Make sure you check out our other RK Tractor videos and @Rural King store videos in these links: RK25, RK24, and RK21 Tractors: ua-cam.com/video/WjKExt8cp9A/v-deo.html Go Big or Go Home: ua-cam.com/video/RjDwmo1FyLQ/v-deo.html Stihl BR 800 X Magnum: ua-cam.com/video/9hr17tm-Sac/v-deo.html Best Compact Tractor Value: ua-cam.com/video/T__CcHR26CQ/v-deo.html RK Tractors with AKDadStuff: ua-cam.com/video/ESPTFtq1XMU/v-deo.html Rural King fire ring: ua-cam.com/video/02WqGy31j_Q/v-deo.html Rural King RK Tractors, Implements, UTVs, Rural King Store: ua-cam.com/video/33_jIj24vUc/v-deo.html
The cab RK 55 looks like a well appointed tractor. The salesman comes over as a decent fellow, low pressure and knowledgable. We bought our tractor off a similarly dispositioned salesman. They were good to deal with. We were going to buy a tractor off another fellow who could be the salesman’s brother in this video, even though they are on the other side of the world. It’s a marked contrast to car sales where it’s high pressure.
That's true. Chris at Rural King is knowledgeable about the machines, and lets the machines sell themselves. Early on in our UA-cam channel I stopped in at a dealership that sells John Deere and Kubota. I couldn't find a salesperson there who was A: willing to be on camera, and B: knowledgeable about the machines, C: helpful. In fact - I left that JD/K dealership pretty convinced that I knew more about their machines than they did. Our local John Deere dealership is much better, but also quite small. That's where I purchased my 2210. At that small JD dealership, the salesman is very knowledgeable and isn't a pressure-sales style either. The salesperson really does make a huge difference.
that RK55 is pretty impressive! If you can swing it get the cab model. I don't have an RK but I have a 2019 New Holland Boomer 40 with a cab. Wasn't sure if I would rather have a cab or a backhoe & non-cab. I got it early spring of this year and so far I'm glad I have the cab model. Looking forward to plowing some snow with it. I mostly use mine to mow 7 acres. I do miss the tan I got with an open station but not having hay fever / allergies is priceless. It was also nice to plow a late snow storm and the cab came in handy a few times when I've got caught in the rain or had to do a few odd jobs with it raining. Heck sometimes I like to just go drive it around in the rain because I can. lol Now with that said, there have been a couple of times when I wished it had a backhoe but I've managed to make it work. For the bigger jobs, I'll just rent an excavator.
This year we bought a Kubota without a cab but with a canopy. I’m not sure if I’d rather have a cab or not. Where my farm is it’s fairly temperate / sub tropical. So it never gets really cold though it gets hot sometimes. In all we are very happy with our tractor. It’s on the bigger size for a hydrostatic transmission and is a fairly simple machine. Plus we bought it at a time it was really hard to get a tractor & we were desperate to get one.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've seen advantages to both a cab and an open station. I've also thought a lot about a backhoe. I have about a dozen projects right now that I would be able to use a backhoe on. But after those - I don't know what I'd do with it all the time.
I've been impressed with the RK tractor lineup. I'm deciding between the 37 and the 55... leaning towards the 55! And a cab... gotta have a cab! You are in NW PA, I'm in NW Ohio... so we have a similar climate. Tired of freezing my butt off in the winter... I currently have an 8 year old Mahindra eMax 25 that I mostly use for mowing. Bucket doesn't come close to reaching my loft in the barn, so thus why I'm looking to go a bit larger. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching! I really like the RK37 and RK55 too. It's actually a really tough decision between the two. Keep us posted with what you decide on. A cab is certainly a nice thing to have!
I think it's only fair to have a green one, a red one, a few orange ones - that way I can share first-hand knowledge about each machine. Now - I need to find some type of grant for small UA-cam channels. . . . :)
I have a TYM 574 shuttle shift, overall its been a faithful work horse. The RK tractors are nice but they limit you on the overall choices offered from the TYM product line, TYM makes a good selection so it just makes sense to look at all of them. Also I saved $4000 on the purchase price compared to RK, that paid for my 3rd valve and most of my implements including the Titan HD grapple.
I'd like to see the TYM machines in person. I don't have any dealers around me currently. Thanks for watching and commenting about your experience. Great info!
Just test drove a open station RK 37 shuttle shift last night at my local RK. Loved everything about it. Seem's to run very well, smooth hydraulic loader operation, well built and standard features that don't come on other tractors in this class. I'm the old school geared tractor guy the salesman talked about. Geared tractors just get more power to the ground than a hydro imho. I can flip a shift lever back and forth just as easy as I can switch pedals. And as far as the clutch goes, that's just second nature. I spend more time looking for it when there isn't one there anyway. Think this is gonna be my next brush hogging, firewood getting machine with a granite grapple up front.
There's nothing about the RK tractors that doesn't continue to impress me. I'm glad you enjoyed the test drive at your local Rural King. I agree that the hydraulics operate smooth, seem powerful, and the machine seems strong. It took me a while to get used to the hydrostatic in my Deere. I was used to driving the older farm tractors - and always looking for that clutch pedal! I think you'd really like the RK tractors. Keep us posted! And let your store know that you watched the RK tractors on Purple Collar Life. Much appreciated!
Thanks for the demo. It answered some questions for me. two months ago I bought a hydrostatic rk55 with a cab and backhoe. My concern is that when I use the backhoe, it flexes and pushes the seat into the cab window. I'm concerned about breaking the window. Have you heard of this from anyone else? I really like the tractor by the way.
Great question - I haven't heard of this issue. The RK55 is an amazing tractor from what I've experienced in my short test drives at Rural King and what I saw Mike Morgan do on his channel (Outdoors with the Morgans) back when RK sent them 3 tractors to use for 2 years.
I have an RK 55 hydrostatic about one year old about 60 hours. It’s a great tractor. And I am a newbie.😆 extra items: a piranha tooth bar, Speedco quick hitch, Rural King rotary cutter 6 foot, roll king finish mower 6 foot, and a ballast box filled with sand and concrete.😃
Thanks for sharing! With the rotary cutter and the finish mower, I'm guessing you do a lot of mowing fields. Is the finish mower cut pretty good? About how much land are you mowing at a time. Thank you for watching and commenting. I like hearing from people who own these RK tractors and have had good experiences.
Looks like a really fun day! Sure wish I could have afforded the cab model of my tractor, but I think it's...what...the sixth commandment..."Thou shalt not covet GP's tractor"?! 😉🤤
Boy oh boy Chad they rolled out the red carpet for you. That guy we met with wouldn't let us film him. I think you are gonna end up with that 55 before you know it. Good luck my friend.
Great coverage of these tractors. I’d really like to work one of the RK74’s to compare it to my Kubota. The 74 is built by Kioti I believe and everything else is TYM. Great video!
You're right - the RK74 is probably a bit of overkill for someone who isn't actually farming at least part time. The RK55 though - I could find a use for it every day. :)
I have an RK 55 on 7 acres, and there have been times that I wish I bought the 74. You won't regret buying a bigger tractor than you think you need but you sure will know if you bought too small of one.
@@jamesb2291 I had an Allis chamber's wd45 and it was a little to big, rk 24 is perfect for me, I am mostly on a hillside, so I'm afraid of rollover with the bigger tractor.
That guy from RK is crazy the R4 tires suck in mud if it rains i'm not moving but I do have hills and mud these tires are made for hard pack when it comes to mud R1 is the way to go my RK55 is heavy but for me I'll be getting R1 tires
Thanks for watching and commenting! How long have you had your RK55? They look like a great tractor. I'll be interested to hear how you like the new tires. Keep us posted!
@@PurpleCollarLife I have two tractors my RK55 I bought it last part of 2017 its the first ones that came out its a 18 Model I have 136 Acres hills mud trails but it dont have but 170 hours on it the R4 tires they are not made for mud when it rains i dont use my RK its a shuttle shift great tractor heavy and I also have a 2013 Mahindra 3016 I bought new and had it right at 9 years now and not one problem it has the R1 and it can go places the RK with R4 can't even dream about going dont get me wrong they both have good and bad my Mahindra is a Hydro that I love for loader work but I do like the RK shuttle for pulling and long runs but I dont get down to the farm enough to run my RK55 it has the backhoe well both tractors do for me its the best thing you can buy for a tractor but thats my two cents lol great Videos keep them coming
I'm not sure how that would happen. I'd check with your local Rural King store. Was it like that new? Or did the bucket frame get misaligned after using it?
@@vernonbrowning7347 Any chance the load was not level or the force on one side wasn't level and you bent the frame of the loader arms? I've heard of people doing that with their John Deere and Kubota tractors. I would assume with as powerful as all these machines are, it's possible on any brand. Here's a video that Ed @My Cluttered Garage @MyClutteredGarage made about bending his: ua-cam.com/video/BfGW4_WcZ-o/v-deo.html
I believe that right now (7-8-22), the price is 32,099 for the RK55 open station hydrostatic. Here's the website from Rural King that shows pricing. I'm not sure how often pricing changes or how often they update the website. www.rktractors.com/products-tractors-rk55-series-rk-tractors.php
Hello. I would suggest searching www.ruralking.com for the nearest location. It may be one of the stores here in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure if there are currently any Rural King stores with the RK tractors in New York. Thank you for watching.
You city slickers can't give a good review of these tractors. You're impressed with driving around in a parking lot and watching the loader go up and down. You didn't even notice the best feature of the 74 and that is the self leveling loader and the shuttle shift transmission was a stranger to you. And who wants a stupid back up alarm? Good grief! No offense, but why RK chose you to review their machines is beyond me. Maybe they know you'll be easy on them and provide good reports. I recommend viewers search for real farmers or other users who put the machines through some real work. I've found a couple on you tube and the tractors seem to be pretty good and hold up fairly well, but I have seen a couple of issues that may be a weakness in the machine or could be the person getting a little too rough with it. If you find a video of anyone calling a bush hawg a brush hog, you know you've found a city slicker and to move along. We don't go "brush hogging", we go bush hawging!
Hi Mike - your comment truly has me laughing! As you may know, we live in rural Pennsylvania. But I drive about 165 miles per day for my day job, into the city. My co-workers think I'm pretty far from being a city slicker. :) I've used farm tractors almost my whole life. Not LARGE farm tractors, but the Ford 8N and Cockshutt 540 - small (maybe you'd call them hobby farm) tractors that have been used for 1/2 a century by farmers on large and small farms. You're right that I'm not a full-time farmer. We don't have thousands of ranch or farm acres. But we do have land, probably like many people - in that more than 10, but less than 250 acres range. I did notice the self-leveling loader on the RK74, and you're right that I should have mentioned it. It's a nice feature that also adds lifting capacity. As far as the shuttle shift - that's certainly a transmission that I'm not familiar with personally. Like I said, the majority of my seat time is on the 8N and the 540. Both of which are typical tractor transmissions from the 1940s and 1950s. My test drive allowed me to do what you saw - drive the machines around. That's 100% more of a test drive than I've been allowed to do at any other tractor dealership. I've certainly never been allowed to break ground testing a front end loader or backhoe by any John Deere, Kubota, or Kioti dealership that I've been to. In fact - at all those dealerships, I've never even had an opportunity to put the machines in gear. I'm curious what weaknesses you've seen in the tractors from other videos? I'd like to know what potential problems there may be. And that brush hogging vs bush hawging comment - that one really got me laughing. Hope you have a happy new year!
I think the worst issue I've seen was on a rk55 with the loader mount. The mount had somehow bent and leaned forward a bit, but that dude did indeed use his machine pretty hard and he thinks the newer tractors have an upgraded mounting bracket. I've never understood why most manufacturers went to a single mounting post for the loaders. Kubota stayed with two hard mounts, one at the front of the tractor and the main mount back towards the cab. A much stronger and solid attachment in my opinion, but I don't even know if kubota still does that now. Practically everyone does it just like the RK tractors and overall I'm quite impressed with what I've seen from your videos. It's just hard to determine reliability with any brand if they aren't being used in real world conditions, as I'm sure you know. Thanks for passing along valuable info as I'm definitely looking at purchasing one.
We need y'all to please please come to South Carolina please John Deere sucks and new Holland sucks and case tractor sucks please come to south Carolina we need help down here please come to south Carolina
There are new Rural King stores popping up here and there. I think it's only a matter of time and you may have one within easy drive distance to South Carolina.
Make sure you check out our other RK Tractor videos and @Rural King store videos in these links:
RK25, RK24, and RK21 Tractors: ua-cam.com/video/WjKExt8cp9A/v-deo.html
Go Big or Go Home: ua-cam.com/video/RjDwmo1FyLQ/v-deo.html
Stihl BR 800 X Magnum: ua-cam.com/video/9hr17tm-Sac/v-deo.html
Best Compact Tractor Value: ua-cam.com/video/T__CcHR26CQ/v-deo.html
RK Tractors with AKDadStuff: ua-cam.com/video/ESPTFtq1XMU/v-deo.html
Rural King fire ring: ua-cam.com/video/02WqGy31j_Q/v-deo.html
Rural King RK Tractors, Implements, UTVs, Rural King Store: ua-cam.com/video/33_jIj24vUc/v-deo.html
I Love a Salesman Who Knows Exactly What He Is Talking About Through Experience!!!
Thanks! I’m not a salesman - but I am a tractor enthusiast. :)
The cab RK 55 looks like a well appointed tractor. The salesman comes over as a decent fellow, low pressure and knowledgable. We bought our tractor off a similarly dispositioned salesman. They were good to deal with. We were going to buy a tractor off another fellow who could be the salesman’s brother in this video, even though they are on the other side of the world.
It’s a marked contrast to car sales where it’s high pressure.
That's true. Chris at Rural King is knowledgeable about the machines, and lets the machines sell themselves. Early on in our UA-cam channel I stopped in at a dealership that sells John Deere and Kubota. I couldn't find a salesperson there who was A: willing to be on camera, and B: knowledgeable about the machines, C: helpful. In fact - I left that JD/K dealership pretty convinced that I knew more about their machines than they did.
Our local John Deere dealership is much better, but also quite small. That's where I purchased my 2210. At that small JD dealership, the salesman is very knowledgeable and isn't a pressure-sales style either.
The salesperson really does make a huge difference.
Bonsoir mon ami 😉👍 These tractors are very well made 💪👍😉 You have made an OUTSTANDING REVIEW video mon ami 👍🧐 Cheers 🍻
Many many thanks! It's been fun to make the videos about these RK tractors. I'm learning a lot in the process.
@@PurpleCollarLife 🧐😉👌🍻
Fun day test driving new tractors.
Thanks!
that RK55 is pretty impressive!
If you can swing it get the cab model. I don't have an RK but I have a 2019 New Holland Boomer 40 with a cab. Wasn't sure if I would rather have a cab or a backhoe & non-cab. I got it early spring of this year and so far I'm glad I have the cab model. Looking forward to plowing some snow with it. I mostly use mine to mow 7 acres. I do miss the tan I got with an open station but not having hay fever / allergies is priceless. It was also nice to plow a late snow storm and the cab came in handy a few times when I've got caught in the rain or had to do a few odd jobs with it raining. Heck sometimes I like to just go drive it around in the rain because I can. lol
Now with that said, there have been a couple of times when I wished it had a backhoe but I've managed to make it work. For the bigger jobs, I'll just rent an excavator.
This year we bought a Kubota without a cab but with a canopy. I’m not sure if I’d rather have a cab or not. Where my farm is it’s fairly temperate / sub tropical. So it never gets really cold though it gets hot sometimes. In all we are very happy with our tractor. It’s on the bigger size for a hydrostatic transmission and is a fairly simple machine. Plus we bought it at a time it was really hard to get a tractor & we were desperate to get one.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've seen advantages to both a cab and an open station. I've also thought a lot about a backhoe. I have about a dozen projects right now that I would be able to use a backhoe on. But after those - I don't know what I'd do with it all the time.
I do know I'm looking forward to having my cab and heat in the little John Deere 2210 for plowing snow this winter! :)
@@PurpleCollarLifeso you can't have a can and a backhoe?
I've been impressed with the RK tractor lineup. I'm deciding between the 37 and the 55... leaning towards the 55! And a cab... gotta have a cab! You are in NW PA, I'm in NW Ohio... so we have a similar climate. Tired of freezing my butt off in the winter... I currently have an 8 year old Mahindra eMax 25 that I mostly use for mowing. Bucket doesn't come close to reaching my loft in the barn, so thus why I'm looking to go a bit larger. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching! I really like the RK37 and RK55 too. It's actually a really tough decision between the two. Keep us posted with what you decide on. A cab is certainly a nice thing to have!
Very nice tractors! 👍🚜 Thanks for sharing!
You bet! These have been a lot of fun to drive around and learn about.
I think I see a red tractor in Chad’s future. Man, sometimes I wish I had lots of land and an endless checkbook. Ok, more than sometimes. 😄
Don’t we all.....
I think it's only fair to have a green one, a red one, a few orange ones - that way I can share first-hand knowledge about each machine. Now - I need to find some type of grant for small UA-cam channels. . . . :)
I have a TYM 574 shuttle shift, overall its been a faithful work horse. The RK tractors are nice but they limit you on the overall choices offered from the TYM product line, TYM makes a good selection so it just makes sense to look at all of them. Also I saved $4000 on the purchase price compared to RK, that paid for my 3rd valve and most of my implements including the Titan HD grapple.
I'd like to see the TYM machines in person. I don't have any dealers around me currently. Thanks for watching and commenting about your experience. Great info!
Just test drove a open station RK 37 shuttle shift last night at my local RK. Loved everything about it. Seem's to run very well, smooth hydraulic loader operation, well built and standard features that don't come on other tractors in this class. I'm the old school geared tractor guy the salesman talked about. Geared tractors just get more power to the ground than a hydro imho. I can flip a shift lever back and forth just as easy as I can switch pedals. And as far as the clutch goes, that's just second nature. I spend more time looking for it when there isn't one there anyway. Think this is gonna be my next brush hogging, firewood getting machine with a granite grapple up front.
There's nothing about the RK tractors that doesn't continue to impress me. I'm glad you enjoyed the test drive at your local Rural King. I agree that the hydraulics operate smooth, seem powerful, and the machine seems strong. It took me a while to get used to the hydrostatic in my Deere. I was used to driving the older farm tractors - and always looking for that clutch pedal!
I think you'd really like the RK tractors. Keep us posted! And let your store know that you watched the RK tractors on Purple Collar Life. Much appreciated!
thanks for sharing this video, too bad they don't have an RK store near me .these are some nice tractors with the best warranties
Thanks 👍
You need one with a cab for the western Pennsylvania winter's. A guy can always dream right.
That's right, Kevin! I'll dream for the cab model, but I'd even be happy with the open station. :)
Thanks for the demo. It answered some questions for me. two months ago I bought a hydrostatic rk55 with a cab and backhoe. My concern is that when I use the backhoe, it flexes and pushes the seat into the cab window. I'm concerned about breaking the window. Have you heard of this from anyone else? I really like the tractor by the way.
Great question - I haven't heard of this issue. The RK55 is an amazing tractor from what I've experienced in my short test drives at Rural King and what I saw Mike Morgan do on his channel (Outdoors with the Morgans) back when RK sent them 3 tractors to use for 2 years.
I have an RK 55 hydrostatic about one year old about 60 hours. It’s a great tractor. And I am a newbie.😆 extra items: a piranha tooth bar, Speedco quick hitch, Rural King rotary cutter 6 foot, roll king finish mower 6 foot, and a ballast box filled with sand and concrete.😃
Thanks for sharing! With the rotary cutter and the finish mower, I'm guessing you do a lot of mowing fields. Is the finish mower cut pretty good? About how much land are you mowing at a time. Thank you for watching and commenting. I like hearing from people who own these RK tractors and have had good experiences.
3 acres finish mower at my home. Brush rotary cutter on my 30 acre property.
Good work, great editing! keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
Looks like a really fun day! Sure wish I could have afforded the cab model of my tractor, but I think it's...what...the sixth commandment..."Thou shalt not covet GP's tractor"?! 😉🤤
:) Ah, yes. The 6th commandment.
Probably my greatest sin. 🙄🤣
Boy oh boy Chad they rolled out the red carpet for you. That guy we met with wouldn't let us film him. I think you are gonna end up with that 55 before you know it. Good luck my friend.
You're right, Mike. It was a much different experience this time. Chris is great to work with.
Those larger models are nice tractors! I like the cab models. Great look at all the features. Cheers!
I agree! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great coverage of these tractors. I’d really like to work one of the RK74’s to compare it to my Kubota. The 74 is built by Kioti I believe and everything else is TYM. Great video!
Thanks 👍. I didn't know that about the RK74. Thanks for sharing! It seems like a powerful big machine.
The RK74 is also built by TYM
great video chad, kind of to big for my 7 acres.
You're right - the RK74 is probably a bit of overkill for someone who isn't actually farming at least part time. The RK55 though - I could find a use for it every day. :)
I have an RK 55 on 7 acres, and there have been times that I wish I bought the 74. You won't regret buying a bigger tractor than you think you need but you sure will know if you bought too small of one.
@@jamesb2291 I had an Allis chamber's wd45 and it was a little to big, rk 24 is perfect for me, I am mostly on a hillside, so I'm afraid of rollover with the bigger tractor.
@@glenmetz8586 The RK 24 is a pretty sweet little tractor
What is the size of the hydraulic fill port?
That guy from RK is crazy the R4 tires suck in mud if it rains i'm not moving but I do have hills and mud these tires are made for hard pack when it comes to mud R1 is the way to go my RK55 is heavy but for me I'll be getting R1 tires
Thanks for watching and commenting! How long have you had your RK55? They look like a great tractor. I'll be interested to hear how you like the new tires. Keep us posted!
@@PurpleCollarLife I have two tractors my RK55 I bought it last part of 2017 its the first ones that came out its a 18 Model I have 136 Acres hills mud trails but it dont have but 170 hours on it the R4 tires they are not made for mud when it rains i dont use my RK its a shuttle shift great tractor heavy and I also have a 2013 Mahindra 3016 I bought new and had it right at 9 years now and not one problem it has the R1 and it can go places the RK with R4 can't even dream about going dont get me wrong they both have good and bad my Mahindra is a Hydro that I love for loader work but I do like the RK shuttle for pulling and long runs but I dont get down to the farm enough to run my RK55 it has the backhoe well both tractors do for me its the best thing you can buy for a tractor but thats my two cents lol great Videos keep them coming
@@stoneycarter7789 Thanks for the info!
Nice
Thanks, Sam. Which of the RK tractors has been your favorite so far? The RK21, RK24, RK25, RK55, or RK74. I think my favorite is the RK55.
@@PurpleCollarLife I like the RK25 and the RK55
How do you level the bucket left side is lower than right
I'm not sure how that would happen. I'd check with your local Rural King store. Was it like that new? Or did the bucket frame get misaligned after using it?
@@PurpleCollarLife after using it
@@vernonbrowning7347 Any chance the load was not level or the force on one side wasn't level and you bent the frame of the loader arms? I've heard of people doing that with their John Deere and Kubota tractors. I would assume with as powerful as all these machines are, it's possible on any brand. Here's a video that Ed @My Cluttered Garage @MyClutteredGarage made about bending his: ua-cam.com/video/BfGW4_WcZ-o/v-deo.html
I would like to know the price on the RK55. That’s just the size I’m looking for. Also don’t really need the cab.
I believe that right now (7-8-22), the price is 32,099 for the RK55 open station hydrostatic. Here's the website from Rural King that shows pricing. I'm not sure how often pricing changes or how often they update the website. www.rktractors.com/products-tractors-rk55-series-rk-tractors.php
I wonder if you could store a RK55 cab tractor in a high cube shipping container.....? If anyone knows please chime in.
Great question. I’m interested to see the answer. My guess would be no - but I have no facts to base that guess on.
I live in Upstate New York award can I buy one of these tractors
Hello. I would suggest searching www.ruralking.com for the nearest location. It may be one of the stores here in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure if there are currently any Rural King stores with the RK tractors in New York. Thank you for watching.
Are they the same tractor as the TYM with a different name they look the same
Hello - TYM manufactures the RK tractor line. But the RK series usually have lots of included features and things that TYM has as optional.
Lost me at the Re-gen
I know that is a big concern for some. I've never owned a tractor with regen. But I do know we had plenty of issues with the EGR valve in our truck!.
You city slickers can't give a good review of these tractors. You're impressed with driving around in a parking lot and watching the loader go up and down. You didn't even notice the best feature of the 74 and that is the self leveling loader and the shuttle shift transmission was a stranger to you. And who wants a stupid back up alarm? Good grief! No offense, but why RK chose you to review their machines is beyond me. Maybe they know you'll be easy on them and provide good reports. I recommend viewers search for real farmers or other users who put the machines through some real work. I've found a couple on you tube and the tractors seem to be pretty good and hold up fairly well, but I have seen a couple of issues that may be a weakness in the machine or could be the person getting a little too rough with it. If you find a video of anyone calling a bush hawg a brush hog, you know you've found a city slicker and to move along. We don't go "brush hogging", we go bush hawging!
Hi Mike - your comment truly has me laughing! As you may know, we live in rural Pennsylvania. But I drive about 165 miles per day for my day job, into the city. My co-workers think I'm pretty far from being a city slicker. :) I've used farm tractors almost my whole life. Not LARGE farm tractors, but the Ford 8N and Cockshutt 540 - small (maybe you'd call them hobby farm) tractors that have been used for 1/2 a century by farmers on large and small farms. You're right that I'm not a full-time farmer. We don't have thousands of ranch or farm acres. But we do have land, probably like many people - in that more than 10, but less than 250 acres range.
I did notice the self-leveling loader on the RK74, and you're right that I should have mentioned it. It's a nice feature that also adds lifting capacity.
As far as the shuttle shift - that's certainly a transmission that I'm not familiar with personally. Like I said, the majority of my seat time is on the 8N and the 540. Both of which are typical tractor transmissions from the 1940s and 1950s.
My test drive allowed me to do what you saw - drive the machines around. That's 100% more of a test drive than I've been allowed to do at any other tractor dealership. I've certainly never been allowed to break ground testing a front end loader or backhoe by any John Deere, Kubota, or Kioti dealership that I've been to. In fact - at all those dealerships, I've never even had an opportunity to put the machines in gear.
I'm curious what weaknesses you've seen in the tractors from other videos? I'd like to know what potential problems there may be.
And that brush hogging vs bush hawging comment - that one really got me laughing.
Hope you have a happy new year!
I think the worst issue I've seen was on a rk55 with the loader mount. The mount had somehow bent and leaned forward a bit, but that dude did indeed use his machine pretty hard and he thinks the newer tractors have an upgraded mounting bracket. I've never understood why most manufacturers went to a single mounting post for the loaders. Kubota stayed with two hard mounts, one at the front of the tractor and the main mount back towards the cab. A much stronger and solid attachment in my opinion, but I don't even know if kubota still does that now. Practically everyone does it just like the RK tractors and overall I'm quite impressed with what I've seen from your videos. It's just hard to determine reliability with any brand if they aren't being used in real world conditions, as I'm sure you know. Thanks for passing along valuable info as I'm definitely looking at purchasing one.
We need y'all to please please come to South Carolina please John Deere sucks and new Holland sucks and case tractor sucks please come to south Carolina we need help down here please come to south Carolina
There are new Rural King stores popping up here and there. I think it's only a matter of time and you may have one within easy drive distance to South Carolina.