Rear Tine Tiller Reviews: What is your Experience?

[clovis]

I am looking to buy a used rear tine tiller to replace our very old front tine tiller.

I am specifically looking for real world reviews, thoughts, and hands on experiences from folks that have actually owned and used them.

What brand do you own? How long have you owned it? Positive experiences? Negative experiences? What features do you like about your tiller? Are there aspects that you don't like?

Repairs? Problems? Parts availability issues? Specific models to avoid?

Are rear tine tillers easy to use? Mom thinks that she could use a rear tine tiller in the garden. The old front tine tiller we have will beat you to death, even in softer ground.

How big is your garden? How long have you owned your tiller?

What brand do you own? Troy-bilt, Craftsman, Poulan, Honda, BCS, Husky, MTD brands, Deere?

I would love to have an old Troy-bilt or BCS, but they are pretty hard to find at a decent price in good condition around here. A junk old Troy-bilt must be made of solid gold bullion, considering the asking prices for some of them! It is hard to keep a straight face when I see an oil burning Troy-bilt that has sat outside for 23 years and has been painted with six coats of hand brushed enamel, missing two tines, the pull cord, one handle, the thottle cable, and they still are asking $950.

I have been shopping the classifieds, both online and in the newspaper. I am strongly considering a newer, used Troy-bilt or other brand.

We do not have a large garden, about 20 by 30 feet, and are good maintainers of our tools and equipment.

Thanks in advance!!!!!

Clove

[HermitJohn]

Honda (all Honda, not just something with Honda engine) and BCS are about only real quality still on the market. They also are very high dollar. You want cast iron gear driven, not pressed sheet metal with a chain running in goop. Anymore you want Honda or Robin or Kawasaki or some other Japanese engine.

Now if you go old, the old Troybuilts (when it was an independent company) were good. I have an old 2 wheel walk behind Gravely with their unique and very nice rotary plow system. They finally discontinued making them few years back. There were others, again look for all gear driven and cast iron housings.

Sorry but the mega manufacturers that care about volume and turn over are running things now. Their bean counters have profit figured to last penny and lifespan of product figured to last 5 minutes of use. And they arent building machines that your grandchildren will still be using or that can be economically rebuilt.

Anymore maybe most economical route for something newer is to get a small Japanese diesel tractor...... They will hold their value lot longer than a dedicated rototiller.

[Tom in TN]

Clovis,

This is probably a minority opinion, but I'd recommend a Huskee or MTD brand tiller. I've had a Huskee for ten years and it works great. I've replaced the belt a couple of times. I've tightened the bolts that attach the tiller unit to the engine unit a couple of times. I've replaced one tire. And that's about it. I don't drain the gas tank in the fall. I don't replace the spark plug in the Spring. I don't change the oil in the engine. And the unit just keeps running.

I had to pull the rope three times this Spring when I started it the first time this year, about a week ago. They're lower priced than many of the other units, and they should provide many years of service to you.

As far as being easy to operate, they are not. I remember seeing the ads many years ago for Troy-Bilt with a guy was walking along behind/beside his unit operating it with one hand. What a joke. They require a great deal of effort to keep them straight, and they are very heavy to lift and turn at the end of the row. I also have a Craftsman front tine tiller that is about 30 years old. I doesn't do as good a job as my Huskee so I don't use it as much, but it's not really harder to control than the Huskee.

Good luck on your choice.

Tom in TN

[Beeman]

I've had a Troy Bilt for over 20 years. The guy in the commercial is a liar unles you're tilling in 2 ft. deep peat moss. It works good but as stated there are limitations. If your ground is hard or rocky it will hurt you or go through a fence,wall or what have you when it jumps out of the hole. Those that have used on know what I'm talking about.
Best bet is to borrow one or rent one. Rental store has to have the better tillers or they wouldn't hold up. That would be a way to see if you like it.

[timfromohio]

I would rent until you find a good used BCS - they are few and far between, but are out there. Call up Joel at Earth Tools BCS or John at The BCS Shop. They often have used equipment that doesn't appear on their web pages. I bought a used 737 from John - he even drove it to my house in Ohio from his shop in Western New York for what it would have cost me to have it frieghted. In the end, you won't be sorry for having purchased a very robust piece of equipment.

[geo in mi]

I have an 8 HP Troy-Bilt Horse, manual start with a Kohler engine now sitting idle because this is the second set of tiller gears that I've worn out and it was getting too much to handle at my age. Always did a great job, though, only thing is that the tiller tine shaft seals need replacing quite often in the sandy soil. Last year I bought a Husqvarna--about a five horse, who knows? with the new way of labeling them--it has a tine depth of about 6 inches and a width of about 18 inches. It's hard to get used to the lighter weight rototiller; the Husqee seems to slip around a lot and it is hard to keep on track, and in depth. Also, there is another Husqee with smaller wheel diameter and rototiller tines of stamped steel--looks like same horsepower. For my soil, I'd like to swap the wheels and maybe get a more timed forward travel with the rate of soil digging going on--as it is they are fighting each other unless I go at a lower engine speed. The Husqee drive unit, though stamped steel and belt driven, seems like it will unbolt and be repairable--something which the MTD look alikes don't have--I think they are just riveted or tack welded together--throw aways. The Husqvarna dealer said these were not made in Sweden, but in Kansas, or somewhere in the U.S. The Husqvarna, painted black, is a Craftsman--which may be a good thing if you need parts someday. Oh yes, Husquvarna dealer offered me a credit option of zero percent and no monthly payments for one full year--not a bad deal if you pay in full before the year ends, thru GE Credit. He paid four percent for that in order to offer the free credit option--so you would have to ask for it.... Price was same in Sears, I later found out.

[BRYAN]

I own a 79 Troybilt Horse model that I love. I am a serious gardner and ran a power equipment repair business about 5 years, so I had plenty of chances to operate most types and develope a few general opinions. Rear tine is the way to go for me, counter rotating tines leave me frustrated unless breaking new ground. Tines that rotate the same direction as the wheels will kick rocks (baseball size) back and out while counter rotation will keep kicking them forward and usually didn't leave as smooth a bed. My favorite was troy bilt horse models (the econo models are pretty light, but work ok in soil of exellent tilth), the Snappers I tried were good and the Honda was impressive as Honda always is. I have looked over and operated the newer Troy bilts a little bit, but I could tell no real difference in quality or operation from the old in the Horse models. The econo horse just is not comparable to the old models of anytype or the new Horse. That "Just one hand" thing is about well broken soil, new ground has to be done a little at a time with any machine, clay soil has to be done when the moisture is right even with a tractor. No machine I tried would build a row like my Horse with row building a attachment that I built for $5 years ago using a Troybilt attachment for a pattern. My garden was fallow for 15 months while I was down range in Iraq. Two weeks ago I tilled it to full depth in 2 passes, one at half depth and the second at full depth and the weeds and grass were pretty tall. I do have fairly sandy ground which helped, non the less, few other tillers would have done as well and none any better.

[Stephen in SOKY]

The only piece of Poulan equipment I own is my rear tine tiller. It's served me well for 8-9 years with no repairs at all. I use it more than most as I market garden on a small scale. They're around $700 at Rural King.

[hillbillygal]

We have had a Simplicity for a few years and it has served us well. It is rather large and I usually leave the tilling to dh because I usually get jostled around the garden when I try. I was given a Singer (From what I can tell it was one of the first years Ryobi made a tiny tiller and used the Singer name I guess) small tiller and it will be what I use for between rows and in my flower beds. But as far as our rear tine, the Simplicity has done well for us.

[anniew]

For a 20X30 garden, it is not economical to buy a tiller, IMHO. You'd be further ahead hiring someone to till it each spring. Besides the initial outlay to purchase a machine, you have the maintenance, plus gas to run it.
I have a BCS 725. It is really too big for me, although I use it, but am pretty beat up after a half hour...if you do get one, get the type where the wheels move independently so that when you turn it, you don't have to tackle the weight of the machine.
I have had others till the gardens for me over the last 3-4 years...they have tractors with cultivators on them which do an even better job.

[Macybaby]

I bought a troybilt about 7-8 years ago, not a small one either. Second biggest piece of junk I've bought in my life. I could write a page of what I didn't like . . .

Finally broke down and bought a craftsman - the biggest one they had. I do lots of tilling, most recently making a garden out of what had been cow pasture for years and years and years - the area not far from the feed bunk.

My summary, get one with both counter and regular turning. Counter is great for deep tilling, but with a heavy machine you will go nowhere once the ground is good and tilled. I use counter for the heavy work and forward for tilling in manure and other stuff.

Have a neutral - the TB drive line was connected to the engine, wheels would not turn unless engine was running, unless you unhooked them from the shaft - not fun at all.

The options I have are power forward and reverse with tines not engaged, neutral so I can push the machine even when the engine is not engaged. Then I can engage the blades in either counter of regular rotation, independently of how the wheels are going.

So far the worst I've dealt with is replacing cotter pins. Not a big deal, just have them on hand. This will be my third year with this machine, have not got it out yet, but it's starting to warm up.

Here is my little kitchen garden (near the house) before tilling.


And after. With this machine, I am able to walk along side it with one hand on the bar and let it do the final tilling. I was seeing if I could get it done without any footprints left behind.



Here is the big garden out back. I'm going to make it twice as big this year.




Last summer I put in a picket fence across the front yard. Here is my big machine with my Lawnboy - I love that little tiller for work in the flower garden - just pick it up and place it where you need it, then lift it back out. I tired using it to cut through the sod, but it was not up to the task.



Here is after one pass through the sod.



And a second pass coming the other direction.




Cathy

[Rita]

We have a Husqvarna with counter-rotating tines and the men in the family use it but hate it. No mechanical problems at all with it.

[amwitched]

If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, check out the Cub Cadet. The build is far superior to the Troybilt. It has a Honda engine instead of Briggs and Stratton. The wheels are huge! It is very easy to handle and is very efficient. Comparing model to model, we felt that this was the best buy for our money.

[mistletoad]

We bought a Husqvarna 6 yrs ago and I used it to break the 2 acres we use for vegetables, but now the ground is worked I find the tiller bogs down on me. DH uses it with no problem though. It has a Honda 4-stroke engine and starts like a dream every time.

[WisJim]

I have a 30+ year old 8hp Ariens rear tine, that now has a 7hp engine on it. We bought it new after trying a few brands back in the 70s, and like it. I have tried a neighbor's big old Troybilt and can't imagine why people like them. I'd never buy one, too awkward and ungainly. I bought a used BCS 715 a couple of years ago, and wish we had been near a dealer back when we bought a new tiller, because of the advanced design and availability of lots of accessories. But the Ariens is easier for my wife to use, an important consideration.

We garden about a half acre, with more and more in permanent raised beds. We have used the Ariens to till a garden from old hay field in two places, though, and have done tilling for friends and neighbors with it too.

[paintlady]

I had a Troy Built rear tine tiller for less than one season. Our ground here is too hard for it as it rode on top of the ground most of the time and dragged me all over the place. I don't think they are meant for hard soil. They guy we bought it from had sandy soil and it worked great in his garden when he demonstrated it.

[Shadow]

I have a newer troy built I have had for about 10 years it has the transmisson out right now, bought another new one just like it. Works ok but if you have rocks when it hits one it will jerk, buck, and when it does you will be drug along behind it. At my age 68 I can barely handle it my wife can not last time she tried she hurt her back when it found a rock. Reason I boughjt the second is I will probably be hiring neighbor hood boy 200 lb football player to till my garden. He can handle it. If you have good loamy soil like potting soil they work like on the tv ad, if rocky you are going to get a beating.

[Harry Chickpea]

I have an old Roto-hoe rear-tine tiller, circa 1973 or so. I also have a rocky clay garden, and have to till throughout the season to keep from gardening in pavement. There are tricks, but if you aren't careful a rear-tine tiller can beat you up. A lot of folks don't use the drag bar to good effect. If your tiller jerks and yanks you around, you can usually set the drag bar a notch or two lower to hold back the tiller, then till less deeply - especially when cutting sod. Three or four passes will break up sod without too much strain, and THEN you can skip the drag bar and start fluffing.

Turning at the end of the row is perhaps the biggest problem. The easier way is to not worry about neat rows the first couple of passes, and just concentrate on getting the top four inches loose. Once you have done that and tossed out the crop of rocks, you can go back through and do the one hand routine.

If you want the engine to last, rev it to the sweet spot and use the gears. Don't even think about idle speeds or mid-range speeds. Also, before you use one, find and lube every zerks fitting and fill the gearcase with the proper oil. The dirt gets everywhere and is an issue. Cleaning the air filter is a no-brainer.

[timfromohio]

The larger BCS models have both differentials so you can lock the wheels if you want to make very straight rows (or go up inclines) or leave unlocked which makes turning at the end of rows easier. Mine also has wheel brakes which makes turning very easy.

[Darren]

I've got a thirty year old Ariens rear tine tiller too. It's a great machine. I paid for it by tilling for others. A lot depends on how much tilling you're doing. My last tiller is a diesel powered rear tine tiller. I suspect it would till concrete. Just joking. You can hang off the handle bars and it will not stall. At 500 or 600 lbs. it will beat any soil into submission.