Tiller Reverse or Forward Tine Tiller ?

madhatter · May 13, 2008

Hi,

I am buying a new Landpride tiller in the next day or so. I have the option of the 50" forward RTA1050 or 50" reverse RTR05 tiller. I will be tilling garden and some sod but mostly areas that have been cleared of brush, so there will be some small roots etc... Which tiller should I go with ? The reverse tiller is lighter than the forward as well, not sure why. Will the reverse tiller get plugged with roots or will it clear them ???

Any advice would be great.

vallyfarm · May 13, 2008

Rocks, sod, roots all point towards a foward tine tiller. A reverse tine gives a better, smoother job, but can really do a number on the tiller and the tractor if it is pulling through tough stuff and bucking on the tractor. The foward tine tiller can ride up and over obsticals that a reverse tine will sit on and beat on until something gives. Mike

madhatter · May 13, 2008

vallyfarm said:
Rocks, sod, roots all point towards a foward tine tiller. A reverse tine gives a better, smoother job, but can really do a number on the tiller and the tractor if it is pulling through tough stuff and bucking on the tractor. The foward tine tiller can ride up and over obsticals that a reverse tine will sit on and beat on until something gives. Mike

Ya the more I think about it, the more I should maybe get a forward tiller. My dealer keeps trying to convince me to go reverse, saying it will bury rocks,roots, etc... but would roots and rocks possibly get stuck in the tiller ? Where as the forward would maybe spit them out the back ? Although I guess a forward could push the tractorin hard soil... ? I dunno

rayh76 · May 13, 2008

What kind of horsepower do you have at your PTO? I have a LP RTR2072. I have had it one year and love it. It is a reverse tine, 20 series (heavier built for my 40 HP tractor), and 6 ft wide. It is a monster. As I have said recently in another thread, I tilled up my corn stalks with ease after the picking was complete. I did get some wrap around the tines but I just ran the tiller at a fast speed when out of the dirt and spun them off. Also, if you get the reverse, I believe with mine, you can convert it to a forward with some work. Need to reverse all the tines, and flip the gear box over if I remember right.

rayh76 · May 13, 2008

I would guess that the 5 series is lighter duty than the 10 series. The reason for the lighter weight. I would compare the 10 series RTA vs the RTR.

madhatter · May 13, 2008

rayh76 said:
What kind of horsepower do you have at your PTO? I have a LP RTR2072. I have had it one year and love it. It is a reverse tine, 20 series (heavier built for my 40 HP tractor), and 6 ft wide. It is a monster. As I have said recently in another thread, I tilled up my corn stalks with ease after the picking was complete. I did get some wrap around the tines but I just ran the tiller at a fast speed when out of the dirt and spun them off. Also, if you get the reverse, I believe with mine, you can convert it to a forward with some work. Need to reverse all the tines, and flip the gear box over if I remember right.

It's a Massey 2310. About 24hp, 19 at the pto. I hear the reverse till indeed work well, just worried about the roots and rocks....

rayh76 · May 13, 2008

madhatter said:
It's a Massey 2310. About 24hp, 19 at the pto. I hear the reverse till indeed work well, just worried about the roots and rocks....

Whichever one you get, get a slipclutch so you won't have to worry about the rocks.

bigtiller · May 13, 2008

madhatter said:
It's a Massey 2310. About 24hp, 19 at the pto. I hear the reverse till indeed work well, just worried about the roots and rocks....

I have the reverse tine Land Pride tiller you are talking about and I also had a JD 450 tiller. The RTR will be more of a problem with rocks than with a forward tine tiller but the RTR will work MUCH better in small roots and sod. But, if you keep an eye on the tines and remove the rocks as the tines kick them up then you will be fine. The RTR roles them up in front with little problem. The forward tine tillers beat on the rock while climbing over it until it can spit it out the back all-the-while the tiller is jumping up and down.

jinjimbob · May 14, 2008

Just got a RTR1050, a 50" reverse tiller, (a high $1900, more for orange), for a B2320, haven't used it yet. I got it for rocky ground, rocks smaller than a baseball (I hope!).

Did you watch the videos here? LP Media Library
I know they are biased.

ronjhall · May 14, 2008

My reverse tine tiller works good on roots that are under 2". Rocks are a different story. There is a chance rocks larger than a soft ball can get caught between the tines and top of tiller. Tiller will stall when this happens. A good slip clutch is needed.

jbrumberg · May 14, 2008

I live in the NE with rocky, heavy, clay based soil. I use/used my tillers to break virgin sod as well as create and maintain garden areas. I have only owned forward rotation tillers (Woods T42, CCM M-160), but I put some "thought" into the CCM purchase as it related to forward vs. reverse rotation tillers:

Foward Rotation- bounce you forward over immovable objects , throw rocks away from tiller, "push"/"paddlewheel" you forward through heavy material, "works" in tractor's direction.

Reverse Rotation- pulverizes soil finer, mixes soil better, would probably work much better in established gardens.
I will add: works against tractor.

I "theorized" that the Reverse Rotation tillers would tend to jamb on bigger rocks as they tend to be thrown up and forward causing the rocks to jam up in the tiller housing and would not bounce (but jam) when "interacting" with immovable objects.

With your PTO HP I would go with a forward rotation tiller.

Jay

madhatter · May 14, 2008

Thanks for everyones advice, now I REALLY don't know what to do !

Both sides have + / -'s problem with buying a tiller, can't really take it back if you are un happy ! I don't expect my roots will be any larger than 2". And who knows about rocks, most are under the dirt so you won't know till you till.

With small roots... does the tiller just bury them or spit them out ????

Rara Avis · May 14, 2008

Buy one of each...

If your soil is not completely rockbound go with the reverse tine tiller...it takes fewer cycles for that completely pulverized soil...

As long as you have excellent ear protection, you won't hear the stones rattling around in the tiller...BUT you will feel it...

jinjimbob · May 15, 2008

I used the reverse tiller today on soil that had never been tilled.

It only too 10 minutes to jam it, with a small section of branch, 5 inches thick, 2 foot long. The clutch slipped for a second and before I had chance to do anything, the engine died. I will see how to get that branch out in a day or so.

Question, when tilling with a Kubota B2320, what position should the rear pto lower/raise lever be in, the middle or at the bottom? If I have it at the middle, the tiller raises up. Just learning the ropes.

EastTexFrank · May 16, 2008

I run a Kuhn 52" forward tine tiller behind my B2400. For me, the reverse tine tillers are the way to go if you are buying a walk behind because they won't beat you to death to the same extent. If you are putting it behind a tractor then a forward tine tiller isn't going to throw or drag you around. It'll handle rocks better and to be honest, I've never seen that much difference in the so called quality of the "seed bed preperation" between the two, at least not on my ground. I'd get the forward tine tiller and save a few bucks.

I put the PTO lever all the way down into the float position and let the skids on the tiller control the depth of the tines.

Rara Avis · May 16, 2008

jinjimbob said:
I used the reverse tiller today on soil that had never been tilled.

It only too 10 minutes to jam it, with a small section of branch, 5 inches thick, 2 foot long. The clutch slipped for a second and before I had chance to do anything, the engine died. I will see how to get that branch out in a day or so.

Question, when tilling with a Kubota B2320, what position should the rear pto lower/raise lever be in, the middle or at the bottom? If I have it at the middle, the tiller raises up. Just learning the ropes.

23HP is that engine or PTO?

Also, never ever tilled soil...you might want to take it a little slower...like start with a proposed depth of 4 inches and then go back for another pass...

madhatter · May 18, 2008

Bought a LandPride RTA1050. $1700.00 which is a good price in Canada. I think the forward tilling is more suitable for my conditions of roots and a few rocks.... we will see. Thanks to all who gave advice !

madhatter · Jun 6, 2008

Just to let everone know, I received my tiller ( although it came Kabota orange, oh well, matches the Massey forward/reverse handles which are orange lol ... and the dealer gave me 200 bucks off ! )

anyway.... my fears are settled, the tiller is very tough and strong. Tilled a patch that I removed trees from, kept the tiller sheild high, and it either spit out the root or just chewed it up. Rocks are the same, it just spit is out the back, can't imagine if it was a reverse tine. I know the reverse tine has it's place, but in my yard, normal tine tilling is the best. On another note, the Landpride 1050 seems very strong, I requested a shear bolt as I think a slip clutch does work, BUT has to be maintained or it can take out our tractor or tiller, a bolt will always break and is minor to replace. Although, for what have have tilled thus far, I have yet to break the bolt.

The only drawback I had, was the pto shaft, I had to cut it ( 6 inches total ! ) and taking off the shield and putting it back on is very confusing and a pain. But over all VERY happy with the tiller and the job it does ! So to all that have fears of a reverse tine with roots/rocks, go with a forward tiller. If you HAVE to reverse till, take it easy and go in reverse seems to do the same job, although the manual says not to.