Ingersoll.

This tractor was initially designed and made under the name Colt in the mid-sixties.

J.I. Case bought the company almost immediately and expanded the line. In the early 80's, they sold the line to Jack Ingersoll, who renamed the tractors to Ingersoll.

They are still made today using the same high-quality components. Cast iron axles, structural steel framework, hydraulic drive so that hydraulically powered attachments can be used, including the roto-tiller. Category 0 three-point hitch is available. The deck and sno-caster are raised and lowered hydraulically and the 4000 series uses rear tires the same size as those on your pick-up truck.

There are many, many people all over the US that are still mowing their grass with these tractors even though the tractors are thirty to forty years old. That's how durable and repairable they are.

Up until a few months ago, Winnecone was the place they were made.
Check out the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ingersoll

I believe the new owner moved the plant to either Maine or Connecticut. Castoff is right, Ingersoll is the cream of the crop, with no apologies to J-D owners LOL, but the price might scare ya a bit.

I saw a Steiner tractor advertised on a card in the new Burpee catalog. You might want to check it out. It has a tiller attachment, and a whole bunch of other neat attachments. Very interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Steiner

I had a Toro with a 36" rototiller on the back. It worked fine for me. I've jumped up a few steps since then.

Toro had a very good line of tractors, the 5xi was a treat, but unfortunately have joined the parade to the box stores.

Just curious, how big an area are you wanting to till, and how often?

A garden tractor tiller attachment is a fairly expensive attachment for most smaller garden tractors. I went through this same problem several years a go and was only going to till a 1/4 acre garden or less, and possibly a few gardens for customers.

I ended up having a neighbor come and plow my garden space with a moldboard plow and then I rented a JD Compact Utility Tractor with a 5 or 6' wide tiller and went over it several times and I was done permantely. From that point on, I really had no need for the heavy artillery. I bought a good used 8 hp, rear tine Snapper that you can reverse the tine direction and a small Mantis and with those two machines, I can till large or small or very tight places for myself or small intown customers.

If you are going to go for a really large garden, get a really good serious piece of equipment and own it. It is a pleasure to have your own when and where you want it.

Current Garden tractors with tiller capacity
Cub Cadet 3000 series Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump Mid PTO.
Cub Cadet 2500 series Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump Frny PTO.
Cub Cadet GT1500 series Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump.
Ingersoll 3000 series Hydrulic driven off of Hydraulic PTO.
Ingersoll 4000 series Hydraulic Driven off of Hydraulic PTO.
John Deere X500 series tractors Hydraulic driven by PTO. Pump on X540 or PTO Belt driven except X534 no tiller avaliable.
John Deere X700 series Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump or by rear PTO shaft driven Tiller.
Kubota G series rear PTO Shaft driven tiller.
Simplicity and Clones AGCO,Massey ferguson,Snapper
Simplicty Conquest and Clones Belt drien PTO tiller.
Simplicity Prestige and Clones Belt driven PTO tiller.
Simplcity Leagacy XL and clones Tiller shaft driven by Rear PTO.
Steiner 230 front mounted tiller Belt driven PTO.
Steiner 415 front mounted tiller Belt driven PTO.
Steiner 430Max front mounted tiller Belt driven PTO.
Stenier 525 front mounted tiller Belt driven PTO.
Steiner UM428 front mounted tiller Belt driven PTO.
Toro GT2100,2200&2300 Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump.
Toro 315 PTO belt driven Tiller.
Toro& New Holland clone 400XT/MY series PTO belt driven tiller.
Toro& New Holland Clone Xi/GT-A PTO Belt driven tiller.
Ventrac 4100 series front mounted Belt driven PTO Tiller.
Ventrac 4200VXD series front mounted Belt driven PTO Tiller.
Troy-Bilt Big RED GT 50/54 Hydraulic driven by PTO Pump Tiller.
White GT95-4H Hydraulic driven Tiller bu PTO Pump.
Note: Cub cadet GT1500 series and Toro GT2000 series and and Troy_bilt Big Reds series and the WHIte GT95-H series tractors are all clones and take the same Hydrulic driven PTO pump Tiller.
Craftsman Garden tractors use to take a sleeve hitch mounted 8hp engine driven rear tiller and Now only have a 5hp pull behined tiller avaliable. Hope this help's with your questions.

Thanks for all the help.
I've looked at quite a few and I'm going over the pro's and cons of each. (mostly cost)
Trying to get by as cheap as possible. But still have something that will last into the future.
Dave in Minnesota

Or get a used grey market Japanese tractor with tiller (Yanmar, Iseki, Shibaura, Mitsubishi, etc.). There's lots of them available, they're all diesel and designed for tiller use. Spare parts are available from many dealers and you can get a good matched tractor/tiller outfit for between $3K and $4K no problem. I sure like my 19-HP Iseki tractor/4-ft. tiller combo.

Bill

Dave, The phrases " get by as cheap as possible" and " that will last" really are not realistic. If this is your first major purchase other than a car, I understand where you are coming from. However it is not the same, many Americans look upon many major purchases as temporary.2-10 years. If you buy the best you can afford even if you have to push your budget way out of your comfort zone when it comes to this type of equipment. You can easily have something that will last 20-35 years or longer. I have a Wheel Horse garden tractor built in 72 and it still runs and works up to expectations. Back when it was new, it was a High End Lawn Mower.

Depending on the size of your garden a plow, disc and harrow might be more efficient. Remember that once you buy these items they'll pretty much last for ever. Add to that a built-to-last tractor (see tom's post above) possibly used and you can get a lot of bang for the back.

In fact going used you might be able to get the whole shebang for less than you'd pay for a new tiler.

If you never experienced some of these older tractors as a kid you probably won't understand just how rugged they are until you try one.

So, if you really want to go as cheep as possible but have ti last I'd wholeheartedly recommend a used tractor and a plow versus tiller.

I want to thank everyone for their feedback. I took the advice I got from this forum and bought a 1984 JD 316 with a 50 inch mower deck, snow blower and a hydralic tiller.
I got the operators manual for the tractor but I didn't get any literature on any of the attachments.
I'll be looking over Ebay for the manuals for those.

Sounds as though you did find something cheap that will last into the future. Hard to go wrong with a JD 316.

Here are a couple of links that you might find helpful.

http://www.deere.com/en_US/homeowners/products_non_current/316.html

The Onan is a very good engine but you need to take care of it. Change the oil every 50 hours and check it often. Keep the oil level at the full mark all the time. Parts for Onans are expensive because they are now discontinued. However, if that tractor is in excellent condition, it is worth repowering. Small Engine Warehouse has been known to offer a 20 hp Honda engine that is spec'd correctly for your application.

Here is a link that might be useful: 316

I up graded last fall to a CC GT2554. The tractor was $3600 and the tiller was $800
for a $4300 total.

I still have the Bolens and the Bolens tiller the CC replaced.

I bought the Bolens in June of 2005 for 550 and the Bolens tiller back in 66 for around 200 . Total invested in this rig $750.OO.

Ignor castoff.
The nut case don't know what he's talking about.

I'd really like to know how you managed to buy a $4200 tractor and a $3000 hydraulic tiller (with hitch and electric lift) for a total of $4300. You got almost 75% off on the tiller.

I'd say your stretching the truth a bit. I've heard you brag about these great deals for months and have yet to see any proof.

You did good, darn good garden tractor that with proper maintance will give you years of service. There's a place in Minn. that carries most every thing for your tractor including implements to repower kits. Jim@jimsrepairjimstractors.com he's got a neat website and will answer questions email or phone.
Myself, I prefer the older garden tractors, must, I have four of them and always looking to buy another one. I've got a 48" cat o rear pto shaft driven tiller for my old 1855MF that does a darn good job on a garden. I usually plow first(molboard plow) and then till. My ole 1855MF has the Onan twin in it, 2500hrs and still going. I change oil and filter every 30hrs and use Syntec oil

Got lucky ,
musta been in the rite place at the rite time.

Hope you enjoy that very fine JD 316. I had a 317 for my first garden sized tractor and loved it.

I also wouldn't consider the cheapest tiller equipped model - You'll almost certainly live to regret that

A tractor powered tiller is a pretty sophisticated piece of machinery and there are all sorts of problems that will come up if you go 'cheapest'

I would buy from a line of quality machines specifically designed with such attachments in mind, rather than some stamped tin tractor with a tiller added as an afterthought

Don

dlhammer

You ended up purchasing before posting, but that is the ticket on garden tractors/tillers, find the complete set up and not just a tractor and then looking for a sleve hitch or 3-point or rear PTO or tiller, because these items individually add up quick as you mentioned and it's just cheaper to find the package. Great little machine, and be sure to post a picture.

some stamped tin tractor with a tiller added as an afterthought

Don
=========
What do you consider stamped tin tractors?