Tractor tech and Discussion

rockcity

rockcity

everyday is a chance to get better
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Location
Greenville, NC
Anyone have any experience with the RK tractors? I’ve been eying the RK37 for quite a while, just haven’t actually put my hands on one. The specs of it versus the comparable Kubota are night and day for much less $.

I had been looking at the TYM 354 anyway, so the RK would be a good option if it’s any decent. TYM makes the RK tractors anyway
 
Isn't is a mahiNdra?
 
rockcity said:
Anyone have any experience with the RK tractors? I’ve been eying the RK37 for quite a while, just haven’t actually put my hands on one. The specs of it versus the comparable Kubota are night and day for much less $.

I had been looking at the TYM 354 anyway, so the RK would be a good option if it’s any decent. TYM makes the RK tractors anyway
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Interesting. I've been looking at Kioti tractors and they seem to get decent reviews versus Kobota.
 
rockcity said:
Anyone have any experience with the RK tractors? I’ve been eying the RK37 for quite a while, just haven’t actually put my hands on one. The specs of it versus the comparable Kubota are night and day for much less $.

I had been looking at the TYM 354 anyway, so the RK would be a good option if it’s any decent. TYM makes the RK tractors anyway
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I've got an mx5400 Kubota, I would 100% buy an rk tractor instead next. Class for class you get a lot more with the rk tractors. Downside is potentially support, but I don't use the Kubota dealer anyway so it's also kind of a wash.
 
braxton357 said:
I've got an mx5400 Kubota, I would 100% buy an rk tractor instead next. Class for class you get a lot more with the rk tractors. Downside is potentially support, but I don't use the Kubota dealer anyway so it's also kind of a wash.
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I’m completely of the type to buy once, cry once, but I just don’t see the value in the smaller Kubota tractors. I think the performance isn’t quite what some of the other tractors are.

I agree on the support for the RK, but if it’s a Mihandra/TYM clone, most any tractor dealer can handle it aside from warranty work. And I’ll be using it for light home use, so I’d expect that my service and repairs would be minimal.

I even have been considering the LS but have really been trying to talk myself out of the RK without success.
 
I don’t know man...I don’t own plan to own a mahindra but you lose me with comments like “bigger “ brands. Mahindra is a 40 year old Indian company and one of the largest brands in the world. They are even like the 3rd or 4th largest producers of automobiles on the world.

sounds to me like your dads had poor dealer delivery prep and a shitty dealer support.

they ALL have problems. Green, blue, orange or grey...
Messick does make good SALES videos but they aren’t an unbiased source by any stretch. Their intent is to increase their sales.

Is for me ill keep using my 35 year old ford and 45 year old Massey though

shelby27604 said:


Messicks makes great videos, they break down a lot of the details that the average user and consumer might not see at first glance. The bigger brands design and build all of their own implements, the cheaper brands just buy the cheapest generic options.....which is why straight off the showroom floor my father's Mahindra rubbed through 4 hyd. Hoses on the loader. When it through the alt. Belt two local dealers had no idea what size it should be (thankfully he has a very helpful Napa near by)

My next tractor will be a used Kubota or a really old massey!
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Buying a tractor has more to do with your intended use than dealer support, IMO, and at least in my case. I’m a weekender with a tractor. I’ll be luck to log 50 hours per year on it. Dealer support doesn’t mean crap with how little I’d use it, by the time I need support, warranty is long gone. And, I do most of my major work myself, so dealer support isn’t what it used to be. Many people shop online and are happy to do it. As a small time hobby/home tractor user, dealers providing support to us typically look at us like a nuisance because we eat up their valuable time and only spend a few $. Dealer support is key if you run a farm and multiple pieces of equipment and get on a first name basis with the dealer. I’m not that guy.

For significant repairs or service I can’t or won’t do myself, any Mihandra/TYM dealer can handle a RK.


Plus, comparing tractor to tractor, the Kubota doesn’t perform and has less capabilities than all of its more affordable competitors.


Is it like discussing buying cheap crap from Harbor Freight or the tool truck? Maybe. But with the cheaper option outperforming and costing sometimes 50% less, it’s hard to not put them at the top, especially considering the amount/little use it will see. And, many companies like Kubota have parts that are really expensive since they are specific to Kubota. Deere is the same way. Parts are super expensive. I’d rather have a tractor that uses common parts that are affordable.
 
shelby27604 said:
The fact that a tractor built in 2016 uses the alt. As a belt tensioner.....AND there is no way to set tension preload (tug tight and lock down)....i
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Man my 70's MFer is a industrial loader diesel. A real work horse. The alternator mounts the same way. Simplicity isn't a bad design. I actually prefer it unless it is mounted in some odd hard to service area, then tensioners are nice.
 
I blew a hydraulic hose last Friday, yesterday morning, and again today on my Takeuchi excavator. All 3 times, the big brand, super important local dealer support was closed (not that Taco Hoochie is a big brand, but they all are closed nights and weekends. NAPA had the fittings/hose for incident #1, OReillys for #2, and SOL until tomorrow for number 3 (because I already bought the 2 fittings OReilly had and NAPA is closed on sunday). If it were a major component, there's a 99% chance the dealer would have to order it anyway, in which case its cheaper and faster to just order online for most things. So as others have already pointed out, and in my opinion, there's very little reason to worry about brand name and local dealer support. To @shelby27604's point, that doesn't excuse poor design on the cheaper brands, and thats where internet research can be valuable. But the big names have plenty of piss poor design too.
 
Both mine are Kubotas. I borrowed a Mahindra for a few days a while back from my neighbor because it was a little heavier, and he had the box scrape already on it, where I'd have to swap out the backhoe.. Fit and finish on it were not that great. It worked, but the design/metal stampings/ etc were not as refined as they could have been. Kinda like something made 50 years ago.

It was right at a year old, and there was a bunch of stuff already fixed/patched/still broken on it. He had had lots of electrical issues. Many things just not worth his time to fix, like lights.

It did the job, but I'd have to have a heck of a good deal to take one home.
 
kaiser715 said:
Both mine are Kubotas. I borrowed a Mahindra for a few days a while back from my neighbor because it was a little heavier, and he had the box scrape already on it, where I'd have to swap out the backhoe.. Fit and finish on it were not that great. It worked, but the design/metal stampings/ etc were not as refined as they could have been. Kinda like something made 50 years ago.

It was right at a year old, and there was a bunch of stuff already fixed/patched/still broken on it. He had had lots of electrical issues. Many things just not worth his time to fix, like lights.

It did the job, but I'd have to have a heck of a good deal to take one home.
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Chrysler and Dodge trucks are the exact same way, yet people still buy them over a comparable GM or Ford product. Blows my mind.... :lol:


I guess knowing and understanding the downfalls and risk of the more affordable option over the overpriced name brand is key. If the risk outweighs the savings, then a TYM, RK, LS, etc tractor likely isn’t the best choice.

I just don’t have the $ to justify paying for the orange tractor over the others. My use in a year will be what a pro would do in less than a week.
 
Outdoors with the Morgan's on YouTube have an RK tractor I think. Might can check out some of their videos and get some info, if you haven't already that is.

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I’ve watched a few videos of the RK tractors and others that compare them to the big names. But many seem like paid sales videos rather than an unbiased and quality review and longevity status. Was kind of hoping to have some good input from others like @braxton357 who has good experience with tractors. I can read specs and watch all the videos, but opinions from those that use them is most valuable.
 
@shelby27604 Im curoius what sport of issues you have had if you dont mind sharing.

I dont want to sound like a Mahindra supporter. I'm not. Never owned one.
I was hell bent on buying a new tractor 6 months ago and researched the hell our of it and was really leaning towards Kioti or LS from a value standpoint...

But ultimately I just dont want to deal with DEF so Im staying old. For now.
But I would like to learn.
You mention the alt belt issue, for me and the use I use a tractor for, dust and dirt and idler/tensioner pulleys seems like a negative not a positive, and being able to replace a V in minutes in the field would be nice. FWIW I have a spare for every belt, joint, pin and clevis on ym tractor because they never break during business hours.

Just would like to learn what youve experienced first hand in case I find myself one day looking at a Mahindra...
 
I haven’t read all the responses yet but I’ll put in my tractor input. When I lived in a “neighborhood” we had a 2 acre yard and lots of landscaping to do around it. I was young and bought a brand new John Deere 1023e with loader, tiller and belly mower. It was fantastic from the get go even though it was an economy “budget” tractor. Never had one single minute of trouble. It was comfortable, smooth to operate, mowed gras as good as my scag turf tiger and sipped fuel.
Fast forward a few years, we bought a new place with 6ish acres of pasture that I wanted to keep groomed and a steel fabrication company on my property that I constantly needed a forklift that could lift 1k lbs with. I sold the deere for 14,500 with all the attachments in a few hours on market place for my asking price. I originally paid just over 17k for it new with all the attachments. I then turned around and bought a new Mahindra 2538 with loader, box scrape, forks and 6ft rotary cutter. Paid around 23k for the package. The very first time bush hogged with it I realized I’d made a terrible mistake. It was uncomfortable, ate fuel like kool aid, rattled like a Porsche and everything on it was flimsy. The 3pt lever was against my ass in the seat so every time I hit a bump I scalped my pasture. Next I put the forks on and tried to unload a steel delivery. 240 pounds of .25 plate on the forks was enough to cause the loader valve to bypass if you mixed functions and dropped the sheet against the tire on the delivery truck blowing a hole in the sidewall.

Mahindra was absolutely useless for anything related to the loader. They told me it shouldn’t be able to mix functions even though it had a joystick so there was no way to keep the forks level as the arms went up and down. That made it useless to me as a forklift. They claimed it wasn’t possible to move the joystick diagonally and if I was I had broken it.

This machine was made in South Korea. Which essentially makes it the Kia of tractors as far as I’m concerned. In hind sight I would have not gone larger and bought a 15/16 series that was made by Mitsubishi in japan. Those are much better quality.

After 3 years of dealing with it, fortunately I was able to also sell it for more than my asking price on marketplace within a few hours. They regularly are listed on tractor house and equipment trader for 17k or less. I got 18,200.

3 months ago I went to kubota and ordered a brand new LX2610 which I am still waiting on. The dealer has not been very forthcoming with information on why it’s taking so long but it’s very frustrating to say the least.


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I have a 2016 Mahindra 4540. There were several deciding factors when I bought mine. The 45 series is a lot different from their compact models. I dont think I have the spreadsheet I made anymore but curb weight and lift capacity were the biggies. Also the model I have was the only new tractor that didn't have regen. It is SOLID and old school. Nothing fancy. The rear fenders are strong enough for my 200lb to stand on with no worry of anything bending. I have a 2019 Kubota l3301 at my house for some technical work that my 4540 is just too big for. Its a nice little tractor and with the shuttle shift, its really user friendly. They cost pretty close to the same. Anyone is welcome to come check them out side by side.
 
RHSCTJ said:
I have a 2016 Mahindra 4540. There were several deciding factors when I bought mine. The 45 series is a lot different from their compact models. I dont think I have the spreadsheet I made anymore but curb weight and lift capacity were the biggies. Also the model I have was the only new tractor that didn't have regen. It is SOLID and old school. Nothing fancy. The rear fenders are strong enough for my 200lb to stand on with no worry of anything bending. I have a 2019 Kubota l3301 at my house for some technical work that my 4540 is just too big for. Its a nice little tractor and with the shuttle shift, its really user friendly. They cost pretty close to the same. Anyone is welcome to come check them out side by side.
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Can we hook em together and do wheelies?
 
RHSCTJ said:
I have a 2016 Mahindra 4540. There were several deciding factors when I bought mine. The 45 series is a lot different from their compact models. I dont think I have the spreadsheet I made anymore but curb weight and lift capacity were the biggies. Also the model I have was the only new tractor that didn't have regen. It is SOLID and old school. Nothing fancy. The rear fenders are strong enough for my 200lb to stand on with no worry of anything bending. I have a 2019 Kubota l3301 at my house for some technical work that my 4540 is just too big for. Its a nice little tractor and with the shuttle shift, its really user friendly. They cost pretty close to the same. Anyone is welcome to come check them out side by side.
Click to expand...

The 4500 series’s is a solid tractor. It’s a true tractor not a compact. Very comparable to a late 90’s early 00’s 5 series deere. I was on a lot of Mahindra groups online. Never saw any problems with those but I don’t believe they offer any of the creature comforts like hydrostatic trans and maybe not even shuttle. Unfortunately for me just a little too large for what I needed to do with it as an off-road forklift. Had that not been a constraint I would have definitely bought that instead of the 2358.

If and when I ever get my new kubota I’ll report back. It’s a bit less horsepower than my last tractor but is right in the sweet spot of loader capability vs physical size I was looking for. I went all out on it getting rear remotes, self leveling loader, 4in1 bucket, grapple, suspension seat, cruise etc. hopefully this’ll be the last one I buy for quite a while.

I spend a lot of time on them and pretty well know what i want. I also looked at a 3R deere. A few things I didn’t like were the rear remote valves being mounted to the ROPS seemed awkward and half assed, the metering on Deere’s loader valves is nowhere near as good at kubota for loader work. Kubotas hydraulics are smoother and easier to feather making it much safer moving expensive customer parts with the forks.


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