Tiller Need suggestions for rotary tiller for Kubota 5040

leeinmemphis · May 2, 2006

Hey everyone,

I am taking delivery of a Kubota 4050 4x4 this week and am wanting to get a rotary tiller. I know this has been beat to death on here because I had read quite a bit of information on them. I have several small areas that I would like to put in some small food plots 1/3 acre-1/2acre and it doesn't allow for the turning radius needed for a disc. I have always been told that if I were to buy a tiller that one with a gear box will hold up better. I really do not want to spend a lot on the tiller if it isn't necessary because it is something that will likely only be used one or two days a year. We have good soil that has no rocks in it but I was wondering what everyone would suggest. My dealer is trying to sell me a brand that I have never heard of in a 6' unit. Will my tractor be capable of handling a 6' rotary tiller????? Also can you recommend whether I should go with a chain vs. gearbox unit? I have read a good amount of the King Kutters that TSC sells. I have one of those available locally but wouldn't mind spending a little bit more to have a better/different unit shipped in if necessary. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-lee-

Bird · May 2, 2006

Lee, first let me welcome you to Tractorbynet; glad to have you join us. As for tillers, some will swear the geared ones are "better" or "stronger" than the chain driven ones. I certainly won't dispute that; it just seems to me to be a logical conclusion. On the other hand, I had a 40" chain driven Bush Hog that was used frequently (on a Kubota B7100 and then a B2710), a cousin has a 62" chain driven Bush Hog (used on a New Holland TC29D) and it also seems a bit logical to think that the automatic tensioner on the chain can absorb a bit of shock if you hit something solid. And in spite of frequent use, I never had a problem with it and nothing ever broke. One other point is that, while I may have overlooked something, I don't recall anyone posting messages who was unhappy with whichever tiller they bought.

As for size . . ., the 5040 is a new one to me so I'm not sure how wide the outer edge of the rear tires are, but I'd sure prefer a tiller that was wider than that so it would cover both tracks, so I've no doubt that a 5040 would handle a 6' tiller.

DirtHauler · May 3, 2006

When I went looking for a tiller, I looked at and compared so many that I got dizzy!! All where chain drive, four blades per flange, some had "optional" six (more money). The "cheapest" ($1,900) looked like it was stamped metal, no side plates and the tail gate was like tin!
So remembering my bicycle days and always dealing with stretched or broken chains, I bought an 47" gear drive from CCM last year when I had the smaller tractor. This year I got a bigger tractor. My track width is 60" side wall to side wall, so I just sold the 47" and bought a new 66" from CCM, even with the shipping to CA., it still was less than the "cheap" stamped metal chain drive one I could have got localy!
The gear drive runs so smooth and quite and leaves such a nice texture to the soil (customers love it). One day while tillin' a yard, I hit something that made alot bangin' the tiller stopped, the "rachet" clutch was a clickin. I shut every thing down, looked under the tiller and found an old tire iron wrapped around the tines and the spool!! Got it pulled out, checked for damage.......none, not even a bent tine, and I was running at full PTO speed! Now would a chain drive have survived this? I don't know. But check out what CCM has to offer and compare.

bjr · May 3, 2006

lee

One of the point on tiller discussion I've not seen is the difference of tine styles. I recently converted an 5' old grey markent imported chain drive tiller. The original tine mounting was a rectangular tube with one 7/16" bolt to hold the shank. The tine could move some in the tube and would eventually wear and get very sloppy. The tine would bend or break or bolt would shear allowing the tine to fall off. Replacement tines were expensive if you could even find a vender. I built a new shaft and welded flanges on to take the KingKutter blades. Each blade is a lot wider than the original and is held on with two 9/16" bolts and so far everything stays on and it does a great job of tilling. I had to make entirely new 3 pt mounts and new slip clutch with a longer PTO drive shaft. The end result has been a good tiller but there was a lot of money a and labor put into the project. bjr

leeinmemphis · May 3, 2006

Thanks for the info everyone. I saw someone had posted a link to CCM and I looked at those units. They appear to be made in Tn. on the other end of the state. I am going to do a little more research on their products but that may be the solution that I need to look into more. Thanks again!

KiotiJohn · May 3, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I saw someone had posted a link to CCM and I looked at those units. They appear to be made in Tn. )</font>
They are made in Turkey, and are apparently very good tillers. Gear drive rather than chain drive, and I understand the advantages are: no need to tension the chain often, require less HP to operate. There may be other advantages as well.
John

milkman · May 3, 2006

I have an Extra Heavy 48 in. tiller that is chain drive and has 4 tines per flange, so I won't get into which is better, chain or gear, but my neighbor just bought a 60 in. King Kutter from TSC last year that is gear drive and it has 6 tines per flange. I have used both of these tillers on my tractor in the same soil, and the gear drive 6 tine 60 in. tiller doesn't pull any harder than my 48 in. 4 tine. One thing that is really obvious, working in the same soil with both tillers is the condition of the soil after one pass, the soil behind the 6 tine tiller after one pass is as fine as the soil behind the 4 tine after two passes. Conclusion, if I were to buy a tiller again, knowing what I know now, it would have 6 tines per flange period. I have no preference as to gear or chain drive as long as there is a slip clutch on the drive shaft. I'm off the soapbox. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

tkcomer · May 3, 2006

Here are some pics of my CCM 66” tiller behind my DX-33: http://www.pixagogo.com/7000025205 It does a great job. I got the 66” model as my tractor is 62” wide. It seems all the others for my tractor seemed to be 60” or 72”. These pics were taken in a field that had been in a drought for months. I had just gotten the tiller and was trying it out. The ground was very hard and dry. In one pic, you can see how nice a job it did in the background. I did that the day before and the grass had dried so you can see what a fine job it did. I love my CCM tiller and the tractor handles it with no problems. And the price was right.