a good bit of mowing and general upkeep anymore and don't really need the size of the 1070. I am looking for something to drag my finish mower and landscape rake and basically keep the place clean. Most importantly, I want a smaller footprint. The Ag tires on my JD can leave a mess.

I have looked really hard at the Kubota B3200. Its smaller and a good bit lighter. Reasonable amount of bells and whistles and it will handle everything but my 6' bush hog and 6' box blade. My other choice is a CK30HST. A few more bells and whistles and the dealer says it will handle my 6' implements. Do any of you guys have any real world experience with 6' implements on a CK30? Are 6' implements too big? For the money, it really seems like the best deal, but I worry about too much weight and whether it can handle my other equipment.

Any advice or experienced voices would be welcome.

Mousefield · Feb 13, 2013

I have a 6ft box blade I use on our private gravel road. I have several moderate inclines so sometimes I have to put it into 4wd if the box gets full of wet gravel. I have had my CK35 HST for over 4 ½ years, has 447 hours and it has been a great machine

MichiganIron · Feb 13, 2013

Here's a good rule of thumb we have used for KIOTI Tractors and Brush Cutters:
Field Mowing - 3.0-4.5 PTO Horsepower / Foot of Cutter
Brush Mowing - 4.5-6.0 PTO Horsepower / Foot of Cutter.

With a KIOTI, the tractor weight is sufficient to handle cutters in the right PTO Horsepower Range. The subcompacts need to be evaluated differently.

murphy1244 · Feb 13, 2013

MichiganIron said:
Here's a good rule of thumb we have used for KIOTI Tractors and Brush Cutters:
Field Mowing - 3.0-4.5 PTO Horsepower / Foot of Cutter
Brush Mowing - 4.5-6.0 PTO Horsepower / Foot of Cutter.

With a KIOTI, the tractor weight is sufficient to handle cutters in the right PTO Horsepower Range. The subcompacts need to be evaluated differently.

Thanks.

Gittyup · Feb 13, 2013

I'd go with a CK35 for the extra ponies for mowing. I do pull a heavy gannon 6' boxblade with my CK25 gear and it handles it pretty good.

MotorSeven · Feb 14, 2013

How old is your Deere? Unless it's more then 8-10 years old you may take a beating on a trade unless you sell ought right for a fair price. Have you considered keeping the Deere and buying a smaller used lighter tractor for finish mowing & raking? For their class, Kioti's are heavy which is not something you really need to mow or rake.