Reasons not to buy an RTV 1100C?

[stevewarner1957]

Great looking machine and I’m sure you will be happy with it.

For you guys with RTV Kubota Machines. I put the factory hand throttle kit on my 1120D. When you do this the accelerator pedal just controls the HST like a treadle on a HST tractor (obviously no reverse). This allows full engine power to pull heavy items, logs, trailers,etc. it’s a nice kit that is not hard to install and is useful in some situations

 

[Tomtint]

#132 reason not to buy one...Because the wife says she will use it to plow the driveway when I'm out working and plowing our commercial properties... and she doesn't... hence my 30 hour machine is now for sale...any takers ?

 

[Jmax]

Well after reading your post I feel like I may be disappointed in my purchase of my kubota 2014 1100C ? We live in east Texas. Though I do not care about going fast......
We have a property in Colorado at 9000 ft elevation . We sold our old mule as it would not pull its own weight in the altitude . Even had the carb rejeted , made no difference .
And found out my Uncle was selling his VERY Well maintained garage kept Kabota 1100C for 9000 bux. And after pricing UTV's that ac/heat closed cab was just to good to pass up.
After committing to the purchase ive read the stories that 1100 c cant climb a hill for crap, And does poorly at high elevation .
Our property has a road/trail that is Very steep .. Although I also read they use them for plowing snow in Canada and Colorado Rockies... hmmmm kind of conflicting stories. then I saw a video of a pathetic hill attempt

Rtv hillclimb - YouTube
Very concerned after I saw that
I called Kubota dealer in colorado , they confirmed my fear. and recommend I install a Turbo $$$$..
What do you guys think. ?
Did I just make a 9k mistake?

 

[s219]

If what you bought is a 2014 model, I assume it's an RTV "X" 1100C, correct? If so, that's completely different than what you show in that video (an older model and not sure of the specs). I climb a steeper hill than that with my RTV-X1120D and it has no problems. Actually, it had a problem one time in winter when we had a thaw, and the top layer of soil was like grease, but that was a traction issue.

So figure out what model you actually bought and go from there. My experience is that the combination of diesel, HST, 4x4, and low gearing make the RTV X series exceptional at hill climbing, and probably better than other UTV models that use a belt/pulley transmission.

 

[stevewarner1957]

My 1120 pulls like a tractor, not fast. That’s at near sea level. Not sure about 10,000 ft elevation. I’m sure like all naturally aspirated engines, gas or diesel, they lose volumetric efficiency. A turbo will help with that, not top speed. You are limited by the speed you turn the hydraulic pump

 

[Jmax]

If what you bought is a 2014 model, I assume it's an RTV "X" 1100C, correct? If so, that's completely different than what you show in that video (an older model and not sure of the specs). I climb a steeper hill than that with my RTV-X1120D and it has no problems. Actually, it had a problem one time in winter when we had a thaw, and the top layer of soil was like grease, but that was a traction issue.

So figure out what model you actually bought and go from there. My experience is that the combination of diesel, HST, 4x4, and low gearing make the RTV X series exceptional at hill climbing, and probably better than other UTV models that use a belt/pulley transmission.

OH Thank you for the reply., Yes sir It is a 2014 X1100C , And full cab a/c heat , the heavy thing.

 

[s219]

So you will lose some oomph because it's the heavier model, and you'll loose some oomph at altitude for sure. But the baseline is strong with plenty of margin in my experience.

Remember it's an HST that is geared lowest at the minimum engagement and gears itself higher the more you press the pedal. So don't mash the pedal on a hill since that gears you in the wrong direction.

If there are concerns, installing a hand throttle kit (which can be bought from Kubota or rigged up with a generic hand throttle control) would really help. See post #131 above. It will let you throttle the engine up higher while keeping the HST down in the low range. The default pedal setup changes throttle and HST at the same time and works pretty well for all around use, but it's not ideal for situations where you need maximum power and the lowest gearing.

 

[s219]

Here's a good video:

Get more power from your Kubota RTV with a hand throttle kit (V5245) - YouTube

 

[ovrszd]

It's a steep learning curve for the driver. Took me awhile. Pushing the "go" pedal to the floor is not the preferred method when climbing.

Not sure of your experiences so just throwing this out. It's just like driving an HST lawn tractor or small HP SCUT. The more you push the pedal the higher the gear ratio.

If you have problems, add the hand throttle. In hard pull situations run the engine at full rpm with the hand throttle then control the gear ratio with the foot pedal.

I think you'll be fine. Will just require some patience and learning.

 

[stevewarner1957]

I agree. I have the hand throttle kit on my 1120. It allows the RTV to be operated like my HST tractor. You set the RPM and your foot controls your motion