Tiller Runs Smoother With Tail Wheel
Replacing the drag bar on David Johnson’s rear tine tiller with a tail wheel made for smoother tilling and better weed control.
“I like to mulch my garden plants with 4 to 6 in. of dry leaves to suppress weeds and hold moisture,” says Johnson. “I use the tiller to fluff up the leaves, exposing the roots of any weed seeds that germinate.”
The only problem was the drag bar on the tiller. It tended to drag leaf mulch along, leaving bare soil behind. Periodically, Johnson had to lift the tiller and spread out the pile of built-up mulch.
He couldn’t simply remove the drag bar because it provides depth control. “I only need to fluff up the top few inches,” says Johnson.
His solution was to remove the drag bar and replace it with a 5-in. dia. caster wheel he found at a farm auction.
Johnson welded together a mounting arm for the wheel. When he upgraded to a bigger tiller, he had to extend the wheel back farther to clear the drag pan.
“It works great with no more mulch buildup,” says Johnson. “The only problem is in bare soil where it leaves a compressed trail, and the fresh seeds germinate faster. There I need to make a half lap to take out the trail.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David Johnson, 8090 Benson Rd., Carroll, Ohio 43112 (ph 740 504-5492; hoss677@ameritech.net).


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2021 - Volume #45, Issue #4