Bobcat CT235 ~ 2 hour mini review (Kioti CK35 clone)

[Melensdad]

Took delivery of the new tractor this afternoon, a Bobcat CT235. Its the same basic tractor as the new Kioti/Daedong CK35 with some improvements and with a completely different loader.

Not the best tractor on the market, but not bad, and a really good value. Honestly I loved the New Holland 2035 and consider it a much better designed tractor, but also, just as honestly, given the deal deal that I received from my dealer, combined with the manufacturer's incentives which included a free front end loader and some additional cash I simply could not justify the price difference to buy the nicer New Holland. Had the price difference been in the $2000 to $3000 range I would have grabbed the New Holland, but the price differential was well north of $6000 and frankly that is not justifiable.

I did NOT get the bucket that I ordered, its out of stock. So the dealer delivered the tractor to me with a skid-steer bucket. Not ideal, but as I'm moving dirt at least I have a bucket! The skid-steer bucket has too much capacity for this tractor, the loader can lift a full bucket, but its slow, and its very very tippy. I'm looking forward to getting the correct, smaller, bucket. Without the weightbox on the 3pt, the rear wheels simply lift off the ground, this was surprising given the 900+ pounds of fluid in the rear tires and the 3000+ pounds of tractor under my butt. Like I said, the bucket is simply too large. However they said it would likely be 3 to 4 weeks before my bucket arrives and I didn't want to wait for the tractor so I took the loaner bucket.

The seat is amazingly comfortable. Never sat on a tractor with such a nice suspension seat. This is not the standard seat, its the upgraded commercial use Bobcat deluxe seat and its got a full suspension system. The beauty of it is it is not a 'bouncy' suspension seat, it absorbs shock but allows some 'road feel' and yet it doesn't bounce.

The 3 range hydrostatic transmission is rough to shift between ranges and gets stuck, sometimes shifting from LO to MED puts you all the way into HI, sometimes you just get into NEUTRAL between LO and MED, sometimes you pass MED but get into NEUTRAL before hitting HI. Sometimes it shifts smoothly, but that seems rare. This is one of those things that comes into the 'trade off' category for buying a value tractor.

There is a cheap plastic fuel filler cap cover that I'm waiting to break. My guess is it will last a few months? It doesn't belong on a tractor.

The ignition switch hits my right knee, I should say the key brushes against my right knee, I think its in the wrong place. Good looking placement but not great ergonomics.

There is a horn button on the dash, I guess that is there to honk the horn so my wife can run a cold beer out to me? Honestly its a nice feature, but of limited use.

I really, REALLY, dislike the 4wd lever being under my left foot and being required to bend down to grasp it for engagement/disengagement. This is just piss poor ergonomics. New Holland places this on the fender with a lever, you can work and engage/disengage 4wd without taking your eyes off your work. This lever placement is a copy of the older Kubota design and it sucks!

I like the grill guard, its well placed, sturdy and seems like it will keep branches away from the grill and front of the hood. It also does not block the headlamps, it does, however, block some access to the front of the engine compartment . . . no way to avoid that, so its not a criticism just an observation.

The loader control is in a very good location and well shaped. It does not block entry/exit to the right side of the tractor as is the case on some brands. It functions well and seems to be smooth. The control knob is also well shaped and fills the hand.

The radiator pre-screen requires you raise the hood, remove a side panel, and raise the FEL (forcing you to work under the raised FEL) to simply remove the pre-screen for cleaning. Given the fact that that screen, at least on my property, gets clogged up every 3 to 4 hours of run time, this is again really piss-poor design.

There is a hydraulic oil filter exposed under the tractor, the FEL hose Quick Connects are also exposed under the tractor. I don't like that, but since I can't find too many cases of them being reported as being damaged on any of the forums I'm going to say that while I would not have put them there, they are probably high enough and safe enough that its more an issue in my mind than anything else.

Headlights seem to be strong and well placed, there are both Low and High beams, they shine above the top edge of the bucket when transporting a bucket load of dirt. I ordered the optional rear utility light, the switch is small, its also not rubber armored like on the New Holland and some other brands, but it seems to be adequate.

Overall, despite my complaints above, I'm happy with the choice. Critical of it? Yes. Its not the best out there. However for the price it was a really good deal and for that I can overlook some of the poor ergonomics.

 

[Melensdad]

BTW this is a 34hp tractor, after using it on my hills, I firmly believe that the same tractor in 25hp is nothing better than an abortion. But packed with a 34hp engine its well sized and well powered.

The photo below with the leaky tire happened pretty early into my first work session, I picked up a nail! Fixed that. Let's hope its not an omen.

 

[Melensdad]

Even with the seat all the way back, the 3pt control is too far to the rear for comfort, it should be a few inches forward and the ergonomics would be greatly improved. Probably not something that would be noticed by a novice user, but anyone with lots of time on tractors would pick up on things like poor control placement pretty easily. I'll get used to it, but I noticed it when I did the demo and noticed it again in use. There are quite a few little things all around the tractor that are just not quite right. I looked at New Holland, Kubota and Yanmar/Cub as well. Yanmar/Cub simply doesn't have a tractor in this range that is close to competitive. Kubota and New Holland were both higher priced due to great dealer pricing and factory incentives offered by Bobcat.

Looking at the photos I can't believe I got it that dirty in only 2 hours. It was delivered spotlessly clean.

BTW, I didn't take a detailed photo of the ROPS, but there are screw knobs, with locking nuts, that hold it in place, while those keep the ROPS from clattering, they also prevent it from being quickly dropped or raised. Basically you need a wrench to loosen the nuts, then you unscrew the knobs, then you pull a couple pins, then you can drop the ROPS that is not very user friendly for people who need to raiser/lower their ROPS frequently.

 

[Doc]

Thanks for posting all that over here to Bob!

From your posts over on Forums Forums we know the size of your tractor but ....
Why is it the ck35 looks bigger? Is it the orange or what?

 

[Melensdad]

Why is it the ck35 looks bigger? Is it the orange or what?

Honestly I think the skid steer bucket on this tractor is so large that it makes the tractor look small. I've never operated any tractor before where I could have the bucket flat on the ground and still see the front edge of the bucket!!!

 

[OhioTC18]

Looks like a decent buy. I agree, I don't like the 4WD lever placement either. The FEL lines don't look too vulnerable, but those dust caps are gonna be history real soon, IMO.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Bob, I said on the other site that my 4-wheel drive lever was in the same place as your's but it's not. Mine is actually to the outside of your differential lock pedal, right next to the wheel arch. It took a little bit of getting used to but once you get familiar with it, it's not a hardship at all.

I still love that full opening hood. I had the hood up and both side panels off cleaning those screens again today. One day Kubota will catch up.

 

[Doc]

I have the same frustration with my Kubota and the silly plastic side panels you have to work in and out of space to get into the engine compartment. A real hood would be GREAT.

I suspect that seat upgrade on Bob's is a Bobcat add on. What a seat. I bet i could spend all day in that and not have back aches like I do with my current seat.

My 4wd lever is also like yours ETF. Very close proximity to where Bob's is. I never considered that a problem, but this is the only 4wd tractor I've owned and if I recall correctly it's been years since I've had mine in 2wd.

 

[Jim_S]

From the time you posted the first specs I knew which tractor you were going to buy.

How could you resist a tractor named "Bob?"

 

[Melensdad]

It took a little bit of getting used to but once you get familiar with it, it's not a hardship at all.

. . .My 4wd lever is also like yours ETF. Very close proximity to where Bob's is. I never considered that a problem, but this is the only 4wd tractor I've owned and if I recall correctly it's been years since I've had mine in 2wd.

When I owned my company I was really concerned about proper ergonomics on equipment as correct placement of levers and controls leads to higher productivity. I used to test drive all the fork lifts, narrow aisle lifts, skid steers, trucks, etc before purchase and do comparisons between the brands. Spending $500, or even $5000 more, for a machine that has better control placements could easily save that cost difference if the machine is extensively used. When I bought my New Holland tractor I got spoiled because they do such a great job with ergonomic design. This Bobcat, while much less expensive, is also a step back in time in terms of efficient design and layout. Honestly I don't use a tractor enough to justify the cost difference but I sure notice the little differences all over this tractor.

Kubota has come a long way on improving ergonomic design, Deere overhauled their designs over the last 3 to 4 years and really improved their ergonomics on their small tractors. Kioti, Branson, and many others are still a full generation behind in efficient work design.

How could you resist a tractor named "Bob?"

Good thing there is no tractor company named "MEL"

 

[Melensdad]

A couple more hours on the clock and I am really thinking this huge Skid Steer bucket is as dangerous as it is silly to mount on this tractor. It simply has too much capacity and, even with calcium fluid filled rear tires and a weight box filled with concrete, rock and brick, its just to easy to lift the rear tires off the ground.

Bear in mind this is NOT my bucket, its a loaner bucket from the dealer because my bucket was out of stock. A normal bucket for this tractor is either 62" or 68". The dealer normally sells them with a 68" bucket, I opted for the 62" bucket because I have heavy/hard clay soil and I've found digging into piles is easier with a slightly smaller bucket. So while I wait for my bucket to arrive, I am using the Skid Steer bucket.

I don't know what the volume capacity is for the Skid Steer bucket but its enough that if I actually get a full bucket the loader barely lifts it, and then only does so in slow motion. Worse, when I have a full/nearly full bucket I tend to skid coming down the hill, even in LO range and 4wd.

None of the above is a complaint about the tractor, its clearly doing what it can do to struggle with the big capacity bucket and full capacity loads in that bucket.

In HIGH range 4wd this tractor will barely chug up my hills, engine bogs down and revs drop. At over 2 tons with fluid fill and weight box this tractor is matched well to the 34hp engine I specified. Same tractor is also available with a 30hp or a 25hp engine. The 30hp would probably be worthy on flatter ground, the 25hp would likely be a huge freaking mistake unless you only drove downhill or unless you simply didn't know any better. I cannot imagine the 25hp model managing a tiller in my soil, my 24hp New Holland could barely manage a 48" tiller and a 60" mowing deck, add 2200# of tractor and you'd have a massive machine with tiny implements if you ordered this Bobcat with the 25hp engine. However with the 34hp power unit it does very well. The hill climbs, in MED range are effortless and travel speed is quick enough through the trails that you are not left wanting.

I'm still loving the seat

I'm reserving judgement on the loader controls because I am finding its a bit too jumpy sometimes and sluggish other times and I suspect that it related to the loads in the bucket, but the more I use the loader level the more I wish it had a larger knob. Initial impressions were that it was good, after more use I'd say its OK but I may look for a larger knob to replace this one.

My left elbow has engaged the rear PTO accidently . . . this goes back to my criticism of the ergonomic design. Slightly more care in placement, size and shape of the controls could easily avoid accidental engagement/disengagement.

The engine runs pretty smoothly but makes a distinctive clatter unlike any other diesel that I've run. Most diesels 'rumble' but this one has some sort of clatter to its normal sound. Still its smooth enough so I don't think the clatter is a problem, just a characteristic of the design.

Everything I've ever said about using a heavy tractor on the lawn is confirmed by use, again. It ruts. No two ways around that. But then this was not purchased for mowing so I'm not overly concerned about that. Its weight will help it do what I want to do.

Fit and finish is spotty. Some areas are excellent, others not so much. The trailing edge of the hood is rolled steel and a fitted against plastic, but not fitted well and the edge of the steel, which is rolled 90-degrees, is rough and visible. Other areas show great fit with even spacing between panels. The overall look is very nice. As with other parts of the tractor, it seems like some things are lost in the details.

My tractor has plexiglas mud/debris guards at the front of the operators platform on either side of the engine compartment. In other people's reviews and in the brochures these are complimented, but for the life of me I don't know what they actually do. Mine are clean, save for some dust. I've now operated in dry and wet conditions, uphill & down, digging and dumping loads and I see no debris, dirt clods, etc on them. Perhaps they are more for show and less for anything else? Not complaining about this but I just have not seen their purpose.

The operators platform is very large, some 2' front to rear. Much of that platform is in front of the pedals and really serves no purpose. Have any of you ever put your feet on the other side of the clutch? Or reached your legs past the brakes? Still I guess I'd rather have the extra space than not, it might make for a good platform to sit a lunchbox or something?

Seems like I am spending a lot of time writing about the shortcomings of the tractor Believe it or not, I actually like this tractor. I'm planning to put a large toolbox behind the seat, not really looked at how I will do that, but I had one behind the seat of my New Holland it was in constant use, this tractor will get one too, when I figure out what will fit and how to mount it back there. Its not a high priority job right now. I'm also looking at adding some lights to the ROPS for snowblowing season. If I do that I'll have to get cracking on that project soon.

 

[Melensdad]

RAINING

My to do list for today is being thwarted by rain.

Got a new Buhler/Farm King 5' Box Blade sitting on my front lawn, that was delivered by my Kubota/Cub Cadet dealer a couple days ago. Got the Tractor Supply Post Hole Digger with 9" and 12" auger bits sitting out and waiting to be hooked up. Got 12 yards of nice black topsoil dumped in a pile waiting for distribution into various planter boxes, new lawn area, etc. Then there are 2 small Blue Spruce trees, 6 Emerald Green 6' tall Arborvitae, and another half dozen potted (4gallon) decorative tall grasses that are waiting to be planted.

The plan was to unhook the weight box from the 3pt and grab the box blade from my front lawn. My wife doesn't think the red & black steel hunk sitting on her pretty front lawn is quite decorative enough to leave there for all the neighbors and visitors to see. So I was going to move the box blade over to the workshop and out of her line of sight.

Then the plan was to install the Post Hole Digger, switch the auger from the 9" bit to the 12" diameter bit and punch some holes in the hard clay soil. I was planning to then plant the grasses, Arborvitae and Spruce trees into the holes. 12" diameter holes are not large enough for these plants, but its easy enough to start with a 12" hole and bust it open a bit more with a good spade, then place the plants into the holes.

Oh well, there is always tomorrow. Not supposed to rain tomorrow. Hopefully the ground will be dry enough to get some work done.

 

[rj's barn]

Thats a pretty good looking rig you got. And that skid steer bucket makes a serious statement.
All of the ergonomic issues you have on it will pass in 100 hours or so and you'll be pulling switches and working it like a seasoned hand without taking an eye off your work. I wasnt happy about the placement of all the hardware on my Kubota at first either, but I just pull switches and push levers without really having to think about it now. Muscle memory.
Seeing a tractor with a skid steer bucket makes me think about it........ could my tractor handle it? Looks good for digging. Hell, it just plain looks good.

 

[Melensdad]

The skid steer bucket is a "loaner" bucket from the dealership until my bucket arrives. Its still not here, we are now 6 weeks after delivery of the tractor. The skid steer bucket is TOO LARGE for the tractor, I can put more in the bucket than the loader can lift. Even with a manageable/liftable load, I've skidded down the hill while transporting clay . . . not a good feeling when you are in woods filled with thorns and poison ivy. So I am actually looking forward to getting rid of the skid steer bucket.

On the other hand, it has such a large capacity that its made my dirt moving jobs go quicker, every bucket load of clay is equivalent to about 2 full buckets worth on my New Holland TC24D (54" bucket). So I've managed to get some stuff done much faster with this bucket.

Yesterday, however, the bucket slowed me down. I was dropping rock OVER the top rail of a decorative aluminum fence into a narrow gap. The big bucket makes it very difficult to tip a load with precision. A regular bucket would have speeded up that project, fortunately I only had about a dozen "dumps" to do along the fence line.

The big bucket also sticks out a long way and makes for maneuvering issues in confined areas.

 

[MrChris]

Make sure your checking the loader frame bolts for proper torque. Loose bolts especially with larger stresses from that bucket can lead to cracks in your block.

 

[packrat001]

Good review! Thanks. I bought a CT230 - which is basically like your CT235. My range selector stays put, but is sometimes difficult to operate (won't come out/go into position easily - even with the typical suggestions of applying the brake, "easing" the clutch out while changing ranges, etc.).
Hydro filter underneath - oh, boy! While my son was mowing, a 2" "hedge row" bush was pushed over by the bucket, then flipped up under the tractor - hitting and breaking the hydro filter BRACKET - OFF! What a mess. Tractor back in the woods, FEL and mower attached, no way to get it out. Finally ordered the bracket that afternoon - arrived in a couple of days, then went back (of course it was then raining!), dug out the brush from under the tractor, and replaced the bracket. Everything worked fine, but I was mad that some engineering genius (I am an engineer... but not one that designs tractors or CARS! - that cannot be worked on) had designed a TRACTOR with such an obviously poor concept - a VERY LONG filter hanging DOWN under the tractor with no protection.
My letter to Bobcat resulted in a refund of the cost of parts, but no mention of the design (problem) being changed.
Another interesting note: when I unscrewed the filter from the housing, the INSIDE of the filer was rattling around inside the "can". It was NOT broken by the accident, but rather manufactured where NOTHING was getting filtered. That was sent off to Bobcat about a year ago - and I am awaiting testing results... "hello Bobcat... is anyone there?".

 

[Melensdad]

. . . Hydro filter underneath - oh, boy! . . . hitting and breaking the hydro filter BRACKET - OFF! . . . I was mad that some engineering genius . . . had designed a TRACTOR with such an obviously poor concept - a VERY LONG filter hanging DOWN under the tractor with no protection.

Well I'm not glad to hear about your bad luck but it does validate exactly what I am concerned about.

Honestly the tractor is a pretty decent basic tractor that has a lot of deluxe features at a great price but there are some shortcomings that I pointed out and that you found out about the hard way. There may be more?

What I know is that the New Holland tractor is a better machine but I don't think its really worth the extra money for a hobby farmer, mini-estate owner. For anyone with a commercial operation it probably makes sense to bypass the Bobcat/Kioti brands of tractors. I do like this tractor, used my today to plow snow off the driveway but I don't view it through rose colored glasses thinking its the best thing since sliced bread or Burma Shave.

 

[Lockport]

Awaitng delivery of my own CT235,7TL and 7TB. Believe it or not I was looking at the CT225 until discovering a discussion of RV opening too soon on another popular tractor group.


I feel the need to defend some of these points raised against these units.

Rough shifting on an HST: so did my Kubota and rocking the hydrostat back and forth while NOT attrempting to change ranges releases a slight pressure.

The cheap, plastic chrome fuel cap looks neat!

I hear there is a shorter key Bobcat makes if yours hits your knee.

Horn: Kids, dogs, and note it's nice and loud. Not a meep-meeper!

As for placement of the 4 wheel drive lever, granted I do not even have mine yet, but looking at it, there is a lot more room for options in the fender slots than I have ever seen. The optional 2nd speed for the Mid PTO, 2 sets of rear hydraulics, I would assume can be occupying these positions.

The grill guard on my Kubota, I couldn't believe one could undo the hood shrouds 4 bolts and bend the plastic piece around the hood by closing it and sliding up and out to remove. The fully open hood I will enjoy.

The rad screen I can see the logic of it up front, unlike my previous Kubota BX which had it at the back where all the heat was sure to gather. It was easy to slide up but poor rad placemeant overall. BC has put the rad up front, added a hydro cooler and we sacrifice for the greater good the annoyance of getting at the screen.

First 3rd party add on I got for my BX was Bro-Tek.biz, Skid Plate for the vulnerable undersides of the BX'splastic hydro fan, fuel filters, fuel lines, not to mention a Hydro filter potruding forward of the transaxle.

Filkters rattling around in the can is the tearing of the bypass valve on a common paper media filter.This happens far more often than the public is allowed to believe and is exactly why synthetic media is the only way to go. Kubotas come from from factory with a tiny black all synthetic filter. All dealers have a Wix Fram, common, larger, cheaper replacement they will turn you on to. I bought a half dozen of the original. Cost me $120

Not meaning to offend or step on anyone, but these issues are common all acroos the board, IMHO

 

[downey]

Fuel sucking CT235

Hi all, new hear and hoping to get some answers. I bought a new CT235 and I am very happy with the hydraulics and loader. However most of my work is cutting large fields, so I also got a Braber 6' brush cutter and this combo is very hard on fuel. I barely get 4 hrs of use before I stop to refill approx 5 gals.
Also I had to stop 3 times on one 4 acre field to clear dust/debri from the rad as it was overheating. Both the screens on the hood and the rad screen were full of dust.
I had the usual problems with the shifter, but the dealer has adjusted the shifter and it's much better, also the hood wouldn't open without leaning on it and pulling the release knob at the same time (almost a 2 man job). I sent it back to the dealer and he said there all like that, so I adjusted the cable myself, works better now.
I have owned three tractor/mower combinations and never burnt this much fuel and never had to stop to clear the rad.
Is anybody else experiencing these issues?
Thanks for any input.

 

[Melensdad]

In dry weather I've had the radiator screens totally clog up many times on various brands of tractors, this has been especially true when the weeds are in bloom and throwing off seeds.

As for the CT235 I'm still happy with mine. Not sure that this is the most fuel efficient motor but mine doesn't seem to be as bad as yours, then again, I don't run a bushhog on mine.