Let's talk tillers

[hickslawns]

Guys, I am considering upgrading my 3pt tiller. Looking at a 6' model. Prices are all over the board. I believe I would be fine no matter which one I get. They all "look" pretty equal. I was hoping you guys might be able to shed some light on the differences for me. Right now, the King Kutter looks to be about as good as any of them for the money. I am not sure if it has a reversing feature though. Couldn't find anything online about the specs. Anyone have a King Kutter out there? Can you run the tines either way? Anyone have any other suggestions on tillers I should consider?

 

[giles]

6' tiller?! Wow, at what point do you consider real farm equipment to do the job? That seems excessive to me.

 

[hickslawns]

6' tiller?! Wow, at what point do you consider real farm equipment to do the job? That seems excessive to me.

I have small farm equipment. Sometimes a guy is needing to work a compact area with minimal room to maneuver equipment. Price difference between 4-5-6' tiller is negligible. Why not cover the tractors tire path?

Don't you have some bear ears to tag or something? Lol

 

[giles]

Lol

 

[at1010]

I have a 5 foot, king cutter I believe. I honestly should know but I am forgetting right now.

Mine is a reverse tine, and no I cannot change the rotation bud. Im unaware of any tiller you can change.

If you are wanting food plots and gardens everyone has always recommended reverse tine to me as it tills "better".

 

[Bigslam51]

I have a 5 foot, king cutter I believe. I honestly should know but I am forgetting right now.

Mine is a reverse tine, and no I cannot change the rotation bud. Im unaware of any tiller you can change.

If you are wanting food plots and gardens everyone has always recommended reverse tine to me as it tills "better".

This is on a scale way smaller than a 3 point tiller but the cub cadet tiller I bought last year has reverse tines and it tears shit up. Gets the ground worked up real fast.

 

[at1010]

o no doubt about it bud, I think mine works fantastic! Tilled, and packed below! Don't get much prettier!

 

[Beentown]

We have a 6' Land Pride and it does awesome. The biggest issue I see is having too small of a tractor (weight). Our 40hp does just fine with the tiller but I wouldn't wanna run it with one of the light 28hp Kubotas with it on "new" ground.

Saw a dude doing just that and the tractor was bouncing horribly. Too much bite for the weight.

 

[at1010]

We have a 6' Land Pride and it does awesome. The biggest issue I see is having too small of a tractor (weight). Our 40hp does just fine with the tiller but I wouldn't wanna run it with one of the light 28hp Kubotas with it on "new" ground.

Saw a dude doing just that and the tractor was bouncing horribly. Too much bite for the weight.

good point, I am running mine off a 38hp kubota. Runs just fine.

 

[hickslawns]

I have a 43hp Kubota. Decently heavy with decent wheelbase (not too short). The King Kutter website says tines rotate the same direction as tires. Guess maybe I DON'T need/want reverse tine?

 

[at1010]

I actually have a land pride. Not kk

 

[bowhunter1023]

Dad bought a 6' for his 55 hp Kubota. On virgin ground, a 6' might be a little much for 43 hp, but it'll work it up with a little effort. I think ours is a King Kutter or a Country Line. Have to check.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I have a 43hp Kubota. Decently heavy with decent wheelbase (not too short). The King Kutter website says tines rotate the same direction as tires. Guess maybe I DON'T need/want reverse tine?

Reverse tine is not needed on that size of tiller with that much hp behind it IMO. That's more suited for a walk behind.

 

[hickslawns]

Dad bought a 6' for his 55 hp Kubota. On virgin ground, a 6' might be a little much for 43 hp, but it'll work it up with a little effort. I think ours is a King Kutter or a Country Line. Have to check.

On virgin ground, I could always take smaller bites or use my disk first.

It was actually a QDMA forum where I read about the reverse tine helping it to bite in rather than bounce around.

Mine has some tines removed. I think it is time to get some replacement tines and do some minor repairs on mine. Dropping a few hundred on the one I have might be a better choice than dropping $1500+ on a new one. Mine is only 5' though and is offset. It leaves me constantly adjusting because on some passes one tire is in tilled ground and one rear tire is on higher untilled ground. I need to do some tinkering.

 

[jagermeister]

I would say get whichever tiller will best suit the horsepower rating of your tractor. An extra 2 ft of width is worthless if you have to go 30% slower or make extra passes.

KK and Land Pride are IMO low grade tillers but will do the job if you're just talking about limited use. Kuhn makes some really good tillers... But you're going to pay more for one.

Also if possible, look for a tiller with different tine options. Straight tines won't compact the soil as badly as right-angle tines.

 

[Milo]

Tillers are fine but I recommend you have a plowing option every 3rd year

 

[Beentown]

Small plows are cheap at consignment sales.

I haven't had to plow in years unless breaking virgin ground. Our tiller goes about as deep as a plow once you remove the skids. Plows are better at getting residue turned over though.

I like to plow anything I till a few weeks before hand if possible.

 

[Beentown]

I would say get whichever tiller will best suit the horsepower rating of your tractor. An extra 2 ft of width is worthless if you have to go 30% slower or make extra passes.

KK and Land Pride are IMO low grade tillers but will do the job if you're just talking about limited use. Kuhn makes some really good tillers... But you're going to pay more for one.

Also if possible, look for a tiller with different tine options. Straight tines won't compact the soil as badly as right-angle tines.

I wouldn't consider a Land Pride as an occasional unit. We had a Woods before it and the LP is nicer in about every way. A LP is almost twice the cost of King Kutter. A 72" unit is around $4k.

 

[hickslawns]

I don't have a plow. Probably should snag one. A 2 shovel is probably all I could pull. With turf tires, a 2 bottom or 2 shovel (really not sure what the correct terminology is) might be too much. My disk does pretty good but really only turns a few inches at best. Seems like it just gets thru the sod.

I could justify spending a little bit more because we will use it on top soil piles as well, but I doubt we would use it much for this. With a couple backhoes to break it up, skid loader attachments for this, and a top soil screener. . . .I just don't see me eating dust on the open cab tractor or wearing it out for this process. I believe our current process for pulverizing top soil will be more efficient. That screener is slick.

Maybe I should back up: This will be used for our garden and occasional food plots. My plots are small when I do them. Fractions of an acre at a time. 1/10th or 1/8th acre areas is about it.

 

[Milo]

You need to plow so you don't develop hard pan. That's where the tiller bounces of the bottom and shears/seals the clay and it won't drain and the roots run out growing room because they can't penetrate the hard pan. That envelope that you tiller will get smaller and smaller as you lose soul due to erosion and plant roots.