RTV 1100 I need more power

kentuckynet · Aug 1, 2012

Hello, i live on a small watershed lake and i drive the kubota rtv1100 to and from the lake. Sometimes it just barely climbs the hill. The other day it stalled out ontop and i had to roll backwards down the hill.
It has a new fuel filter, the machine has around 100 hours since new. I really cant afford to pay the 1900 bucks for a turbo...are there any tricks or adjustments to increase its power?

I have read about spark arrestors and adjuting the HST servo will either of these help me?

This machine has always been weak, its very slow to begin to move when you step on the pedal.....almost like the brake is on but its not. In wet grass it couldnt think about spinning a tire!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

MtHam · Aug 1, 2012

My experience is with an RTV900. It has a huge amount of power and will go up any incline without the slightest hesitation, even with a load. It's ability to climb reminds me of a military tank! Yours must have a problem. I would be talking to my dealer.

kentuckynet · Aug 2, 2012

Im long out of warranty and i dont care for my dealer, thats why i came on here looking for help.
Im quite certain theres someone on here that can tell me what i can do...

thanks

Franko · Aug 2, 2012

My 5 year old RTV 900 also gets a little slow when climbing near the top of our steep driveway approach, but the torque allows it to muscle through and it has never stalled. Of course, that is mainly due to my laziness of keeping it in M gear. If it gets steeper, I always use L and I think it would go up almost anything in that gear. What gear are you using?

Oh, if the fuel level gets low, it seems to lose more power and will even stall on a hill. If you are running it with the tank very low, try filling it up and see if it makes a difference. My gauge is dead and I have not looked into it yet, so sometimes I get down a ways.

Frank

aczlan · Aug 2, 2012

Are you in high range? I might try the hill in the next lower range to see if it works better.

Aaron Z

ruffdog · Aug 2, 2012

It seems if you lift off the gas peddle some it helps too. The foot feed controls both the engine speed and the transmission shifting. If you lift your foot slightly, it seems the engine speed stays the same but the trans shifts down some. If you need more, shift to a lower range.

Gary Fowler · Aug 2, 2012

ruffdog said:
It seems if you lift off the gas peddle some it helps too. The foot feed controls both the engine speed and the transmission shifting. If you lift your foot slightly, it seems the engine speed stays the same but the trans shifts down some. If you need more, shift to a lower range.

That is exactly what you have to do. If you keep the pedal to the metal, the hydrostatic keeps the plates arranged for speed not power and it will stall the engine. If going up a hill and it starts to stall, just back off the pedal and it will climb right on up. My 900 climbs hills pretty good in M without backing off the throttle but will start to stall going up a steep 30 degree slope if I keep the pedal down but just letting up about half throttle keeps it moving at the same speed. Most folks that have problems with these transmissions still have the more pedal = more power mentality and that is not the case with hydrostatic. I can actually load the FEL bucket with my Kubota B 26 in High range by just easing in the pedal but if I stomped it to the floor, it has no power. The RTV works similar only the throttle works both the engine RPM and the go pedal. If yours doesnt work for you when backing off the throttle, then you need to see a dealer. I rarely put mine in H range but it is pretty weak at climbing and acceleration in that range so I mostly keep it in M. In L and M it will dig holes with all 4 tires. I use mine to pull saplings by chaining around the front or rear tow hitch ball and yanking them out. It has plenty of power

kentuckynet · Aug 2, 2012

Fuel is always full.....
In m i think i could put my shoulder against it and keep it from moving! Just kidding but its not a very strong machine! I really thought you were kidding.....im always in low and yes i do have the pedal on the floor...ill try lifting up a little and see if that helps. I have never changed the HST filter or the suction filter or changed the transmission fluid......would any of this help?

SpudHauler · Aug 3, 2012

Yes you need to change the fluids with Kubota's SUDT, expensive but it is the best for these machines. As well as all the filters. That should have been done at 50 hrs so do it asap. Next change after that is every 100 hrs for the engine oil and filter and every 200 hrs for the hydraulic oils and filters. So not so bad given the low hours you are putting on. I use Mobil1 diesel engine oil and kubota oil and filters for the engine and hydraulics.
Next pull the 3 bolts out of the muffler tail pipe and remove the screen section that sits inside the muffler. I cut mine about 2" from the mounting plate, others have just hacked away the screen or drilled big holes all over it. Both works, but removing the 4 or 5" of screen and pipe seems to work the best.
Do you have a manual?
What year is this beast?

9973720wb19 · Aug 3, 2012

I've got an RTV 900 with just over 200hrs, using the correct gear it has never not done what I ask. I've dragged entire large trees, dragged 800 feet of fencing (oak posts connected by plastic strips) through feilds of high grass and over hills. i've got some very steep hills and my RTV climbs them as well as my JD 4720 with 66hp. neither are fast but they don't seem to mind. i hope you get it figured out. maybe another brand dealer will let you "test" some other models on your property or even another RTV to see if it's the unit or your expectation is not reasonable. another though is that I/we don't know if with your 1100 some of them have cab & a/c - mind does not and it could be a factor.

PapaPerk · Aug 3, 2012

Think it needs a trip to the dealer. Where are you in KY. There's many good Kubota dealers in the state.

SpudHauler · Aug 3, 2012

9973720wb19
His post is "RTV 1100 I need more power", so I'm assuming it is that size. All RTV1100's have cabs and air standard. And they are totally different than the RTV900 series. I've had both, RTV900 08 and then a RTV1100 09. Put a turbo on the 1100 and actually regretted doing so. More hours does make a difference and the newer 900's are much better than older versions. Turbo gave more power but at a cost to diesel consumption, now much harder on fuel. Fine adjustments to netrual fixed hard shifting problems and I boosted the pressure relief but not sure how this helped. Playing with the servo adjustment helped with the assist motor response. Plowed lots of snow, worked great, actually plowed with both machines and after getting the bugs worked out they both were great fun. One night 7:00pm -13c with wind chill of -19c and me with just a sweat shirt on, got to love the cab on the 1100 series. But the weight of about 2500 lbs makes the little 24hp engine seem a little weak for the H gear operations. Me thinks 30 hp would make this a great machine. They did lower the R gear ratio, I hear, and that would be nice as well. Other nice feature in the newer models is the sliding glass windows. Mine didn't have that feature and it was really missed.

Anyway, if he tries the muffler fix first, it may save him a trip to the dealer. And the other must is change the fluids.

Just my opinion of course.

ruffdog · Aug 3, 2012

I have a low hours 2006 rtv900 and just pulled the exhaust outlet. The screen was half plugged. I read where you don't want to cut the whole screen section off because that section is supported on the inside. I will use dremel tool to cut some of the screen out and report back.

ruffdog · Aug 3, 2012

I took only 1/3rd of the screen out(one section), and reistalled with antiseize on the bolts. I went out for a test drive and was thinking I would feel a difference on the top end. Instead, it seems like it has more grunt off the line. Like I said before, do not cut the whole screen section off because it is supported about 1/2" from the end inside the muffler. That support keeps the flange from cracking/breaking. All I needed for tools was a 5mm socket head wrench for the two 6mm socket head cap screws.

The pictures were taken after I blew all the carbon out of the screen.

Gary Fowler · Aug 5, 2012

On my RTV 900, IIRC the manual said to clean the screen every 50 hours or so. I just removed the whole thing. It says you need the spark arrestor for park use and since mine never leaves the farm, I just took it out and threw it in a drawer in my tool box. One less thing to maintain. It had 40 hours on it when I removed it and it was almost stopped up with soot. The screen just slipped off and I put the tail pipe back on.

ruffdog · Aug 5, 2012

Screen came off? Mine had several spot welds holding it on and the ring at the top spot welded too. They must have changed the design.

timswi · Aug 5, 2012

My 1100 will climb pine trees if I wanted...High range isn't good for much but level and downhill...Medium does a good job for most things...Fast it's not, but mine has more than enough grunt power....No turbo or any enhancements on mine, it's just as Kubota created it.

Boeing · Jul 16, 2023

kentuckynet said:
Hello, i live on a small watershed lake and i drive the kubota rtv1100 to and from the lake. Sometimes it just barely climbs the hill. The other day it stalled out ontop and i had to roll backwards down the hill.
It has a new fuel filter, the machine has around 100 hours since new. I really cant afford to pay the 1900 bucks for a turbo...are there any tricks or adjustments to increase its power?

I have read about spark arrestors and adjuting the HST servo will either of these help me?

This machine has always been weak, its very slow to begin to move when you step on the pedal.....almost like the brake is on but its not. In wet grass it couldnt think about spinning a tire!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Is this 1100 a DIESEL?

5030 · Jul 16, 2023

Gary Fowler said:
That is exactly what you have to do. If you keep the pedal to the metal, the hydrostatic keeps the plates arranged for speed not power and it will stall the engine. If going up a hill and it starts to stall, just back off the pedal and it will climb right on up. My 900 climbs hills pretty good in M without backing off the throttle but will start to stall going up a steep 30 degree slope if I keep the pedal down but just letting up about half throttle keeps it moving at the same speed. Most folks that have problems with these transmissions still have the more pedal = more power mentality and that is not the case with hydrostatic. I can actually load the FEL bucket with my Kubota B 26 in High range by just easing in the pedal but if I stomped it to the floor, it has no power. The RTV works similar only the throttle works both the engine RPM and the go pedal. If yours doesnt work for you when backing off the throttle, then you need to see a dealer. I rarely put mine in H range but it is pretty weak at climbing and acceleration in that range so I mostly keep it in M. In L and M it will dig holes with all 4 tires. I use mine to pull saplings by chaining around the front or rear tow hitch ball and yanking them out. It has plenty of power

I have to ask you, how do you like your Vulcan Omni Pro 220? Been eyeing one lately.

Boeing · Jul 31, 2023

Gary Fowler said:
On my RTV 900, IIRC the manual said to clean the screen every 50 hours or so. I just removed the whole thing. It says you need the spark arrestor for park use and since mine never leaves the farm, I just took it out and threw it in a drawer in my tool box. One less thing to maintain. It had 40 hours on it when I removed it and it was almost stopped up with soot. The screen just slipped off and I put the tail pipe back on.

Is your 1100 a DIESEL?????