Agri-Fab 45-0518 40" Tow Behind Lawn Plug Aerator with Universal Hitch; Designed to Pull Behind Lawn & Garden Tractors

Very nice product and good price. A solid rugged design and made in the USA which I like. Takes awhile to assemble. Took me approximately 4 hours. Most I did by myself but the last step it was helpful to have an assistant. The instructions are well written and clear. I only had to repeat one step. Only one improvisation required. One bolt that secured the control leaver was just a little too long to fit in the space. Swapped it with another bolt that was not quite as long and that did it. The only missing part was one of the tire valve covers. I can live with that. The tongs loosed up a little after the first use so I tightened them up before I put it away for storge until the fall.

The assembly process is quite complex (think IKEA level 3). There are many, many similar screws, nuts, and components. The YouTube video is very good, but it continually refers to the alphabetical letter (ex. nut "B") so you need the manual to match the parts correctly. It took about 2 hours to assemble at a leisurely pace while being careful not to cut myself on the sharp blades. You will need various SAE wrenches and sockets. Also, there are several steps that will require a second person to help. Unfortunately, it was missing the nylon lock nut to attach the last wheel {sigh} so I went to the hardware store and purchased a similar nut to get me by. I entered a support request on the website and the nut arrived in 3 days by mail.I used 4 cinder blocks to weigh down the aerator. Overall, it did a decent job even though I have southern red clay soil which can be difficult to aerate without proper watering. For the price, it's a good value.

The media could not be loaded. Well made plug aerator by Agri Fab. Tried and true design. I agree with other reviews saying the instructions were not very clear. Watch the video. I made a few mistakes and point them out so hopefully you can avoid the same mistakes I made.I also wanted to give some advice on how to use it.1. Pull it slowly to avoid damage to plug aerator.2. Use it when your lawn is moist. Run it after a soaking rain or after you run your sprinklers. Don't run it on hard, dry, packed ground. Don't pull it through mud either.3. Mark sprinkler heads, tree roots and anything else in your yard that could damage the blades. I use those little yard flags. I have found sprinkler boxes with this thing. It can destroy stuff. Be careful.4. Take inventory of all your parts before starting. I was missing a part. Called Agri Fab and recieved the part within the week.5. I use 4 cement cinder blocks strapped down with rubber straps. Works well.It's a solid piece of equipment. I'm happy with it's performance and highly recommend it.Video shows the orientation of the parts on the shaft. I made several mistakes and will mention them. Good luck!

This unit was delivered early afternoon.I did the unbox and the parts look good. but a couple bags of parts should have alerted me to be prepared.I read the instructions several times. Started working on the blades. Pretty straight forward but wear good leather gloves. I did wear gloves and still got numerous small cuts during the assemble.Assembled the blades and started the pan assembly. This is where I got lost. Went inside and searched for you tube videos. Found quite a few. All I found were decent but none agreed on every thing.Assembled the blade assembly on the pan and it did just not look right. Back to the videos. One person assembly and for the final assembly of this machine you need two people. Helper mostly just helping you balance things.Next morning reviewed instructions and watched more videos.I got the thing assembled but the up and down lever is really a pain. Got wife to help balance that nasty lever and finally got it on. Wheels tho on written instructions were not at all like what actually happened.More video time and I totally discarded the written instructions and went with a video. Got the wheels attached but they did not lift the blades off the ground. Took a look and the wheel assemblies needed to be rotated 180 degrees on the shaft. Did that and after adding air and grease to the tires, the machine is ready for a test drive. I am very tired and will wait to actually use the machine.Bottom line for me at least the parts look really good. The instructions for me at least just not quality. The nuts and bolts were missing a few and added a few. Making sure the small parts are there would get a much higher rating. The diagrams of each nut, bolt, washer and small parts are really a help. Without these diagrams and clear reference to the bolt, nut etc I think most home owners would add hours to the assembly.My suggestion is to add more photos especially more to show you what the final look of each assembly is so you know what you are working toward.I hope the written instructions get a rewrite proofed by a customer not a factory technician and videos by the manufacturer expanded with more images showing what each assembly should look like,Final comment I think the actual machine is going to be at least a 4 maybe a 5.The instructions tho rank closer to zero. Now that I am done with the assembly I realize that many times I had the assembly correct but had to spend lots of time making sure I was correct. This is complicated assembly process. Mess up any assembly and you will mess up more later on. More checkpoint photos would be good step forward I think.

Well let's start with what others are saying about assembly. Being a past mechanic, it was not too bad, but the instructions are different from the web instructions and the paper one's you get. Assembly is not that bad but follow them very closely. And yes gloves are a must at least while working with the spikes. During assembly the wheel brackets seemed bent or poor weld. Assembled the whole thing to find out that the raising arm/lever would not seat in the up position. Just as I though faulty wheel brackets. Called Agri-Fab and they replaced them without any issues and were very friendly and helpful. Received new ones in about 5 days and reassembled the unit with no other issues. Then ran the thing and it did a great job. It'd tough to pull the thing up a grade but I'm sure each time I use it I will find the perfect way for my property. If you have a flat lot no issue. And as everyone else says I save $160.00 the first time I used it compared to a lawn service. Happy with it