Shifting the RTV 900

[ENTS]

Went to the dealer to check out the 900s. Had read a lot about the problem with shifting, especially into reverse. Drove one around the lot and went to back it up -- couldn't get it in reverse. The owner of the dealership comes over, he can't get it into reverse. I had them check the date of man. on the one I drove and it was late last year so it couldn't have been an old, old left over. Finally got it in reverse by creeping forward a bit and mashing on the brake, waiting a few seconds and shifting. BUT, it took 3 tries.

Now this may be trivial problem in the parking lot but what if you are in a precarious situation and you need to back up. There is no room to jockey forward so what now?

I thought this problem had been sovled?? Any thoughts?

Later,

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I bought a RTV1140 a couple of months ago. My neighbor saw it and bought himself a RTV900 a couple of weeks later. He was driving up the street as I was returning from a run down the hill and across the creek with my twin 6 year old Grands. We stopped on the street to converse and he couldn't get his in gear. I had had the same issue with my 1140. I asked him to let me get in the drivers seat. I just blipped the throttle pedal and the gear selector just slid into the slot. The 2wd to 4wd selector sometimes has or had the same issue and it now slides in and out like it's greased by just pausing the throttle when in motion or blipping the throttle when stopped. It's like the abrupt acceleration, you learn how to drive the RTV and it falls into place and works fine. There is just a learning curve with it. Good, bad, Idon't know, it's just the way it is. Mine pulls out easy now and shifts OK now that I have learned how to fit it's demands and not try to make it fit my demands.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Have found with the 1100 that just letting up on the pedal and let the machine catch up while putting slight pressure on the shifter helps alot in shifting. Will do the same thing on the 4wd lever as since there is an overdrive on the front and they are always pulling a little it is hard to get them in a spot where there is no tension in the drive train.
Wish there was maybe a simple solution but when ever you have a hydro driving a straight cut gear transmission without clutch or syncros it will be difficult shifting. I now see why on the larger tractors they left the cluch in the drive train.

In the UTV section here and on the Compact Tractor review RTV forum there are some people adjusting the hydro pressures some and getting better results, time will tell if they are still within specs though.

David Kb7uns

 

[Old Coot]

I'm on my second 900. First one was the first year so I thought they would get the shifting right. But to my dismay the new one is the same, except I have a knob that does help if you hold the brake and pull the knob.
When I'm pushing snow and trying to change directions it is a pain to have to wait to change gears.
I love the 900, it is much stonger then the Mule I had before. But heaven help me if I found one as solid as the 900 and shifted like it should, I'd trade.

 

[timswi]

The only shift problem I've had with my 1100 was this weekend when I sunk it in fill dirt up to the frame...took 9 hours to get it out. I have stuff hurting I didn't know I had.

When I was rocking it, it would stick in reverse...Some pedaling, or brake pressure eventually released it. One time I had to shut it off.

Ended up almost building a deck under it to get it out of the muck. What a disaster that was. no pics because i'm trying to forget it ever happened

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

The only shift problem I've had with my 1100 was this weekend when I sunk it in fill dirt up to the frame...took 9 hours to get it out. I have stuff hurting I didn't know I had.

When I was rocking it, it would stick in reverse...Some pedaling, or brake pressure eventually released it. One time I had to shut it off.

Ended up almost building a deck under it to get it out of the muck. What a disaster that was. no pics because i'm trying to forget it ever happened

Where was the BX?

 

[timswi]

Where was the BX?

Didn't want to sink it too..Besides, had to get it out of there alone. Can't run both machines at one time...Believe me, the thought occurred to me. Should have used it to carry the wood and the floor jack the 1/4 mile that I had to go, I might actually be able to move right now..

My mom called and yelled at me for not calling someone. I had no intention of subjecting anyone to the mess that I was in.


Oh well..The fact that I sunk it where I did, I deserved exactly what I got. The ground was frozen at the top of the pasture and I stay at the very outer edges to minimize the damage. As soon as I got to the West side, I felt the ground getting soft. Stopped to back up to get out of there and it just slid sideways down the hill into 2 felled trees and sunk in the muck.

Spent 4 hours Saturday night in the dark and 5 hours Sunday morning jacking it up, sliding wood under it and trying to somewhat level it. Had to pick it up around a foot to clear the tree that the frame was hung up on in addition to shoveling 2 foot deep wet muck. On the positive side, if the trees weren't there it would have gone over the hill.

Lesson learned..I think.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I feel for you, not as much as you, I'm sure but some. I crossed a hill in the snow on my 1140 this winter and found it to will slide sideways. Know something to watch now. Did like a car in snow and steered into the slide and gave it the pedal and it went on.
My first tractor was a BX2200, MMM, FEL. I had a man with a bulldozer clear alot of the trees where I was building my house. He pushed them in a big pile on the side of the hill which made this hugh pile on the lower side and a level, almost, spot on the upper side. On the top of the pile. He left it a bit scraggly around the pile and my new tractor with FEL and MMM would go anywhere. I was rounding up the limbs and smaller trees and pushing them more toward the center of the pile. I got up on the pile from the high side a time or two but the FEL would always push me back off, well other than the one time I got it pointed downhill on the pile and the MMM was holding the tractor wheels off the ground up on top of some bigger trees and smaller limbs. I to tried the wood under the wheels and every thing I tried seemed to drop me further down into the pile of wood. Finally went in the house and pondered all night about how I'd get it out/down/up. Fortunately my Dozer man came to do some more work the next day. I sort of hung my head and told him I needed for him to get my tractor off the burn pile and he grinned and did it. Not sure I even went outside until he had it done. Probably should have taken the MMM off for that kind of work but then I'd have destroyed the fan that I didn't even know it had.

 

[timswi]

We all learn the hard way John...I sure did. Still hurting, pretty much down to a coupe of bruised ribs and a sore back now along with the remains of a sore throat from being dehydrated from working in the cold and wet.....Guess that gives me something to look forward to

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I remember when I first got my RTV1140 that I had the two hands trying to get it into gear or 2wd to 4wd and it feeling like it would never move.
I drove my RTV1140 yesterday and paid particular attention to selecting/changing between the different gears and changing back and forth between 2wd and 4wd. It is so easy with the right combination of letting off the throttle or giving it throttle that it's hard to believe it's the same RTV1140 that I bought a few months ago.
Let me go over the changes to it since I bought it. Original tank of fuel so that's no change, added a soft top to it, added a Plexiglas windshield, added one rear view mirror, added covered cushions to the seats and STARTED CHANGING SELECTORS WITH TWO FINGERS INSTEAD OF TWO HANDS. Now which of those changes has probably caused it to shift better? I do also give it a blip of fuel or let off the fuel with slight pressure on the selector with my fingers or palm of my hand and it now just slides into the position I'm going for.
It reminds me alot of when I would shift gears in a car without putting in the clutch. No real reason for doing that other than someone told me one day it could be done and to prove them wrong I tried it. It worked. Just slight pressure and it will just slip in when the gears are aligned which is easily obtained with decreasing or increasing of throttle on either tractor or car.
I'm not talking about older RTV's, don't know anything about them but talking about the one I have that was probably manufactured in 2009 or 2010. I bought it new with final assembly at the dealer a few months ago. It was Barlows who is a high volume dealer and he had not had it in stock very long so I don't actually know when it was originally made and don't care to much because to me it's a 2010 which is when I bought it new.