Rented 65" tiller my CT335

milkman636 · May 28, 2011

After reading alot of discussions about tiller sizing for tractors I decided to look into renting one to try for putting in the garden. Checked with a couple local dealers that rent tractors and equipment first, then stopped into a rental yard on a whim. The guy had a John Deere 665 tiller sitting there and offered it to me for $75 for the entire weekend. My reply: "load it up, the white truck over there is mine".

Brought it home and tried it out last night on a new spot of ground. It worked well. The HST made it easy to move slow and steady to let the tiller cut in and do its work in one pass. It didn't cut as deep as plowing, but it is plantable in only one pass. I'm hoping the sun will stay out long enough to dry the dirt some more today, and I'll hit it again this afternoon just to get my money's worth.

After trying the 65 incher, I will be looking to find a deal on a 6' tiller this summer to purchase. The 65" is barely wide enough to cover my tracks, and running full depth into new ground the ct335 never even groaned at all. The switch operated independant pto also works smooth as butter engaging and disengaging the tiller.

Canada_CT230 · May 28, 2011

My CT230 handles the 60" Bobcat tiller I have with ease. A CT335 should handle a 72" just fine.

milkman636 · May 28, 2011

Reading the threads about having to crawl along and seeing the hp recommendations concerned me a little. But, I ended up going slow because the tiller needed time to till nicely, not because my tractor was working hard.

It was nice to find a reasonable rental to try before buying. I can see where having a 3 pt tiller will make my disk obsolete.

grsthegreat · May 28, 2011

if you could rent it for $75 per season...and a new one cost aprox $1400 - 1800 then it will take you 18+ years to pay for itself HEHE

I wish to &%$ that i never purchased my 60" tiller. Paid $2200 for it 14 years ago...used it maybe 6 times.

The wife would rather use the smaller Mantis so as not to bring up rocks and destroy everything. The larger ones are good for starting a garden, but not too good in maintaining a garden. (so says the wife and gardener)

milkman636 · May 28, 2011

Can you guarantee me that I can continue to find a tiller for $75 a weekend for the next 20 years?

The next closest rate was $139 for picking up and dropping off the same day.

Even at a theoretically locked in perpetual rate of $75 a pop, after 20 uses I would have a tiller that is still worth something on resale instead of $1500 in spent rental fees and no tiller.

I also have a 1999 17" walk behind tiller for cultivating between rows that was purchased instead of renting.

galaxie428 · May 28, 2011

The more times you till it, the deeper you will continue to till. My County Line tiller is rated for 6" I think but my garden has been tilled so many times that I can sink it about 12 or so. It may depend on your soil also, mine is a little sandy/rocky.

milkman636 · May 28, 2011

Yesterdays first till measured close to six inches deep. This afternoon I spread some 10-10-10 over the top and re-tilled. With the second till it seemed to be tilling a little deeper, and the material was really flowing smoothly out from under the tailgate. It was a very pretty site. Today I was also able to ease in and out of the ground smooth enough to not leave divits or piles at the ends of the rows.

The tiller seems to be a great implement. I am going to hate giving it back on Tuesday morning.

SSdoxie · May 29, 2011

Tiller also works great for excavaitng hard ground rather than muscling it out with the laoder. Run the tiller across it, scoup it out with the bucket and tiller makes lots of rear ballast for the loader.
I ahve a 60" on Ct225 and ground speed is dictated by how fine I want to work the soil, tractor doesn't struggle.

powergod1 · May 29, 2011

good to know info, looking for a tiller for next season.

jobguy · May 29, 2011

I use a 60 inch King Kutter 2 with my CT 120 hst with14 pto hp. My soil is sandy peat with thick grass and very wet this year. I was amazed at how well it works with my small tractor. I would go with a smaller tiller if I had clay or rocks though. Now if I could figure out how to make hills directly behind the tiller I would be set.