Possible upcoming purchase

ccmdvl

New member
Hello All:</p>


I have been reading for a while. Nice forum! Anyhow, I have a 100-acre camp and right now have a 2000 Mule 2510 gas and a 1993 Gator 6x4 gas. This year I plan on harvesting some timber as part of my management plan and will have some extra money. I am thinking about trading in the Gator on an RTV. I have some questions.</p>


First off, trade-in value on the Gator. It is in excellent condition. 6 new tires, recovered seats, power dump, bedliner. It does not have an hour meter, but would estimate it having around 1200 or so hours. The only problem is that the drive chains will either need replaced or shortened as they are beyond adjustment.</p>


Second, should I get an RTV, am I right to go with the 900? We allow scout groups and such to camp for free, so we have visitors frequently during the fair-weather season, which makes me lean toward the open cab of the 900 (conversing with those around and a lot of on/off). Though in the winter, it's cold, so a cab would be nice. Is the original steel cab still available? It is still listed on machine builder on the Kubota site. With this, I could put the doors on in the winter or on rainy days, but have them off otherwise.</p>


Third, eventually I would like to get a snow plow. Right now we have a snow plow for our IH Cub Lo-Boy, which works fine, but it of course is an open cab. When and if I get a snow plow, should I go with the Curtis, or Blizzard, or ...? Any ideas about prices?</p>


Also, is one windshield wiper enough? How is the little Curtis heater?</p>


This machine would also be used for work as well. There will be lots of tree tops to cut up for firewood, so it will be pulling a 4x8 trailer full of wood frequently. I am thinking about a winch as well to pull the limbs out of tough spots.</p>


Thanks in advance for your advice!</p>
 

river

Member
I'm sure there will be a lot of different opinions on your proposal. Here's mine... Since you're in NW PA, your weather is somewhat like that in the north country of NY. Around half the year it is cool or cold. With the RTV 1100, the doors come off easily. It is an awesome plow pusher with the extra weight and hp. The Blizzard LT680 (or LT720, which I have) isn't the cheapest solution, but is hydraulic up/down and left/right, which some people have gone to great lengths to add to their electric/manual plows as it makes the plow easier to control. The Blizzard's power mount system is real easy, and there is almost nothing left on the RTV after dismounting the plow.</p>


If you end up with an 1100, may I suggest the rear screen. It's nicely done, and hinges out of the way to clean the rear window. The single windshield wiper does a good job, and the heater/defroster/air conditioning system is better than in any of our cars. Five minutes in the cab at zero degree weather and I have to turn back the thermostat to 1/4.</p>


Don't have any experience with the curtis cab, heater, or plow. That will have to come from some of the other members. It's cold outside today, so warm up your keyboards.</p>


Doug</p>
 

solitude

Member
Hi There
I had a curtis heater in a3010 mule with a hardtop and i also have one in my kubota tractor cab.They are not much,And the defroster
is real weak they are just not big enough.The deflectors that are supposed to blow the heat in different directions for defrost and floor are verydelicate and fall apart.Get the 1100 the heater and A/C work really well.If you are going to plow get the 1100.Don't forget coast valve also!</p>
 

TWO GUNS

Senior Member
Site Supporter
Where you are,and for your applications >>>>> the 1100 would be the only way to go >>>
</p>


Really don't need a heater that much in the south, don't get me wrong, we get cold down here. But ya'll up there, need one pretty well most of the time..... </p>


After purchaseing my RTV 900, abouta month or two after, is when they released the 1100 series units. ( We didn't have a choice,the 900's were only avalible ) At first, I thought that there would be no need for to own one downhere in the south. But since I've been around them and in them some, thatwould of been my choice no matter where one lives at. That is one fine machine, well built, and strong as aox..... With the 1100 series RTV, you have the optioin of taking off the doors and use them likethat when needed. ( We jump in and out of ours so dern much doing the deer managmentdown here ) . You have that option with the 1100, having heat and air, removable doors , etc.... But with the 900, your doorless, and if you decided to add some cab works and other items such as heaters, etc ..... one would end up spending more on that machine than he would just purchaseing the RTV 1100 series unit with all that factory installed and ready to go .....</p>


</p>


Have a Nice Day !!!!</p>


~~~~~~~~~ jamie </p>
 

TWO GUNS

Senior Member
Site Supporter
Where you are,and for your applications >>>>> the 1100 would be the only way to go >>>
</p>


Really don't need a heater that much in the south, don't get me wrong, we get cold down here. But ya'll up there, need one pretty well most of the time..... </p>


After purchaseing my RTV 900, abouta month or two after, is when they released the 1100 series units. ( We didn't have a choice,the 900's were only avalible ) At first, I thought that there would be no need for to own one downhere in the south. But since I've been around them and in them some, thatwould of been my choice no matter where one lives at. That is one fine machine, well built, and strong as aox..... With the 1100 series RTV, you have the optioin of taking off the doors and use them likethat when needed. ( We jump in and out of ours so dern much doing the deer managmentdown here ) . You have that option with the 1100, having heat and air, removable doors , etc.... But with the 900, your doorless, and if you decided to add some cab works and other items such as heaters, etc ..... one would end up spending more on that machine than he would just purchaseing the RTV 1100 series unit with all that factory installed and ready to go .....</p>


</p>


Have a Nice Day !!!!</p>


~~~~~~~~~ jamie </p>
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Welcome to the forum.</p>


Since it hasn't been answered yet, I'd watch similar items on e-bay to see what they're going for. I'd also search "completed items" to see what they sold for. </p>


I'm pretty close to you (between Pittsburgh and Erie). I don't have a lot of "seat time" in an 1100 but I'm pretty comfortable in my 900. The 1100 didn't exist when I bought mine. I did find a windshield being a necessity. Besides that, I run open cab. With the exception of towing a toboggan for the kids which puts me in the seat almost constantly for a couple hours, most of my driving stints are pretty short. I don't know if I'd like doors. As you know, it's important you do your best not to sweat in the winter. Since most of my outside work is not in the seat of the RTV, I dress for being straight outdoors. If the heater was on, I'd find myself having to shed clothes, put them back on to get out of the cab... Basically, since my trips are so short, I don't know if I'd like a truely heated cab.</p>


Whichever RTV you choose (but based on your requirements, the Worksite model may be the most appropriate), make sure you choose appropriate tires. You're allowed to switch, regardless of model. When you buy new, I'd probably recommend the ATV style as they'll offer the best traction.</p>


There's lots of accessories you're going to find that you'll probably want to add. Plan your spending/budget accordingly. As already mentioned, a winch is a great add-on. You're going to find that you may want more lights, stereo...</p>


If you do go with the 900, remember that you'll need to replace the stock front struts into the heavy-duty version to handle the weight of the cab and/or plow. They're already there on the 1100 (due to the cab).</p>


</p>
 

ccmdvl

New member
Thanks for the replies, guys. I checked on E-bay, and it seems as though the Gator might get $2-2500.</p>


The main problem I have with the 1100 is the "plush" interior. If I took the doors off of the 1100, seems as if dust would build up inside, getting in the vents, switches, cloth headliner and seat, etc.Even with a cab, the 900 could still be hosed out if need be, and if it got wet from rain with the steel cab doors off, it wouldn't matter.</p>


The specs I ran through the online configurator are RTV900 Worksite, WS tires, steel cab, HD springs, speedometer, hand throttle, driver side wiper, high mount air cleaner, and heater. MSRP was $16,500.</p>


A base RTV1100 was $18,350.</p>


I don't know what these machines are really selling for at the dealers.</p>


</p>


I figured I would go with the WS tires. The ground is mostly gravel - very few muddy spots. Never have had the Gator or the Mule stuck (except in snow that was too deep).</p>
 

solitude

Member
Hi there
I did have the seat recovered in the plush 1100 as it does stain easy.But all the heat,a/c defroster outlets allcan be closed.I usually only take off drivers door so dust really isn't a problem.I had a mule
with a curtis cab,noisey, drafty,hard to heat for sure.Make sure you look atthe 900 vs 1100 carefully.I hadthem both.Believe me that cab is worth the extra money!</p>
 

ccmdvl

New member
I guess I still have the 900 in my sights, even with all the perks of the 1100. I will have to find someone with a cab 900 and an 1100 and try them both.</p>


Are the dealers typically willing to bring a machine to your property for a demo, say for a weekend? </p>


We have purchasedimplementsand had repairs done on other equipment at the nearest Kubota dealer (20 min-1/2 hr) away, however there are several more within the 45min-1 hr range (Erie,Hermitage) - so, I suppose I could get one of them to do it?</p>
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
[quote user="ccmdvl"]Are the dealers typically willing to bring a machine to your property for a demo, say for a weekend?[/quote]</p>


I would say "probably" but you may not get one for a weekend.</p>


I live about 35 miles south of Hermitage. When I was shopping, I was concerned about the hills in my area and how a Utility Vehicle would perform on them (both climbing as well as coming down). </p>


I let each mfgr (Polaris, JD, Kubota...) know that without testing it on MY terrain, I just can't buy it. The Kubota dealer did bring out a demo model and it did outperform the competition. He was not able to leave it for the weekend but did hang around with me and let me drive it for a couple hours to test everything. I wrote a check to him while he loaded the demo model back on the truck.</p>


</p>


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