3 point hitch rototiller for BX25D

[homey53]

I'm thinking of buying a rototiller for my BX25D, and I thought I'd ask here for some advice. They seem to be pretty scarce, so all of my looking has been on line, only. I'm thinking I'd want the slip clutch protection rather than shear bolt, yes? And I'm thinking the width of the tiller, probably shouldn't exceed 50-52 inches max, due to the limit of the BX' horse power rating? I've looked at the Tractor Supply County Line, the Land Pride, Titan and the Everything Attachments Italian made Phoenix brand. Hoping to hear from some experienced tiller owners and users. Thanks.

Tom

 

[oosik]

When we had a garden - I looked. Had a 1982 brand new Ford 1700 4WD. The basic concern - to get a tiller wide enough( wider than the rear tires ) and still stay within the tractor manufacturers recommended limits - I had to choose a pretty light weight PTO driven tiller.

I ended up purchasing a TroyBilt 8hp Horse. It did a fine job on the garden. Just saying .........

 

[RjCorazza]

Kubota lists 42" as the max tiller width, but their numbers are usually conservative. With a 45" tractor width, I personally would go with a 48" tiller. Your soil type is also a factor in horsepower requirements.
Anticipating rocks, roots, and other objects a slip clutch may be the way to go - otherwise shear bolts are fine IMHO.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

What @RjCorazza said. I run a Landpride RTA 1242 on my BX24. I'm guessing your machine's hitch and dimensions are the same - but the more experienced here may correct that.

I'd guess the '24 has plenty of grunt to pull a 48" tiller in my tilled-many-times garden soil. In new/hard/rocky ground the 42 might be the best choice.

Clutch vs shear bolt: mine was delivered with a clutch. That eats into the drive shaft length more than a shear bolt setup (I think) and makes cutting it to the proper length tricky. Too long and it risks damaging the rear PTO when raised. Too short and it doesn't have much overlap to transfer torque.

Took the dealer two tries to get it right. Fortunately they made it just a skosh too long to install. 1/2 inch shorter and it would have broken my BX the first time I raised the tiller.

For my use and soil, the shear bolt version would be a better choice. In nasty ground the clutch is probably mandatory.

FWIW,
Z.

 

[homey53]

When we had a garden - I looked. Had a 1982 brand new Ford 1700 4WD. The basic concern - to get a tiller wide enough( wider than the rear tires ) and still stay within the tractor manufacturers recommended limits - I had to choose a pretty light weight PTO driven tiller.

I ended up purchasing a TroyBilt 8hp Horse. It did a fine job on the garden. Just saying .........

I have a 1980 Troy Bilt Horse that I rebuilt and repowered with a 7 HP Kohler, a couple years ago. And it works wonderfully. But at 67, I'm not going to tackle a 30' X 50' garden, 20 inches at a pass.

 

[diesel85]

I do recommend a smaller 42" - 48" tiller for the BX.

I also highly recommend you get very familiar with a slip clutch. Especially if you plan to leave it outside. Rust and corrosion is your enemy.

Plenty of folks on here broke gearboxes on small and large machines using tillers and bushhogs when their slip clutch is rusted right on up...

 

[CH4Ohio]

Be sure to get a tiller that is a little wider than your rear tire track. I'd just get the smallest size that covered my tires on a BX tractor.

I've used Kubota, Befco, and Woods, and the King Kutter does the best job of anything that I've ever tried. Have tilled up many acres with it and the neighbors have put time on it too. Will turn sod into a seed bed in two passes when the conditions are right.

 

[homey53]

Be sure to get a tiller that is a little wider than your rear tire track. I'd just get the smallest size that covered my tires on a BX tractor.

I've used Kubota, Befco, and Woods, and the King Kutter does the best job of anything that I've ever tried. Have tilled up many acres with it and the neighbors have put time on it too. Will turn sod into a seed bed in two passes when the conditions are right.

Thank you.

 

[am122]

Get a quick hitch to use with your tiller. I struggled with the short PTO shaft for a few years but the quick hitch changed every thing.

 

[homey53]

Get a quick hitch to use with your tiller. I struggled with the short PTO shaft for a few years but the quick hitch changed every thing.

Thanks.

 

[nikerret]

I ended up with a Land Pride RTR0550. I wanted a 1250 or 1550, but ended up with this. I had found a used RTA1550 listed for $1,500, when I called in it, it was sold. The salesman said he had a used RTR0550, for less than half that price. I liked the idea of the reverse spin, but not the idea of the 05 series, I wanted the heavy built ones. For the price, it was too good to pass up.

Here are a couple of pics. Depending how fast I go and how I have the tailgate set, I can change the end result a lot.

Before:

After:

 

[CH4Ohio]

Looking good! My 3 point tiller is my favorite thing to operate. Fun to watch it turn a rough patch into a seedbed, don't you think? I have walk-behind tillers, but they're primarily used to cultivate and weed between rows. The larger tiller on the tractor does it much better and much faster. Looks to me like the half-price tiller was a good deal!

 

[nikerret]

My 3 point tiller is my favorite thing to operate. Fun to watch it turn a rough patch into a seedbed, don't you think?

Fully agree.

 

[wawajake]

I have a 42 inch Agri , used on my 30 x30 garden for 7 yrs now and even though it is narrower than my BX2660 wheels, as long as you set it up to just barely cover the one tire track, eg if rhs you move along the garden rotto tillling continuously covering that one rh track until you reach the left side of garden edge. What I dont like about rottotillers is they are the worst implement to hook up to tractor. All my other implements I put on wood rei forced flats with caster wheels to roll easily into position ( eg snow blower , wood chipper, weight box) but rottotiller has to many moving parts to stay correctly on a plywood cart with caster wheels ( the tines of tiller make unstable so you need to brute strength it , pto first, then two lower points , then finally upper link. If anyone has a better way or better rolling cart design , I am curious ! Must be a better way.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Wish I had a rolling cart design for you. I made a couple of curved wood stands that the depth shoes of my Land Pride 42 sit on. That way at least it sits level and makes getting the two side links a bit easier to line up. Hmmm. those wood stands could be mounted on a flat platform w/wheels under it maybe. As it is, they're just two independent 2x4 flats w/curved pieces on top.

I can't really use rolling stands for any of the implements in my shed so it's brute (elderly brute...) force and a lot of Navy vocabulary

 

[Grandad4]

I have a 42 inch Agri , used on my 30 x30 garden for 7 yrs now and even though it is narrower than my BX2660 wheels, as long as you set it up to just barely cover the one tire track, eg if rhs you move along the garden rotto tillling continuously covering that one rh track until you reach the left side of garden edge. What I dont like about rottotillers is they are the worst implement to hook up to tractor. All my other implements I put on wood rei forced flats with caster wheels to roll easily into position ( eg snow blower , wood chipper, weight box) but rottotiller has to many moving parts to stay correctly on a plywood cart with caster wheels ( the tines of tiller make unstable so you need to brute strength it , pto first, then two lower points , then finally upper link. If anyone has a better way or better rolling cart design , I am curious ! Must be a better way.

Here is what I came up with for my 3 point attachments. Sorry, can't find a photo of the tiller dolly, but it was almost identical to this one for the box blade. Simple frame made from 4x4's with casters. With the tiller, the long 4x4 rails supported the sides of the tiller so the tines could float above the floor, just as happens with the box blade in this pic. All my implements were 72" or 84" in width, most weighed 400 - 800 lbs., but concrete floors and and these dollies made changing implements a snap. With lighter implements for our BX it was just about as easy to start with a cheap furniture dolly and add suitable 2x4 and plywood supports as needed. However if I had a BX-sized tiller, I'd probably use the 4x4 approach, as tillers are pretty heavy.

 

[wawajake]

Interesting approach Grandad4....I will review my unit to see is the two ends have enough flat area to bear on 4 x4 s , because like you I store most of my implements on a concrete floor. On roller frames. But I think my ends of rottotiller are curved quite a bit. I will look tommorow.