3 point tillers?

[Roofer1]

My old 6' King Kutter tiller for the 3 point on my tractor is about at the end of it's life. It's been used and abused for 7 food plot seasons and it shows it. Going to use it next weekend but am considering selling it for whatever I can get and getting into a new one. Bought the king kutter originally because it was the most cost effective and convenient. Question is, since this one has been as durable as it has do I get another one or look at other brands? Also, if another brand does anyone have any first hand knowledge on who makes a good one.

 

[Wheels]

Bushhog

 

[Billy Goat]

How many acres? 7 years doesn't sound too good to me.

We have lots of rock, but guys use those things for 20 years, what kills them is not checking the fluid level.


Kuhn seems popular around here in the vegetable world, I don't have much first hand experience. I'll plow and disk generally if im not no-tilling it.

 

[WSMHNTR]

Bushhog or Titan would be my choice. We have pretty rocky ground here and I switched to a 3pt disc and 2 bottom plow.

 

[Roofer1]

How many acres? 7 years doesn't sound too good to me.

Most years it's been about 25 acres. Some spots that are pretty rocky. Guess maybe I'm probably just looking for a possible upgrade. Have made the decision to stop running around and doing plots for cash and will just be worrying about my own 5 acres of plots a year. Like the idea of starting fresh on a new farm for myself.

 

[explojepy]

I got a King Kutter too, and frankly for the price it held up great. If I had to change, I might look at Woods or Land Pride, but I could very well take a KK again without worry.

 

[yfarm]

Would think the plow and disc would be adequate soil prep for food plots and a lot more durable than a tiller. Don’t understand why that level of soil prep is needed.

 

[Roofer1]

Would think the plow and disc would be adequate soil prep for food plots and a lot more durable than a tiller. Don’t understand why that level of soil prep is needed.

Can't speak for everyone but for me some of it revolves around getting to the plots. Some of the logging roads I need to access plots on are tight for my tractor and tiller as it is. Anything hanging a lot farther out the back and I couldn't get through the switchbacks. Side topic, but I've never been able to get the dirt worked up really good with a disc. Full disclosure, I am NOT much of a farmer.

 

[Wrench]

I had an agric that I used to make side money with. That thing made me $400/hr and never let me down. I had to hardface the tines after a few years......but it just ate everything. I even ground a asphalt chip driveway that a guy couldn't get a skid steer in the ground with.....that little gig netted me a jet ski for a couple hours of work.

 

[yfarm]

Can't speak for everyone but for me some of it revolves around getting to the plots. Some of the logging roads I need to access plots on are tight for my tractor and tiller as it is. Anything hanging a lot farther out the back and I couldn't get through the switchbacks. Side topic, but I've never been able to get the dirt worked up really good with a disc. Full disclosure, I am NOT much of a farmer.

Without a plow the disc doesnt do much. 2 bottom plow on an old ford 8n does pretty good with a disc to follow as long as you don’t have too much land. We have to plow a firebreak on our crp land before a burn, use a 4 bottom and make one pass. After the burn we disc the furrows back or it hurts bad when you drive thru crp and hit a firebreak.

 

[CaptArab]

Agree with the plow/disc. I a plow/disc off Craigslist for $200 and it's plenty fine for good plots

 

[Nine Banger]

We have loamy sand.

I have a JD970 and a 5' county line tiller. Good only for small length plots or tight spaces. Its a good tiller for where it comes from.

I don't use it tho. Our fields are 300 yards long and tilling took forever.

I got an Athens 89 for the JD 4230. Game changer and heavy enough that I don't plow.

I have a 3 pt disc that only worked on a kubota I used to have that would lean into it and not float. I only use it for firebrakes on the 970 for tight spots. Its not heavy enough for planting.

 

[MallardSX2]

Nothing makes a food plot grow like rototilling the soil. If you got 7 years out of that one, I would think it would be hard to switch. I have a set of all purpose plots that help break up the dirt and if it is really dry out, we sometimes run those on the fields first just so we don't beat the rototiller to death.

We have a 5' king cutter and it is on year 8. I have done a LOT of welding on it and changed the knives last season. Its a good tiller and we really beat the crap out of that thing.

 

[Duckhunterbrad]

Maschio makes a beast of a tiller if you want to upgrade. I have a 7ft bushhog model that has been good so far. A rolling basket on the back would be pretty handy if a guy is in the process of buying a new tiller.

 

[Amos Keeto]

FROM PAST EXPERIENCE!

Your PTO drive shaft attaches to a gearbox on the top of the tiller.
From that gearbox, trace the drive train/shafts all the way to the tiller shaft.
CHECK EACH AND EVERY GEARBOX for gear lube.
Buddy of mine has a John Deere 1035E with a tiller to match. (factory kit, trailer, tractor, tiller!)
I was sitting in the tractor seat tilling a food plot with it when it "shelled"!
It was about (+/-) 10 years old.
ALL gearboxes were bone dry!
It was so bad, it couldn't even be rebuilt!
Had to junk it and purchase a new tiller....all because me, him or his wife didn't know to check the lube level in each gearbox. "I" should have know better, but I thought the gearboxes were "sealed" against lube loss. Instead, they were only sealed against weather intrusion.
Had we checked the lube level, we could have just had it rebuilt. Probably twelve to fifteen hundred.
Instead, had to spend $3600 on a new one!
A piece of farm machinery is relatively tough, though it can be abysed. With routine maintenance, a piece of equipment should last a long time.
Longer than 7 seasons, anyway.

P.S. - the new one, a King Kutter is checked for lube levels frequently!