What to buy....tractor, utv, other....?

[ksgobbler]

We have the 4x4 DK45 with cab and FEL as well as a small Ford 1300 for smaller jobs but we have about 20 acres we plant an maintain distributed across the farm. For some tasks I wish the DK45 was a DK65 instead. For other, the little Ford is perfect and much more efficient. I also have an older Kawasaki Prairie that I got primarily for hunting and deer retrieval. It has a Great Day's deer loader on the front and I rigged a large utility box and basket on the rear for transporting stuff. I end up using it for a lot of work though. I use it to transport ladders and stuff for deer stand and camera maintenance, planting trees, grafting, maintaining trees, and all kinds of similar tasks.

The last time I took the Prairie in for maintenance, they wanted more to get it up to snuff than it is worth. I think I am simply over loading it and asking it to do more than it was designed to do. I decided to have the minimum work done to keep it operating and started to look into replacing it with a Honda UTV. I have not pulled the trigger on that yet and it may be a while before I do.

This just goes to emphasize your point that pushing any piece of equipment beyond what it was designed to do will increase maintenance cost and reduce the lifespan. I'm not even dragging a disk or doing planting tasks with it. I did do some spraying with it but I could see how much stress 25 gal of water was putting on the suspension. I ended up buying a carryall from TSC and installing the boomless ATV sprayer on it. The ford does an even better job than the ATV for boomless tasks since it holds a constant speed and the weight is nothing for the ford.

Thanks,

Jack

I’ve got the Honda UTV. They are nice. So nice the neighbor rode in mine, then went and bought his own. He has 500 acres so he bought a $3000 sprayer for it. He will be bringing it over to help me burn. He prefers to spray with it rather than his tractor.

 

[yoderjac]

I’ve got the Honda UTV. They are nice. So nice the neighbor rode in mine, then went and bought his own. He has 500 acres so he bought a $3000 sprayer for it. He will be bringing it over to help me burn. He prefers to spray with it rather than his tractor.

I started a thread earlier on finding the right UTV and based on that and a buddy who has a Honda 500, I think that I'll end up with a Honda eventually. I prefer my FIMCO 55 gal boom sprayer for most tasks on a 3-pt hitch. You can calibrate it much better with a tractor for more precise spraying. There are some tasks where the boomless sprayer is just fine.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Livesintrees]

Still looking at the Kubota’s. Dealer will be getting an L series this month some time and he already has the two larger 1120 and 1100 utv s. They dropped 1k pounds in the bed and said drive it up the hill. It never flinched. Then they hooked up the trailer. Gave it 3500 pounds instead of the suggested 2000. Said drive it up that Hill. No problem. It’s def not meant to zip through the woods and blast around. It’s meant to work.

 

[Tree Spud]

Still looking at the Kubota’s. Dealer will be getting an L series this month some time and he already has the two larger 1120 and 1100 utv s. They dropped 1k pounds in the bed and said drive it up the hill. It never flinched. Then they hooked up the trailer. Gave it 3500 pounds instead of the suggested 2000. Said drive it up that Hill. No problem. It’s def not meant to zip through the woods and blast around. It’s meant to work.

Speed vs power ...

What size/hp L series?

 

[yoderjac]

Speed vs power ...

What size/hp L series?

And for power to be useful you need weight/traction. I looked hard at the Kubota L series and ended up buying the Kioti based on the additional weight for the same hp tractor.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[ToddG]

Look at the Kubota L grand series. That is their heavier duty tractor. I have the L4240 and love it.

 

[Tap]

I just bought an MX 5200. A little better than the L series.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Tree Spud]

And for power to be useful you need weight/traction. I looked hard at the Kubota L series and ended up buying the Kioti based on the additional weight for the same hp tractor.

Thanks,

Jack

There are 3 Kioti service dealers in all of the U.S., there are 5 Kubota dealers in NJ alone.

For weight, you can can have the rear tires filled. There are 2 rules of thumb when buying a tractor ...
- Buy the next size hp model than the one you are looking at, you won't regret it.
- Stick with a brand that has authorized service dealers near you. It's not if you have a problem but when.

 

[Livesintrees]

Few guys I know that we used to lease property from have The Kioti. They are not happy with them. But that’s about as much as I know about them

 

[yoderjac]

There are 3 Kioti service dealers in all of the U.S., there are 5 Kubota dealers in NJ alone.

For weight, you can can have the rear tires filled. There are 2 rules of thumb when buying a tractor ...
- Buy the next size hp model than the one you are looking at, you won't regret it.
- Stick with a brand that has authorized service dealers near you. It's not if you have a problem but when.

I find that hard to believe. The general area I'm in has some farming but it is mostly pasture land and I have a dealership 10 miles from my farm.

My Kioti has required a lot of service and repair. Most of it is not the fault of the tractor, it is my fault for pushing it beyond its limits. For regular farming tasks it does well. When I try to push down trees and do clearing work more appropriate for a track loader, I end up breaking things.

The only thing that I have found that is a significant design flaw is the air conditioning system. The condenser doesn't have screen on it and clogs easily. It needs to regularly be blown out and the battery blocks much of the air flow. The compressor gets overloaded and the clutch fails. You can't replace the clutch and need to replace the entire compressor. I've done me several times. Kioti wants $1,000 for one and the after market ones are about half that.

Mine is over 10 years old. I hope they have solved that with the newer models. Other than that, most of my issues have come from me pushing it beyond it;s capacity.

Having said that, you have a point. You don't buy the tractor, you buy the dealership. Your relationship with the dealer will be a very long one unless you do all your own maintenance and repair. I actually interviewed several dealerships before deciding where to buy. I did not interview the sales force, I interviewed the service manager, met the mechanics and chatted with the owner. Although Kioti says there are 300 dealerships, it is not the number of dealerships, it is the nearby dealership where you can get the best long-term service.



Thanks,

Jack

 

[Snowshoe Acres]

Cavey:

If you had to choose between a tractor and a skid steer, which would you choose?

 

[Jim Timber]

I'm not Cavey, but I would still get a tractor (which I did when I was faced with this same question).

There's no substitute for a 3 point hitch and PTO. You can get attachments for a skidsteer that might do what a tractor does, but with a front end loader your tractor does everything a skidsteer does except turn within it's wheelbase.

Skidsteers are easily rented should the need arise.

Tractors have far more ground clearance than skidsteers, and are purpose built for driving at certain speeds with full PTO horsepower available. If you push a skidsteer too hard, you overheat the hydraulics and best-case you're shut down until it cools. Ever see anyone running a cultipacker with a skidsteer, seed drill, etc? There's a reason. They're designed to move bucket fulls of stuff. Tractors have wider wheel bases, are meant to travel over rough/uneven terrain, and are designed to be used for what most folks are doing with them for habitat work - working earth.