Tiller Trying to understand maximum HP for Tillers

alemanni · Mar 25, 2005

I am in the process of negotiating the purchase of a new JD 4720 tractor /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and am discovering the high prices being asked for any type of Tiller attachment /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. In looking at specifications for Tillers like JD's Frontier, Landpride, or KK II, I see that they show HP ranges or even a maximum HP. I was looking for a 48-55" Tiller to prepare rows in the field for grape vineyards leaving untilled aisles in between, but they all have HP ranges lower than the tractor I plan to get. Is there such a thing as having too much power when it comes to Tiller attachments?

HayDR · Mar 25, 2005

Many of the tillers sold in the USA are lighter versions of the European tillers used in Europe. The average USA tiller customer uses a tiller 2-4 hours a year. Hence you see many of the tillers sold in the USA with chain drive's and with lighter transmissions.
CCM has Commercial grade Gear drive tillers with a 60 HP transmission in the 48-58" range mentioned. Check the pricing out on our website. We ship Nationwide
Mark Carter

JackIL · Mar 25, 2005

Yes. The power rating on the gearbox should be at least a little bit higher than the tractor PTO horsepower. When using a tiller most of the engine power is going to the PTO and relatively little to powering the tractor itself.

Maybe you are just suffering from sticker shock. How much do you anticipate using the tiller? Is it only to prepare for the installation of the vinyard or will it be used to till between the rows after the grapes are established? If your need for tilling is only for the initial installation, maybe you could consider just hiring the work done.

JackIL

alemanni · Mar 25, 2005

I would probably only a few hours a years with it. I have 1.5-2 acres of vineyards already planted when I bought my 22 acre property. So I would probably be expanding this gradually over time. Perhaps renting is an option, but I saw discussions in another posting that renting is not necessarily cheap either. I would have to do the arithmetic and see what makes sense.

alemanni · Mar 25, 2005

I looked at your web site and your line of Tillers certainly seem to be reasonably priced. Are there any CCM distributorships in the Northeast area? I don't know how much it would be to ship to Pennsylvania.