JayC
Huh?
Last Thursday I went with a friend to an Ag Expo in Lansing. It was a huge show. I wish I had a digital camera to take along, but didn't. There was just about everything there except New Holland and any combines. Anyway, they had an obstacle course for UTVs. There was the RTV900, JD Gator HPX, two Bush Hog Trail Hands (one with a round bale in the back), an imported Japanese mini truck, and a Land Pride. I drove the Bush Hog without the bale and the RTV. The Bush Hog is nothing compared to the RTV. I didn't really like anything about the Bush Hog. Way to jerky. The Kubota is one sweet unit. I didn't get to drive the Deere because the salesman had wandered off and a line was starting to form. The obstacle course was fun to drive around. There were small logs to drive over, steep hills, and mud. The Kubota was really smooth through the course. Quite comfortable and felt really solid. The Bush Hog rode smooth, but that is about all it had going for it. It wasn't too comfortable and the one I drove was starting to have problems. It was making grinding noises. I think the salesman said it had something to do with the brakes, I don't remember. That Bush Hog is going to be a tough sell.
I also finally got to check out Kioti. They were displayed next to the Kubota exhibit. Kubota had allot of units there, pretty much everything (including the new B26). Kioti only had the CK20, CK25, and CK35. The CK20 felt solid and the dealer that had it there had a custom made front blade fitted to it. Looked like a slick setup.
Mahindra was also there, but I didn't check it out to closely. We were kind of pressed for time so I couldn't give them a real close look. I didn't even get to check Case out, either.
Deere had quite a few units there. Got to sit on a 3520. Ergonomically it fit like a glove. All the controls were placed in logical positions. Visibility was good. Also checked out the 110TLB. Definitely seemed smaller than I was expecting. I know it's not big, but I was still surprised by the size. The fender and grab handle seemed rather flimsy. I thought it would have been sturdier.
I was mainly interested in the CUTs and UTVs so I looked at them more closely than the AG machines. My friend is a farmer so he was more interested in the AG stuff.
There was also a skid steer test area with obstacle course. The one with the fastest time wins a pair of MSU tickets to either a basketball or football game. I have never run a skid steer before, so I didn't take one for a spin although I would have really liked to. There was Cat, Case, Gehl, and Deere that were available. Some had pallet forks and some had buckets. I didn't want to skewer anybody never having run one before. Anyway, the course was laid out in a figure 8 pattern. There were white bowling pins laid all around the course. The object was not to hit any. At some point in the course was some pins stacked on each other. Some were white and three were orange. You had to knock the three orange ones down. It was interesting to watch, nonetheless.
I hope to go again next year and hopefully by then I can take a camera.
I also finally got to check out Kioti. They were displayed next to the Kubota exhibit. Kubota had allot of units there, pretty much everything (including the new B26). Kioti only had the CK20, CK25, and CK35. The CK20 felt solid and the dealer that had it there had a custom made front blade fitted to it. Looked like a slick setup.
Mahindra was also there, but I didn't check it out to closely. We were kind of pressed for time so I couldn't give them a real close look. I didn't even get to check Case out, either.
Deere had quite a few units there. Got to sit on a 3520. Ergonomically it fit like a glove. All the controls were placed in logical positions. Visibility was good. Also checked out the 110TLB. Definitely seemed smaller than I was expecting. I know it's not big, but I was still surprised by the size. The fender and grab handle seemed rather flimsy. I thought it would have been sturdier.
I was mainly interested in the CUTs and UTVs so I looked at them more closely than the AG machines. My friend is a farmer so he was more interested in the AG stuff.
There was also a skid steer test area with obstacle course. The one with the fastest time wins a pair of MSU tickets to either a basketball or football game. I have never run a skid steer before, so I didn't take one for a spin although I would have really liked to. There was Cat, Case, Gehl, and Deere that were available. Some had pallet forks and some had buckets. I didn't want to skewer anybody never having run one before. Anyway, the course was laid out in a figure 8 pattern. There were white bowling pins laid all around the course. The object was not to hit any. At some point in the course was some pins stacked on each other. Some were white and three were orange. You had to knock the three orange ones down. It was interesting to watch, nonetheless.
I hope to go again next year and hopefully by then I can take a camera.
