Cheap tractor for tilling

dkc2420 · Nov 3, 2023

We are looking for a smaller tractor (around 25 hp or so) for tilling a dirt arena. Our budget is low- $5k for tractor and tiller. Would a garden tractor suffice? We literally just need it for tilling. We thought about buying a tow behind tiller, but those don t do as good of a job as a pto tiller.

Having said all of that- my FIL bought my dad s old JD A 15 years ago. And it s sat until recently. It s got different tires that hold air now and he had someone out to get it running (I think), but the fluids need changed and it needs to be completely gone through. It s almost always been stored inside though. He said we could just have the tractor as is. My dad doesn t think it s a good idea because he said it ran, but it never ran great all the years he had itit was kind of a pain to him.
Would the A be worth it? Or should we look for something else? Help! Not sure what to do. Like I said, we literally just need to keep the arena tilled.

paul · Nov 3, 2023

Tilling youre want a very slow gear speed and live pto.

It sounds like small and noble for your situation, tho I. Not sure how big a dirt arena is in your case.

Paul

Tim in New York · Nov 3, 2023

I would look for an older Massey - 135 or T035. They at least have a 2 speed gearbox and enough power to run a 5' tiller - maybe 6' in your case, with no sod or rocks. And some of them had live PTO, I don't know if low first would be slow enough for your application. But some one who owns one can tell you. You can get the tractor probably for around 3k, maybe 4, but I doubt you can get a tiller for the other 2k.

Tim

dkc2420 · Nov 3, 2023

So what kinda of tractor would I need then?
Our arena is 110x 115 maybe.

Kansas4010 · Nov 3, 2023

I have a jd 325 garden tractor and a while
ago I picked up a tiller. I haven't got it
mounted yet but I would look for something
like this. These aren't mine just pictures
I found online. Just get a dedicated
garden tractor with a tiller mounted.
That's probably realistically what will fit
in your budget nicely. $5,000 just doesn't
buy much iron these days.

Kansas4010 · Nov 3, 2023

Sorry forgot pictures.

Kansas4010 · Nov 3, 2023

I'm having issues with pictures today.

Geo-TH,In · Nov 3, 2023

I got lucky. About 15 years ago I found a JD
garden tractor with a 30 inch tiller and 48 inch
mower deck. Paid $1500 for everything. Best money
I ever spent.

Ever think of buying a disk?
You can see in the pic, I used to use a 3 ft
wheelhorse disk I got for free.
I pulled the disk with a Craftsman mower with a 6
speed transmission. I put tractor tires on
it..

dkc2420 · Nov 3, 2023

Is that a hydraulic tiller on the JD? Ive seen those for sale, some with an extension to make it a 42 tiller. Do those work as good as a pto tiller? I dont mind making a few passes, as long as it gets 5-6 inches deep and fairly fluffy.

My husband brought up a disk but he thought it wouldnt get the dirt as soft as a tiller would. Do you think it does?

cool hand · Nov 3, 2023

An old man a little bit puzzled, not familiar with arena. How about a pic of what you want to do?

Geo-TH,In · Nov 3, 2023

The tiller is belt driven.
The tractor is thermostatic. You can change HST oil and filter.
It's a JD 270. 17 hp air cooled Kawasaki.
I would buy another one if I could find a 30 year old JD garden tractor.

The old 36 inch wheel-horse disk does a good job too. If you pull a wood pallet behind the disk and the ground will be flat.

I till the garden on a cheap budget.
I leave the tiller on the JD year around.
My Boss can use it just fine and that's fine with me.

DRussell · Nov 3, 2023

The word arena speaks to me as a place where sporting or competition
events are held. Am guessing you need to stir and/or level the dirt
between events. If this is true, my suggestion would be to look into the
type of leveler they use at tractor/truck pulls to level the track between
pulls. Those would hook to any tractor with a 3 point hitch and would
level the dirt much, much faster than a tiller.

Another option might be a soil pulverizer. Again, much faster than a
tiller. See link for one place that sells them. There are other
places/brands as well.
Untitled URL Link

K-Mo · Nov 3, 2023

Where are you located?
I have a tractor and tiller I plan to sell.
12 speed Chinese tractor with 5' Worksaver Tiller. Ground speed as low as 0.2 MPH. Located in Iowa.

dkc2420 · Nov 3, 2023

We board our two horses, and we are the only boarders at the moment. The arena is for personal use so we can exercise our horses without them getting sore on hard ground. I just need to keep it tilled maybe twice a month. We have an old small drag that we will use on a daily basis.

dkc2420 · Nov 3, 2023

We are in Iowa too30 min south of mason city. Send pics of the unit you want to sell, although I think Im kinda sold on the John Deere garden tractor with dedicated tiller.

BarnyardEngineering · Nov 3, 2023

Garden tractor with a tiller will be the most budget friendly solution. Won't be the fastest solution, but it will get the job done.

Ideally you'd want a compact tractor on the larger side with hydrostatic drive transmission, big enough to run a 6' tiller, but unless you've got $30-$40,000 to spend...

A gear drive tractor might work okay in your situation given that the ground is frequently tilled. If you were trying to bust up hard ground that hasn't been touched in years, very few gear drive tractors would go slow enough to do an effective job.

Timmycornpicker · Nov 3, 2023

A Case/Ingersoll high-wheel garden tractor, like a 448 or 4018 with a hydraulic drive tiller attachment would also be worth looking for. If it hasn't yet
been repowered, the Onan engine might be a liability though.

Traditional Farmer · Nov 3, 2023

Actually about every compact made in the last 30 years have gears more than slow enough for tilling.

Traditional Farmer · Nov 3, 2023

I have 3 compacts between 20 and 30 HP I use for tilling,all are gear drive and have lower gears than I use to till.Massey Ferguson 220.Garden Way 242 (Iseki) built and a Cub Cadet 7000 that has LPTO.Paid less than $1000 each.On tilling its a whole lot better to use a chisel plow or ripper before tilling.

K-Mo · Nov 3, 2023

I think my email is open. send an email.

Cheap tractor for tilling

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