Buying Advice kioti dk75 vs kubota and others

[charleyfarmall]

I like the dry clutch on my Ducati's also, but I like the wet clutch in my New Holland and my Deere. The biggest draw back in the DK75 is that it is a basic shuttle shift with a dry clutch. Understand that not that long ago, that's all you could get in a tractor that size and there is nothing wrong with them. 20 years from now it will be an easy tractor to fix. Dry clutches tend to wear faster and need to be changed sooner, that's all. You also need to come to a complete stop to reverse but in a big tractor it's not that big a deal.

The biggest drawback of the DK 75 when it first came out is that the price was not far off the Deere 5083e and for the $2k difference, I would take the Deere. I do not know what the current price is.

Case (and Kubota I believe) still sell tractors in that class with dry clutches and the Deere 5000 utility tractors are dry clutches as well. I'm waiting for somone to bring out a new hydrostat in that class of tractors. That would make one heck of a hay mowing machine....

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't count weight as a plus unless it is in the right place for the right purpose. I've seen over weighted tractors have axle seal problems as well as breakage and it doesn't normally happen in the first five years although I have seen it it most often happens later when it comes out of the once proud owners pocket.

We like to balance our tractors so that the customer gets a well balanced unit capable of doing a good days work with a reasonable cost. Ideally we like to look first at what the primary purpose of the tractor and weight accordingly not only for the fuel use but for tire wear as well as overall tractor life.

Before you worry too much about axle failure, compare the size of the axles on the lighter Kubotas and heavier Kiotis. At least one reason the Kioti tractors are heavy for HP is the size of their axles.

For lawn work there is no doubt that lightweight is better but for field work that may not be true. Think pickup truck for an analogy. You can get the same HP engine in a F150 or F250. The 150 is lighter and excellent for general duty work but which one do you want pulling a big load?

 

[Martian]

Great comparison by IslandTractor. And 99% of us add a lot of ballast anyway, so just getting it standard and making the tractor more heavy duty sounds more like a good thing to me. Not to many 75HP tractors that I've seen spend their lives nurturing lawns, see a lot more in the mud, fields and woods. Just a couple pull large batwing mowers, but the tires are different.

 

[kubotachief]

Thanks for all the info. I agree, when I have a square baler behind the tractor, then a wagon behind the baler you need weight. Especially when you have the "PUCKER FACTOR" going up, down, or across a hill. One thing about hilly ground, its always safe to go straight up but eventually you need to turn and come back down. I am still looking hard at the kioti, I have not made a decision yet but I will in the near future.

 

[Martian]

Kubotachief,

So are you looking to get a new tractor anyway or are you just looking into the Kioti?

 

[kubotachief]

I plan to get a new one within the next month or so. All I know for sure is it will not be a kubota. I guess I will need to change my user name----Kiotichief perhaps? Time will tell.

 

[grsthegreat]

I plan to get a new one within the next month or so. All I know for sure is it will not be a kubota. I guess I will need to change my user name----Kiotichief perhaps? Time will tell.

yup..you go buy a Kioti and you'll be a traitor to your name for sure

 

[art]

I do realize that for many you the tractor that you own now is your first or second and that you probably have not driven more then a brand or two and maybe a hundred hours of use a year and ownership for five years before trading them in for a new one not trying to have it live for twenty years or more.
I've seen tractors set up with so much weight that they could not get to full RPM while going down the road in high gear, I've seen the charts on increased wear by over loading the tractors with ballast as well as repaired them. I've also seen the difference in the fuel consumption between heavy tractors and lighter ones. I've seen unbalanced tractors unable to do the same job as a tractor with the ballast in the proper place. I've seen tractors that are actually over weight from the factory for the horsepower they have.

So some people like there tractors set up heavy and we still sell them that way for the folks that feel they need it and there are others that might listen to someone who has the experience of selling many makes and models as well as working with them and set them up for many thousands of hours of economical use!

I do sell the original compact tractor as well as two other top brands as well but as always, different people buy for different reasons as well as different brands and dealers included.
I feel the most important thing is that people get good honest unbiased information when making there purchase. I do talk of Kubota often for good reason, experience with the industry and after all they are the industry leader.

 

[IslandTractor]

I do realize that for many you the tractor that you own now is your first or second and that you probably have not driven more then a brand or two and maybe a hundred hours of use a year and ownership for five years before trading them in for a new one not trying to have it live for twenty years or more.
I've seen tractors set up with so much weight that they could not get to full RPM while going down the road in high gear, I've seen the charts on increased wear by over loading the tractors with ballast as well as repaired them. I've also seen the difference in the fuel consumption between heavy tractors and lighter ones. I've seen unbalanced tractors unable to do the same job as a tractor with the ballast in the proper place. I've seen tractors that are actually over weight from the factory for the horsepower they have.

So some people like there tractors set up heavy and we still sell them that way for the folks that feel they need it and there are others that might listen to someone who has the experience of selling many makes and models as well as working with them and set them up for many thousands of hours of economical use!

I do sell the original compact tractor as well as two other top brands as well but as always, different people buy for different reasons as well as different brands and dealers included.
I feel the most important thing is that people get good honest unbiased information when making there purchase. I do talk of Kubota often for good reason, experience with the industry and after all they are the industry leader.

I basically agree Art and I certainly respect your long experience. I think the only dispute is whether a given tractor is "too" heavy or just on the heavy side within an appropriate range for horsepower. For example, a 40hp DK40se is heavier than a GL3940 but I would say both tractors are well within reasonable bounds of heavy/light either with or without added ballast. I don't know how farmers might over ballast their tractors but it doesn't seem like over ballasting is a big problem with the 100-200 hrs/yr crowd here on TBN.

 

[art]

I basically agree Art and I certainly respect your long experience. I think the only dispute is whether a given tractor is "too" heavy or just on the heavy side within an appropriate range for horsepower. For example, a 40hp DK40se is heavier than a GL3940 but I would say both tractors are well within reasonable bounds of heavy/light either with or without added ballast. I don't know how farmers might over ballast their tractors but it doesn't seem like over ballasting is a big problem with the 100-200 hrs/yr crowd here on TBN.

I try to cover all bases, with selling the numbers of compacts we do and the many types of landscapes in central NY I have seen the differences of pulling a hill with gear drives as well as hydro's that don't cut it. We take many trades that we have a lot of fun with that were just set up wrong! You still can always add weight where it is needed and at that point the added standard equipped transmission speeds in a Kubota makes them hard for anyone to keep up with at any weight.