Tar River?

[HawkinsHollow]

I have a friend in the market for a tiller. She ahs hit on this Tar River tiller for $1575 for 48"er. Certainly it is a rebranded Chinese manufactured tiller. Anyone know anything about this brand?

Tar River Compact Rotary Tiller | Tar River

tarrivermfg.com

 

[5030]

Ask Ken Sweet (he advertises on here) and he sells Tar River implements and Ken is a straight shooter.

 

[tacticalturnip]

@sweettractors I've tagged him so you don't have to go searching for him.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

@sweettractors I've tagged him so you don't have to go searching for him.

Is that the guy who imports these? Not sure who that is.

They are a pretty good looking tiller, but I have not done much tiller shopping.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Did a little more digging on this tiller. They look pretty nice and it sounds like they are distributed from a reputable company with a good warranty.

 

[kennyd]

There has been lots of bad press the last few years on TR, search diligently.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Oh, yeah

There has been lots of bad press the last few years on TR, search diligently.

Yeah, I dug a bit deeper and there are some unhappy people out there from their experiences with Tar River. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[CliffordK]

That looks like a nice little tiller. I'm a little surprised it is listed as gear drive. I've got a little Howard with belt drive which always seemed like a really cheap solution, although it seems to work.

What brand/model of tractor is it being used with. I really dislike that my 48" Howard is narrower than my tractor. Anyway, get a tiller as wide as your wheels assuming your tractor can power it.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Not my tractor. But their tractor is a Kubota L2301. I have only spent very little time using it. Do you think it could handle a 5' tiller?

 

[CliffordK]

Not my tractor. But their tractor is a Kubota L2301. I have only spent very little time using it. Do you think it could handle a 5' tiller?

I'm not finding the L2301 on the web. There is a B2301, an L2501, and an L3301.

The B2301 is rated with a 20.9 engine HP, and 17.5 PTO HP.
The L2501 is rated at 24.8 engine HP, 20.5 PTO HP.
The L3301 is rated at 33 engine HP, and 26.2 PTO HP.

Anyway, I'd probably go with the smaller tiller if you have the B2301.

Although it would be nice if you could find a "demo" model to try out.

Hmmm....

Ok, Kubota puts out some recommendations for various B series and L series tractors.

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/lp-pdfs/02-b-series-lp-implements.pdf

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/lp-pdfs/03-standard-l-series-lp-implements.pdf

For the B2301, they seem to recommend 42" to 58" tillers.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

It's an L2501.

 

[CliffordK]

It's an L2501.

Ok, so about:
24.8 Gross HP
20.5 PTO HP
Overall width, about 55.1" (may depend on tires, and rim configuration).

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/brochure-sheets/l2501.pdf

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/lp-pdfs/03-standard-l-series-lp-implements.pdf

They seem to recommend tillers from 42" to 66".

Depending on your actual tire configuration, I'd probably choose the 58" to 60" tiller.

Your tractor is about the same size as my old Ford 1715. I offset the old 48" Howard tiller as far to one side as it would go, and it just seemed to be a pain to have the tiller not behind both tires. I do now have a wider tiller, but haven't tried it as I don't need to till anything now, and need to work on the clutch before tilling more.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Ok, so about:
24.8 Gross HP
20.5 PTO HP
Overall width, about 55.1" (may depend on tires, and rim configuration).

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/brochure-sheets/l2501.pdf

https://www.kubotausa.com/docs/default-source/lp-pdfs/03-standard-l-series-lp-implements.pdf

They seem to recommend tillers from 42" to 66".

Depending on your actual tire configuration, I'd probably choose the 58" to 60" tiller.

Your tractor is about the same size as my old Ford 1715. I offset the old 48" Howard tiller as far to one side as it would go, and it just seemed to be a pain to have the tiller not behind both tires. I do now have a wider tiller, but haven't tried it as I don't need to till anything now, and need to work on the clutch before tilling more.

Thank you for that info.

 

[Texasmark]

I have a pull behind tedder and a 6' drum mower. Haven't had problems with the sale or the implements other than I don't have any close dealers....a minor cost disadvantage.

 

[howardjohn]

I have a kubota l2800 29hp and I run a 60" tiller on it which it handles fine the only thing I have to watch is it is very heavy and makes the front end lite. Even with suit case weights. I have a county line from tractor supply which must be 10 years old by now. Has always worked good for me

 

[CliffordK]

I have a kubota l2800 29hp and I run a 60" tiller on it which it handles fine the only thing I have to watch is it is very heavy and makes the front end lite. Even with suit case weights. I have a county line from tractor supply which must be 10 years old by now. Has always worked good for me

Do you have a bucket on your tractor?

I have a bucket on my Ford 1715, plus forks. I've been using the tiller as rear ballast some, but it seems to handle fine empty, although I don't have it gummed up with grass and dirt.

 

[howardjohn]

No I do not have a bucket on that tractor.

 

[wirlybird]

I have a Tar River TXG-050. I started out by running it on a JD X585. It is a fairly light weight tiller compared to others of the same size. I do have to use weights on the front of the X585 though. This tractor ran it well but you do want to just use some restraint so as to not beat up the tractor!
I now run it on a JD 755 and that one runs it very well.

My two complaints about the Tar River is that the shaft that comes through the left side gear cover and has a large nylock nut on it will leak. I have replaced the O-ring but it still leaks. It is a stupid design in my opinion as I see no reason for this shaft to need to come through the cover.

My other small complaint is that the left side "depth" skid/shoe will not raise all the way for max depth as it hits the side gear cover.

This till er fairly light so at times I have to add weight to it to get good depth in harder soils otherwise it likes to more stay on top of the harder surfaces.

As far as the tiller itself I seems well made and I have done a lot of tilling over the last three years. Almost time for new tines.

Any questions, I can try to answer.

 

[Williy]

Some info here:

Tar River Tillers

Do any of you have experience with Tar River implements? Tillers specifically. I have been looking at Sicma (Phoenix T4) and JD 647 units until the Tar River TXG050 caught my eye. The Tar rivers are quite a bit less expensive but I don't have any first hand experience with one and would...

www.mytractorforum.com

willy