Tarter Ind 3 point tiller

[p0peye]

I just came back from Tractor Supply Co I was looking at the 60" tiller they have on sale for $1600. I noticed it is mfg by Tarter Ind and am not sure about this brand. It has a cast iron center gearbox So does anyone use this tiller if so would you recommend it to others. I did look online and found their website but no reviews. Any help would be appreciated Thanks.

[nikdfish]

I bought one a month or so back. Not really decided on how I feel about it. Had thought I was picking up one made by King Kutter, but saw the Tarter label after they got it on the trailer. Figured I'd go ahead and give it a try anyway.

It seems well enough built. Reasonably heavy at 629 lb. It looks very similar to the KK II, but the Tarter's torque tube is removable where the KK's is not. Mine had been sitting on the lot since last year & had picked up some rust in places.

Also on the plus side is the supplied PTO shaft. A nice Eurocardan with slip clutch.

Be aware they ship them without any grease/oil. You definitely need to fill & grease before use. It turned out that mine had had some water infiltrate the upper box, possibly from snow/ice build up around the vented top plug. I've flushed it a few times to try to get the water contamination to a minimum. One that hasn't sat out all winter probably wouldn't have that issue.

On the plus side, it does the job it is supposed to do - till dirt. No problems with its operation. No funny noises or vibrations. I was working in damp clay after it was opened by a middle buster. No gumming up, no bogging down.

One bad design element is the lack of weep holes in the deck to allow water to drain from the lower areas bordered by the box tube framing. I went ahead & drilled some 5/16 holes at the end corners so I wouldn't have standing water issues while waiting to get a workshop/shed built.

Tarter will not talk with end users. You have to go through a dealer to get any info. Mine had a bad zerk on the outboard hub (dinged in shipping). They wouldn't even tell me the specs for a replacement. TSC couldn't get info, just a promise to ship a replacement. Rather than wait, I found it was a 10 mm (metric) trying a few likely possibles provided gratis by TSC.

So, like I said, mixed feelings, but nothing that was bad enough to take it back & order something else that would have to be shipped in. It looks like it should do the job & I guess that's the bottom line.


Nick

[Dugie]

Bought a Landpride reverse tiller 66" last year, does amazing job. I would strongly suggest checking out a reverse tiller before you buy. I paid around 2450 for mine with a clutch.

[p0peye]

Thanks for the reply Nick. Will the i-match work with this tiller. I sent the Tarter Co a e-mail and they replied that they have been making tillers for just 2 years. Parts must be ordered thru the dealer. Thanks again

[nikdfish]

I believe there was a sticker saying QuickHitch compatible, I am pretty sure there was no mention of iMatch.

I may have sounded a bit (!) ambivalent about the tiller, but like I said, it didn't bug me enough to take it back & at $1600 I would have if I was not comfortable that it would serve my needs over the coming years.

Nick

[mjaybee]

I bought a 5' tiller from TSC, it was listed at $1699.99 and was made by Behlem MFG. In the western US TSC uses Behlem, and in the eastern US it's Tarter. Both good companies. KK, Tarter and Behlem all use the same design. TSC no longer carries KK as they wanted them to repair the products they sold. I bought mine for $1,499.99 on a price match for a Tarter 5' tiller Lowes sales for $1,505.00. All I did was take in the page from Lowes I printed offline and they beat the price. Worth checking prices. I ended up taking it back though because it was not quick hitch compatible, but at least I found out that TSC will deal to get the sale.

[sweettractors]

Bought a Landpride reverse tiller 66" last year, does amazing job. I would strongly suggest checking out a reverse tiller before you buy. I paid around 2450 for mine with a clutch.

The True Tarter Brand will work forward or reverse. I posted pictures and instructions in another post about a month ago. TSC build specs, I am not sure? Ken Sweet