DK-40 HST OR DK-45 HST

[toddler]

Hey Mark,

You bring up an point we gloss over a lot when we make our tractor recommendations around here.

If downtime equalled money, I'd be buying from the biggest local dealer with the best service department. And all else being equal, I'd probably get a Deere based on the companies supply chain management on parts.

But as a former "hobby farmer" type, and a future one, I have more leaway on time. Nobody is yelling at me because a job isn't getting done, and the hay isn't going to get wet or moldy because I cut it yesterday and the tractor is broke today . . . But if I were in a situation where an extra day of downtime would cost me 10 acres of hay or a day of harvesting, or even the good will of a customer, my equation would be different and the $$ of the tractor wouldn't matter nearly as much!

Todd

 

[mark.r]

Hey Mark,

You bring up an point we gloss over a lot when we make our tractor recommendations around here.

If downtime equalled money, I'd be buying from the biggest local dealer with the best service department. And all else being equal, I'd probably get a Deere based on the companies supply chain management on parts.

But as a former "hobby farmer" type, and a future one, I have more leaway on time. Nobody is yelling at me because a job isn't getting done, and the hay isn't going to get wet or moldy because I cut it yesterday and the tractor is broke today . . . But if I were in a situation where an extra day of downtime would cost me 10 acres of hay or a day of harvesting, or even the good will of a customer, my equation would be different and the $$ of the tractor wouldn't matter nearly as much!

Todd

Absolutely. Although we are not cutting hay now, but are looking to do so in the next couple years, dropping my DK off on Saturday and not getting it back until Thursday for a simple 100hr. service is asinine. Yea, I know do it yourself. That said, for most hobby farmers it makes little difference on a four day turn around where as for a guy that has to cut hay or get bales out of the field 4 days can ruin thousands of dollars in crop. For me it meant not getting my seed and fertilizer down. Now some might say just do it the next day. Well keep in mind some of us work full time jobs. I run an up and coming facilities management company so I can't be on the farm everyday. The flip side of that is everyday that I am on the farm during the week is a day I can't bill my customers for being in the office. So when I decide to put down 900lbs. of fertilizer on Wednesday I want my tractor in my barn.

A lot of this has to do with my dealerships customer base. I assume the spend 90% of their time fixing lawnmower, blowers, weedeaters, etc. because that is all that live in my area. I live on the fringe of the farm country so as you move further out the large the equipment gets. Sad to say my next mount will more than likely be a Massy, Case, or NH. I will be keep my DK for raking, tedding and stall work because it had been a great machine around the farm. But I see myself doing most of the work from here on out.

 

[jcims]

The pic below is a DK35SE-DK45SE and a DK45S

Great pic for those of us that have a two hour drive to the nearest Kioti dealer...thanks!!!

 

[HK45]

Mark. R Nice pics of your farm and dk-45 at work. Did you get the bucket with the teeth on it or did you weld them on yourself. My old farmtrac 360 just had a standard bucket with no teeth and i had a hard time moving mulch and dirt around. Let me know what kind of bucket that is so when i get my dk-40 or 45 i can have that same setup. Thanks

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm not sure what brand toothbar Mark has but Markham in NC makes nice bolt on toothbars.

I actually went without a toothbar on my DK40se as I use a grapple for most things that require gripping and use the backhoe for digging. The toothbars can be removed but they do get in the way of basic scraping and leveling or backdragging operations. I think it is clear that most folks like the toothbars I'm just giving some of the cons to consider.

 

[HK45]

Islandtractor, Is Markham a vender or just a member on the forum. Also if he is a vender do yo have his website or contact info thanks.

 

[mark.r]

Mark. R Nice pics of your farm and dk-45 at work. Did you get the bucket with the teeth on it or did you weld them on yourself. My old farmtrac 360 just had a standard bucket with no teeth and i had a hard time moving mulch and dirt around. Let me know what kind of bucket that is so when i get my dk-40 or 45 i can have that same setup. Thanks

Thanks for the kind words. As far as the toothbar, I went the easy route . . . I called Rick. He asked me two questions, What loader? Stock bucket? KL401, and yes. 36hrs. later I had a perfectly fitting Woods Brand toothbar at my front door. $395.00 shipped. Now I know a lot of people like the Markham and from what I read it is a very good product and will serve you right. But the one reason I like the Woods unit is that when I ordered it from Rick I was literally sitting in the parking lot of Chic Fi La talking to him. No measuring required since he knew the Woods would fit. The Markham although very easy from what I read, requires a bit of measuring. Call Rick, he'll hook you up. Like Island said the grapple is the way to go if you plan on doing a lot of clearing otherwise for digging an general material moving the toothbar will serve you well. I did take out some trees two weeks ago and the big teeth can certainly easily pluck some trees out with roots.

 

[HK45]

Thanks for the info Mark

 

[mark.r]

Thanks for the info Mark

No problem.

One thing I forgot to say is that the toothbar can be removed or put on (after the initial install) with two wrenches in less than 5 minutes. I use it for a couple hours or a few minutes and then realize that I need my flat edge bucket and grab my two wrenches I keep in my tractors tool box and off it comes. Thow it to the side and right back to work. It requires two holes to be drilled for the initial install. My wife and I did that in less than 10 minutes with drill and a magic marker.

 

[IXLR8]

Islandtractor, Is Markham a vender or just a member on the forum. Also if he is a vender do yo have his website or contact info thanks.

Markham is a vendor, website here:
Markham Welding - Home