Yes, at long last, I broke down yesterday and bought a new Kubota RTV1100 in RealTree Camo. (I never was overly keen on the orange RTVs) I just wanted to give some 'first' impressions of ownership as well as first impressions as compared to the RTV900. For better or worse, I feel that I am relatively fair in giving the info straight the way I feel.

1. Kubota Rtv 1100 Radio Install
2. Radio For Kubota Rtv 1100

I won't build up something just because I bought it (think iPhone review) or slam anything unless without reason. Now, please remember, this first review is being made after only 4.2 hours. The first, and most obvious difference between the RTV900 I've owned for 3 1/2 years is the factory cab. I've been in 3 different RTV900s that have had high quality (expensive anyway) Curtis cabs and heaters, but no A/C. The initial impression was that the factory cab on the RTV1100 (for convenience will be referred to as 1100 from here on) is that it has had considerable R&D go into it's development.

If is far more 'automotive' in style than the RTV900. Also, it's impossible to not notice how air tight the cab is. The doors seal extremely well. Further, I was pleasantly surprised at the amazingly quietness of the cab. Other than a not unpleasant sound from the diesel engine, all else is extremely quiet for a vehicle in it's class. The only noticable distraction is that you can definitely hear the power steering pump. After opening the front hood (which is heavily insulated and has gas lift rods that open it) I found that the power steering pump is located just behind the steering wheel and the steering shaft has a total length of maybe a foot to the pump.

Kubota Rtv 1100 Radio Install

Anyway, you hear it, but it's not a big distraction. There is much better storage under the seat and the storage tray is easily removed. Also, the bench seat and head rests are cloth.

I have an industrial quality 'Scotch Guard' type product my company carries that I will apply today before any stains appear. Next, I was pleasantly surprised that an antenna and speakers are pre-installed in the 1100 even if you don't opt for the (overpriced) Kubota radio.

I'm sure I have one laying around that I'll install. Also, under the floor mat, there is again more heavy insulation. This eliminates the need to have Line-X applied to the floor inside the cab as I did with the 900; which made a huge difference in sound deadning. There are also two convenient beverage holders in the dash; nice touch.

On our 100 degree days, the A/C was given a good workout. I'm happy to report that after about 15 minutes, my son actually said he was cold and turned the A/C down a bit. Air flow and air flow options are good. I have not tried the heater at this point, but I have no reason to think it would be any less impressive. There is also a hand throttle control that can be used a a sort of cruise control or, most likely, used to keep RPM's up to allow you to use the rear remotes for powered items like a PHD or splitter.

If you've ever heard any long term complaints about the 900, it mostly centers around the inability to get it out of gear after being under a load on on the side of a hill. To be honest, I learned to always shut the 900 off to get it out of gear. The new pressure release know on the 1100 really works! Also, one of my firm assertions about the 900 was, that with aggressive tires, I ran out of power before I ran out of traction when I attempted rather extreme hills. I can report, without any qualifications, that the 1100 (even with A/C on) never suffered from that lack of power.

It would easily spin the aggressive tires where the 900 would just grunt. However, the 900 had more 'punch' to it when driving it. I don't know if this is due to it weighing 700 or so pounds less or from the fact that I upped the injector pump on it.

The 900 would rather easily cruise at 30 mph on paved roads. The 1100, as of now, sits exactly on 25 mph; as advertised. It's a weekend and I need to get my 80 hours of yard work done today and tomorrow.

So far, I have to rate my 1100 as a pleasant surprise with no issues discovered yet. That's a good thing considering I am a rather brutal and blunt person when doing product reviews. Here are a couple of pics of the new RTV1100 after putting my Maxxis Bighorn tires and chrome wheels on it. I thought I had a spare radio to put in, but I was mistaken. I guess I'll have to buy a radio to put in it. Oh well, I wanted one that would have a jack for an MP3 player anyway.

I'm just curious as to how the factory installed speakers will sound. I don't have high hopes for them.

Radio For Kubota Rtv 1100

The A/C continues to be able to nearly freeze you out on even 100 + degree days. I think I can get used to that. After looking around inside the cab to see how to install a stereo, I noticed what I'll comment of as my first complaint; did they get my 7 year old to weld the door frame on these RTV1100's?! The frame welds, the roll cage welds, the cab structure welds are all just fine.

However, the welds on the door frame looks like bird shit spattered around the 1' square tubing material. I'll take some pics and post them later on this issue. Kubota ought to immediately fire both the person/company who made these welds as well as the fool who allowed them to pass QC! I assure you, whoever made those welds would never pass any welding exam. On the positive side, I did find that I had a Kubota factory stereo mounting bracked included with the RTV1100. It was in a package in the under the seat storage area.

That extremely crappy door weld job is reeeally bothering me. I wonder if I ought to see if other Kubota RTV1100 door frame welds are just as crappy. Not only is the weld pathetic, but they didn't even get proper alignment between the two pieces of 1' square tubing that are welded together!

Terrible I tell you. Congrats on your new 1100. Sounds like a decent review. A couple questions if I may.

I'm assuming the Bighorns are off the 900. Do you have any clearance issues? For the doors, my very limited experience is that it requires a good slam to get them fully shut. Can a small child (5 year old) do it? I was thinking to leave the front window unlocked so it can swing slightly open to relieve the air pressure to make closing the doors easier. Have you tried this?

Are you keeping your 900? For the seats, I know of many others that are getting seat covers. Here's the site but I believe the 1100 seat covers may take a couple weeks. I didn't even see my home during daylight hours yesterday, so I didn't get to spend any time at all with the 1100.

I intend to try to figure out a way to install my wireless Ramsey winch on the 1100 as well as go buy a stereo to install in it. BC, the Bighorn 25's fit no problem with no rubbing anywhere. I intentionally put it in twisting binds on hills and across ruts with the steering turned each direction with the suspension mashed and didn't have any rubbing at all. It is very difficult to 'slam' the door shut on the 1100. However, my kids discovered that it is rather easy to push it shut and give it just a bit of a shove when it is closed against the door gasket. That way you are not fighting air pressure. My 7 year old is able to close the doors from both inside and outside using that method.

He was not able at all to get it closed by trying to 'slam' the door shut. The air pressure just stops that motion. Besides, I'm definitely not big on slamming doors at all. Anyone who has ridden in one of my collector cars, hell, any car for that matter:o, knows that I ask people to not slam the doors on my cars.

Slamming car or truck doors only assures loose door panels and plenty of rattles.I hate rattles! I did order a set of interior covers for the cloth seats, seat back, and head rests from Green Mountain. I know one guy who purchased their camo version and is very pleased with the quality. I see I have a notice that they shipped yesterday.

I did apply a heavy coat of fabric protector to all cloth surfaces already, but I still feel that the camo covers will protect well and hide most stains. Still, I'll apply fabric protector to them as well as soon as I install them. I actually traded my RTV900.

After my dealer came and looked at mine, he did have to admit that it looked nicer than a new RTV900 he has had in stock for 2 months. His new one has sat outside for two months, and mine has never sat outside. Also, when I put the original wheels and tires back on it, he even commented that it still had the little injection tits not only on the sidewall, but still on the tread. Based on that, along with the low hours on mine, he offered me a price that, considering the tax credit for the trade, made it reasonable for me to just trade.

I kept my custom made toolbox, my winch, and my wheels and tires. The dealer commented that it appeared as if my RTV900 has never been dirty. Well, I told him that it has been dirty, but he said it apparently hasn't been that dirty because he couldn't find any dirt in any crack or corner. While on that conversation, I did notice another nice addition to the RTV1100. If you over-fill the bed on the RTV900, dirt will drop on the engine between the bed and the cab. Also, the alternator lines right up in that crack and gets plenty of dirt and sand right inside it on any overflow situation. The new RTV1100 has a nice shield over the alternator to prevent debris from getting into the alternator when you overflow the bed.

I thought that was nice.edit. Although the RTV1100 is not any faster than the RTV900, it does have quite a bit more grunt power.

After installing the Bighorns on it, I took it to a really steep hill that the RTV900 could never climb. You can't get any run at the hill and it is extremely steep. At no time could the 900 make it up the hill. With the traction afforded by the Bighorns, the RTV900 would just flat run out of power no matter how you manipulated the throttle. The RTV1100 made it right up the hill with no issues at all.

I even tried to mash the foot throttle all the way down when half way up the steep hill and it then did spin the tires where the RTV900 just fell flat on it's face and only grunted. I really like the additional torque of the larger engine. Hmm, how interesting. As I was installing a sound system head unit in my RTV1100 last night I noticed that there are all these little stickers on parts giving the date the part was made as well as a circle around either 1, 2, or 3 shift. I'll give you one guess what shift the extremely crappy welds were made on. Yup, every shitty weld was done on 3rd shift! Hello.Kubota.you out there?!

You need to fire your 3rd shift welders!!! And, as I stated earlier, take your QC people with them! For such a nice (and expensive) unit, there is no excuse for such poor quality welds. I'll get a picture of one and post it later.

Yours was probably done by a trainee, someone that was pi$$ed at the boss or just late on a Friday. I'm guessing a trainee on their very first time to weld anything.

I did write Kubota to ask them what happened to their quality control system and to let them know that they are better off not having 3rd shift welders if what I have is an average sample of their welding ability. After thinking about it for a bit, I am going to have to require them to replace the one door. There is no way the pathetic weld will last with vibrations and the door being open and closed constantly. And, I don't feel that I should have to take the door apart, grind the terrible weld off, properly align the parts, and re-weld it and re-paint it myself.

Hey i was wondering if you had any tips frrom installing your radio. Does the wiering harness have adapters to make it work with any type of CD player? I have a Sony CDX-GT07 that i wanted to install.

Thanks alot -Forrest After spending weeks trying to find an adapter I discovered that Kubota intentionally used a proprietary plug in order to encourage you to buy their radio. I cut the plug off and pitched it in the trash and installed a Kenwood system.

Once I decided to ditch their plug, it took less than 1/2 an hour for the entire installation. I Googled to find out if there were any recalls or problems with the Kubota RTV1100 and found this thread on Forums Forums. I have twice had oil leaks from the couplers on the short hose running from the oil filter to the block. I took it to the dealer about a week before the one year warranty expired and they replaced the hose.

We looked on a new 1100 that was on the lot and the new one had a hose that was larger in diameter. This leads me to believe that Kubota had trouble with the original hose couplings and replaced newer ones with the heavier hose and couplings. I snapped the original radio antennae off and was wondering if anyone knew of a replacement other than Kubota? Also, I am going to install a radio other than the high$$$ radio from Kubota. Any suggestions? Also, thanks for the tips on closing the air-tight cab doors.

I have an model year 2010 M6040. I purchased the $10 part from the link above, and a $95 Sony radio from Walmart. I even splurged for $30 speakers. I had splice connectors on hand. Install including speakers took about an hour with testing wire color codes, splicing the wires and physically installing the parts. It was super easy and worth the savings for me.

The M8540 may use a different connector, but I doubt it. The websites which sell the connectors make you believe the connectors for the 8540/9540 is different from the 6040/7040 and still yet different from the RTV. Turboprint 2 serial codes. In my case I bought the RTV 9 pin conector figuring I would only be out $10 if it didnt work.

Worked like a charm! Good luck with your decision and install, Raf. The radios are stupid expensive. They come from REI who makes heavy duty radios for Buses and insane duty applications, probably not always needed for tractors. We've started installing our own as well, its not a big deal.Not a big deal as long as you have access to a pig tail for the factory harness.The shortness of the harness is just plain torture for hard wiring, couldn't add 3' of wire?I see that someone came out with an aftermarket pigtail.Figures that showed up after the grief I went through wiring a Kenwood to mine. Why are the factory speakers so bad?