Loaders for the DK45SE HST

[canoetrpr]

Something like this should work nicely. I imagine the Kioti plate would have to be romoved with a plasma torch or such from the bucket first.

I wonder if one might not be better of getting an aftermarket skid steer bucket from their dealer instead of the Kioti one. I have no clue what the price difference is so one would go with the cheaper route I imagine.

 

[mark.r]

Worthwhile information for someone like myself who might find himself considering a DK40/45. While I agree it should be fixed by them - no reason you can't work this into the deal. I imagine most dealers would be happy to suck up the labour cost of this. It sounds simple - but then I don't weld.

I don't weld either, something I need to learn so having the dealer do it all at one place makes it nice.

 

[IslandTractor]

It would be simple to just weld a new larger attachment plate right on top of the existing Kioti attachment. It would take a moderately experienced welder only ten or fifteen minutes and the cost of a new attachment plate is only about $150 or so. There would be a slight weight penalty and the bucket would stick out an inch or inch and a half but that would still be cheaper than replacing the bucket or monkeying with a plasma cutter or torch to cut off the existing bracket (which is kinda integral to the back of the bucket).

Even better, maybe Kioti actually does make buckets with "real" QA standard attachment points that could simply be substituted. I have never, until this KL401 business, heard Kioti QA owners complaining about non standard or narrow attachment points so perhaps this quirk is limited to the current KL401.

Do any of you KL451 or older series large loader owners have any experience?

 

[rback33]

Not sure if it would fit or not. The KL401 is a Korean made loader.
The QA like I have was used on the US made KMW loaders.

Nope. Ours will not fit. I must say I watch this thread with interest. I have no CLUE why they designed it that way. There are industry standards for building Skid Steer compatible attachments for a reason. Edited note: The standard applies to the attachments. They have been discussing a standard for the QA's, but do not have one yet. Makes me wonder if something got lost in translation.

 

[IslandTractor]

Edited note: The standard applies to the attachments. They have been discussing a standard for the QA's, but do not have one yet. Makes me wonder if something got lost in translation.

You are correct, we have been using the terms loosely but I think everyone understands that given the "universal" or "Bobcat" QA standard attachment plate on implements, that the QA adapter on the FEL must obviously match and therefore must be somewhat standard also. The key here is the "somewhat" standard as it is possible to build QA adapters of different widths that will technically link up properly with a universal QA standard implement. I've seen and own implements with anything from 44.5 inch to alomst 46 inch width of plate. Kioti's 40.5 inch width for the bucket and 40 inches for the adapter are clearly not "universal" even though the adapter does fit and link to the larger size implements....albeit with slop in the side to side dimension.

 

[canoetrpr]

Island - don't you have to buy the bucket separately from the loader anyway?

I don't know about Kioti but whenever I price out a Kubota or Deere, they price out the bucket separately from the loader.

 

[IslandTractor]

Island - don't you have to buy the bucket separately from the loader anyway?

I don't know about Kioti but whenever I price out a Kubota or Deere, they price out the bucket separately from the loader.

Not really. It was part of the FEL package. Maybe I could have specified a different bucket but it was included in the tractor plus FEL price I got from the dealer. I know that JD and other manufacturers offer different buckets so perhaps Kioti does too but I did not specifically address that issue with the dealer.

 

[mark.r]

I pointed my dealer to this thread and I believe they tested with their in stock DK45SE what we have found here with a set of QA pallet forks and came up with same findings. He normally runs the forks on an older model Kioti that has the dual handle QA. He passed all the info along to his contacts up the chain to see what could be found about a potential "fix" for KL401 owners.

 

[mark.r]

I heard back from my dealer today. I was impressed as they got back to me in only a few days. I was however not impressed with Kioti's response. They said that they are "aware of the measurements and have not had any issues with difference."

Now we know (thanks to Island) that QA implements will "work". But it really is a situation of me wearing a size 12 running shoe when I really should be wearing an 11.5. I mean they make things like tape measures, rulers, and straight edges for a reason, right? I guess Kioti doesn't see a need to address it.

 

[IslandTractor]

I heard back from my dealer today. I was impressed as they got back to me in only a few days. I was however not impressed with Kioti's response. They said that they are "aware of the measurements and have not had any issues with difference."

Sadly this is a typical Kioti customer service response. I cringe at the memory of our prior experiences over FEL issues and how they responded to that (ongoing) service issue. In this case they are technically correct that the adapter works but the fact that it is really WAY off the standard width for a universal QA adapter is something that should be both acknowledged and changed. It cannot be safe to have true standard implements sliding around while in action.