Tiller KingKutter customer service.

[rbg60]

I purchased a Kingkutter 84" tiller a few weeks back. I had a few questions on drive shaft length so I emailed them through their internet site. After 3 days with no reply I emailed them again with no reply. I then decide to try out my new tiller on last years garden. On the first pass I broke the rear yoke on the pto shaft. There are no roots or rocks in this garden. I then contacted them and they wanted to know my tractor model. Then they told be they would not honor warrantee because my tractor was too big. I read somewhere that they recommended 50-60 hp to operate this tiller. They also said it was a cat 2hitch heavy duty gearbox. My tractor is a case ih jx75. It puts out I beleive 62 pto hp. They told me there implements are sized by gross hp and not pto hp. They also told me their heavy duty 84" tiller has the same gearbox,45hp as their 5footer.

The person I talked to on the phone said maybe I should have contacted them before using it. I explained that I emailed them twice with no responce.His comment was don't you own a phone.I also asked what should I do with the tiller now and his comment was just sell it. I would rate Kingkutter's customer sevice as the worst company that I have ever dealt with. I kinda thought I was taking a chance when I seen the paint job but I have read some good reviews on their tillers. I now will avoid kingkutter implements all together and hope they change their advertizing agenda.

 

[Kubotafan]

I purchased a Kingkutter 84" tiller a few weeks back. I had a few questions on drive shaft length so I emailed them through their internet site. After 3 days with no reply I emailed them again with no reply. I then decide to try out my new tiller on last years garden. On the first pass I broke the rear yoke on the pto shaft. There are no roots or rocks in this garden. I then contacted them and they wanted to know my tractor model. Then they told be they would not honor warrantee because my tractor was too big. I read somewhere that they recommended 50-60 hp to operate this tiller. They also said it was a cat 2hitch heavy duty gearbox. My tractor is a case ih jx75. It puts out I beleive 62 pto hp. They told me there implements are sized by gross hp and not pto hp. They also told me their heavy duty 84" tiller has the same gearbox,45hp as their 5footer.

The person I talked to on the phone said maybe I should have contacted them before using it. I explained that I emailed them twice with no responce.His comment was don't you own a phone.I also asked what should I do with the tiller now and his comment was just sell it. I would rate Kingkutter's customer sevice as the worst company that I have ever dealt with. I kinda thought I was taking a chance when I seen the paint job but I have read some good reviews on their tillers. I now will avoid kingkutter implements all together and hope they change their advertizing agenda.

Your question to them was concerning drive shaft length and not hp rating. From what you posted it would indicate to me you knew you were over hp and were willing to take a gamble on it. When you lost, you are now blaming them. Have I miss understood you?

 

[rbg60]

I stand corrected. The required operating hp listed was 50-65. Having less than 65 pto hp I didn't feel like I was taking a chance. Not sure why they would use a 45 hp gearbox on a 84 " tiller if they werent taking a chance.

 

[nitroxn]

I have a 5' KK tiller, mine has a slip clutch mechanism built into the pto shaft. As long as the slipper isnt frozen and it is properly adjusted why would HP matter?

Could the driveshaft have broken from being to long? In other words it bottomed out?
Can you remove the driveshaft from your tractor without removing the tiller? If not it may be too long.

 

[sweettractors]

I have a 5' KK tiller, mine has a slip clutch mechanism built into the pto shaft. As long as the slipper isnt frozen and it is properly adjusted why would HP matter?

Could the driveshaft have broken from being to long? In other words it bottomed out?
Can you remove the driveshaft from your tractor without removing the tiller? If not it may be too long.

I go along with you on this. Ken Sweet

 

[Soundguy]

i too have seen driveline and pto bearing carrier damage with a long driveline.

i had to repair a jd tractor and repalce the bearing carrier and the ind clutch pack after a employee ran a tiller with too long a driveline and it bottomed. damaged the driveline as well.

I've found KK cust service to be fine and fast.

I've called them too.. wasn't an email.

 

[RAYJAY]

just my .02 I may be old but i like to talk to a person about a problem, you never know who is answering the e-mail , now if i need hard data they can e-mail me the specs.

jeff

 

[rbg60]

I checked the pto shaft and it was originally too short. It only had 3 inches over lapp in the down position. I then added a 4 inch extention to my tractor pto shaft to get the over lapp to 7 inches. King kutter recommends a 6 " minimal over lapp. The store that I purchased my tiller from is fixing tiller for free but couldnt understand why kk didnt stand behind their product. Hopefully it was just a bad yoke. The garden had been tilled the year before so it should have been an easy task. I do agree that the slip clutch should protect the pto shaft even at higher than recommended hp. Still not sure why kk would base their implements on gross hp instead of pto hp. I was surprised at how short the pto shaft was on this tiller. I think 20 ".Maybe since my tractor is a bigger frame with a short pto shaft the angle may be more severe.I will check this angle when I get the shaft replaced.

I still think kk should of stood behind their product. I talked to a local guy today that says he runs a kk tiller with 80 hp and never had a problem.

 

[sweettractors]

I checked the pto shaft and it was originally too short. It only had 3 inches over lapp in the down position. I then added a 4 inch extention to my tractor pto shaft to get the over lapp to 7 inches. King kutter recommends a 6 " minimal over lapp. The store that I purchased my tiller from is fixing tiller for free but couldnt understand why kk didnt stand behind their product. Hopefully it was just a bad yoke. The garden had been tilled the year before so it should have been an easy task. I do agree that the slip clutch should protect the pto shaft even at higher than recommended hp. Still not sure why kk would base their implements on gross hp instead of pto hp. I was surprised at how short the pto shaft was on this tiller. I think 20 ".Maybe since my tractor is a bigger frame with a short pto shaft the angle may be more severe.I will check this angle when I get the shaft replaced.

I still think kk should of stood behind their product. I talked to a local guy today that says he runs a kk tiller with 80 hp and never had a problem.

FWIW, From my experience, I would get rid of the pto extension asap and get the correct length shaft. The extensions always cause excessive vibration strain on the implement driveline, implement input shaft bearings and tractor pto bearings. Ken Sweet

 

[rekees4300]

After 3 days with no reply I emailed them again with no reply.

Been thinking about buying a Kingkutter slip scoop. Never owned any of their products but always had the impression they were top-notch company. Having second thoughts after your post. If there's one thing I can't stand its sending an email to a company through their website and they don't respond!

 

[Soundguy]

i've had a KK 30" scoop since oh.. 97 or so... it's paint's faded a lil now ( old red style paint )

past that. it's as solid as the day i got it. it's moved many yards of dirt. heck. i used it and a yanmar 1700 and an 8n with a 5' box blade to finish outthe back / side of my house pad where i live now.

 

[rbg60]

FWIW, From my experience, I would get rid of the pto extension asap and get the correct length shaft. The extensions always cause excessive vibration strain on the implement driveline, implement input shaft bearings and tractor pto bearings. Ken Sweet

Thanks for the advice Ken I do think the local store has longer shafts would I be better to go with heavier shaft since my warantee is no good anyways?

 

[Soundguy]

go with a shaft class rated for your intended pto load

 

[sweettractors]

Thanks for the advice Ken I do think the local store has longer shafts would I be better to go with heavier shaft since my warantee is no good anyways?

If your slip clutch is setup correctly, a series 4 or 5 metric shaft should be good. Ken Sweet

 

[yelbike]

From reading the reviews about the kk tiller, I got the impression that they weren't very good to deal with. I still bought mine as the reviews for the tiller itself were very good. I bought through TSC so I figured any problems would be dealt directly with them. I have the 5 foot one. no problem at all. I would guess its just a bad joint and a bad CSR. As soon they start asking the tractor details, you know where the are going with their line of questioning.

 

[rbg60]

. As soon they start asking the tractor details, you know where the are going with their line of questioning.[/QUOTE]

Thats funny! Thats exactly what I was thinking when he started asking questions. Should of lied I guess. I would at least felt a little better!

 

[mikehaugen]

Maybe they use engine hp because a lot (maybe the majority) of what they sell is rear-blades/ blox blades and subsoilers and stuff like that where pto hp doesn't matter. Easier to just standardize how they rate things, instead of "we'll use pto hp for mowers and tillers, but then engine hp for pulled implements." Stupid I know, but if they don't have competent customer service people, it would make it more idiot-proof.

I also believe that you were so close to the rating anyway, they shouldn't have made an issue of it.

 

[yelbike]

Idiot proof.....haha.....that's admitting they have idiots working for their own company.


Still good point and you maybe completely correct.

 

[rbg60]

I bought a longer pto shaft today and got rid of the pto extender. Made a few passes on the garden today and so far so good. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Kubotafan]

I bought a longer pto shaft today and got rid of the pto extender. Made a few passes on the garden today and so far so good. Thanks for all the help!

Glad it is working for you.