Tiller full size tiller

[Garrabo]

I was wondering, do the full size PTO driven 500 LB tillers jump around on hard dirt or are they pretty stable?

 

[HEC]

My dad had market gardens for years and just loved the 3 pt hitch roto tiller,but we also had a 3 bottom plow to turn the sod over, along with harrows etc. that we would use first on new ground .We would plow in the fall and roto till etc. in the spring.If you will not have the option of a plow than you may want to pick a time of year when your ground will be the most soft and use the tiller.Don't try to till full depth on one pass or you will have a bouncing around and probably some other problems as well .You will probably end up making many passes over the same ground going just a little deeper on each pass to finally get to the depth you desire.If you can get any piece of equipment to help break up the ground a little first it makes roto tilling so much easier.
Good Luck

 

[Glenn9643]

I don't know for sure what determines a "full size" tiller, but my Howse RT70 is listed on their website at 780 lbs, and their 48" model at 647 lbs.
My soil here gets mighty hard during the summer months but the tiller will work it up. You just have to take your time and make a couple of passes. As mentioned above it's best with a little moisture so you don't end up with a dustbed.

 

[RonR]

As HEC refers to, when I got my Bush Hog 52" tiller, I set the skid shoes to max depth (maybe 6"). On my hard/dry clay, it chopped up the ground well, but it hammered and banged and jostled like crazy.

On a whim, I stopped, adjusted the skid plates to 2", the shallowest cut, and it cut smooth as silk. Visualize the angle the tines are hitting the dirt at each depth and you can see the cause of the banging.

Simple to me: Make multiple passes with the skid shoes set at 2". Second pass, as the skid shoes sink in the soft previously tilled soil, you are likely at 4", third pass 6", etc. Probably doesn't take any longer than bashing your tiller on one deep pass, but it sure seems easier on the tiller.

My two cents.
ron

 

[OhioGuy]

I bought a used Yanmar, 52" tiller, It's the the most violent implement I've used if you don't take small bites like others suggested. The tiller bouncing around actualy broke a PTO shaft before I got enough experience to take smaller bites an till slower.

Going over an area that has already been tilled once is pretty smooth.

Curt

 

[flusher]

Bought a used Yanmar RS1200 tiller (48") last Sept for my B7510HST (21HP, 16 HP PTO). Need to add a slip clutch since there's no shear pin in the implement.

Won't try tillin' until later in the rainy season (Nov-May) when the ground softens up.

Even then, I'll plow the ground with a KK middle buster before trying to rototill. Then it's small bites with the tiller. Don't want any grief with the PTO gears.

 

[HGM]

As everyone has mentioned, it can be violent. My suggestion is to start off with the tractor in Neutral, and till a hole about 4-6" deep then goto 1st gear low range. As long as you dont have alot of rocks, it should work well, you can adjust the gear/speed if all is ok. This has worked for me. If you have rocks, I dont care how deep, even a 1" pass will beat you up. Either way, it is much better than the old walk behind. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Alan L.]

My 60" KK tiller does not jump around much on hard ground. It does make a tremendous amout of noise on hard ground however.

 

[Louisiana_John]

I have a 80" that is real heavy I did a food plot on some of the hardest cracked clay you have ever seen. It cut it up with a lot of dust and noise but no jumping.
John