Long term (or high hour) reviews on RK55?

[erobinson]

I currently own 3 tractors that are used to maintain property I own.
Kubota Mx5100, Mahindra 5530, and a JD 5420. All pre emission engines. Kubota and Deere both have loaders. Mahindra does not.
I can say without a doubt, the Kubota is one tough SOB. After Hurricane Michael I asked that Kubota to do things a d3 would have trouble with. It far exceeded any expectation I ever had for a 52hp compact. The Deere is, well, a Deere. It just keeps on going. The Mahindra is a 2wd and has been a good machine with a few quirks from time to time. RK is about to open a new store here and I have been eyeing the 55cab model with FEL. I’d like to hear some long term reviews on tractors that have been worked hard. Not field work but woods work. Mowing and food plots are the easiest thing my tractors do.
With Helene bearing down on us today, I am expecting several weeks (or months) of serious woods cleanup again. Prayers for all in the path of the storm and I look forward to hearing comments on the RK55.
Thanks

 

[DonRybak]

I'm sorry nobody with a RK55 has commented but if you don't mind I will comment on my thoughts of the RK in general along with my experience with my RK37. You gave no location as to your location but I hope your area fared well with Helene because that was a massive storm. Is this new RK a new facility being built or an existing building? Most I've seen are existing vacant building with no real inside maintenance shop. I have never had to have any maintenance done by RK themselves. I bought mine new in June 2018 and the only issue I've had was my fuel tank cracked around the mounting nut plates. That was a manufacturing issue only on the RK37 cab models. I called the store and they ordered a new one that I got in three days. As far as working it hard I was getting worried that mine hadn't done a regen on the DPF at almost 100 hours when others mentioned seeing one in the area of 50 hours. I talked with the lead tractor guy at my store and he said as long as I kept the rpm's up in the PTO range when using it that would keep things at a high enough temp to burn off the carbon build up. So, even though most of my tractor work is pasture mowing and brush cutting some wooded areas I think the trick is keeping the rpm's up in the hard working range rather than the type ot work being done. Overall I've been very happy with my purchase but I hope someone with the 55 model will chime in.

 

[erobinson]

Thanks. I am just north of Tallahassee. Thankfully the storm turned east and spared us (Michael destroyed us in 2018) but so many from Cedar Key through Ga and the Carolinas and Tenn have had so much damage.
RK is opening a new store in a vacant Kmart building. The specs on the RK55 are similar to my Kubota as far as dimensions, weight, etc.
I take care of all my equipment but I also use it hard. If it can’t handle what I need it for, I don’t need it.
Thanks for your reply and help.

 

[Torvy]

You may have better luck getting info on the tractor itself in the TYM section.

Don't know if you are aware, but all RK tractors are rebadged TYM. The RK55 is a TYM 554.

It's my understanding that RK support varies wildly by location.

 

[DonRybak]

I quite a few friends in Tally since I retired from the FL Dept of Health in August 2020. I was assigned to the IT dept in Polk County. Of those I called last Friday that had lost power they had it back within 24 hours. Torvy is correct in that RK's are just rebadged TYM's and that area might give some information useful to you. The RK's are definitely beast when it comes to front end work as far as lifting capacity goes. Not sure how far you will be from the RK store but as far as I know none of the stores deliver or pickup the unit for warranty work or maintenance. You might question the experience of the tractor crew as far as mechanical work. When I bought mine in 2018 there were two very capable mechanics there but one got married and moved to Michigan and the other got transferred to another store around 2022. Oh yeah, one thing to check is the level of the FEL. On mine I noticed that the left side sits about 1/2 inch lower than the right side. I mentioned that in this forum and several others, even RK55 owners, checked theirs and found the same issue. What's odd is that everyone that found the issue except one were in the south where the tractors would have been assembled in Williston, FL. One member on here that lives in the Ocala area had his looked at when in for maintenance and evidently they loosened the FEL mounting bolts, realigned the FEL and retorqued. That fixed if but if I remember correctly he said that it went out of align again. I don't do any leveling work with my bucket so I haven't really worried about it. You can search this RK section and see all the posts concerning it. In fact, now that I think about it, if you find those posts you can see the ones that have RK55's and then send them a PM asking their opinion.

Good luck.......Don

 

[Yander]

I'm sure the tractor is quality and I would buy one, but not from RK. Go find a TYM dealer that has a service department even if you have to drive a ways to get there.

How many different brands of ATVs, tractors, mowers etc. Have you seen sitting in front of Rural King?

They change often.

 

[Torvy]

I'm sure the tractor is quality and I would buy one, but not from RK. Go find a TYM dealer that has a service department even if you have to drive a ways to get there.

How many different brands of ATVs, tractors, mowers etc. Have you seen sitting in front of Rural King?

They change often.

Agreed. I'd recommend the T574 over the T554 just because of the engine. The 574 has the TYM (formerly Kukje) engine that is more mechanical and not so tied to the computer. If you have a regen issue, it doesn't go to limp mode. The 554 has a Yanmar engine. They make great engines, too, but it's the common rail design that many use. Unfortunately, that means if you have a regen problem or the chip fails, the tractor is unusable.

 

[erobinson]

Thanks all. There is a TYM dealer in Tallahassee about 35 miles from me. Torvy, I have a Yanmar 4tnv98 in my Takeuchi skid with almost 5000 hours. Tough engine. Pre emissions though.

 

[Torvy]

Stay safe. Looks like y'all have more wind coming.

 

[erobinson]

Stay safe. Looks like y'all have more wind coming.

Thanks. Sure praying for Tampa/Clearwater/ St Pete area. Looks like it’s gonna be bad.