Tiller Tiller Rental Fees, OUCH!!!

[chriswheeler]

I was passively looking for a used one when I ran into the one I bought for $100 and fixed. 8 hours of labor later I had a working Howard HR-8 a little less than 5' wide. Guess it was a fluke I ran into this one but I would have paid $500 for a good used one at the time. I bet that going to auctions and farm sales you would find a used one in that range at the right sale. $500 would 5 rentals or so. For what I paid I don't mind it sitting outside rusting for most of the year. Would have to be using a tiller many hours per year to justify the price of a new one in the $1500 range.
Chris

 

[_RaT_]

"The other thing to balance is that if every time you call up the place, all their stuff is "out", you won't call back."

Rick, that certainly has some merit to it but I have found that when it comes to renting a trencher like a Ditchwitch or Vermeer and it's a nice spring weekend, your going to run into that here frequently. I now typically go to one rental yard and only rent from them because they will have a trencher well worth renting, good chain, good tires etc. I think others know this as well. It really takes a lot any more for me to trench by hand, even 20'
The last time I rented a trencher, I was the first to use it. It was so new that the kid renting it out to me was unaware why there were screws in all 3 tires. Each had two and he figured it must have run over them. They were simply where the foam was injected and where air escaped. The machine worked well. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[chriswheeler]

The people who are importing the gray market tractors are getting tillers included for a little more than the shipping costs. Shipping costs for that distance can't be cheap though. I'm not talking about the dealer here, I'm talking about the importer. Some dealers will have them around that they got with tractors and didn't sell with them. If I was actively looking for a good used heavy duty tiller, I'd start there. Had a couple I looked at priced at $500-600 a year ago when I bought the tractor. Be carefull, these are used tillers, make sure the tines are all there, all parts, and in good condition. About 1/3 of the pile I looked at were in some state of disassembly being repaired. Most tractors in Japan are hooked up to a tiller that is used twice a year. Specialty items like trenchers are almost a have to rent item unless you are a contractor. For a home owner tiller for a garden is easier to justify.
Chris