Customer Reviews for Agri-Fab 42 in. Poly Pro Tow Drop Spreader

I just got my new spreader and am writing an “initial” review. I will add to it after I am able to use the machine a few times. First impression, after opening the box, is that this is a good spreader, which will serve me for a long time. Also that the design will be better for me because I have hilly terrain that makes taller, broadcast spreaders difficult to use. Second impression, after assembly, is that I hope it works. First I am missing a part, the flow control rod. Customer support was friendly and agreed readily to send the part. She even apologized for the mistake, which I genuinely appreciate. I continued assembly without that part, and found the second problem. Step 5, assembly of the tongue support to both the tongue and the bearing bracket, shows two attachment points in the bearing bracket. The tongue support has two holes. The bearing bracket also has two, however, one hole is already used by a factory installed rivet. I went online, hoping the video would address the issue even if the manual didn’t, but no luck. The video also shows putting a bolt where there is already a rivet. As an engineer, I considered the effect of leaving out that bolt. In use, this would lead to additional flex of the hopper, especially on rough ground, and eventually a premature failure. The only other option is to remove the wheels and drill out the rivet on each side of the unit, and replace it with bolts. In the attached photo, the leftmost bolt was a factory rivet just like the center hole. The bolts are there for it, however, you also need to add washers where the fastener meets the plastic hopper. You will need to find your own. It is not a major headache if you are a handy person, but if not, you should open the box and inspect it within your return window. I am still happy overall with the purchase, and will comment on performance once I receive the missing part. For now, I removed one star for the hassle.

I bought this unit a few weeks ago seems to work good so far, the only issue I had during assy was that the ferrules that mount to the flow control rod were not machined correctly, (1) was tapped undersize and the other was not tapped at all, other than that the assembly went pretty smooth

Unfortunately, like most everyone else that has reported problems, no amount of adjusting will take care of the uneven distribution. Looking at the hopper from the rear, the RH side is always distributing less than the LH side. I've adjusted the triangular bar that is supposed to evenly open the the drop gate countless times and can't get an even spread. From even on both sides to a bias on the left vs. right, the feed remains too heavy on the one side. It appears that one of the agitators inside is slightly closer to the openings in the hopper and this is forcing the material out at a higher rate. No amount of adjusting will compensate for a bad design/build. I've also had to fiddle with the calibration for the amount of fertilizer to distribute. It is not very precise and easily goes from too little to too much when using fractions of the scale settings from 1 to 2. Also, the lever to pull to open the gate should be longer and angled for better operator reach. The frame, tires, and tub seem durable but that is of no point if you can't get it to work properly.

Palomino Park Resort is using this drop spreader to apply traction control and ice melter to our sidewalks after they have been cleared of snow. It is a great tool in our efforts to keep the community as safe as possible.

The spreader worked out fine. It was a chore to put together by myself, some of the bolts were hard to reach to get the nuts started on them but I finally got it all put together. I had to add an extension to the open and close handle because it was too far away from the mower’s seat to reach. I used it the first time to spread some pelitized lime around my muscadine vines and it worked well. Kind of a guess to figure out how far to open the hopper gate to get the right amount of material per square foot. Spreader seems to be well made and should last for several seasons.

I purchased the spreader last spring purposely for spreading granular lime. I live on 2 1/2 acres which is mostly hilly and rotary spreaders have the weight of the lime setting up to high and on the hills tend to tip over. This spreader sits low and the weight is distributed over the entire width. No tipping over with this unit. It did just what I wanted. The only issue I had was the difficulty of evening out the amount of drop across the entire width of the spreader. It has two drop gates which are somewhat adjusted separately. With these gates being as long as they are some of the gates would open wider than the rest thereby dropping uneven amounts. As I said I was using it for granular lime which wasn't a big problem but may be an issue with lawn fertilizer. For that reason I only gave it 4 stars. It may be difficult to see in the picture but some of the openings are open more than others mostly towards the ends or center. The adjustment is made at the ends of the single connecting rod. In my opinion, if that rod was more rigid it wouldn't bend when opening & closing.

Solid Product - Well built Great customer service - I believe its a U.S. based call center. Customer service rep I spoke with was great! Fits my JD 110 lawn tractor

This drop spreader is perfect for my yard and pasture. The grass seed and fertilizer spread is easy to control and the bin holds exacty what I need. Also, refilling the bin, when necessary,is easy and quick. It's shortened my maintenance work tremendously.

Works well so far. Some missing hardware I had to provide.settings very sensitive for spreading.

Galvanized steel agitator is not rust resistant…..

Great product, great customer support. This is the 2nd one I have owned. Long lasting.

I could not get the seed to flow out evenly on both sides. I did a better job spreading seed with a broadcast spreader regret spending the money for the drop spreader.

Spreader does not distribute evenly from left to right. The drop rate adjustment is vague and flimsy. Email to customer support did not receive reply.

I had gone to the store to get a tow-behind broadcast spreader, but as I was about to grab the box I started reading the bad reviews about the build quality (I think it was another brand). I went home and started researching alternatives and came across this. A drop spreader makes so much more sense for my bumpy hilly yard. Assembly went smoothly. Watching the video isn't required, but I do feel like it helped me. I was either missing one nylon washer or I lost it, but either way it seems like an optional part, so no problem. I was able to fit 4x40 lb bags of lime in the hopper and spread it with ease.

instructions are useless, I'm at my barn, i don't have the about to view you tube videos. exploded diagrams and hieroglyphics are unacceptable. if you do not have a degree in engineering and can't figure things out on your own, don't get this! can't tell if it even works.

if i wanted to need my laptop to put together something in my barn, away from wify,i shouldn't buy this. manual is useless unless you are an engineer and are good at hieroglyphics

Assembly was easy. The machine worked perfect. The drop seeder design is definitely superior to the other types.

The agitator wrapped around the wheel shaft causing the left side of spreader to malfunction after less than 5 mins of use.

I bought this device as a labor saver, however it has only caused me more work than ever. I can add 50# of lime or Scott's turf builder, drive around for half an hour, then dump out remainder, about 25 or 30 lbs., and scatter by hand. The unit appears to be in good working order, I see no major problems, physical or mechanical. HOWEVER material seems to defy gravity and remain in hopper. I have the setting in wide open position, if I close any at all, it spreads absolutely nothing.

First, i am returning this half way assembled. The flow control bar was pre-assembled on the main hopper assembly backwards so i had to completely take the axles out just to put the connections for the bar on the correct side. Then the holes for the side supporta dont line up with the tow bar, and the bar linkage appears to be too short, like it was made for a different model

I had a tow sling type spreader from another company and it would drop clumps of fertilizer and also the clumps of fertilizer in the bin would stall the wheels. I purchased the Agri-Fab 175lb drop spreader. It is great. Evenly distributed fertilizer and was ease to close the fertilizer bin at the end of run. I have a John Deere x320 and found the shutoff handle a bit short so I extended it. Great product.

It is just what I needed and saves my back and spreads evenly. Had 1 issue with a none threaded nut, but manufacturer sent me the whole assembly with 3 days. Great Service.

It was easy to assemble, is well built, and works well. You should be careful on sloped lawns since with the 42 inch length the contents of the hopper can shift and cause uneven distribution of fertilizer when the hopper is near empty. Going up and down slopes rather than side to side when possible should help this.

This spreader will be used on the sloping property, so I needed a spreader that won't tip over. Easy assembly, although I had the same issue as verified customer 'dbowl'; one ferrule was threaded too small. Like 'dbowl' I ran a tap through it also, just like in his photo! Same color anvil vise, too! The threads on one side of the control rod ( where the ferrule screws onto ) were damaged out of the box. I had to use the bench grinder to take off a few threads at the end of the rod. Then I used a nut with the same thread size and ran that up and down the threads a few times so I didn't wreck the ferrule. Lots of metal shavings, but the job is done, and no replacement parts are needed.

Well made spreader. Works good for dropping small seeds or fertilizer.

This drop spreader just will not adjust to spread evenly on the left and right sides at slower drop rates. It looks like the pieces pop riveted to the bottom to regulate flow were installed out of alignment and there isn't enough adjustment available to account for that. Also, one side of the adjustment bar arrived cross-threaded, so I had to re-tap those threads before it would accept the nut.

I admit I have not used it yet, although it looks rugged and easy to use. The point of the review is to commend Agri-Fab's customer service. The two ferrules would not thread onto the control rod without excessive force. I called customer service and the parts were replaced promptly. If you run into any issue, call. I got no response when I used the "report missing or defective parts" feature on their website.

Our property is hilly and not fun to follow a push spreader around. This Agri-Fab spreader does the trick when we pull it behind our riding mower. After a slightly tricky process to get it put together, we were glad to see that it spreads without us having to walk the slanted terrain. So far...so good!

just got it missing one side tonge brace called they were very nice part was sent put on ready to go happy with it at this time. will use soon

Their customer service is absolutely excellent!!! Was missing a crucial part, they literally jumped through hoops to get the part delivered. Thank you agi-fab!!