Tiller Need a Tiller

Alan L. · Jan 13, 2001

I have a couple of my 24 acres that I plan to till for a new "lawn". It is heavy clay that came out of the bottom of a newly dug tank and so I need to till some type of organic material into it.

I don't really want to spend more than $2K for a tiller for my 2710. A plumber friend of mine paid $1100 at tractor supply for a tiller (brand unknown) for his JD 4200 and seems to be happy with it.

My question is, what features do good quality tillers have versus "cheap" tillers in terms of holding up (and doing a good job too)? I would really like to find a good used tiller for a few hundred bucks, but maybe I'm dreaming.

RMulkey · Jan 13, 2001

Alan,

The things I looked for were:

1) Drive shaft that extends the entire lenght of the tiller for strength.
2) Heavy chain or gear side drive with weld plates on the covers for extended wear.
3) HD gearbox rated >=HP than your tractor.
4) Slip clutch on the drive line. (make sure you service the clutch by loosening it and slipping it a couple of times a year) .
5) Thick steel sheet metal construction. Tiller hit things and tend to wedge them inside the tiller.

I have a 60" Kubota tiller. Picture attached. Seems very well made. No problems so far with about 60hrs of use doing exactly what you are about to do...Hard clay with decomposed granite.

fyi// My local dealer sells used tillers that come back from harvest rental at ~25% off.

Thomas · Jan 13, 2001

Alan,
Tilling a couple of arces 2 or 3 times a years good size graden plot,and I'm sure there some good after market tillers out there.
My main concern would be getting parts a.s.a.p. where if you bought from a your dealer the parts should be on the shelf also the tiller matches your B2710.
For some unknown reason very seldom one comes arcoss tiller for sale {at least in this area} maybe if you visit your dealer and ask him to keep a eye open for a second had tiller or a trade.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird · Jan 13, 2001

Alan, I have a 40" Bush Hog that cost $1,300 5 years ago. The one I saw at Tractor Supply Co. was a King Kutter and the 60" one was $1,299. I got King Kutter's literature and it sure looks good to me, but I don't really know whether one is better than the other. I know the Bush Hog has sure taken a beating with no problems.

If you get a chance to go by some of the farm equipment auction places you might find a used one. You don't have to go to the auction, but can check to see beforehand whether they have any tillers. I've seen two or three on the lots that really looked badly abused or very old, but don't know what they sold for. However, last year a neighbor bought a ragged looking 60" tiller for $250, and all the stickers and/or labels that are still on it are in Japanese, so don't know who made it or where you could get parts if they're ever needed (he thinks it's a Yanmar), but he says it works great.

Bird

ERNIEB · Jan 13, 2001

Alan L., I don't have a tiller, but awhile back I was looking into them. At least in this area used ones are hard to find. I talked to one guy who had bought a used little known brand, and he told me he deeply regreted it. He had broken some of the tines, and could not find replacements.
One brand I looked at was land Pride, I don't recall the prices, but they have a nice web site. And get this, they even have the manuels on line, in Adobe format. Here is their linkhttp://www.landpride.com/lp/index.html good luck.

Ernie
"You can plainly see that the Alamo was never built by a military people for a fortress."
Green Jameson, Jan 1836 (in a letter to Sam Houston)

Kevin_mc · Jan 13, 2001

Alan, When I bought my tiller I made sure that I could easily find replacement tines in the correct style and size. Other than that the only other criteria was width of till.

Kevin Mc

jyoutz · Jan 13, 2001

I have a Woods brand 52" tiller and am very happy with the quality of it (very tough tines and gearbox). But they are not cheap-they run about $1900 new. I bought it used (2 years old) for $1000. After I bought it, I saw a new King Kutter for about $1100. They also seemed to be very heavy built, and it sure made me think that they would be worth looking into.

DDT · Jan 13, 2001

This is my thoughs. I have a landpride 1550. bought it used and it has tilled alot of ground. a set of tines last me about 1 year. I have rebuilt every thing needed over time on this tiller, I have not broke a shear bolt either. I just bought a new 4300 and I got a price for a new 2562 tiller. list cost is $3200- he want $2550 for a new one and will give me $965 that leave a difference of 1585. But mine is in good shape. What I'm trying to get at is a big name brand will hold some resale value. Good luck in your shearch.

DFB · Jan 13, 2001

Weight is important too. It helps keep a tiller from bouncing around. I've got a BUSHHOG RT50 that weighs 418 lbs. How much do some of the others weigh?

Bird · Jan 13, 2001

DFB, looks like you have the same thing I do; just wider. The manual shows all the RTS series; my RTS40 is 366 pounds, your RTS50 at 418 pounds, the RTS62 at 470, and the RTS74 at 525.

Bird