EARTHQUAKE 29409 Victory Rototiller Tiller CRT with Reverse - 4-Cycle Viper Engine, 5 Year Warranty

as advertised.. well designed..

Works great. Just perfect for my smaller garden.

At $449 on sale, plus $50 in-store rebate, I would think twice about how badly I 'needed' other features. I'm using the tiller to break up sod/lawn to a depth of about 10" so I can easily dig up soil from high spots and redistribute to low areas to improve the grade around my daughter's house. I'm not a tiller aficionado but this seems to work really well for me.I have thoroughly tilled around 1/3 acre of compacted soil with lots of rocks the size of potatoes - from little Yukon Gold size to monster taters. This tiller has worked quite well given the price. I had to rent a Cub Cadet rear-tine tiller for a couple days and while the Cub Cadet is a little more of a beast (meaning considerably heavier but also more capable) the Earthquake holds its own pretty well. It even clears the rocks as good or better than the Cub Cadet.HOWEVER, there is a serious design flaw in the Earthquake when used in rocky soil. The counter-rotating tines (which you want in rocky soil) obviously churn soil and rocks back toward the front of the tiller, toward the pulleys, levers, belts, and cables. Unfortunately the smaller rocks can get wedged against the anchor point for the forward transmission cable. Eventually the jamming of the rocks breaks the anchor point. You then have two choices, 1) order a complete cable from Ardisan (parent company of Earthquake) because the anchor point is not available separately, or, in my case, 2) fashion a replacement anchor out of a sturdy wire coat hanger. This fabricated anchor doesn't last real long but definitely buys some time. Ultimately the cable itself breaks from the onslaught of rocks so you are back to option 1. In my case the cable wasn't available for 2 months due to Covid induced supplier delays. (That's where the Cub Cadet came in.)

This tiller is nothing but problems. It is poorly made. I have not even had mine for an entire season and I am tired of putting more money into it. The engine was great. I had no problems starting it and it ran great. The rest of the tiller is junk. I have gone through 3 drive belts (at $30 apiece), a drive assembly and now the transmission is out. The tines turn but the wheels will not. Also, the bolts are constantly coming lose, so check all of them before use. I highly recommend NOT buying this product. It was made in China and it shows. Spend the extra money and invest it in a tiller that will last. This one will not!

Bought this at Menards for the same price and needed it quicker than having it shipped. At first I was not impressed, only about 30 minutes into it the tiller's belt started slipping. Took out the manual and found you have to adjust the cable after about 30 minutes and then about every 2 hours until it is done stretching. With my soil, sod, roots, and clay I had to adjust it all the way to the max, but only slipped when I hit a large root. I would hear the belt slipping and lift up the back end and a huge clump of sod or ball of roots would be chucked out and the tiller will just continue on. Used it about 4 hours during the first pass. I never knew I had that much roots and clay, but that did not stop this tiller. Also have to make sure to clean the blades; roots, sod, straw, and other will get tangled up in there and will reduce performance.

So far so good. Have about 2 hours on the unit. I’ll update this after the season. I’ve so far done a 15’x50’ patch from virgin soil. Machine ran great, real strong. Chewed right through everything. Unit is easy to use and well priced. Plenty of power.

I bought new tiller and assembled it put oil and Gas in it turned on the gas. motor started with just after about half of the pull. I put it in gear without the tines engaged the dirt to go back to the spot i was going to till and the motor quit after about 30 feet. The motor wouldn't start, waited a few minutes put the chock on and it started but died right away. this is the way it works now all the time, and because it has the Kohler motor customer service and didn't even try to solve the problem just said to call Kolher cause they can't help unless its the Viper motor version. I had to find the problem my self if I can't it fix it my self I will have to take it back and get a different manufactures tiller. Very Disappointed in the quality of customer service.