Is Kubota's tiller any good?

Verticaltrx · Feb 23, 2012

KYDan said:
Lefty7 said:

OK. Thanks for your comments.

I was just working off Kubota's online builder, (and haven't checked with the dealer yet), so I assumed they were offered and labeled as Kubota. Thanks for clearing that up. I certainly have heard of Landpride, Woods, and King Cutter; didn't know about the association between KC and Taylor Way.

If you are building it online it will mot likely be a Land Price painted Kubota orange. I don't know for sure, but it works that way for their rotary cutters.

Click to expand...

The implements under the 'Build my Kubota' section, "Step 2: Choose Options" are actual Kubota implements. Kubota used to make a lot more implements such as rear blades, post hole diggers, finish mowers, etc. Now the tillers, snow blowers, and front mounted attachments are all they make (in addition to loaders and backhoes of course).

With that said, I'm sure some of those things are made by other companies for Kubota, but they are built to Kubota spec. The Kubota tiller is not the same as any of the Land Pride tillers.

Just my opinion, but from the few I've seen the Kubota brand tillers are some of the best out there. Personally I'd rather have one of those than a land pride, but the price is definitely premium.

bilrus61 · Feb 23, 2012

I think the Kubota brand is made in Italy by Maschio or Caroni. Very good tillers. However with Kubota hooking up with Landpride I woudn't be very sure how much longer Kubota will be branding a tiller. Just a thought. If its exactly the same as the mfg's brand you can get parts from them I guess........

If your 3940 is HST you have 31.5 PTO hp. I don't feel in my experiance that is enough HP to turn a 72" tiller to full depth. It will work if your just going down 4 or 5 inches. Full depth will lug your tractor down I think with a 72".

I've had a JD 660 62" tiller that I used on my L4200 with 37 PTO hp. It did ok but in heavy soil that tractor was grunting a bit at full depth in clay. When I traded up to a L5040 with 44 PTO I also decided to trade up to a 81" Kuhn EL 62 tiller. The L5040 handled the JD 660 with any strain at all in any soil. Buuuut the 81" sure makes it work, even in loamy soils. I reaised the rear door up to let the soil flow out and that made it much easier for my tractor to turn it deep but its a lug for that tractor. I really like the depth guage wheels on the Kuhn over the skids. Leaves it perfectly level.........buuuuuuuuuut.......

Perfectly level is over rated. All you really need is a tiller to take out one wheel totally. You can then till a field and at the end you just have ONE tire track down the middle of the field. Not a big deal. After all your going to mark the field up with sowing it and packing it. The only real reason to take out both tracks that I can see is if your tilling other folks gardens for hire and want to leave it impressive for them. Even then, with a offset tiller, if you circle and hit the garden from the same side you can till and leave no tracks. Easy to do in a smaller garden. So my experiance with both kinds is that taking out both tracks is "nice" but in practice has no real benefit over the offset tiller that just takes out one track. The more narrow tiller will be much easier on your tractor, till in more varied conditions, till deeper easier and is usually cheaper. Downside is takes a tad longer to do the job, and you will leave a track or two in the garden/plot. Usually not noticable after the first rain or after tracking around in the plot with feet,ATV, or the seed sprouting. For a 31.5 HP I would stick with a 60" for sure, but then I like to till deep.

Look at Befco and Sicma tillers also. Made in Italy to a very high standard. Kuhns are great too. Made in France near the German border ;-) After tilling with both I think the chain vs. gear drive is a wash. Either will do fine and give very long service. Chain will need to be checked for tension and the gear drive seems a tad smoother and quieter. But my JD 660 and my mom's Befco, both chain drive, gave us trouble free service for over a decade. Good luck with your purchase.

foreman Etexas · Feb 23, 2012

http://www.valleyimp.com/documents/RotaryTillerCatalogue.pdf

Been a really good Tiller for me,takes a beating...

Lefty7 · Feb 24, 2012

Thanks for your input, gents. Since my last post here, I dug out some of my Kubota brochures the dealer gave me late 2011, and several show a bonafide orange 'Bota tiller. Of course, they're not big enough or show much detail so as to compare with other units, try to determine the maker, etc. But at least I know that they do (or did) have a tiller made to their specs, and that I haven't gone 'round the bend - well, not completely, anyway.

bilrus61, what you say makes good sense, and thanks for organizing those thoughts and posting them. That's extremely helpful, and I take your words to heart. Had some serious concerns whether the 3940 would drive a 72" tiller. Yeah, I like to go deep as well, so I think I'll stick with the 60". Guess I need to get up to the dealer to find out what he's offering. Just haven't been able to get away.

For some reason, with this and another thread I started, I'm not getting the "instant email notification" I selected. I was surprised to find these responses from you all when I got on the forum today. Have sent TBN an inquiry about it, so maybe they'll straighten things out. In the meantime, I'll make sure I check in on a regular basis. I check out all the info and links that come my way, so thanks a lot guys.

Baby Grand · Feb 24, 2012

foreman Etexas said:
View attachment 252915 http://www.valleyimp.com/documents/RotaryTillerCatalogue.pdf

Been a really good Tiller for me,takes a beating...

Love the 4 speed back gear idea!

Lefty7 · Feb 25, 2012

foreman Etexas said:
Been a really good Tiller for me,takes a beating...

These Korean "Terra Force" tillers ARE interesting. They offer a choice of gear drive, chain drive, multi-speed, or reverse/offset. I know there's a language shift going on here, and was wondering what they meant to say when they stated:
"Reverse action 'sucks' tiller into ground does not work on top of hard ground like forward tillers can" Did they mean it doesn't WALK on top of ground, etc.? Boy, you can tell they prepared for the American market! Their implements are offered in 5 different colors "to match your tractor"! (Did someone stick a target on my back?)

Thanks for sending, foreman Etexas. Curious which type and model you are using.

foreman Etexas · Feb 25, 2012

Lefty7 said:
These Korean "Terra Force" tillers ARE interesting. They offer a choice of gear drive, chain drive, multi-speed, or reverse/offset. I know there's a language shift going on here, and was wondering what they meant to say when they stated:
"Reverse action 'sucks' tiller into ground does not work on top of hard ground like forward tillers can" Did they mean it doesn't WALK on top of ground, etc.? Boy, you can tell they prepared for the American market! Their implements are offered in 5 different colors "to match your tractor"! (Did someone stick a target on my back?)

Thanks for sending, foreman Etexas. Curious which type and model you are using.

Thats my tractor and tiller in picture^

I put mine in everything,hit stumps,limbs whatever I dont clean-up or miss with dozer.

Lefty7 · Mar 6, 2012

foreman Etexas said:
Thats my tractor and tiller in picture^

I was asking which model tiller you are using. (?)

foreman Etexas · Mar 6, 2012

Lefty7 said:
I was asking which model tiller you are using. (?)

YJC O74,click on my pic and in-large it

skipmarcy · Mar 6, 2012

I bought my Kubota 5' tiller used a couple of years ago and it has worked very well for me. My tractor ideally needs a 6' to cover the tire tracks but I got a good deal on my tiller used and I just mount it offset to my right tire and have no problems, just have to plan your work. I till a 50' x 100' and a 100' x 200' garden with it spring & fall. My tiller was made in Italy but doesn't actually say the manufacturer for Kubota, it is a model BL60C.