RTV 900 questions

thunderworks · Apr 19, 2009

I've read several threads here about transmission problems with the RTV900. Apparently there have been problems with getting stuck and/or being hard to shift between the speed ranges or between forward and reverse. I am looking at RTVs to replace my Gator but can't really justify the price of a new RTV. My local Kubota dealer showed me a new RTV and I asked him about the transmission issue. He told me that Kubota added a "release" lever on the dash which solved the problem. Does anyone know in what year Kubota added the "release"? If I find a used one advertised, it'd be nice to know whether that model year had the feature or not.

TIA

RBrown · Apr 19, 2009

I bought a new RTV 900 last year and it has the release feature next to the 12V outlet. It works okay. Normally if I have problems shifting I just "rock" the unit with whatever gear I am in and then it shifts. That's the only real problem I have had with the unit. It is hard to justify the cost and if I didn't bleed orange I probably would of bought another brand. Built like a tank though!

MessickFarmEqu · Apr 20, 2009

it was a running change, the year would not help you at all. You just need to look for the knob beside the 12v outlet.

Dargo · Apr 20, 2009

This may be a coincidence or it may be helpful, I don't know. All I know is that with the RTV900 I had, it would get stuck in gear and was hard to shift until I spend almost a month running hundreds and hundreds of loads of dirt with it back-filling the edges of my new concrete driveway. I'll admit that I ran the living heck out of the thing and hammered the throttle each and every time I got in it. By the time I finished the job I'd put almost 200 hours on the machine and it not only shifted very easily but it also ran nearly 30 mph and seemed like it had more pep.

I don't have enough hours on my RTV1100 to run it that hard yet but I plan to after I pass 50 hours and do the 50 hour service on it.

thunderworks · May 1, 2009

Thanks guys for the input and replies. I found a low hour 900 that doesn't have the tranny release. Is the collective wisdom here that it is, or is not, a significant upgrade feature? Have there been any other running changes in the last few years that I need to know about before I pull the trigger on this used machine?

TIA
Rick

SCtractorguy · May 2, 2009

I don't know about other changes either. My 900 has 75 hours on it (I've had it for 2 years and 11 months..

) and is pretty smooth to get out of gear. It will stick if on a slope and I need to change but otherwise its getting better.
I haul mainly firewood and yard debris with it and its hard to ask for a better machine IMO.

RBrown · May 5, 2009

Thunderworks,

I would say at best it is a try at a fix. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If I had found a good used 900 when I bought mine and the price was right I would have probably bought it. Especially when it was a "toy" purchase for me. Thinking back, I would of loved to find a used one, pay less than new and buy another toy with the money left over. Just as long as my wife doesn't notice I am usually okay! Good luck!

KubotaJoe1977 · May 7, 2009

Hey , The knob is to release hyd. pressure when changing speed range and shifting from 2 to 4 wheel drive. In the manual it tells you to pull the knob and turn the tires if the RTV wont shift. The new RTVs have removed the knob and changed the pressure release to the brake pedal. So if you have a hard time shifting just step on the brakes and the pressure will release and you can shift easy. The RTV is a hydro drive.

David_Kb7uns · May 7, 2009

I would also mention that the "coast valve" sold on ebay could also help in a situation where the unit did not have the hydro pressure dump valve. Be interested if you could change the older 1100 to the new style where it is in the brake also.

David Kb7uns