Earth Tools Dealer
Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands one stop shop for all things Earth Tools
Our Offerings
Earth Tools Dealer
We are Lower Vancouver Island (Capital Regional District, Victoria, Sooke, Metchosin, and Cowichan Valley) and the Southern Gulf Islands’ only Earth Tools tractor and implements dealer.
Repair and Maintenance
We specialize in the repair and maintenance of walk-behind tractors and implements, ensuring optimal functionality and longevity. Our expertise encompasses a range of services for these agricultural tools.
Used Tractor and Implement Sales
Get in touch to see the range of used two-wheel tractors and implements we have for sale!
What is a Walk Behind Tractor?
A walk-behind tractor is a compact, versatile farming or gardening implement designed to be operated by a person walking behind it. Also known as a power tiller or two-wheel tractor, it typically features a small engine, usually gasoline-powered, and various attachments such as plows, cultivators, and seeders.
These machines are well-suited for small-scale farming, gardening, and landscaping tasks. Their maneuverability and adaptability make them invaluable for tilling soil, planting crops, and maintaining small plots of land. Walk-behind tractors offer an efficient and user-friendly alternative to larger, more complex agricultural machinery, catering to the needs of hobbyists and small-scale farmers.
What are my Walk Behind Tractor options on Vancouver Island?
If you need a two-wheel tractor, which means a machine that accepts various implements on a PTO (power-take-off) as opposed to a rototiller, then the only good-quality machines you can buy in Canada come from Italy. Italy is an industrial country with plenty of small-plot farming and has many companies making these tractors. Only two brands are imported to Canada: Grillo, and BCS. So your choice is between two remarkably similar brands.
Their most popular offerings, the Grillo G110 and the BCS 853 have these points in common:
1) Their engines have the same power, and in general, are the very same Honda GX390.
2) Their wheel bolt pattern is the same, and they accept the same range of wheel sizes and types.
3) The same wide range of implements is available for either brand, mostly made by independent companies, and can be easily adapted to fit either drive.
4) The materials used, quality of construction, and weight are pretty much indistinguishable. In both cases, the handlebars can be swung around and locked over the engine so that a front-mounted implement such as a mower or snowblower can be used.
Which is better, Grillo or BCS?
So from the point of view of the operator in the field, they are both effective and satisfying machines to use. The significant differences are only evident to someone who is paying for the machine, and losing money if it stops working:
1) The Grillo costs about 30% less than the equivalent BCS, due, apparently, to fewer and less wealthy middlemen;
2) The Grillo clutch arrangement is MUCH cheaper and easier to replace than either of the two BCS clutch setups, and the Grillo gearcase is much easier to disassemble, should that ever be necessary. If you plan to do your own repairs, go with Grillo.
3) Grillos are much better supported. Both the North American distributor, Earth Tools, and the Vancouver Island dealer, Living Lots, are rooted in the market-gardening community. Living Lots has abundant spare parts right on the Island, and long experience specific to walking tractors. There is no BCS dealer in the area that can compare.
4) Living Lots has developed an adapter so that if you happen to have access to a BCS-type implement for some purpose that comes up, you can mount it on your Grillo. The BCS full-size machines only accept implements configured specifically for BCS. So the Grillo can get you out of jams.
5) Living Lots will lease out Grillos to market gardeners, by the year, and provide strong preventive maintenance, fast reaction to problems, and replacement with an identical tractor in the unlikely event that shop repairs are needed.
These are major advantages. Tractors don’t break down sitting in a barn; they break down when you are using them, in the spring, when all the small-engine shops are swamped with broken lawnmowers and chainsaws. Deal with a supplier who is fanatical about downtime prevention.