Tillers?

[Deep Operator]

Thinking about buying a walk behind gas powered tiller, anyone have any suggestions on which make and model to purchase? Something in 300-400 dollar range.

D.O

[WiseOwl]

Try craigslist in your area. Actually, Aug-Oct is the best time to buy them IMHO because people are done gardening and they may have bought one and said the heck with it or they may need money and think that is one of the items they can let go. Thats how a buddy of mine got a nice rear tine for $500. Someone bought it in the spring, thought they were going to have a victory garden just by planting seeds and walking away. Needless to say he got a tiller used 3 times that was $900 brand new.

Also, if you can get a Honda somehow, do it. They are the best in MHO.

[Foghorn]

I've got a troy bilt horse and a troy bilt pony. The horse hardly gets used at all any more. Although it is a great machine, it is big and takes some work to get it around in a smaller garden. Might be good in a large, long garden. I never can get it to just walk along on my rough ground like that pretty little girl in the commercial.

I picked up the pony off a radio swap shop for $150.00. It had been used part of one season. The Pony takes slightly longer to get the job done but in the end, it does a great job.

Doug

[eeyore]

I would opt for the rear tine as well. And Craigslist or local Penny saver or Thrifty Nickle type papers are the way to go. Although i just missed a troy bilt rear tine last year at a local pawn shop.

[dilli]

i would go for rear tine on a bigger tiller. Unfortunately, in the range you want there is not much new that you are going to be able to get. Like others have said, look local in ads, craigs list etc. However, if you do not have much to til then I would suggest one of those tiny tillers like the mantis. After trying a couple brands of the mini tillers, we recently got a stihl mm55 and i love it. It runs great, has little bounce compared to many and is easy to truck around the mtn here. I wouldnt want to have to till acres of land with it but if you are getting older like me ;) then convenience and ease of use becomes a huge factor in any long term type investment.

I would not suggest a TSC brand tiller of any sort. While prices aint bad they change them up so often that if a major component breaks, and it will, your 900 buck investment now becomes a yard ornament.

[2531]

I ran a landscape company for years and had a Troy Bilt Pony 7hp that I could not kill. A rear tine is easier on the user and works much better. If you can find a Troy Bilt, go for it and you will not regret your decision.

[Fanderal]

How big of an area are you planning on working? 20x50, 1/4 acre (100x100) MORE?

For a 20x50 foot garden, any of the economy units will do; but if you are thinking larger scale, you might want to consider, an old Gravely, or a mid-sized Troy Built unit. However larger units, will wind up costing you a bit more. The Gravely 2 Wheel tractor can be had for $400 or $500 but then you would need to add the tiller attachment. The nice thing about the Gravely, is that you can get a lot of different implements to do lots of different jobs.

Also what about renting one, I've found that for small gardens, I only really need a tiller once every couple of years, and for our raised beds, we don't need one at all.

FWIW
Fanderal

[lcas-271]

I'll have to add the advice to go with a rear tine. You won't get nearly as fatigued and you can run it either tines forward or tines reverse. My brother still have my grandparents old Troy Built from 30 years ago. The sheet metal is full of rust but everthing else still works great.

I use a Huskee that was given to us by my GFs granddad. The only problem that I've had with it so far is a terrible squealing from the drive belt. Other than that it can run for hours at a time. Make sure to stick with a decent brand, and see if there's a certified repair shop in the area for it.

[CLT46910]

Went I had a small garden I rented one for the day I needed it. No need to store it someplace, no up keep, just use it for the day and return it.

Not sure the cost now a days but I seem to remember is was rather cheap to rent.