Kubota or Kioti

I've been shopping for a compact TLB the last couple weeks, have determined I need something in the 25-30hp range for what I would like to use it for.  After doing alot of research and visiting dealers the frontrunner was the Kubota b2630.  Today I went and looked at Kioti and was very impressed with their tractors.

Dealer/service wise it's probably a toss up, I've got 2 kubota dealers close by that come with high reccomendations from freinds, and 1 Kioti dealer.  The Kioti dealer I've dealt with before on implements and always had good experience, they've been in business for many years and carried Kioti for the last 10.

 

I can get a Kioti CK30 for about 3k less than the b2630, if I drop back to the CK25 I'll save an additional $1500.

 

Any advice?  The Kioti appears to be a very stout little tractor and well built with very good features.

Kioti has a couple weak spots on that series.  The loaders crack and a fix has been in the works for over a year but is still not released to repair the cracked loaders.  There is a newly designed loader coming out to replace the existing loader but may not be available yet so be vary wary of getting stuck with the old style LK130.  The undercarriage on the CK is also known to be suseptible to getting their filters torn off,  possibly because it has less ground clearance than many tractors it size?

The B2630 is a new series built on the B3030 frame.  Its been out for a couple of years and I've not heard many complaints or compliments.  One thing I have heard is that it has a very tight turning radius and my B2910 (the older version of the B3030) fits were others cannot.  With brakes, these tractors have a turning radius under 7' which makes these B series handle better than every brand except the New Holland's with SuperSteer & Sensitrac options (and those are more expensive).

Be very careful when you compare the specs of the tractors, Kubota lists honest capacties instead of "pivot point" capacities.  Pivot Point capacities, as used by Kioti on their loaders, inflate the actual lifting weights by 30% to 33%

I don't know if you are trailering the tractors, but the Kioti weighs about 1300# more than the Kubota so a B2630 can be towed on a 7000# trailer.

The CK25 weighs roughly 3140# with fuel, and about 3600/3650 with filled tires. The KL130 loader weighs 770# and the backhoe weighs over 1000# more.  That means the TLB roughly 5320#, if a trailer weighs about 2000#, that brings the total weight up to 7320#.   That all presumes you don't add any other equipement to the trailer.   If you have a 10,000# trailer and a truck with that amount of towinc capacity then it is no big deal.

Interestingly, the Kioti, with all its weight, only offers about 100# more lift capacity on the 3pt hitch.

If your looking for size, the L2800/L3400 also fall into this price range. They cost about the same but are larger machines and offer more bang for your buck. The B2630/B3030 are real cadalics.

Was traveling today and stopped by another Kubota dealer on the other side of town, much larger than either of the dealers near me.

He had no B2630 or B3030's and said his book list them as limited availability, he says their being discontinued.  He also had no L3030's or any other Lxx30's, said the whole line was discontinued.

I know the 2630 and 3030 are upper end models in the Kubota line, but they are the closest match feature wise to the Kioti with things like telescopic 3-point arms, etc.

Hi B Skurka Ibought a new CK30 in 05. It now has about 600 hrs.on it. I haven't had any problems at all outside of the control valve that picks up and dumps the bucket which cost under 100.00 to fix. ( I done the labor myself. ) This tractor has been worked commercially and actually probably harder than recomeneded for that size tractor. I actually have a Bush Hog brand hoe on it.. I have had a Ford and a Kubota and I like this tractor the best. You can't go wrong with either a Kioti or a Kubota. I would suggest you find someone who has a Kioti and ask them how they like it. I live in Norridgewock Maine and if you live close eneough you could move some ice an snow with mine. ( Sorry no dirt this time of year.) Hope I've been some help.

PS I have a 7000 lb trailer and I hauled mine from Florida on it with no problems.