New to forum, looking for advice...

M

mmolnar

Member
Greetings everyone! I've been reading this forum for a week or so and have learned a lot of good information on the RTVs. It's nice to visit a forum that is so friendly and helpful. They're not all that way as I'm sure you know.

I pastor a church in upstate NY and it has fallen on me to research some options for a vehicle to help us with our grounds keeping needs. Let me give you a bit of info about our property and our needs.

We have 15 acres in a rural setting that we built a new church on a few years ago. We also have a kids church building, a storage garage and a shed. We are planning on building a larger church sanctuary in a few years (15000 sq. ft.). I mention all this to say we are in "construction mode" for the next several years. We have a large gravel parking lot, lots of grass to mow and a 500 ft. driveway.

We are mowing with a large zero turn mower and a 26hp Utility tractor. Volunteers are plowing the parking lot with their trucks and occasionally we move some snow banks with the loader on the tractor. We need a machine to plow the smaller areas around the buildings, sidewalks, etc. as well as a machine to run around the property to haul landscaping materials, do sanding, carry the weed trimmers, etc. I looked at a Toolcat but the cost is prohibitive. We test drove an 1100 yesterday and loved it.

My questions are:

1. In cold weather (average 10 to 25 degrees), how long does this machine take to get warm enough for the tranny fluid to allow "full power" for plowing?

2. Does anyone have experience with a tow behind mower using an RTV. If so, how big? 60 inch, 72 inch

3. Would you consider this a good machine for this? Any other thoughts would be most welcome.

I've done a lot of reading about these machines and we are ready to purchase, I think. Should I make sure that the manufacturing date is 11-07 or later? I've read about some issues that have been fixed since summer 07 but I'm not sure about the latest fixes, fuel tank, limits or stops on CV joints to prevent them from popping out, etc.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

Matt
 
Matt,

Welcome to the forum. Where abouts in NY are you? I used to live up there and my family still does.

It doesn't take long for the tranny to warm up enough for plowing. Maybe a few minutes. In very cold temps, my preference is to put a block heater on the tranny (and the engine) a couple hours before I need the RTV so it's near 100% as soon as you fire it up. I actually put mine on a timer to come on about 2 hours before I "expect" to use the RTV which is after work.

I don't know if <u>I</u> would like to use the RTV with a tow-behind mower. Here's my reasoning:
1. It's a lot heavier than a ZTR or lawn/garden tractor and if the ground is soft, it may leave depressions.
2. Visibility to see the mower itself, especially near obstacles is very limited.
3. Turning radius is pretty wide.

What type of tires do you have on the tractor? (OK, what mfgr/model tractor is it?) A rear finish mower that attaches to the 3-point hitch may be a better option. It'll use the tractors engine so there's no extra engine to maintain. Visibility for the driver is much better and the turning radius is probably shorter than the RTV. Once I know what you have for a tractor, I may also propose you get a scraper blade for the 3-point to assist if/as necessary when plowing snow. The RTV would be nicer but don't discount the tractor for small areas as well.

Obviously, the newer the better but I wouldn't discount an older machine (if they're still sitting a dealers lot). You can physically inspect to see if the CV joint stoppers are in place (and if not, tell the dealer you want them installed as part of the deal) and if there is an issue with the fuel tank or cap, it'll be covered under warrantee.

With the groundskeeping you have, coupled with the upcoming construction projects, you'll find the RTV to be a very valuable addition and it'll make work much easier. BTW - get the hyd dump bed... If you don't already have a couple, consider getting some smaller trailers (4x8', 5x6'...) for towing behind the RTV. If you're like others, you'll be using/driving the RTV so much that you won't want to take the time to unload the bed to transition from one project to the next. I have a trailer I use for the landscape equipment, others are constantly loaded with anything from lumber to firewood to bags of fertilizer... I think I have about 6 or 7 trailers I use behind the RTV. On any given day when doing projects, at least 3 of them would probably get used and connected to the RTV.

Brian
 
[quote user="bczoom"]Where abouts in NY are you?[/quote]
Disregard. I found where you are. Not close to where my family is which is south of Rochester.

I'd propose you consider a block heater for the engine and tranny. We have some discussions on the subject if you want me to find the thread(s).
 
Thanks Brian. Yea, I'm WAY upstate about 13 miles from the US/Canada Border. It's nice country up here, for sure.

We have a mid mount mower on the tractor right now. We are mowing enough territory to use both our zero turn Cub Cadet Tank around the buildings and trees and our Cub Cadet 7265 four wheel drive tractor with the 60" deck for larger areas. This summer we will knock down even more of our field and turn it into lawn.

The areas we would use the RTV for mowing would be long straight areas that would not be "finished" lawn. My thinking was that the air conditioned cab would be nice in that situation, but then again, no cruise control. Your points are well taken.

Our main purposes for the RTV would be plowing/sanding small areas and run around stuff in the Spring through Fall seasons.

I'll be calling the dealer today to see when their stock machine was manufactured. Might make a deal today.

Thanks again,

Matt
 
[quote user="mmolnar"]Thanks Brian. Yea, I'm WAY upstate about 13 miles from the US/Canada Border. It's nice country up here, for sure.[/quote]
I'll say. Very beautiful area.

[quote user="mmolnar"]The areas we would use the RTV
for mowing would be long straight areas that would not be "finished"
lawn. My thinking was that the air conditioned cab would be nice in
that situation, but then again, no cruise control. Your points are well
taken. [/quote]
Well, they make lots of tow-behind mowers. You could give one a try. Swisher makes a good mower and worth looking at. Their T-66 model may work nicely for you. Please remember that everyone will then fight to drive the RTV due to cab and A/C and you'll have a harder time getting people to mow with the CC or ZTR.

[quote user="mmolnar"]I'll be calling the dealer today to see when their stock machine was manufactured. Might make a deal today.[/quote]
Let us know how it goes. If they don't know or can't find the manufacture date, get the VIN (or at least the last 5 digits) and maybe I/we can find out for you.
 
One more thing...

Are the Kubota work lights worth getting or is there a better option? If I don't get the factory lights will I have to wire aftermarket lights or is the cab already wired for them?

Does the factory offer a trans heater or is this an aftermarket item?

Thanks again,

Matt
 
I don't have an 1100. I have a 900. In general, OEM accessories be it Kubota, JD, GMC, Ford... all carry a certain premium. In many cases, you can get the same thing (e.g. Warn winch for the RTV) or similar for a better price elsewhere.

I can't speak for the lights since I don't have that unit. I believe Kubota offers a heater for the engine but not for the tranny.
 
Thanks for the reply. I spoke to the dealer and you are right about the tranny heater. He wasn't aware of one being available. The cab is already wired for lights whether you buy from Kubota or not. That's good.

I know what you mean about factory accessories tending to be more than aftermarket. I think I'll pass on the factory plow for now and do more research into other offerings. We definitely want hydro angle function.

Matt
 
The RTV equipped with a Blizzard plow would make it easy for any parishoner to plow the parking area. I'm a bit confused though, as to why you'd buy that capability when volunteers do it for free. The reason I mention this is, most of what else you need to do would be something a B or L series Kubota would do better than the RTV. The pull behind mower (Woods or other) is the main purpose of an L series.The Lcould also be equipped with a front loader and backhoe which would store themselves when not needed.
 
The main guy who plows now has his own plowing business and has been doing our plowing for years. He's willing, but not always "readily" available. Also, we need a smaller plow setup for areas like sidewalks, etc.

We already have a small utility tractor for mowing, loader work, etc. but if you read back on this post you'll see that we're using multiple machines to cover all the mowing.

How does the Blizzard compare with the Curtis? If it's better, in what ways?

Thanks for your input.

Matt
 
You know, in our world , you don't have to have a reason to purchase a RTV >>>> just get it, you'll find something to do with it, only if it's just running around having fun ~~~~</P>


[:O]</P>


</P>


</P>
 
Matt,

First - I would like to add my welcome to the forum.

My opinion as a highly caffeinated Missouri madman!!!

I have a Kubota 3710 with a 72" finish mower and for a while had a smaller zero turn for my mowing needs. The small mower was for around the buildings and stuff I wanted to look nice. The tractor/finish mower was used for the wide open spaces. A couple years ago the small mower expired (died) so I got a Kubota ZD21 zero turn. Long story short... I retired the finish mower because no matter what I did, the ZD21 could out cut the finish mower reducing the time by over 50%. If you get a tow behind I agree that visibility would be a problem, maintaining speed would be a problem, and you will never approach the cut time of a QUALITY zero turn. My suggestion?

1) Cut everything with the zero turn and put the finish mower away as a backup (my finish mower has not been used in a couple years)
2) Get the RTV - besides the uses you mentioned, you will find hundreds more
3) Get the BLizzard blade over the Curtis. I have a Curtis - it tends to need a lot of work to keep it going. Just not as tough as the Blizzard from what I can tell
3) Get the RTV - you will love it
4) Did I mention you should buy the RTV no matter what?
 
DigOrange,

Thanks for the welcome and the words of wisdom. I know what you mean about the speed and versatility of the zero turn. We were doing all of our mowing with the tractor and it's 60" mid mount mower before we got the zero turn. What a difference. Now the tractor is used if we have a second person to help with the outlying areas. Two can mow at once. No one picks the tractor first.

I hadn't thought of another zero turn for the fields I guess because of the width of cut. We would like to knock down as much as possible with each pass. Also, the ground in these areas can tend to be a bit rough and the zero turn machine that we have can really shake you up at higher speeds, just due to having no suspension other than the seat.

I will look into the idea a bit more though and yes, we will definitely be getting an RTV. Would already have one but they only have an 1100 in camo, though the dealer is willing to give it to us for the same price as the orange ($14,885).

Matt
 
Get the Camo ~</P>


Get the Camo ~~~~</P>


Get the Camo ~~~~~~~~ </P>


Get the Camo ~~~~~~~~~~~</P>


Get the Camo ~~~~~~~~~~~~</P>


and Get the Camo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </P>


</P>
 
The dealer had a lead on some orange ones, but they were at another dealer about 80 miles distant. He said the other dealer had three but had to decide which one he would let go. Not sure what that means.

We'll probably go with the camo on Monday if nothing else comes up.

Can't wait to get one and start setting her up for some serious work.

Matt
 
. He said the other dealer had three but had to decide which one he would let go. Not sure what that means.</P>


That sounds strange >>>>>> [:|]

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