Cub Cadet VT100 (16") 208cc Vertical Tine Dual Direction Rear Tine Tiller

We were able to till all the areas we needed in about half the time it would have taken with a larger tiller, and ease of use was all that was stated

Like everything about it but speed is entirely too slow when using as a cultivator. Need to have 2 speeds or at least a faster one. Like the vertical tines feature.

Shipping was quick. No problems. Would buy from Tillers Direct again but not the VT 100

The other reviews are correct about the slow speed. It is stable, but crawls along. The problem I encountered was one of poor design in the transmission. If you till in roots, tall grass, or weeds, the vegetation wraps around the tine drive shafts tightly.

This cuts the shaft seals at the transmission housing, causing oil leaks. I put my unit in the shop three times for this issue. The cub cadet people were unwilling to help. I finally gave up and bought a traditional horizontal shaft drive. Avoid this model.

This tiller is slow and I had to push it to help it along.. It would spin rather then pull the tiller along.. It tilled fine but left a very rough finish.. It has a wide plastic wheel on each side under the shield and these left ruts in the tilled soil..

I needed to rake out the garden before planting.. I took the tiller back to the store for a refund.. The tiller was ordered online, in Feb, however the store took it back in June.. That says something for customer service..

My husband purchased this tiller and discovered that it was too slow, which hurts his back because he has back problems. When I called and spoke with customer service requesting a return or an exchange I was informed that if it had been used, with gas and oil in it they could not exchange or return it. Well, how are you suppose to know how it runs and works for you if you don't use it. Don't think we will be ordering from this company again. Don't you trade in a car that has been used with oil and gas in it? Just wondering. Signed very unhappy consumer.

Based on what customer refers most problem of new vertical tine, the tuning. I believe it is a easy solution by braking wheel drive shaft to 2 pieces and have clutch at each side more like mini transporter transmission. To make a wheel differential. make turn to disengage one side of wheel .

Sitting in a Trucking Company yard -----

It's been at their yard since Friday, so we missed the only day they come up our way ---

We are promised this Thursday for a PM delivery.

You need to use a better way to ship, like with another trucking Company ----

With all the good weather we are having I should have had the ground worked up several weeks ago ---

Enough B S

First, I have talked to the seller who said his Cub Cadet rep was willing to swap my new VT-100 out for a new 2014 R65 H. Obviously I didn't like the VT-100, but there are also some good things about it. It can be a very good tiller for some people, but I suspect not for many.

Pros
- It is very stable. It doesn't jump all over the place like the typical horizontal tine tiller. Some of that stability I'm sure is related to how slow it moves.
- Related to the stability and slowness - it's easy to handle except for turning it around which is pretty much like other tillers you need some strength to do it or at least patience if you want to make a broad turn or use reverse to try to make it easier. For me, it was easiest just to lift up on the back end to keep the tines off the dirt while the drive was engaged and steer it around to the next row.
- Seems to grind up the dirt and grass pretty well, but when only set about half way down the maximum depth. It could not go much deeper without bogging down. This was a field of grass that had not been tilled yet.
- It feels sturdy and well made.
- I think this unit would be a very good choice for a senior or someone with limited physical strength. That's not to say it doesn't take some work. But, it's much easier to handle than what I've used in the past. I never had it feel like it was going to tip, like some of the video's of the RT65's.

Cons -
- Unbelievably slow. It has only one forward speed and it's frustratingly slow. However, with all that blending that it's doing, it kind of needs to be that slow. It would probably bog down if it the gear were faster.
- You can run the tines separate from the drive, but most importantly, you cannot run the drive without running the tines. So that means that if you want to get the unit from your garage to your garden, you're going to have to push it, turned off or by running it with drive engaged, but manually holding the back end off the ground. You can roll it with the drive wheels disengaged and it pushes relatively easily on flat pavement, but not on grass. I had about 100 yards to move it from my garage. I had to pull it with a rope from my tractor to get it out there. It was either that or lift up on that back so that the tines wouldn't hit ground and snail walk it out there. I suspect that would be at least a ten minute, agonizing walk.
- The tines at the highest setting are only about 1/2" off the ground. So, when you get it into the grass, you'll be dragging the tines through the grass which adds extra resistance. I solved that problem by sticking three wooden shims under the last setting and push it further up off the ground to about 1-1/2 to 2" clearance. That helped to move it. I also took a bungy cord and connected to the metal flap on the rear so that it wouldn't drag on the ground. I'll try to upload some pics.
- The motor either overheated or something else wrong after about an hour. It was between 75 to 80 degrees here in FL. Just under an hour it started to rev up and down, then it stopped under load and popped with flame out of the right side exhaust. I was pretty disappointed to see that. I think this particular engine is just set too rich because I also went through about six tanks of gas for a 100x60 area. I let it sit for an hour and a half and then I finished up my garden with no more episodes like that, but the day had cooled down some by then.
- The biggest problem with this unit and why I really wanted to swap it out, is that it bogged down on the maximum depth setting after I had already gone over the area once at half depth (4th pin setting from the top). At the lowest setting of 6-1/2 inches, ground up grass and dirt would get jammed between the back wheels and the front of the tiller enclosure. That to me was unacceptable. Now, if I didn't have some of that ground up grass in there and maybe with the choicest and driest of soils, it might work. But it should work anyway.