Tiller "DARK HORSE" Tillers

[Glowplug]

Has anyone taken the dark horse plung yet? I'm surprised that our local tractor supply store didn't have one when I was there 2 weeks ago since it was a new store and had opened a few days before.

I've got two NEW TSC stores about 12 miles from me and neither one has these tillers. But it sounds like the OLD TSC store right down the road in Shelbyville, KY has them. Go figure.

 

[yankeerider]

I'm lookin for a dark horse 5 footer here in NH. I've not seen a dark horse anything at any of the TSCs i've been to.

Saw my first one in the Enfield, CT store on Wednesday, Aug 20. That may mean they are starting to show up here in the Northeast.

 

[PA hayseed]

Well, don't be surprised if the chinese stuff breaks. It almost always does. Just because the chinese say its steel or iron doesn't mean it is. You all should know better. It will likely be a lesser grade of steel. They have to maintain profit margins over there, or people go to jail.

Everyone I know who bought some wonderful less expensive piece of chinese equipment has never had a problem and loves it. The chinese stuff worked really well on my old CC tractor. Now I own a Kioti.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well, don't be surprised if the chinese stuff breaks. It almost always does. Just because the chinese say its steel or iron doesn't mean it is. You all should know better. It will likely be a lesser grade of steel. They have to maintain profit margins over there, or people go to jail.

That's a bit harsh. After all, they just finished a pretty flawless olympics where they showed off an airport more modern than anything in the USA, a train system more modern than anything in the USA and a pretty nifty stadium that we have no match for. I'd say that the days of bashing the Chinese because American traders order crap from them to sell at HF should end. If you specify good quality I think you'll get it. Question is whether TSC specified good quality.

People very recently were saying the same sort of thing about Korean steel and goods and now Hyundai beats Japanese and virtually all American car makers in quality. Kioti's ain't bad either.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

That's a bit harsh. After all, they just finished a pretty flawless olympics where they showed off an airport more modern than anything in the USA, a train system more modern than anything in the USA and a pretty nifty stadium that we have no match for. I'd say that the days of bashing the Chinese because American traders order crap from them to sell at HF should end. If you specify good quality I think you'll get it. Question is whether TSC specified good quality.

People very recently were saying the same sort of thing about Korean steel and goods and now Hyundai beats Japanese and virtually all American car makers in quality. Kioti's ain't bad either.

Many of us still remember when it was "accepted" that ANYTHING Japanese was J.U.N.K. Times change. It wasn't so long ago when it was "accepted" that EVERYTHING made in the US was automatically better than imported products. The blind refusal to admit many foriegn made products were catching (and at some point, PASSING) US products in quality AND price is one of the big reasons why we're in the position we find ourselves today.....Playing catch up.

If the DARK HORSE tillers are simply "just as good" as the US assembled KKII tillers, they win by default. (Price is substancially less for SAME product)

 

[PA hayseed]

Many of us still remember when it was "accepted" that ANYTHING Japanese was J.U.N.K. Times change. It wasn't so long ago when it was "accepted" that EVERYTHING made in the US was automatically better than imported products. The blind refusal to admit many foriegn made products were catching (and at some point, PASSING) US products in quality AND price is one of the big reasons why we're in the position we find ourselves today.....Playing catch up.

If the DARK HORSE tillers are simply "just as good" as the US assembled KKII tillers, they win by default. (Price is substancially less for SAME product)

It is my humble opinion that the chinese are not yet at the stage where the Japanese are. They have been substituting inferior products or ingredients and labeling them otherwise. But don't believe me, do your own due diligence. In the long term they will change their ways, but until then I believe it is buyer beware (and reading a label won't help). It hasn't just been with toys that contain lead, dog food that killed dogs, or toothpaste with poison in it, it is also tire valves that they change a certain chemical in that allowed the valves to split under pressure. There are other examples, many more than what most people will bother to read.

I believe their products are cheaper for a reason, and it isn't always "labor costs". Besides, what would it cost to ship a tiller from China to the U.S. then to a TSC? The company is still making a profit, and selling it to you at a lower cost.

 

[tctractor]

I stopped by my local TSC, which has had some Dark Horse stuff in stock for about a month. They had both the 5' and 6' tillers. I took a couple of pictures of the price tags and the SKU's for everyone.

6'

5'

 

[IslandTractor]

I stopped by my local TSC, which has had some Dark Horse stuff in stock for about a month. They had both the 5' and 6' tillers. I took a couple of pictures of the price tags and the SKU's for everyone.

Man, $900 for a six foot tiller based on a well respected KK model. That is unbelievable. I'll get one the second if they make it to any TSC within a 150 miles of here.

Where is the TSC where you found these in stock?

 

[xlr82v2]

Keep in mind, the gearboxes on the KKII tillers are likely made in china, as are all the gearboxes on their finish mowers and rotary cutters.

I stopped at my local Deere dealer the other day looking at rear finish mowers, and took a gander at some of the green tractors... one that I was looking at I noticed had a Dana front axle, and right at the bottom of the data plate on the axle, there it was... Made In China.

There is nothing sacred anymore.

 

[IslandTractor]

Keep in mind, the gearboxes on the KKII tillers are likely made in china, as are all the gearboxes on their finish mowers and rotary cutters.

Maybe I am in a minority but I think it is time to stop trashing equipment with "made in China" labels. There is plenty of junk equipment made in this and other countries and the Chinese have clearly demonstrated their ability to make high quality goods. Any particular piece of equipment could be crap depending on what quality the marketers specified in their negotiations with a Chinese manufacturer of course but I would not accept the bias that "made in China" implies inferior product.