Kioti CK30 or Kubota L3130

[Sigarms]

Not feeling bad after reading the lenght of time it took for some people here to figure out what tractor they want.

I've been looking around for the past three months, and am leaning toward a Kioti CK30HST or Kubota L3130HST.

Kitoi for just the tractor around mid 13,000, the Kubota is about $1500 more.

Overall, that is the same difference that I've found in price if you add an FEL and rotary cutter.

Just got close to 40 acres, and already need and FEL with the mulch pile about 150 yrds away from the house, not to mention the bush hogging that I'll be needing to do in the near future.

Honestly, both tractors feel "nice" to me.

Opinons on both tractors?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thks

 

[Bob_Skurka]

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Opinons on both tractors?
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Yup, both are too small for 40 acres. I'd be looking in the 40 to 60hp range unless you are not planning on using much of the 40 acres. But if you are planning on working the land (I don't necessarily mean 'farming'), then you will regret getting a 30 or 32 hp tractor for 40 acres.

 

[Morgan1952]

Like Bob said, you may wish you had a larger tractor. It would help if we new the lay of the land. Location and land condition. Rocky, hilly, level or swamp? Both tractors are good and will do the general work you mentioned. With 40 acres it may take you a while. I like the Kioti, but you will end up getting every one giving you thier personnal choice. You may want to take some time and go to each forum and do some reading. Drive both tractors and see how they fit you and which one you like the best. I think you will get more for the money with Kioti, but then again that's my opinion. Good luck.
Bob

 

[Sigarms]

The house sits back off the road, about 100 yard driveway (gravel driveway)

There is about 6 acres surrounding the house that will need to be bush hogged. This land has some trees, and a couple of hills.

Total of about 10 acres wooded (3 acres to the right and 7 acres to the left of the house, behind the 6 acres that needs to be bush hogged), some of the trees are on hills. There is an access road already going through this property.

Another 15 or so acres are currently being used for pasture (leased) for livestock.

The pasture sits about 100 yards (most of it "beyond the creek) behind the house and slopes up a hill. From top of the "hill" to back of the house is 600 yards.

There is a creek that goes behind the house and runs through the entire property (about 21 acres are on the "house" side of the stream, the other 19 acres are across the stream, all pasture, sloping up a hill).

The entire property (40 or so acres) is fenced in.

The land can get "soft" after a hard rain, but I'm in N.C, so during the summer the ground can be "hard" due to nice N.C clay "base". No rocks, although "hilly" is some areas, I can drive my truck pretty much anywhere on the property.

I'm not a farmer.

My father lives in Pa. and my mom passed away a couple of years ago and I'm trying to get him to come down to live with my wife and myself.

The reason I mention this is because I would like him to use the tractor to bush hog the 6 acres around the house, and would like a hydrostat transmission to make it easier on him to ride (my dad has a hoot with his old wheel horse on his 2 acres in Pa, and I'm sure this "activity" will keep him satisfied)

My wife and I agree that a tractor is going to be a nessesity.

I don't really want (or can't afford) to go over 20k (I have to laugh, my used truck is the most expensive vehicle I've ever bought, used, at 14k).

Since I've only tried a Hydro trans., what is the "second easiest" trans. out there? (since the hydro is the most expensive, or at least thats what I've found).

Morgan1952, can I ask why you like the Kioti better?

Thanks

 

[KiotiJohn]

So, if you're only talking about 6 acres to brush cut, the 30 HP range will do just fine. You can pull a 6' cutter with either of these tractors. If it's way high to begin with, you may have to take a little smaller bite at first, but afterward, the 6' will do fine.

Either tractor will do the road work, and both will haul pretty good sized trees if you need to do that.

I prefer the CK30 for myself, as I like all the features it offers for less money, and I have worked a couple of them some at my dealer's. They are what I would expect since I have a CK20 that does much more than I ever expected it could.
With the CK one doesn't pay extra for joystick and valve block as on the Kubota. The GL3130 speicifications would not download today, so I can't pull from memory all the comparisons, but I do know I've done it before and found the CK30 to be more to MY LIKING for the money.
Generally, the Kioties will have higher lift capacities, a platform operators station, not ladder frame, and be heavier. This is not always the case. You may not want heavier due to the clay when wet, but for extra traction, heavier is better.
John

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm going to still stick with a larger tractor as the right choice, especially after reading what you are going to do. Given your budget issues, I'd take a look at some slightly used machines in the larger size ranges if you can't find something that will fit into your budget. The problem will be finding HST transmissions but they are out there. A shuttle shift is pretty easy too, there are various types, basically the more sophisticated they are, the easier they are to operate.

Of the tractors you have chosen to compare, both are very nice machines, the Kioti is a bit lower priced, the prices I see on the L3130 typically are about $1100 more. There are reasons for the differences, 2 more hp, the 723 loader on the Kubota is also stronger by a reasonable margin (there is also a 5?? loader available, it is not as strong but lower priced) and the L3130 is heavier and has a longer wheelbase than the CK30. So you pay extra, but there are things you get for the extra money. As I said, both are very nice. But I also think both are still a bit small for what you have to maintain.

I'm not sure if you are going to continue to graze animals on the 15 acres, but if you need to bush hog that occasionally then a 6' cutter is going to take you quite a while to deal with that, in addition to the 6 acres you have behind the house. You are also probably going to have maintain a good chunk of that 40 acres fence line. I have a feeling that you might find that you limit your land use to parts of your property because you won't be able to effectively maintain all of it without devoting too much time (yours or your Dads) because of the tractor size. Now I also say that larger tractors give you larger implements which save time, BUT also cost more money so that again may drive you toward some used models.

If I was you, I would take you Dad tractor shopping. Let him try some of the shuttle shift style units. See what he can do with those, you may find that the HST transmission is not mandatory. IF it is not, then the DK series Kioti would be a good choice, they are available in larger sizes than the CK. In the Kubota line up, there are larger machine in both HST and various types of gear transmissions as well. I just really think that you will regret a 30hp class machine in the long run, even it is one of the large 30hp tractors.

 

[Dk45_Jeff]

After a lot of research last year, before I started looking at prices, I had narrowed my search down to these two tractors. When comparing prices between these two tractors it is important to keep in mind Kubota offers two loaders (LA513, LA723) and three transmission options (HST, GST, DT) as compared to Kioti’s one loader (KL130) and two transmissions (HST and GEAR). I found these two machine very well matched, and when the equipped with a LA723 Kubota was the better package.

However in my area (central and northern Virginia) a GL3130 HST with a LA723 is $2800 dollars more than a CK30 HST KL130. In my opinion the difference wasn’t worth $2800. In fact when I started talking to dealers about prices I found I could, and did, buy a DK45 with a KL1590 loader for what the price of the 3130/723 package. When talking price with dealers get them to provide a written quote, listing the model numbers and options of everything included in the price.

As far as ease of operation goes I don’t think any of the transmission choices is difficult to operate. After HST Kubota’s hydraulic clutch GST model is the simplest to operate as I don’t think you have to clutch to change direction just to change gears. Both Kioti’s gear model and the Kubota DT are synchronized shuttles. I’m not the world’s most coordinated guy, but I’ve found synchronized shuttles pretty easy to operate.

I think either 30 hp tractor would serve you well, but as Bob pointed out a larger tractor will let you do things quicker. Since it’s your money I’m willing to suggest a larger tractor too. Don’t forget to budget more for larger implements, fuel, hydraulic fluid and engine oil in addition to the higher initial cost. But you’ll be able to get tasks done faster. I think most guys’ perception of the required tractor size is dynamic, whatever we have plus a little is the minimal size needed. In my case 45 hp is barely adequate for my 10 acres in Virginia even though I know my 130 acres in New York has been maintain by my family for 70 years with little more than chain saws and lawn mowers. But I’m willing to bet this summer I’ll start thinking 45 hp is the bare minimum when I haul my new tractor up there.

Don’t let your property size dictate the tractor size, rather consider the amount of time and money you want to devote to the jobs you’re buying the tractor to perform. Considering you’re buying this machine with an eye to keeping your dad active, maybe a smaller 20 or 25 hp tractor with lighter implements might be a better choice. It would give him more seat time and easier to maintain.

 

[To20Chris]

Recognizing the realities of a price limit, I think you could do fine with a 30hp unit. Personally, I don't think you'll be power limited as long as you don't exceed a 6' hog. If the grass is really thick & the blades are not too sharp, you may have to go real slow with a 30hp & 6', but then that should not be the noremal situation anyway. To carry that deck you'll want to pay more attention to chassis size and weight than to HP. You may want to look at the LK3054XS if you are concerned about keeping the costs down - that's where I ended up, for the same reasons. I would not worry somuch abouot HST/shuttle - moving a little lever around is not hard work for anyone, and you'll get used to whatever system you buy.

 

[Sigarms]

Bob, you have to know my father. When he first cam to my new house, he thought his old wheel horse would work

Fact is, my father is very stubborn (at first), but I doubt if I'll get him to go out and "test drive" tractors.

Bottom line is that it's not overly important that my father be able to drive the tractor, BUT... it would be nice if he could enjoy it (I would like for him to enjoy himself like he does on his wheel horse)

Kioti John, yse, bushing hogging would be first on the "to do things" list, and that's why I looked at the 30 hp tractors.

DK45 Jeff, so far, the L3130 with loader (smaller one, forgot the model) is actually about 3k cheaper than the DK45 with loader (as of now, I can get the L3830 with loader for the same price as the DK45 with loader). I could of mis-read your statement, so If I'm incorrect, apologies.

Although you do have me thinking about the DK series now (and I may of been talking to the "wrong" person for a quote on that model).

Guys, I appreciate your input.

For what it's worth. if you would of told me I'd be looking for a tractor a year ago, I'd think you'd be smoking some "funny stuff".

Again, thanks

 

[schole]

You just can't beat the advice given from the above responders. They are accurate, experienced, and sure to steer you correctly. They each helped me a ton with their posts before I purchased my machine.

I think budget is key. If money is no option, then 2 (or more) tractors will get plenty of use on any farm size property. We used 3 farm tractors, a TLB, and a crawler growing up on a hobby farm. With all the operators we had around, each machine got plenty of use.

There are a passionate voices on either side of the transmission debate. I thought I just had to have an HST before I seriously test drove models in each category from all the local brands. The transmission debate is somewhat academic, I think. When you actually drive them, I also agree that moving a 'little lever' to change direction is really not much of an issue. Gear and shuttle transmissions are so much better than they used to be. Production work might be another issue ie. lots of loader work?

The Kioti's are really, really nice machines. I was nearly set on the CK30 shuttle, but just couldn't get the final numbers to match the Kubota L3400DT. In the end, I felt (or did I convince myself?) that the L3400 fit better. I liked the few extra hp, the faster loader, and the more recognized name in my area. Comparable JD units were just too high priced here.

If your machine is not making you money, I would get a really solid, slightly smaller machine, and spend money on finish mower, rotary mower, backhoe, tiller, trailer, post-hole digger, tooth bar for the loader, new garage for toys....and enjoy all the seat time you just purchased.

Again, these experienced posters above are an invaluable source of information. I am extremely indebted to their contributions to this forum. Thank you all!!

Shawn