Tiller BX2350 and tiller, how big?

[aczlan]

My FIL has a 60" Kubota tiller on his B7510HST we have not had any problems with it in the power or the weight dept. the FEL on the front might be helping w/the wt part, dunno. however all of the tilling I have done with is was tilling the garden, no new areas yet.

Aaron Z

 

[davesalisbury]

Related question (changing the tractor slightly), and I have many, many options to think about. Apologies for length right up front - I'm hoping for a bit of clarity as too many options tends to turn into no action.

I have a BX2230. Kubota recommended implement weight/size for a tiller is 375lb/42in (although I've had at least 2 dealers ignore this when recommending a tiller to me). I'm going to be chewing up some old weedy sections of the property for seeding in grass (sometime before we get far into October at all) all told, about 2-3 acres. Soil is clay and it's pretty hard (just ask my loader and box blade), especially this time of year when it's pretty dry.

I'd like to stay in the $1500 range, but could go a touch higher for something extra (e.g. reverse-rotation - seems like a nice feature as I've seen my neighbor get pushed on occasion- btw the PTO shaft on his is a bit longer than mine or I'd just borrow/trade/barter). I was thinking go as wide as a 48 inches wide as long as the weight is no more than 25-50 pounds over recommended weight, but one option cropped up this AM (see list below). I admit a bit of a bias towards Woods as I have one of their loaders and I've done just EVIL things to it and it keeps coming back.

Options (so far) are:

1-Woods GTC40 - pros - Woods. Cons - not wide enough to cover wheel tracks. Price (if I go out of state and visit my wife's family to pick it up) $1200.

2-KK XB 48". Pros- pretty close on weight, covers rear tracks. Cons - KK looks OK, but my Woods bias might be showing - with a discount coupon from TSC, looking at $1180.

3-Woods GTC52 Reversable - pros - Woods, local dealer, definitely covers tracks. Cons - weight is (slightly) high, but within tolerance - same as KKXB basically. $1899 (definitely a premium for the Reverse rotation). This is the one that came up this AM - dealer has one in stock; to get next size down would actually INCREASE price.

4-KK (not the XB) - pros - local dealer, covers rear tracks. Cons - see above and that the thing (according to TSC) weighs 600 pounds (sort of blowing the 375 pound limit apart).

Advice and opinions much appreciated. Not fixated on Woods, but if it's within $200 for basically the same features my decision is made (oh for life to be that easy). At the end of the day, however, if this is the biggest problem I've got I'm pretty happy.

Dave

 

[santacruzer]

Dave,

I have been getting input from the people on this site which by the way, is loaded with good folks that have a lot of info based on experience. Thanks to all of them!!

So far I've been looking around and have found much the same as you. If you have a BX you're limilted in a way by weight hook ups etc.

I like the KK TC 48 XB with the exception that it is about 99% Chinese and I prefere not to trade with them for many reasons. The KK II TG 48 is 600 lbs but probably 99% American made...a little too heavy I think.

I did get a price from a Gearmore dealer for the B120 at 335lbs for $1700 which I might go with. $1700 is by far the cheapest I've seen a Gearmore. I
called the guy back just to be sure....$1700! $2080 has been the next best price.

A TSC store gave a price of $947 for the KK TC 48 XB. A Solex 50" was $1650
at a another dealer. Not sure about the weight or how it will work with the BX Serie

Most guys seem to prefere the 48". It sounds better to me because it covers the tracks and is a straight pull rather than an off-set at say 40". The idea of side torque to me on a small tractor does not appeal to me...but that's just me...a lot of people do it and love it.

Oh, and I talked to a Woods rep and he said the reverse till is a better till but on a BX with a 52" tiller he says it pushes the envelope.

A couple of old rules might apply here, the one that says "you usually get what you pay for" and the other is "buy once ...cry once".

My $.02 worth, good luck! Paul

 

[davesalisbury]

Hi all (especially Paul) - I concur with Paul on the kind and helpful nature of the site. My dissonance about a loader decision about a year and a half ago (has it been that long?) was eased greatly by this group.

As of the most recent interaction I've had on the GTC-52 (Reversable), I've heard this...

From a JD dealer - they would as a matter of routine put a GTC-52 Reversable on a JD 2035 or older JD2210. HP (both gross and at the PTO) is about the same as a BX2230; the lift capacity of the JD is bigger.

From a Kubota dealer - one is moving _toward_ the outer limit of the envelope with the GTC-52 Reversable, but isn't yet there. Direct quote - "You shouldn't have any problems". This salesperson farms and has always been pretty straightforward with me, even when it cost him a sale, so I'm pretty amenable to listening to his opinion.

Another Kubota dealer (who has a LandPride 42" reversable for sale) suggests that I'd be pushing it a bit with the GTC-52, but since that dealer doesn't sell Woods I don't know what the basis for the statement is.

What I'm drawing from all of this is that there's a bit of gray area. My only concern is a good tiller at a good price that'll do the job in as few passes as possible and not kill my tractor. I won't completely ignore the manual, but as I have told PhD students when they ask me about about stats (hey, it happens) - it's acceptable to violate the assumptions as long as you know what you're doing; just don't ***VIOLATE*** the assumptions (and definitely don't blame anybody else if it blows up in your face).

The search continues - I'm waiting for another quote on a GTC-52 from my Kubota dealer (the one I've worked with before). Sometimes price can be a compelling influence...

Still open to hear what others are thinking/doing/etc.

 

[bjr]

There could be a freight cost issue, but CCM might be a good source also. There Honest upfront people and probably give you good advice as well. I think they give good support for their products as well. bjr

 

[santacruzer]

bjr,
I would consider buying from CCM in a minute. But as you bring up...the freight's a killer. I believe that you live on the west coast so you know how bad we get hit with everything. They say gas is now approaching $3.85 as a national average. Where I live in CA it's been higher than that for the last 6 months or more...we're now paying over $4.00 since Ike!

This economy is really hurting a lot of people. Funny how the ship hit the sand in the last 8 years...well, 7 3/4 years.

Paul

 

[davesalisbury]

Hi all-

Thanks to everybody who weighed in on my recent tiller research. Things took a few twists as I gathered more information. For one, my usual guy did some additional research and revised his original position. BTW, this is why I tend to trust him - he doesn't stick to a position just to sell you something - he genuinely trys to put you in the right machine. More reasons to like the guy came when I found a price on the tiller I eventually bought that he couldn't match - he thanked me for calling and giving him the opportunity, and advised me to go get the other one.

I'll spare you the details, but tomorrow I'm picking up a Bush Hog RTC48. The reverse rotation was either too expensive (on the small tillers) or too much a load for my tractor (on the larger ones). Woods seems to go straight from 40 to 52 inches, so 48 didn't seem to be in play. Given that the price was not significantly different from the KK XB, I felt more comfortable with the Bush Hog. Since the dealer selling me the tiller is also a Kubota dealer, the tiller will start out orange (at least until I get some work done with it).

The tiller will be getting a baptism of fire tomorrow - my first task will be to chew up significant portions of 3 acres to make a good seed bed and hopefully get some decent grass growing in the back field - possibly to let a farmer bale next year, or at least not be the nasty woody-stemmed stuff we had this year. I'll also be using it to till up sections of the lawn that've stubbornly resisted grass (we built in 2005). The entire property was originally part of a cornfield before a local guy bought it and divided it up.

I'll send updates as I get some experience with the tiller.

Thanks again to all for the advice and commentary.

Dave