We've always had mowers and strimmers that members can borrow, for their own plots and for use on communal areas of the site. Over the last couple of years - as the older, cheaper stuff has broken down on us - we've invested in decent, more robust stuff. There's always the odd idiot, of course, but on the whole members are very good about using these machines.
The suggestion has now come up that we might buy a lightweight tiller for members to borrow. My immediate reaction was that: a) if it's light enough for most members to use (and be suitable for raised beds), then it's not going to be sturdy enough to resist the wear & tear of communal use; and b) if it's sturdy enough, half the members won't be able to cart the thing around, it's going to take up too much space in our machine shed, and going to cost a fortune.
I don't want to dismiss the idea out of hand, so I said I'd ask. So, A4A peeps - is it a good idea? anyone had experience of it (good or bad!)? and if we go for it, what machine(s) should we be looking at?