A general round-up of our six tested compact tractor candidates was outlined in Part 1. This second look covers handling and working with the front loaders.
Our test candidates from Iseki, John Deere, Kioti, Kubota, New Holland and Solis were supplied with front loaders, and all of them had one key point in common: lifting power of the loader exceeded the ability of the tractor to raise much more than 600-800kg without some meaty rear ballast. To achieve our test lifting stats, we weighted up the rear linkages to obtain the results as detailed in the ‘Lift and break-out forces compared’ graph.
To give you a little flavour of how much the loaders could lift, models fitted to the John Deere and Kioti could both hoist nearly 2 tonnes, with the caveat that the Taesung- built loader on the Kioti is not designed for these more extreme loads: we managed to damage the loader’s carriage pivot point at two points through overloading. That said, Taesung took note of our test findings and suggested that the loader will be modified to cope with higher loads, despite claiming there had been no reports of problems with loaders already in actual use.
The massive lifting power delivered by the jibs on those two tractors made the more modest nominal 900kg delivered by the Stoll on the New Holland appear somewhat unimpressive, although this lift is bang on for a tractor that tips the scales at about 2t. This is always a problem with lifting power. Just because a front loader can lift a certain amount, this is not to suggest the figure is the correct amount in relation to the tractor to which it’s fitted.
Iseki, Kioti, New Holland and Solis supplied loaders fitted with a Euro carriage, although the latter will be available on all the designs offered in the UK. Carriages compatible with skid-steer attachments are also marketed. The Solis carriage couplings weren’t hugely impressive, as the attachments secured via a couple of loose-fitting pins. John Deere also has a fiddly coupling system, although, once fitted, any attachment will be securely held in place.
It’s worth noting that in Germany, Iseki fits an Alö boom, but Iseki UK opts for its own design or an MX.
For more up-to-date farming news and reviews click here and subscribe now to profi for just £3.99 an issue.
