First impressions: 1100C

RKP in SB

Member
I just bought a new RTV-X1100C in early December and with a mild start to our winter here in northern Michigan, I haven't had the opportunity to use it a heck of a lot yet (~13 hours). But I've used it enough to know that it's one heck of a machine and I really, really enjoy it so far.

I bought this to replace a 2017 John Deere X739 garden tractor with the full Curtis cab and the 47" snowblower (as well as mower deck, bagger, cart, etc.)

My primary duty here is snow removal. I live at the end of a 1000' long private road in a very snowy area. (200" last winter, 265" a few years ago.) Before I bought the X739, I had a John Deere Gator 620i XUV which I used to plow the road and I always had fun using it. However, in heavy snow areas like mine, the problem with plowing sooner or later becomes "Where are you going to put all that snow?" Pile it up 4 feet high along the side of the road, throw in a few freeze/thaw cycles, and pretty soon you have immovable walls of ice.

So that's the issue I was trying to address when I sold my Gator and bought the X739 -- but what a mistake! That tractor could throw snow maybe 15' max and it wasn't very good at lawn mowing or leaf bagging either. Somehow, I expected much better performance out of a $25,000 package (no joke, but that does included 6% sales tax).

So when I stopped tearing up my lawn last summer with the Deere and just went back to my Honda walk-behind mower, I started thinking about going back to a UTV and snowplowing the road. I have 32 acres but it's heavily wooded with a bunch of steep hills and my lawn is only about 1/2 acre, so even at the advanced age of 62 it's not going to kill me to mow my lawn with that Honda. The main thing here is to keep the snow off the road.

And you know what? As much as I liked my old Gator, the Kubota is way, way better. I was thinking that I might end up buying the K Connect system so I could put a snowblower on the 1100C, but now I'm thinking I may not need it after all. The Kubota has so much more power and so much more traction than the Gator had that I can push snow piles way off the road, in places I'd never have dreamed of going with the Gator. With the Gator, I was always in danger of getting stuck if I dropped the 2 front wheels off the pavement and the rear wheels were on a slippery roadbed (yes, even in 4WD with the differential locked). Maybe it's the greater weight of the Kubota, maybe it's the HDWS tires versus the JD's ATV tires, but whatever it is, I haven't even come close to getting stuck. We had 12" of heavy, sticky snow earlier this week and I ran it 20' off the road in some spots with no problems at all.

Beyond that, though, I'm amazed at the level of quality and refinement in the Kubota. That factory cab is SOOOOO much better that the JD's Curtis cab -- just about airtight and very quiet. I rarely had to turn down the heater on my Gator, but the Kubota cranks out so much heat that I could comfortably plow snow in a T-shirt.

I'm also a big fan of the Kubota's hydrostatic transmission. The Gator, like most UTVs, had a CVT transmission and it wasn't ideal for work applications. It was peppy and fun to drive, but with the way the primary clutch engaged abruptly, you couldn't "feather it" in to tight places the way you can with the Kubota. No, the 1100C doesn't feel as lively as my old Gator, but I didn't buy it to go trail riding. I bought it to be a work machine and I think it's going to end up being nearly perfect for that.

Only one concern so far: I get a nasty "dry metal" grinding noise in 4WD in reverse at slow speeds. It's not a squeak -- it's definitely more of a grind. It sounds exactly like a snow plow on dry asphalt. I've checked underneath, of course, and there's nothing dragging or anything broken that I can see. The noise goes away when it put it in 2WD, so it must be something with the 4x4 system. I guess I'll have the dealer come out and take a look at it!

Overall, though, this is one heck of a machine. With the very unsatisfactory experience I had with my John Deere tractor and now the Kubota far exceeding my expectations, I'd be hard-pressed to consider anything but a Kubota if I decide I need a tractor around here. That BX series is pretty nice, isn't it? :wink:
 

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aurthuritis

Well-known member
Site Supporter
yes i would get that checked ASAP! shouldn't make any noise in 4wd. maybe something in contact with the driveshaft or a blown dry front differential.
 

628pm

Active member
Site Supporter
Do not wait on any issues you think need to be covered by your warranty. I recently had an issue the kubota said was operator error, and by their definition it could be just about anything.
 
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