Which Tiller?

[jyoutz]

I am looking at getting a tiller. Parameters are work around home, maybe in the 2000sqft range, and light use at customers for our Mom & Pop landscape business.

So far, we have looked at the Troybilt "Horse". Am also looking at the BCS 722ES, with similar 8hp and tiller size. I found out today about a Honda FRC800 of similar size and capability.

Are there any other heavy residential or light commercial tillers I should look at?

I bought a DR pro rear tine tiller (largest model). It’s a couple thousand less than the Troy-built pro (horse) model and does everything the Troy built does. I especially like the fact that the wheels can walk the unit while the tines are off, and the fact that it switches from forward to reverse tine rotation with the flip of a lever. The large Troy built tiller is a beast, but very costly. The smaller Troy built tillers don’t have the features that the DR does and don’t seem to be as well made.

Dual Rotating Tine, Walk Behind Rototiller | DR Power Equipment

Dual Tine Rotation Puts You in Control! Choose Forward- or Counter-Rotation to Match the Job. With a Powerful Engine and Self Propelled Wheels, you are sure to get the Job Done! Factory Direct Sales and Easy Financing!

www.drpower.com

 

[Sonny580]

I use a KK 72" for first 2 passes in the spring then after planting I use Horse's and Tuffys to cultivate with Have 14 Horses now. Plus 6 other various sizes/brands.

 

[DJ54]

I love my Honda tiller(s). I started off with a FR600 from a local rental place that was selling off some of their equipment in 1998. Pretty sure they said it was 3 years old and showed plenty of use, and I'm sure abuse. It impressed me that it started on the first pull and ran like a charm. It served me well for the 24 years I owned it. It never once failed to start beyond the second pull to start even before I started using fuel stabilizer in fuel here. It still had the spark plug that was in it when I bought it, although I cleaned it a few times over the years. And still had the, as far as I know original drive belt, I know I never replaced it in 24 years. Best part is, I sold it for a little more than I paid for it. But that price was way less than a comparable new one and was still a great tiller, I just decided to upgrade.

Fast forward 24 years, I bought this barely used Honda FRC800 at a consignment sale for half the price of a new one. Paint was hardly worn on the tines. Got the spark plug wrench and owners manual with it still in the plastic case and appeared to never been opened. Looked like they maybe tilled up a couple flower beds, or a very small garden. A bit more to handle than the smaller one when turning, but it is a beast. They do not have counter rotating tines but for breaking new ground simply go a couple inches or so at a time, it will eat it right up. Dirt being a bit moist helps a lot.

But mainly I like that they have 3 speed transmissions. 1rst for heavy tilling & 2nd for light tillering/cultivating and 3rd for tramming back & forth from shed to garden. I don't know now if others offer multiple speed transmissions but I sure do like it.

I made the rear caster wheel for the FR600 to till through leaf mulch I use. It was an extremely wet Spring and literally thousands of maple sprout were popping up and needed a faster way to take them out than a hoe. The drag stake would gather and bunch up the leaves making a mess. Luckily I had enough "stuff" around to build this. I drilled multiple holes for depth settings because I only use it to cultivate when plants get too tall to straddle with my David Bradley's I cultivate with. I only till about 2" deep to fight the seed bank in the top 2", otherwise your just bring up more weed seed from down deeper, plus is a lot easier on the soil structure. The caster wheel has since been lengthened to fit the 800. It also makes it a lot easier to steer around plants when tilling close. It's easily steered with one hand.

They aren't cheap, but if maintained should last most a lifetime other than tines.

 

[5030]

I am looking at getting a tiller. Parameters are work around home, maybe in the 2000sqft range, and light use at customers for our Mom & Pop landscape business.

So far, we have looked at the Troybilt "Horse". Am also looking at the BCS 722ES, with similar 8hp and tiller size. I found out today about a Honda FRC800 of similar size and capability.

Are there any other heavy residential or light commercial tillers I should look at?

My take on tillers for what it's worth... I have a rather large garden and our soil here is a mixture of sandy loam and clay and I have over the years developed a keen sense of tillers and their pro's and con's:

First off, I've looked at the BCS units. One, they are very expensive and they are very similar to the old, defunct Gravely tillers in that they take a variety of attachments besides the tiller attachment.

I consider them to be a limited use tiller that does everything (with various attachments) well, but nothing excellent plus, the up front cost is very high.
If you have deep pockets and want a uber expensive machine, go for it and changing attachments can be a PITA. Not my cup of tea.

I own a Troy Bilt Horse as well. It's an older model I picked up from Craigslist some years ago.

The one thing I don't care for with the Troy Bilt Horse is the tines only rotate in one direction which is all good for previously tilled ground but they are a PITA when breaking ground in the spring because the tines rotate forward only and they tend to want to 'pull' you along, in other words, are very hard to control as they want to 'run away with you' when tilling untilled ground like in the spring when fitting up the garden for the first time.

Nice unit but again, hard to control on untilled or first tilled ground in the spring. Mine mostly sits in the barn and don't get used anymore... I probably should sell it. It has the Kohler single cylinder engine as well as the wrap around front bumper.

Finally, a few years back, I bought a Cub Cadet rear tine tiller with counter rotating tines and that is what I use now.

On first till, I run the tines in reverse so it don't try to 'get away from you' It cuts in just fine, in fact it will break untilled ground in one pass. Mine has a Honda engine on it at I rarely run it much above an idle as it tills fine without the engine screaming. It has various tilling options as well plus you can freewheel the tines but power the wheels when moving it around and it comes with side shields so it don't throw tilled soil everywhere plus you can fit the 'Ardisam' furrower attachment to it and I use the hiller-furrower attachment when I plant potatoes.

Couple drawbacks to the tiller. One, the gearbox is not synchromesh so when going from forward tilling to freewheeling, you must 'bump' the gearbox to get the gears to mesh and two, as the units ships, MTD don't put much grease in the gearbox so I added almost a full tube of chassis grease additionally.

There is a 'port' for adding grease on the top of the gearbox but it's under the shift quadrant indicator so you must remove the quadrant indicator as well as the top shield to access it. Takes about 10 minutes to take it apart, add additional grease and put it back together. The tines are segmented, that is, you can remove the outer set if you want to till a narrower path, something I don't do but you can if you want to.

All the controls are mounted on the handlebars and the handlebar is adjustable for height, so if you are tall or short, you can adjust them accordingly.

On mine the only control not mounted on the handlebars is the throttle which is engine mounted and being a Honda motor, it starts easy and is very frugal on gas as well.

The handlebars are fixed, in other words, they don't swing right or left, unlike the Troy Bilt but for me, that is a non issue as the tiller is very easy to control and I tend to walk beside it when I do a finish pass so I'm not walking on previously tilled ground. It's really a true 'one hand tiller' except when breaking untilled ground, then you'll want to be behind the machine controlling it.

I'm 74 years old and I don't want to be 'horsing' any tiller around. The Cub Cadet and I get along just fine and no horsing it at all.

Another 'nice' thing about the cub is, you can freewheel the tines so if they get wrapped up with stringy weeds and such, you can easily remove them and it's balanced really well. I can tilt the tiller forward and rest it with the engine down and that elevates the tines and I flip up the rear hinged shield and remove any wrapped weeds on the tines very easily.

Mine came with bar tread tires, not that that is important because it don't depend on tire traction at all when tilling.

Best part is the price. It is literally thousands less than a new Troy Bilt Horse as well as a BCS. I have been using my Cub CRT (Counter rotating Tine tiller) for 5 years now and have had ZERO issues with it other than normal maintenance (changing the engine oil every fall, blowing out the pleated air filter and maybe replacing the spark plug), keeping the tires aired up and giving it a bath infrequently

I do add Marine Stabil to the gas tank and top it off every fall when I put it in the barn for it's winter sleep. I'm very happy with it and the Troy Bilt has been parked as I don't use it hardly at all anymore.

Keep in mind that MTD bought Garden Way so the Troy Bilt is now an MTD tiller. On the CTR tiller, the drive for the tiller part from the engine is via belt. I've never had to adjust the belt tension or replace that either.

I'm very happy with mine to say the least and the up front price was very reasonable as well. I have no idea what they cost today as I'm not in the market for a new one anyway.

I had a front tine what I call a 'Killer tiller' and sold it. Front tine tillers might be OK for finish tilling but for anything else, they will literally kill your back as the jump around like a rabbit and want to to get away from you so you have to 'strongman' them constantly.

At my age, I don't want to strongman any tiller, I want fitting up the garden to be a pleasant experience, not drudgery.

My more than 2 cents on tillers in general. Take it for what it's worth but I'm very happy with the Cub counter rotating tine tiller and I fully expect it to run for years without any issues.

 

[jyoutz]

My take on tillers for what it's worth... I have a rather large garden and our soil here is a mixture of sandy loam and clay and I have over the years developed a keen sense of tillers and their pro's and con's:

First off, I've looked at the BCS units. One, they are very expensive and they are very similar to the old, defunct Gravely tillers in that they take a variety of attachments besides the tiller attachment.

I consider them to be a limited use tiller that does everything (with various attachments) well, but nothing excellent plus, the up front cost is very high.
If you have deep pockets and want a uber expensive machine, go for it and changing attachments can be a PITA. Not my cup of tea.

I own a Troy Bilt Horse as well. It's an older model I picked up from Craigslist some years ago.

The one thing I don't care for with the Troy Bilt Horse is the tines only rotate in one direction which is all good for previously tilled ground but they are a PITA when breaking ground in the spring because the tines rotate forward only and they tend to want to 'pull' you along, in other words, are very hard to control as they want to 'run away with you' when tilling untilled ground like in the spring when fitting up the garden for the first time.

Nice unit but again, hard to control on untilled or first tilled ground in the spring. Mine mostly sits in the barn and don't get used anymore... I probably should sell it. It has the Kohler single cylinder engine as well as the wrap around front bumper.

Finally, a few years back, I bought a Cub Cadet rear tine tiller with counter rotating tines and that is what I use now.

On first till, I run the tines in reverse so it don't try to 'get away from you' It cuts in just fine, in fact it will break untilled ground in one pass. Mine has a Honda engine on it at I rarely run it much above an idle as it tills fine without the engine screaming. It has various tilling options as well plus you can freewheel the tines but power the wheels when moving it around and it comes with side shields so it don't throw tilled soil everywhere plus you can fit the 'Ardisam' furrower attachment to it and I use the hiller-furrower attachment when I plant potatoes.

Couple drawbacks to the tiller. One, the gearbox is not synchromesh so when going from forward tilling to freewheeling, you must 'bump' the gearbox to get the gears to mesh and two, as the units ships, MTD don't put much grease in the gearbox so I added almost a full tube of chassis grease additionally.

There is a 'port' for adding grease on the top of the gearbox but it's under the shift quadrant indicator so you must remove the quadrant indicator as well as the top shield to access it. Takes about 10 minutes to take it apart, add additional grease and put it back together. The tines are segmented, that is, you can remove the outer set if you want to till a narrower path, something I don't do but you can if you want to.

All the controls are mounted on the handlebars and the handlebar is adjustable for height, so if you are tall or short, you can adjust them accordingly.

On mine the only control not mounted on the handlebars is the throttle which is engine mounted and being a Honda motor, it starts easy and is very frugal on gas as well.

The handlebars are fixed, in other words, they don't swing right or left, unlike the Troy Bilt but for me, that is a non issue as the tiller is very easy to control and I tend to walk beside it when I do a finish pass so I'm not walking on previously tilled ground. It's really a true 'one hand tiller' except when breaking untilled ground, then you'll want to be behind the machine controlling it.

I'm 74 years old and I don't want to be 'horsing' any tiller around. The Cub Cadet and I get along just fine and no horsing it at all.

Another 'nice' thing about the cub is, you can freewheel the tines so if they get wrapped up with stringy weeds and such, you can easily remove them and it's balanced really well. I can tilt the tiller forward and rest it with the engine down and that elevates the tines and I flip up the rear hinged shield and remove any wrapped weeds on the tines very easily.

Mine came with bar tread tires, not that that is important because it don't depend on tire traction at all when tilling.

Best part is the price. It is literally thousands less than a new Troy Bilt Horse as well as a BCS. I have been using my Cub CRT (Counter rotating Tine tiller) for 5 years now and have had ZERO issues with it other than normal maintenance (changing the engine oil every fall, blowing out the pleated air filter and maybe replacing the spark plug), keeping the tires aired up and giving it a bath infrequently

I do add Marine Stabil to the gas tank and top it off every fall when I put it in the barn for it's winter sleep. I'm very happy with it and the Troy Bilt has been parked as I don't use it hardly at all anymore.

Keep in mind that MTD bought Garden Way so the Troy Bilt is now an MTD tiller. On the CTR tiller, the drive for the tiller part from the engine is via belt. I've never had to adjust the belt tension or replace that either.

I'm very happy with mine to say the least and the up front price was very reasonable as well. I have no idea what they cost today as I'm not in the market for a new one anyway.

I had a front tine what I call a 'Killer tiller' and sold it. Front tine tillers might be OK for finish tilling but for anything else, they will literally kill your back as the jump around like a rabbit and want to to get away from you so you have to 'strongman' them constantly.

At my age, I don't want to strongman any tiller, I want fitting up the garden to be a pleasant experience, not drudgery.

My more than 2 cents on tillers in general. Take it for what it's worth but I'm very happy with the Cub counter rotating tine tiller and I fully expect it to run for years without any issues.

I have to agree about the need for reverse till operations for the first pass. Then forward tine for subsequent passes or weed cultivation. My DR pro tiller does all of that with a flick of a lever and will also drive the wheels without the tines for transportation. I’m on my third season of using the DR and so far it has worked flawlessly. It’s also available for a lot cheaper than the top of the line Troybuilt model and has all of the same functionality. It also has more functionality than the mid grade TB tillers.

Dual Rotating Tine, Walk Behind Rototiller | DR Power Equipment

Dual Tine Rotation Puts You in Control! Choose Forward- or Counter-Rotation to Match the Job. With a Powerful Engine and Self Propelled Wheels, you are sure to get the Job Done! Factory Direct Sales and Easy Financing!

www.drpower.com

 

[5030]

I have to agree about the need for reverse till operations for the first pass. Then forward tine for subsequent passes or weed cultivation. My DR pro tiller does all of that with a flick of a lever and will also drive the wheels without the tines for transportation. I’m on my third season of using the DR and so far it has worked flawlessly. It’s also available for a lot cheaper than the top of the line Troybuilt model and has all of the same functionality. It also have more functionality than the mid grade TB tillers.

Dual Rotating Tine, Walk Behind Rototiller | DR Power Equipment

Dual Tine Rotation Puts You in Control! Choose Forward- or Counter-Rotation to Match the Job. With a Powerful Engine and Self Propelled Wheels, you are sure to get the Job Done! Factory Direct Sales and Easy Financing!

www.drpower.com

I presume you know that MTD also owns DR? In fact MTD owns many brands. With me, it all distills down to up front price and reliability and it's hard to beat the Cub line, least in my humble opinion.

I would never consider a Honda or BCS tiller simply because of the up front cost and in the case of a BCS, having to change out attachments is a big drawback in my view.. It all distills down to turning over dirt and nothing else really, other than in my case, being able to attach a hiller-furrower attachment to set my spuds with.

Years ago I seriously considered a BCS but with a Hatch diesel engine but again the retail price was far above everyone else. I guess if you have deep pockets (I don't) then a BCS or a Honda might be relevant. For my intended use, they aren't.

I don't believe BCS even offers a diesel alternative today, anyway.

I'm nit overly fond of Honda engines but on my Cub it has been flawless. Honda engines tend to be overpriced as a rule. Why I run Preds on my equipment if possible.

 

[jyoutz]

I presume you know that MTD also owns DR? In fact MTD owns many brands. With me, it all distills down to up front price and reliability and it's hard to beat the Cub line, least in my humble opinion.

I would never consider a Honda or BCS tiller simply because of the up front cost and in the case of a BCS, having to change out attachments is a big drawback in my view.. It all distills down to turning over dirt and nothing else really, other than in my case, being able to attach a hiller-furrower attachment to set my spuds with.

Years ago I seriously considered a BCS but with a Hatch diesel engine but again the retail price was far above everyone else. I guess if you have deep pockets (I don't) then a BCS or a Honda might be relevant. For my intended use, they aren't.

I don't believe BCS even offers a diesel alternative today, anyway.

I'm nit overly fond of Honda engines but on my Cub it has been flawless. Honda engines tend to be overpriced as a rule. Why I run Preds on my equipment if possible.

My understanding is that Generac Corporation now owns DR, not MTD. Regardless, I have been very pleased with the build quality and operation of the machine. The Cub line is good equipment. When I was shopping for a new tiller 2 years ago, I couldn’t find any that were capable of both forward and reverse rotation except the DR and the most high end TB models.

 

[ning]

I have an old sears rear tine, reverse spinner that's a lot like a troy built one.
It works really well but they're definitely a hard workout.
I haven't used it at all in the last 4 years since I got a big one for the 3ph....

 

[5030]

...but Sears didn't make it as Sears never produced anything. It was all made by others and usually at the lowest cost to boot.

 

[workinonit]

A tiller is something that goes behind my tractor. I've done my fair share of wrestling a TB tiller and unless fortunes really turn on me I will never walk behind a tiller again.