Wild World of Tillers

[freedhardwoods]

I am a little late on this discussion, but I'll give my thoughts anyhow.

I agree with everyone else. For now, with your small space, rent a rear tine to break ground and find a cheap front tine for maintenance.

When you decide to expand, I strongly recommend a Troybilt horse. I bought my first one direct from the factory in 1989 for $1600 ( they run over $2500 now). It is still going strong with no problems yet. I would estimate in the 15 years I have had it, it has covered over 30 acres (1,300,000 sq ft).

This year I decided I should have a backup since I rely heavily on it to take care of my 1/4 acre garden. I bought a 1974 (40 years old) Troybilt Horse on Craigslist for $400. The previous owner replaced the original engine with a Briggs 6.5 hp I/C (a good, easy to repair engine). I am replacing some bearings and seals, but all of the gears are in very good shape. When I'm finished I will have about $100 in parts and it will be ready to go for a few more decades.

There has been an ongoing discussion for several years about whether MTD lowered the quality of the Horse after they acquired Troybilt from Gardenway in 2001. They definitely cheapened the smaller tillers. I plan on staying with the older ones myself. It is much more economical to buy used.

This winter I plan on doing a complete inspection inside and out on my original Horse to catch any possible problems.