Small tiller on 42hp tractor?

[Boondox]

Silly question. Is there any reason a large frame tractor like my John Deere 4044R which is 80 across shouldn稚 use a tiller narrower than it can handle? Our garden uses beds 48 wide with walkways between each row. Straddling each row while tilling the good soil (with tires on the walkway) would make life much easier.

Or would a large tractor put too much stress on a small tiller..?

Pete

 

[Sawyer Rob]

IF the soil tills easy, there's no more stress on the tiller from one tractor to another... Hit some rocks or trash, and that's where the fun begins.

Having said that, better brands of tillers make tillers wider and narrower, with the same size gear box. For instance, you can get a tiller with a 40hp gear box in several different widths..

SR

 

[CalG]

Silly question. Is there any reason a large frame tractor like my John Deere 4044R which is 80 across shouldn稚 use a tiller narrower than it can handle? Our garden uses beds 48 wide with walkways between each row. Straddling each row while tilling the good soil (with tires on the walkway) would make life much easier.

Or would a large tractor put too much stress on a small tiller..?

Pete

Fit the driving pto shaft with a spring type friction overload coupling. Back off on the spring compression screws "just enough". I would do the same for a "full width" tiller. The loads can vary so much!

 

[goeduck]

If I understand your situation, you are not worried about soil compaction since the tires effectively will be on the walkways. As long as the tiller is rated at the HP of the tractor there should never be a concern. If it is rated less, as mentioned previously by Sawyer Rob, that is when things go south IF you jam up the tiller and IF your slip clutch or shear bolt does not protect you. If it is a shear bolt, make sure it is truly a shear bolt, not a hardened bolt. If it has a slip clutch, hopefully it has been used enough to keep it in slip (if needed) condition (not frozen).

 

[seville009]

I ran a 48” tiller on my MF1540; never an issue

 

[nybirdman]

I run a 62" tiller on a 44 H.P tractor ,no problem;just make sure the slip clutch is working.

 

[bigtiller]

Cut the RPM's down a bit so you are not delivering full horse power to the tiller.