Hello everyone, been a long time lurker and finally feel it is worth making my first post.
I was a happy 2009 RTX 1140CPX owner for many years until it was stolen from my property earlier this year and was never recovered. Fast forward a few months and my insurance company finally settled and i went out and bought a new X1140.
I have a few things i would like to share that i have learned from this new unit to get some feedback from other owners/users and hopefully provide some useful information for any others searching around the web for information on these machines.
Never really had many issues with the old unit other than the usual plugged up radiators and dirty air filters. I had a snow blade on the front with a winch for lifting it. I constantly had issues with the winch cable binding up on the drum and i hated the manual angle adjustment on the blade. I always planned to do something about it, and with the arrival of the new unit i decided it was time.
So right from the dealer i ordered the roof kit and 4000lb winch kit with the unit, and all is well with those options. I also bought the service manual for the unit as i knew i would need to know some specifics about the unit to execute my planned modifications for my snow blade.
I was never too impressed with all of the electric actuator options for most snow blades (especially the price). So given the fact that the RTV has hydraulics on board for the dump box i figured it would time to figure out my own solution and try to keep the cost under $1000 for the entire modification. I had my local dealer quote the optional valve from Kubota at close to $2800 CAD installed which was a little to rich for my blood.
Before running out and spending a bunch of money i needed to investigate the hydraulic system on this new RTV as it is apparently different that the previous generation. Here is what i was able to figure out
-The new generation uses a single output hydraulic pump which draws from the aux oil reservoir under the passenger seat. it first runs to the hydraulic dump bed valve located near the back of the motor (which is now remotely cable operated unlike the previous generations). This valve now has a power beyond port on it that runs to the power steering system then to an oil cooler mounted at the front of the unit before returning to the tank.
- I Couldn't find any oil filtration for this circuit until i noticed that the HST now pulls oils from this same aux oil tank, which i am guessing is how Kubota chose to filter all of the circuits that use this oil reservoir. This is a big change from the older style unit which had the HST sharing oil with the transmission. A big word of caution to any newer model users, both the operator and service manuals both show checking the oil level for the HST by the dip stick at the back of the transmission. This wont tell you if your HST is low on oil (only the actual transmission gear case). Remember to check your aux oil reservoir any time you play with the HST to verify it has enough oil or you could cause an expensive HST repair bill.
- Now that i had a understanding of the hydraulic circuits it was time to plan my build. I chose not to play with the existing valve for the hydraulic dump circuit. Instead i bought a new 3 spool open center valve with a power beyond port on it. I tied it in series to the circuit between the existing dump bed valve and the hydraulic steering system. Its pressure relief was set to 2000 psi slightly higher than the relief on the hydraulic dump bed valve. I only need 2 spools for my blade functions but the 3 spool version was on sale (and cheaper than the 2 spool version) and I always like that "future expansion" function.
- I chose to mount the valve under the drivers side seat right beside the existing dump bed controls. I had some custom hoses made that run up to the front bumper of the unit with 4 quick disconnects. I routed the lines neatly and covered them in fabric hose protector. The oil tank had a spare return port on it that was plugged off so it was quite easy to tie in the tank line back from the new valve bank.
- I fabricated a blade lifting mount that slides into the 2" receiver on the front of the unit so it could be easily removed in the winter. My blade manufacturer didn't have a mount design for this new model so i ended up getting a couple parts laser cut and welded up a blade mount that fits on the front of the RTV. I went with a single 1.5" X 6" bore cylinder for the blade lift.
- For the blade tilt i ended up fabricating some cylinder mounting pins to the blade push tube which accommodate dual 1.25" X 6" cylinders.
The build and installation in now complete and after testing it out i am very happy! The blade movements are nice and responsive for me ( you dont even notice the load on the machine) and i was able to push around some light loam in my yard very easily with it. I cant wait to try it out this winter!
I will have a link to some pictures shortly for anyone that wants to see how it turned out. The total project build came it under $900 CAD including taxes.
I am very happy with the unit in general, the new ROPS is makes loading the bed much easier and the ride quality is much smoother than my previous unit.
I was a happy 2009 RTX 1140CPX owner for many years until it was stolen from my property earlier this year and was never recovered. Fast forward a few months and my insurance company finally settled and i went out and bought a new X1140.
I have a few things i would like to share that i have learned from this new unit to get some feedback from other owners/users and hopefully provide some useful information for any others searching around the web for information on these machines.
Never really had many issues with the old unit other than the usual plugged up radiators and dirty air filters. I had a snow blade on the front with a winch for lifting it. I constantly had issues with the winch cable binding up on the drum and i hated the manual angle adjustment on the blade. I always planned to do something about it, and with the arrival of the new unit i decided it was time.
So right from the dealer i ordered the roof kit and 4000lb winch kit with the unit, and all is well with those options. I also bought the service manual for the unit as i knew i would need to know some specifics about the unit to execute my planned modifications for my snow blade.
I was never too impressed with all of the electric actuator options for most snow blades (especially the price). So given the fact that the RTV has hydraulics on board for the dump box i figured it would time to figure out my own solution and try to keep the cost under $1000 for the entire modification. I had my local dealer quote the optional valve from Kubota at close to $2800 CAD installed which was a little to rich for my blood.
Before running out and spending a bunch of money i needed to investigate the hydraulic system on this new RTV as it is apparently different that the previous generation. Here is what i was able to figure out
-The new generation uses a single output hydraulic pump which draws from the aux oil reservoir under the passenger seat. it first runs to the hydraulic dump bed valve located near the back of the motor (which is now remotely cable operated unlike the previous generations). This valve now has a power beyond port on it that runs to the power steering system then to an oil cooler mounted at the front of the unit before returning to the tank.
- I Couldn't find any oil filtration for this circuit until i noticed that the HST now pulls oils from this same aux oil tank, which i am guessing is how Kubota chose to filter all of the circuits that use this oil reservoir. This is a big change from the older style unit which had the HST sharing oil with the transmission. A big word of caution to any newer model users, both the operator and service manuals both show checking the oil level for the HST by the dip stick at the back of the transmission. This wont tell you if your HST is low on oil (only the actual transmission gear case). Remember to check your aux oil reservoir any time you play with the HST to verify it has enough oil or you could cause an expensive HST repair bill.
- Now that i had a understanding of the hydraulic circuits it was time to plan my build. I chose not to play with the existing valve for the hydraulic dump circuit. Instead i bought a new 3 spool open center valve with a power beyond port on it. I tied it in series to the circuit between the existing dump bed valve and the hydraulic steering system. Its pressure relief was set to 2000 psi slightly higher than the relief on the hydraulic dump bed valve. I only need 2 spools for my blade functions but the 3 spool version was on sale (and cheaper than the 2 spool version) and I always like that "future expansion" function.
- I chose to mount the valve under the drivers side seat right beside the existing dump bed controls. I had some custom hoses made that run up to the front bumper of the unit with 4 quick disconnects. I routed the lines neatly and covered them in fabric hose protector. The oil tank had a spare return port on it that was plugged off so it was quite easy to tie in the tank line back from the new valve bank.
- I fabricated a blade lifting mount that slides into the 2" receiver on the front of the unit so it could be easily removed in the winter. My blade manufacturer didn't have a mount design for this new model so i ended up getting a couple parts laser cut and welded up a blade mount that fits on the front of the RTV. I went with a single 1.5" X 6" bore cylinder for the blade lift.
- For the blade tilt i ended up fabricating some cylinder mounting pins to the blade push tube which accommodate dual 1.25" X 6" cylinders.
The build and installation in now complete and after testing it out i am very happy! The blade movements are nice and responsive for me ( you dont even notice the load on the machine) and i was able to push around some light loam in my yard very easily with it. I cant wait to try it out this winter!
I will have a link to some pictures shortly for anyone that wants to see how it turned out. The total project build came it under $900 CAD including taxes.
I am very happy with the unit in general, the new ROPS is makes loading the bed much easier and the ride quality is much smoother than my previous unit.
