GardenTrax 4 Cycle Mini Cultivator

Great customer service. I ordered this tiller and received it within 4 days. Assembly was quick and easy. Being self confident I turned it on it's side and filled the oil chamber. I took it outside to crank and it wouldn't start. I was very disappointed and figured I had just been ripped off on another cheap piece of Chinese junk. I called customer service and the man I talked to was extremely polite, and pointed out that it is important not to put too much oil in this tiller. 2.5 ounces is the proper oil level. Had I took the time to read the instructions I would have seen this. I asked if I could just pour out the oil and start over, he advised me to not do this. He explained he would send me another tiller right away. I received the new tiller within 3 days, followed the instructions on adding oil and it cranked on the fist pull every time I started it. This little tiller is a beast, it will till with so little effort. Within 45 minutes I had tilled up a new garden plot that is 20'x30'. It would have taken me hours with a shovel or fork. The new tiller came with a shipping return sticker and It was easy packing away the first tiller into the box of the new one. UPS picked it up and returned it for free. I never had to call Amazon at all. Garden Trax customer service 800# was all it took to solve the problem fast and free. Great product and really great customer service.

Assembly was simple. To start I needed to turn off the choke (opposite of the instructions) started easy and ran fine for 30 minutes in loose dirt. Then the blades quit turning and after repeated attempts it does not work. Returning through Amazon is NOT available I called the service number and they are not open. Left a message and no response.

I ordered this item mainly because of the good reviews for the tiller itself, but was put at ease by the reviews of the customer service, as well. I didn't think I'd have to find out first hand about the customer service but my luck ...I'm "that guy"...the one that gets the defective unit. Sure enough, the first time I poured gas into the tank, it started dribbling out the bottom from a bad "seam". I called customer service and crossed my fingers. They were very friendly and personable, but to my initial dismay only offered to send out a replacement tank...expecting me to install it myself! I'm pretty handy and wouldn't really have a problem trying to do it, but after hearing the reviews where they promptly sent out a whole new tiller (even when it was the customer's fault for over filling the oil, for example), and considering I had the tiller all of a couple hours before discovering the defect, I felt like that they should've sent out a new tiller. To his credit, the man on the phone (I got the impression he's the owner) changed his answer before I could argue. He said "I don't want to delay your planting any more than I have to." He sent out a new tiller with a shipping label for the old one to send back. That's what I have to say about the customer service (besides 'thank you and sorry for the delay in writing my review'). As for the machine: one of the best I've ever used in the last 30 years. A real Tasmanian Devil chewing up sod, dirt...whatever, but small and lightweight. Controls in the right place, easy to assemble. Only thing is that it would be a little more stable with one of those "depth/drag bars in the back, and the spark plug's impossible to find, but I love this little beast.

Light weight, great price and does the job quickly and efficiently. We found that it will not cut through turf, but once we turned over the soil with a shovel and ran the cultivator over the dirt clods, it made fast work of breaking down the soil. Hard to start with the pull, but once it is going it doesn’t stop.

I almost busted out loud laughing when I saw how big the box was when I received the Cultivator. Somewhat embaressed to let my neighbors see me with this little toy sized cultivator I headed to the backyard carrying it with one hand. It fired up on the second pull, make sure you have the tiller out of the dirt and tilted back holding the throttle wide open with one hand and pulling on the rope with the other hand. The rope handle, cheap plastic broke about the third time I used this machine. It started smoking badly after about the second tank of gas. I noticed it was getting a lot of oil from the crankcase breather to the carburetor air cleaner. But it was not as bad if I kept it revved up when it started. Keep in mind this is a cultivator, made to CULTIVATE about 4" deep. It works fine for that, but your mileage will vary depending on how you use it and the conditions it works in,. I read the manual thoroughly and could never find a point of lubrication for the geardrive. Unfortunately mine gave up the battle today, the gearbox is worn out so I have to decide what to do with it, I don't know if it will be worth trying to get warranty. UPDATE: I decided to give Thunder Bay Outdoor Products, the dealer, a call to see if they could help me out, left a message and they called back. This is why I read reviews before I buy because I place a lot of emphasis on service, warranty, and parts availability. Sure enough Garden Trax came through without a single problem! They got me up and running as soon as they were able to ship the next day. Their customer satisfaction is a top priority and you the customer can count on it. I couldn't be happier. Thank you very much Garden Trax !!

Ok, I'm amending an earlier posted review, as I was pretty miffed about this purchase at first. But customer service was so responsive and polite.... and the issue is fixable. So I'll update the review and "stars" once the full process completes itself. Fair is fair... I had the same EXACT issue as ("Dennis in SoCal"), word for word. Then I wrote an initial negative review. Afterwards I saw another posted review from someone who had a similar issue, but called the customer service number on the manual, (which I almost never do, being a stubborn self-fix kinda person). When I called they were polite and very accommodating. They offered a direct exchange, with free shipping both ways. Can't do better than that. So I updated my review. (and then they called to follow up, so they are very customer satisfaction oriented). ** Please note: it seems that the old manual was a big part of the problem. They told me that have since begun clearing it up. So be very sure to follow the new instructions for oil level, gas, starting, usage, etc. to the letter. My old review: ** I thought it was strange that it smelled like gas when I received it and opened the box, and it was scratched up in some spots. So I wondered if it was a defective return item resale? * Update: it may have just been from when it was manufactured and tested. ** I used it twice, after a half hour and a bucket of sweat (and many expletives) trying to get it started each time. ** The starter rope handle broke the 2nd time, probably because I had to pull it 8000 times while holding the drive handle to try and get it started, (which was a physical challenge to keep the unit in place on the ground using my foot). Update: *This is how starting procedure was listed in the old manual. I understand that's now been amended. ** Once it was working (those 2 times) it worked fine on dirt ONLY if I kept it revved up to keep it from stalling. I only got 2 uses out of it before it died for good. Now it won't even try to fire up at all. *Update: seller is exchanging the unit for me free of charge. ** Chinese design. More plastic in the design than I'd like, and very thin tin. Concerned about how long it might last before breaking. But it's made for light tilling, so hopefully it'll be ok if used correctly. ** You have to lay the tiller on it's front face to fill with gas and oil, so it's hard to determine the right level of each without spilling. Be sure to measure in advance and put in the recommended amount. Too much oil can kill it. (I never came across a unit that would die forever from a little extra oil before). Also, I only also use the highest quality gas (highest octane) in all my yard tools. ** Again, the old manual is extremely poor, vague, lacking information, and is apparently written for a different earlier model. Be sure to pay attention to the new addendums. *Update: The seller said they have corrected this for all future shipments ** I requested a drag/stabilizer bar from the seller, since it was listed in the manual I received. But I guess they don't include them anymore. Since it's made for breaking up light soil, I guess it's not needed. The seller said they'd send one out as a courtesy, Honestly, I'm not sure if it was a bad unit or if I just did something wrong with fluids and/or starting that killed it (maybe a little of both?), based on the old manual instructions. Will update once I get a chance to try out the new unit. Stay tuned. .

I live on North Texas prairie black land that varies between too thick to plow or too thin to drink, depending on rainfall. I took this puppy out on a yard that had been pasture up until nine years ago. I have not attempted to sod or sow grass because of the extreme dryness and heat in the summers. The tiller cranked right up, and I used the first pass to dethatch a track for a row, and two more passes to finish. I am planting a late group of sunflowers, and do not intend to clear outside the tilled rows, since the pasture grass helps hold in the moisture. There was a little bucking, but that diminished after I learned how to handle the machine. Do be careful about the bolts for the handle wanting to loosen up. I had rented a larger Mantis machine last week, before ordering this machine, and must say that the Mantis cannot stay in the ballpark with the Garden Trax for performance, to say nothing about price. I read a lot of the reviews, and thank all the folks who shared their experiences so that I could avoid making too many mistakes. I use ethanol gasoline, but treat it with Lucas gasoline treatment, just as I do for my car, lawnmower and 2 cycle weedeater.

DO NOT purchase this tiller. The first one wouldn't start, had issues. They replaced and the second one lasted 2 weeks. And they will NOT stand behind product. Told to take to a small engines shop around me to get fixed. THE SHOP SAID THEY COULDN'T DEAL WITH THEM ! Now up a creek.

Broke within 1 minute of use. Gear box is clearly defective. I took 1 pass of the garden in fairly loose soil and few weeds to start it off easy and that was all it took for the gear box to be pickled.