Ninja Rooster
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2022
- Messages
- 33
- Tractor
- 2022 Kioti NS5310
2 Year - 90 Hour Update
Our building plans abruptly stopped after we found a gorgeous 14 acre farm with a house already on it, a barn, pastures and a pond. So, all of the land clearing this tractor did was a waste of time at our other property but, it was fun. I am approaching 2 years in to ownership of this tractor and I am very pleased. Making purchases like this can be a little stressful because you want to make sure you make a good decision. I think I did.
I purchased a local 72" grapple. It is a little on the heavy side at 500 pounds but it has been a life saver. $1100 was hard to walk away from. It's done a lot of work for me. It is important to know your attachments weights because you need to deduct that from the capacity of your loader/tractor. So, don't overlook that part of it.
Since moving to the new homestead I have added 40 hours to this tractor in just a couple months. Keep in mind, it is not a 60 minute = 1 hour count on your hour meter. The higher the RPM the faster the hour meter counts. These are the tasks I have completed.
7 acres of overgrown pastures with downed trees - I used a chain and a $15 post removal tool to pull the hundreds of metal fence posts up with the loader. (keep your box blade on the back for counter weight) - used the grapple to remove downed trees and some old root balls that had been sitting. A few large rocks needed to be moved as well. I used my 6' bush hog to cut the pastures. I used a box blade to level some areas and I had dirt hauled in to fill some holes left by rock removal. Used my bucket to fill the holes and used the float feature to smooth it out. (float feature means, when you snap the hand controls all the way forward the bucket slides over and follows the terrain instead of digging into the ground - side note; bring the bucket to within 6 inches of the ground before engaging the float mode or the slam to the ground will get you)
Used the grapple to haul 120 wooden fence posts to the back to start new fencing.
Found 2 large junk piles on the property. I had to fill dumpsters with it. Moved 7 tons (they weighed the dumpster rentals for me) of dirt, rocks, metal and trash)
Fixed areas of the 1500 foot driveway with the box blade.
50 Hour Service : I did my own service. All fluid recommendations came from my dealer and the manual
The service itself is not difficult. Take your time. You can purchase a filter kit from your dealer. Your manual has all fluid recommendations. Your dealer will answer any questions.
My dealer recommended that I change the front axle oil from hydraulic to gear oil. The manual gave the same info. I used Lucas 90 weight. Fill the front axle and move the tractor back and forth a bit to let the oil get down into the axle. Recheck and top it off.
Buy yourself grease fitting covers on Amazon. cheap and worth the money to keep the dirt out of places its not supposed to be.
The tractor has been a great purchase. I am so happy I chose to go with Kioti. If you are on the fence: I can't guarantee your tractor will be like mine but Kioti makes a nice machine. Go try one out.
[Well; I am approaching 10 hours on my new NS5310. I figured I would share a little. I purchased a box blade and 6' cutter with it.
EASE OF OWNERSHIP:
First off; for those of you who are on the fence or hesitant to buy a new tractor because you may not be very experienced; the owners manuals that come with the tractor and attachments are your dictionary and your bible. There is more than enough information in there for you to know how everything works, how to operate and how to maintain it. Actually doing it is the only way to get proficient. I spent the first night of ownership going through the manuals.
WORKING:
So far; I haven't done much in the way of heavy work. But; I have used the box blade on (2) 200 yard gravel driveways and used it to level a new area for the chickens. I also used the bucket to move piles of soil. The tractor is more than powerful enough to do basically anything a small homestead could need. The draft control is amazing. I have yet to operate the PTO full bore on a project but that will come in a month or so. The seat is very comfortable. The joystick lever is in the perfect place. Smooth operation. Float mode on the loader is great. Be advised; when you lock it into float mode, the bucket will drop very fast. Make sure you are just inches from the ground before engaging. The tractor is so capable. It feels very solid. Smooth operation.
HYDROSTATIC TRANS:
Smooth and sweet. Love this. Never operated a tractor with a HST before but holy cow. Enough said.
ENGINE:
I operate it between 2000-2600 RPM as per the dealer for this engine. Even if I am just rolling along the property; 2000 is the minimum I have ran it at. Pretty quiet. I wear an apple watch with the noise alerts set and it never triggered while operating. Still; a good set of ear pro is up to the user. The initial smells of paint and "the new" burning off under first load is normal. Don't freak out. Smells like money.....on fire.......on a pile of hair. HAHAHAHAHA! Everything is very accessible. She's a beast so far. The throttle is sticky when new. It wears in fine. Pull back to raise RPM; push forward to lower.
TIRES:
I rolled with AG Tires. We have a lot of clay soil and it is always wet. Cakes like damn silly putty. In 4x4; the AG tires pulled me out of it with absolute ease. The R14's are nice but they do hold in clay. The turf tires; never considered them. I spoke with a woman who had a 20 acre horse farm and clay. AG's all the way baby. Keep in mind; they beat the snot out of your lawn. If momma has a nice front yard that she's fond of; stay off it entirely. "Dry" or not.
MAINTENANCE:
The manual gives you lists of what to do and when. Get in the habit of checking fluid levels and looking for leaks prior to getting in the driver seat each time you use it. Most people think "I haven't moved it since I checked it last time"; well, those rubber seals and gaskets don't care. Sometimes they do their own thing. Check it. Takes 5 minutes. All of your needed fluids are listed in the manual. I called my dealer to find out what kind of grease they use in the shop. I want to keep the same in the tractor. Buy yourself a lock n lube grease gun nozzle. Trust me. Also; spend that hard earned cash on an $8.00 bag of grease fitting caps. Although you may not need them; I suggest compiling the list of required fluids and getting them to have. Just like fluids for the truck; if you have it on hand, you don't need it until you need it.
TO CAB OR NOT TO CAB:
I went ROPS with a canopy. The KIOTI Canopy was $300 extra. The ROPS folds down to make it easier to fit inside a carport or garage. FYI; this chassis with ROPS and a canopy is insanely tall. You won't get it into a standard garage or carport. at least 7 foot legs for a carport will be needed and even then; you'll need to be directly in the center of it. The canopy is worth every penny.
CUP HOLDER AND MISC
Maybe the most important thing; right? It's located on the right side behind the rear controls. It has two plastic boxes mounted in the cab area. Good for small tools. You may want to install a larger tool box.
Anyway; as I use it I will share any good or bad. But; I am glad I was able to get my hands on one of these. This model will be KIOTIS bread and butter for the foreseeable future. No doubt in my mind on that.]
Our building plans abruptly stopped after we found a gorgeous 14 acre farm with a house already on it, a barn, pastures and a pond. So, all of the land clearing this tractor did was a waste of time at our other property but, it was fun. I am approaching 2 years in to ownership of this tractor and I am very pleased. Making purchases like this can be a little stressful because you want to make sure you make a good decision. I think I did.
I purchased a local 72" grapple. It is a little on the heavy side at 500 pounds but it has been a life saver. $1100 was hard to walk away from. It's done a lot of work for me. It is important to know your attachments weights because you need to deduct that from the capacity of your loader/tractor. So, don't overlook that part of it.
Since moving to the new homestead I have added 40 hours to this tractor in just a couple months. Keep in mind, it is not a 60 minute = 1 hour count on your hour meter. The higher the RPM the faster the hour meter counts. These are the tasks I have completed.
7 acres of overgrown pastures with downed trees - I used a chain and a $15 post removal tool to pull the hundreds of metal fence posts up with the loader. (keep your box blade on the back for counter weight) - used the grapple to remove downed trees and some old root balls that had been sitting. A few large rocks needed to be moved as well. I used my 6' bush hog to cut the pastures. I used a box blade to level some areas and I had dirt hauled in to fill some holes left by rock removal. Used my bucket to fill the holes and used the float feature to smooth it out. (float feature means, when you snap the hand controls all the way forward the bucket slides over and follows the terrain instead of digging into the ground - side note; bring the bucket to within 6 inches of the ground before engaging the float mode or the slam to the ground will get you)
Used the grapple to haul 120 wooden fence posts to the back to start new fencing.
Found 2 large junk piles on the property. I had to fill dumpsters with it. Moved 7 tons (they weighed the dumpster rentals for me) of dirt, rocks, metal and trash)
Fixed areas of the 1500 foot driveway with the box blade.
50 Hour Service : I did my own service. All fluid recommendations came from my dealer and the manual
The service itself is not difficult. Take your time. You can purchase a filter kit from your dealer. Your manual has all fluid recommendations. Your dealer will answer any questions.
My dealer recommended that I change the front axle oil from hydraulic to gear oil. The manual gave the same info. I used Lucas 90 weight. Fill the front axle and move the tractor back and forth a bit to let the oil get down into the axle. Recheck and top it off.
Buy yourself grease fitting covers on Amazon. cheap and worth the money to keep the dirt out of places its not supposed to be.
The tractor has been a great purchase. I am so happy I chose to go with Kioti. If you are on the fence: I can't guarantee your tractor will be like mine but Kioti makes a nice machine. Go try one out.
[Well; I am approaching 10 hours on my new NS5310. I figured I would share a little. I purchased a box blade and 6' cutter with it.
EASE OF OWNERSHIP:
First off; for those of you who are on the fence or hesitant to buy a new tractor because you may not be very experienced; the owners manuals that come with the tractor and attachments are your dictionary and your bible. There is more than enough information in there for you to know how everything works, how to operate and how to maintain it. Actually doing it is the only way to get proficient. I spent the first night of ownership going through the manuals.
WORKING:
So far; I haven't done much in the way of heavy work. But; I have used the box blade on (2) 200 yard gravel driveways and used it to level a new area for the chickens. I also used the bucket to move piles of soil. The tractor is more than powerful enough to do basically anything a small homestead could need. The draft control is amazing. I have yet to operate the PTO full bore on a project but that will come in a month or so. The seat is very comfortable. The joystick lever is in the perfect place. Smooth operation. Float mode on the loader is great. Be advised; when you lock it into float mode, the bucket will drop very fast. Make sure you are just inches from the ground before engaging. The tractor is so capable. It feels very solid. Smooth operation.
HYDROSTATIC TRANS:
Smooth and sweet. Love this. Never operated a tractor with a HST before but holy cow. Enough said.
ENGINE:
I operate it between 2000-2600 RPM as per the dealer for this engine. Even if I am just rolling along the property; 2000 is the minimum I have ran it at. Pretty quiet. I wear an apple watch with the noise alerts set and it never triggered while operating. Still; a good set of ear pro is up to the user. The initial smells of paint and "the new" burning off under first load is normal. Don't freak out. Smells like money.....on fire.......on a pile of hair. HAHAHAHAHA! Everything is very accessible. She's a beast so far. The throttle is sticky when new. It wears in fine. Pull back to raise RPM; push forward to lower.
TIRES:
I rolled with AG Tires. We have a lot of clay soil and it is always wet. Cakes like damn silly putty. In 4x4; the AG tires pulled me out of it with absolute ease. The R14's are nice but they do hold in clay. The turf tires; never considered them. I spoke with a woman who had a 20 acre horse farm and clay. AG's all the way baby. Keep in mind; they beat the snot out of your lawn. If momma has a nice front yard that she's fond of; stay off it entirely. "Dry" or not.
MAINTENANCE:
The manual gives you lists of what to do and when. Get in the habit of checking fluid levels and looking for leaks prior to getting in the driver seat each time you use it. Most people think "I haven't moved it since I checked it last time"; well, those rubber seals and gaskets don't care. Sometimes they do their own thing. Check it. Takes 5 minutes. All of your needed fluids are listed in the manual. I called my dealer to find out what kind of grease they use in the shop. I want to keep the same in the tractor. Buy yourself a lock n lube grease gun nozzle. Trust me. Also; spend that hard earned cash on an $8.00 bag of grease fitting caps. Although you may not need them; I suggest compiling the list of required fluids and getting them to have. Just like fluids for the truck; if you have it on hand, you don't need it until you need it.
TO CAB OR NOT TO CAB:
I went ROPS with a canopy. The KIOTI Canopy was $300 extra. The ROPS folds down to make it easier to fit inside a carport or garage. FYI; this chassis with ROPS and a canopy is insanely tall. You won't get it into a standard garage or carport. at least 7 foot legs for a carport will be needed and even then; you'll need to be directly in the center of it. The canopy is worth every penny.
CUP HOLDER AND MISC
Maybe the most important thing; right? It's located on the right side behind the rear controls. It has two plastic boxes mounted in the cab area. Good for small tools. You may want to install a larger tool box.
Anyway; as I use it I will share any good or bad. But; I am glad I was able to get my hands on one of these. This model will be KIOTIS bread and butter for the foreseeable future. No doubt in my mind on that.]
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