CRAFTSMAN 85-lb Capacity Broadcast Tow-Behind Spreader

Poor manufacturing control

The box looked like someone repacked it. All the parts were there and it appeared new so I accepted it. Assembly was not easy. The illustrations were actually decent. The written steps could have been a bit more clear. As other reviewers stated, this does not go together very well. It seems like some steel support bars are not formed properly, leading to what appears to be an amateur design. After completion, I found that the drive wheel took so much force to turn that it would not tuen when bei...

BEWARE-I'm 2 for 2 on this

Unbelievable quality......I purchased one online on 9/5/2024 and one of the tires would not inflate. Something was apparently wrong with the valve stem. So I returned it on 9/9/2024 and ordered a second one online. The second one arrived on 9/12/2024 and apparently this one was a return since the instruction manual was dirty with footprints and missing hardware........ yeah, the hardware bag had already been opened. I'll spend twice as much just for the peace of mind knowing that I will receive...

Absolute waste of money

The box arrived beat to heck and there was hardware missing. When assembling, I found that the axle shaft was approximately 1/2 short which wouldn't allow for the hub cap locks to attach properly. I ended up having to drill and pin with hitch pins. The drive box that turns the spreader came apart on the first usage. The only thing holding it together was a small retaining ring. There were 3 holes when bolts should have been, but there were none. I had to put bolts in it to hold it together...

Cant believe Agrifabs quality (made by Agrifab)

I bought this thinking I'd save a couple of bucks by putting it together myself. I'm an automation engineer. I'm a mechanical guy. I can't believe how poorly constructed this is. I had to file the axle bushings to make fit(molded plastic), none of the hardware is plated with zinc or made of stainless. It's an outdoor piece of equipment .... why not? The dispense flap doesn't close all the way (rebent the rod to adjust). Tires came uninflated and NOT to save space ... It had so much room in the b...

Broken

Been waiting for this spreader for 3 weeks. 1st one never left the shipping center. 2nd was suppose to ship 2nd day air and took a week. Box showed up half opened and taped up again (poorly). The parts were just thrown in the box with no packing of any kind. Went to account for the parts and they were all there except the control cable was broken and not attached to the hopper anymore. Wish I had read the reviews before purchasing, but figured Craftsman would put out a better product than t...

broken at receipt

When we unpacked this to put it together, it was cracked all along one side and had to return it to the store. Going to try one more time and see if it arrives undamaged this time.

Poor Quality and Materials

The cart barely went together and required that I fix several parts as they were shipped in order for them to fit properly. After it was all put together, I realized that the spread rate adjuster didn't lock and so there was no way to ensure that you putting down the right amount of product. Very disappointed.

Poorly shipped and terrible assembly

Revived this product today the axle bushings did not fit together into their recpective recesses parts missing hitch brackets a wheel spacer a bolt and nut for the hitch brackets the right wheel had to be pounded on to the axle took 4 hours to put together very poor instructions and little organization with parts laying scattered in the box

Review

Seems like it is well built. Assembly was easy. The only problem was the selector for the drop door at the bottom would not close completely. Had to take it apart and reassemble the selector for it work properly.

Junk

The plastic axle bushings don't fit properly the frame parts weren't drilled all the way. The openings for the axles still had alot huge bures that had to filed down along with the axle bushings. Definitely not the Craftsman quality that was expected.