Rear Tine Tillers

[phrogpharmer]

My old front tine tiller is proving to be too much of a workout for me this year.
I have looked at several brands of rear tine tillers such as Troy Bilt and Craftsman both of which appear to be tinny and cheaply made. The Honda tillers look well built but are pretty spendy.
I have found an Ardisam "EARTHQUAKE" front tine tiller at Home Depot that looks fairly stout and sturdy. The Ardisam company is in Wisconsin and it says "assembled in USA". Does anyone at HT have any experience with Ardisam tillers?
Does anybody have any recommendations on other brands?
Phrogpharmer

[knight88]

Never heard of them, but my recommendation is stick with a rear tine machine, front tines beat you to death...

[blue gecko]

When you go looking be sure to push different tillers around and little and turn them just like you do in the garden. I had a front tine tiller for years and then I bought a rear tine tiller. I've got to say that the rear tine is a lot harder to turn and move around in the garden at least for me. I hate to say it with all the raves about how much better rear tine tillers are but I miss my front tine.

I would think that alot of it would depend on your soil type and terrain too. I've got good soil in one garden and soso soil (a work in progress) in the other.

[uyk7]

Just bought the Earthquake but haven't put it together yet. For the last 4 years I have been using a Ryobi cultivator so this will be a big change. Hopefully it will last awhile.

[mdharris68]

I have used both, and I would say find a good used older one that is made with heavier steel. I used to have an old Craftsman 8 horsepower front tine that would dig a hole to China. I killed it though because I neglected the engine. Now I have a Troybuilt Econohorse reartine that is probably 20 years old and it tills smooth as silk. 180.00 for the two over 6 years. I don't know what the new ones cost but there are a lot of good unused ones out there if you can just look real hard and be patient. I've had a Ariens 8 horse reartine that was hard to turn and borrowed my step dads newer Craftsman (2002 model) reartine and it was awkward and low power. Just thought I'de give you something to think about. Try before you buy is probably your best bet.

[Oldcountryboy]

I've been pondering on a front tine tiller also. I have looked at the Earthquake tiller too and wonder how well it is. It looks like a tough little tiller for gardening but wonder how long the engine holds up.

Last year I bought a 3-point roto tiller for a tractor to break my garden spots up. I'm hoping I can get by with a front tine tiller once the ground is broke up with the roto tiller. I'm hoping I wont have the need for a rear tine tiller anymore.

[hotzcatz]

So far this year we have rescued five tillers on their way to the dump. The little Mantis was easy to resuscitate, one of the larger red 5 HP front tine tillers was fixed the other one is still waiting. The old Craftsman 8 HP tiller came back to life and is out working in the garden, the older red rear tine tiller is still waiting for a shroud and a belt. All of these tillers were either on their way to the dump or already at the dump, I have no idea why everyone has been throwing them away but you might check with where ever folks take old stuff to see if there are any fixable ones there. The Craftsman didn't need much other than new tires and a new pull cord and it works great. The red front tine was a demon for digging but rather wild so we gave it to someone young and muscular. The Mantis went to someone older who will appreciate it and we've kept the Craftsman.

[cowkeeper]

Troybilt tinny??! I've got a horse model I bought new in around 1984 and she's still going strong. Does the job in heavy clay soil. Definitely not tinny, I hope they havent changed anything in their design and materials.

[GrayGhost]

I have been checking into rear tine tillers lately and have been asking alot of questions and reading different web sites. I heard that MTD has purchased the Troybilt name and the only decent tiller they have is the 8hp model,

[paintlady]

I had an old front tine tiller and loved it. When it died my DH bought me a Troy built rear tine tiller. The guy who demonstrated it used it in a nice patch of sandy soil. Well, when we got it home I took it out to the garden spot with visions of holding it with one hand while I walked behind it dreaming of the garden full of veggies it would help me produce. What actually happened was that it dragged me all over the place! Even when I pushed down as hard as I possibly could it would dig down in the dirt for about two or three feet and then when it hit a hard spot in our soil it would jump up a few inches off of the ground and take off running on top of our ground!! I was so disappointed.
In the end we sold the Troy built and bought another front tine tiller which works much better here in our hardpan.

[Thoughthound]

Find an older Troy-bilt (pre MTD). They are excellent machines.

[Oldcountryboy]

Paintlady, your mistake was pushing down harder. What you needed to have done was to lift up on the handle a little bit so the tiller could slowly work it's way down. I used a troybuilt reartine tiller for about 12 years with good success but it takes a while to bust up the ground the first time each year. That's why I bought myself a big roto tiller to fit on back of my cuz's tractor. Now all I have to do is borrow and use his tractor to till all the ground up and then use something smaller to maintain it the rest of the summer.

I'm thinking of getting a front tine tiller to be able to manuver around a little easier. Even my rear tine tiller was a little bit too big to use in some area's of my garden. I also have a little troybuilt fast mantis type tiller which is great for really tight spots but not quite big enough for the bigger jobs.

[Nancy]

When we started gardening 20 years ago we had a used front tine tiller that I could handle very well by myself. When that wore out we got a used rear tine tiller but it is so hard to handle DH has to do the tilling now. Not that I mind but sometimes he gets busy and I'd like to just get the tilling done on my own. The front tine did a good enough job to get food out of the garden and hey, that's what I'm after. Sorry to say I do not remember what the name of that front tine tiller was.

[Nancy]

When we started gardening 20 years ago we had a used front tine tiller that I could handle very well by myself. When that wore out we got a used rear tine tiller but it is so hard to handle DH has to do the tilling now. Not that I mind but sometimes he gets busy and I'd like to just get the tilling done on my own. The front tine did a good enough job to get food out of the garden and hey, that's what I'm after. Sorry to say I do not remember what the name of that front tine tiller was. I do remember that it was green

[EDDIE BUCK]

I have a Troybilt Horse that I bought about twenty years ago. Its a great rear tined tiller but if I had it to do over,I would get a midsize model. Handling around the ends seems as if It has put on a few pounds as well as my self over them twenty years. LOL Eddie

[HermitJohn]

Believe me quality matters. I've used Gravelies for years now. One year maybe 15 years ago the engine blew and I needed to get garden plowed. Local rental place only had front tine Honda tillers. I rented one and was greatly impressed. Oh it still wore me out using it especially since at time I had no tractor and was trying to till basically light sod with lot rocks. But it was built quality and I gained great respect for that little 5hp Honda engine (OHV industrial version). Back at that time Honda engines were not that common and out of my price range, but I worked that thing VERY hard and it kept going without constant tinkering. I even managed to snap one of tines when rock just right size jammed things up, but welded it back on and kept on going.

The real trick with front tine tillers is to have sharp tines and to run them at slow enough speed you can control them. Most people think high rpm is way to go, but you cant control it and it doesnt bite in as well. And on cheapo tillers the tines lose edge very fast, made cheaply and not properly hardened. Best you can do with such is to go to local TSC and buy some hardened replacement parts for farm equipment such as hay mower sickle replacement sections and weld them to tines, not to take too big of a bite however, just to give a lasting edge.

Avoid the little tin housing chain driven transmissions on any equipment. You want a real gear driven transmission. I brought Mom's old "Coast to Coast" 8hp rear tine tiller (made by MTD) down here after her death and it didnt make it through the season. Chain wore through the tin housing and the "permenent" lubricant leaked out. Just weak cheapo design and parts not easy to find to fix it and expensive if you do find them. Took BS engine off and Rube Goldberged the engine to power my Gravely with blown engine. Engine lasted all of another year. Then happened on used Gravely with recent rebuilt castiron Kohler flathead (cheaper than repairing Gravely engine on mine) and still using it. Yep, quality pays, though unless you can somehow depreciate it as buisiness tax write off, or are just wealthy, for home use kinda stuck buying used. New Gravely, BSC, or Honda will cost LOT of money. Course people pay crazy amounts for just a lawn mower anymore.... And the Gravely, BSC or Honda will greatly outlast many cheapies.

[NEOhioSmiths]

I'd save up for a BCS. Rented one last fall and will rent again in a few weeks. Great machine. HermitJohn is right - you'll pay up front, but these things are built to last.

[phrogpharmer]

Thank you for the helpful input on the rear tine tillers.
When I mentioned the Ardisam at Home Depot I mistyped front tine when I meant rear tine.
I looked at a Husqvarna at the local farm supply store and it appears to be pretty well made it also says "Assembled In USA".
The rental place nearest my farm uses Hondas so I am going to try one out.
I really need something that can power itself out of the pickup, out to the work area, till all day, and power itself back to and into the pickup.
The Ardisam is $580.00, the Husqvarna is $680.00, and the Honda is nearly $2,000.00.
I still have a few weeks before I have to rototill, I'll look for an older Troy Bilt, Gravely, or BCS.
Phrogpharmer

[jbmaine]

I just went to TSC to check out the tillers they carried.. they had a White reat tine and a Cub Cadet rear tine with a I think a 9 horse Honda motor.. Both were under 800 bucks. Has anyone bought or used these models???

[paintlady]

old country boy- I tried everything with the rear tine tiller. They just aren't made for our soil. Our dirt is the next thing to concrete. The front tine does a great job here. Maybe it is because the weight is up in front and it grabs better.