Tiller Tiller Storage & Mounting

[oldballs]

This my first experience with a PTO tiller. I find it an unwieldy piece of equipment to manage. My questions are:

1. It came with the skid shoes on a low setting such that it sets on its row of tines. It seems to me that it should be setting on its skid shoes when stored, viz. with the tines not carrying any weight.

2. It seems like it could flop over backwards even with the stand down, if some kids were fooling around on it....kinda like parking a marble.

3. Do you move it from the storage area to a mounting area when you are ready to use it? So far I've moved it around with the Boom Pole to get aquainted with it and check it out. That's how I got it off my truck.

4. Since it is a chain drive, a lot of the weight is on one side such that it hangs all cockeyed when lifted by it center mount. And this thing is darned heavy (Land Pride RTA 1250). I'm over 80, 150 lbs and live by myself...with a sore knee to boot....BOO HOO.

 

[Ted Summey]

The tines should support the tiller just fine. The alternative would be to raise and lower the skids when you use the tiller. I suspect if the skids are all the way down the tiller will be more apt to turn over. My 72" tiller is abit unstable too. The best solution is to make sure the rear plate is let down all the way. Mine has a hook and chain to adjust the rear plate. I just leave it down all the time because it with throw rocks otherwise.

I try to unhitch my tiller on level ground.

 

[spruce Deere]

I see newer 3pt tillers have a nifty little 'leg' mounted to the side of them like on the king kutters that swing down keep the tiller from rolling over onto its face when park without a tractor to hold it up.... Novel idea

For non-face plant parking of my FAR from new tiller, I have cut some wood blocks that fit under the skid shoes on both sides to keep the tiller upright and no falling forward.... The backward rocking motion is stopped by the gate on the tiller.

When done with the tiller at the end of season or just needing the back of the tractor for someth'n elts, it has its own park/storage spot in the dirt floor shed where I back the tractor into and that's where the tiller stays till it needs hooked up again.

All of my p.t.o powered implements ether have a roof over them or fancy cut plastic buckets fitted over gear boxes and such..... Seen to many gear boxes some of my own, be infiltrated by water after weathering winters and heavy rains outside.

 

[Wagtail]

Good advice... I have a new 655 tiller arriving next week. Took a look at it via the interwebs and it's much like what spruce Deere says in his first paragraph. I'll take note of the gate position for when I park it.

Ta.

 

[oldballs]

Thanks, Y'all. Got some thinkin' to do based on your experiences.
Cheers, Mike.

 

[leonz]

Thanks, Y'all. Got some thinkin' to do based on your experiences.
Cheers, Mike.

You should do the same thing that several flail mowers do with thier mowers which is
build a rectangular frame out of 4 by 4's and corner connectors and add 4 heavy duty pneumatic
casters from Caster City - Contact Us for Casters and Caster Wheels


and out of the way when your done with it.

 

[ronjhall]

If you have a solid surface to store your tiller on. Consider making a dolly to store it on.
Here is a thread about them.
Dolly to move a tiller

 

[Western]

Mine has the "kick-leg" so it balances very well. Important thing is if it is level ground for tiller and tractor when connect/disconnecting, makes it allot easier.

I have had two PTO tillers, the older one seemed to always sit on the blades, but never seemed to be a problem other than it was hard at times to line up the PTO teeth without 1st hooking the 3 point and raising it off the ground so the gear would turn.

 

[Baby Grand]

<snip>

For non-face plant parking of my FAR from new tiller, I have cut some wood blocks that fit under the skid shoes on both sides to keep the tiller upright and no falling forward.... The backward rocking motion is stopped by the gate on the tiller.

<snip>

I've been doing the same with a pair of cinderblocks. Allows me to turn the spool so I can rotate the PTO shaft into alignment with the tractor's spline and slide it on without "language".

 

[Gem99ultra]

I also have a Land Pride tiller, one size larger, and have the same dilemma. You can forget about the dinky support leg that comes with it. It'll bend in the blink of your eye unless it's perfectly straight.

I made a dolly for mine and throw a couple of light weight straps over the tiller to the dolly. Since mine sits outside, I also keep a tarp over it; helps to protect it some, but also keeps kids from wanting to explore. I'd hate to see it roll over on some little kids hand...

Those babies, as much as I love 'em, are a handful to move around and hook up, even for a 'young man' as I am at 72. At 80++, I would expect that you'll be using machine power to mount just about everything, or it doesn't get mounted My hat's off to you, sir.

 

[yelbike]

I've been doing the same with a pair of cinderblocks. Allows me to turn the spool so I can rotate the PTO shaft into alignment with the tractor's spline and slide it on without "language".

I slip my tractor into mid PTO only, which disconnects the rear PTO. Than the PTO spins freely and makes the job of connecting the PTO way easier.

 

[bigtiller]

This my first experience with a PTO tiller. I find it an unwieldy piece of equipment to manage. My questions are:

1. It came with the skid shoes on a low setting such that it sets on its row of tines. It seems to me that it should be setting on its skid shoes when stored, viz. with the tines not carrying any weight.

2. It seems like it could flop over backwards even with the stand down, if some kids were fooling around on it....kinda like parking a marble.

3. Do you move it from the storage area to a mounting area when you are ready to use it? So far I've moved it around with the Boom Pole to get aquainted with it and check it out. That's how I got it off my truck.

4. Since it is a chain drive, a lot of the weight is on one side such that it hangs all cockeyed when lifted by it center mount. And this thing is darned heavy (Land Pride RTA 1250). I'm over 80, 150 lbs and live by myself...with a sore knee to boot....BOO HOO.

I've had land pride tillers for several years. First was an RTR1050 and now a RTR1558. I've found the safest way to store them is to set the shoes at the deepest setting for tilling and then set it on some short 4x4's with the kick-stand set so the tiller is level when parked. It will be solid as a rock this way, kids can't "accidently" knock it over, and the tines are not on the ground.

I keep my RTR 1558 parked where the tractor can easly get to it for installing and removing. It's too dang heavy for me to be pushing around. I think if I made a parking stand with wheels for it, that would raise it up too high making the geomitry off enough that it would take some extra fiddeling to install/remove from the quick hitch.

 

[TerryR]

Here's the dolly I built for mine.



The side rails are set to catch the skid shoes and hold the tiller just high enough to clear the ground. Mine has a jack stand as you can see, but I find it's pretty stable in the dolly without using it.

Terry

 

[oldballs]

Yesterday I tried every way to jack up the tiller to finish my inspection, servicing and adjusting the slip clutch springs. With a farm jack and a chain strategically located I finally got it up on each end to place some 4 x 6 blocks under each end. But even that was frustrating due to the shape etc. of it.

Thanks for your replies. It looks like I'll be using a combination of your ideas. And from here on, it seems like the best way to move or service the tiller is to use the three point to lift/move it. Storage will be on the wood blocks plus a bucket thingy plus tarp. I'm running out of time/determination/money to build a decent place to store all the tractor stuff under cover, but a flat place with gravel has worked pretty good so far. Now.......after months and months of drought, it won't stop snowing/raining long enough to till anyway.

 

[radioman]

I too have a kickstand and the tines sets on the ground. I made a c "wrap around" wood platform for the skids to sit on so tines of off the ground so the metal is not in contact with dirt all the time away from moisture.

 

[DJ54]

We worked on the property of a fellow a few years ago that stored his heavier implements such as the tiller on car tow dollies. He was in his mid 60's and average shape. He could pick up the tongue of the dollie, and wheel it right up behind the tractor to mount whatever, instead of the other way around. Pretty slick. But..., he had a new all concrete floor in his huge old barn. Brand new McCormick, I'm guessing 60-65 hp tractor, and more than several new attachments.

And..., he had just sold his business the summer before for several million dollars, and I'm guessing he needed some writeoffs...