Need Advice On A Troy Built Tiller Purchase

[PineRidge]

Over 20 years ago I purchased a new horse Troy Built tiller. I used it for about 7 years before I sold my home and the tiller to boot.

It never gave me a minutes worth of trouble in the years that I owned it and the employee that bought it from me used it for many years after with no complaints at all before he finally gave up gardening and sold it again.

I am again thinking of purchasing another new Horse ES (electric start) Troy Built tiller. I have looked at a few and I see they have made quite a few changes through the years since I last owned one. I am wondering if any Troy tiller owners can tell me if they are happy with their tillers and if not why.

I also noted that Troy will ship tillers straight from the factory now and throw in free shipping, a wrap around bumper, and hiller attachment for the same money making the deal even a bit sweeter yet.

Comments or suggestions anyone? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tonyw]

Mike, I sold my little Pony TroyBilt about 2 years ago since it was too small for my needs--i now have an Italian Muratori tiller which is 3pt mounted on my tractor. My TroyBilt was only 2 years old then, but i had worn it down considerably. I have an uncle who has an old model Horse which is still going strong--it's probably 20 years +... May be truth to "they don't make em like they used to."
If you don't mind spending $$, I'm attaching a link to BCS. I know of some satisfied owners--and they're quite versatile; use the same basic unit to attach a tiller, chipper/shredder/ mower/sickle bar mower/snowblower, etc.
BCS tiller

 

[Yankee]

"Comments or suggestions anyone?"

I had a Troy-Bilt horse for years - no problems and I was very happy with it.

I don't see where they've changed all that much where it matters (chassis, gears, housing, etc.). I don't like Briggs engines, though. Mine had a Kohler. The only non-Briggs Troy-Bilt now is the Pro-Line.

Considering Troy-Bilt's prices, I think I'd go with BCS. Troy wants close to $2,800 for their top of the line. You can get the BCS 850 for not much more than that and get more of a machine.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used Troy-Bilt at a good price, though. There's lots of them out there in very good condition.

 

[MikePA]

I've heard that since TroyBuilt was bought out by MTD their quality has dropped. IOW, a TrpyBuilt tiller bought 'years ago' may not be indicative of the quality of today's tillers.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi...


Well... here's a 3rd BCS recommendation in a row...

I've previously owned/operated 3 TroyBilt rototillers... from smaller/old to a brand new 8HP Horse model 4-5 years ago...
Tilled ~5,000 from sod to garden...

Past 2+ years have a used BCS 8HP model 720 tractor with 24" tiller... snowblower attachment... chipper/shredder attachment... grader blade...

Tilled sod to garden... smaller areas...

The BCS's are definately superior to the TroBilt's... in design... construction... and operation... and versatility...

BCS's are designed and built for "commercial" use... Troy's are targeted to "homeowner" use...

BCS has NO power hungry BELTS or PULLEYS...
...an all gear drivetrain with automotive style cone clutch...
...drivetrain & seals guarenteed forever I understand...

I till full-depth with the BCS at 1/2 throttle or less... and with 1 hand guiding it... noticably easier/better than the Troy's I've had...
BCS's have a faster tine speed...

Even the BCS chipper/shredder attachment noticably outshines the TroyBilt 8HP Super Tomahawk I had...

There's a couple threads in the "Buying/Pricing" forum on 2-wheel tractors with more info.

I wrote a long review on my BCS there...

Here'a a link to that thread...

Dave...

 

[heehaw]

my guess is, when you sold the tiller, the buyer got a good deal, and when he sold it, that buyer got an even better deal..what i am saying is look for someone like you..that has had a tiller for a couple years and wants/needs to sell it..
i have bought at least 10 troybilt tillers over the years, never gave over $600 for one, and 2 where less than 2 years old, now i am talking about the horse model, i have never had one of the smaller ones. i bought one this year for $250 that has a 8 horse kohler, electric start motor, its about 6-8 years old and had been sitting in a barn for the last several years.
heehaw

 

[timb]

Mike -

I may be one of the biggest 'classic' Troy-Bilt fans around here but even I would really hesitate buying new any stand-alone (walk-behind) tiller the price of one of the new big Troy-Bilts much less a BCS if I already had a perfectly nice tractor like your TC.

I believe you could get a decent 3-pt unit several times the tilling width of the walk-behinds for considerably less than cost of the good walk-behinds.

As an option you could use the $$ difference to buy a nice between-the-rows cultivator implement for the tractor for early season cultivating and possibly even something like a Mantis tiller et al for late season weedkeeping chores.

Then you've got a set up that covers everything from early-season sod-breaking through final till-it-back-in cleanup and all the cultivating in between. And there will be no comparison when you have the hard tilling tasks to do.

Or - as was said above - just keep your eyes open for one in the classifieds - and buy a 'real' 7hp (Kohler) Horse from the good old days. We've had mine since 1978 although it slept for awhile until this year. See no reason why it won't keep running for several more decades - yet I see decent-looking ones from that era selling for $400 or less.

 

[Junkman]

I had a Troy Built Horse and when I purchased my Kubota last fall, the Troy Built was one of the first things to sell to make room in the garage. It had the Kohler engine on it and was a 1975 or so model. Put an ad in the paper for $1200 or best offer. The first person to come made me a $1000 offer and it went home in the back of his pickup. Like everyone else has said, they just don't make them like they used to and a good clean one in like new condition is hard to find in New England.

 

[Slamfire]

I bought a Pony that had been in the previous owners possession for less than 24 hours. Don't know why he took it back, but my wife's sister has had a blast, running it in her garden this year.

 

[PineRidge]

Thanks for all the input on tillers guys. I'm really sold however on Troy-Built, especially the heavy "Horse" model. And electric start was one of the features that I wanted on this one since I didn't get it on my first "Horse" that I owned some 20+ years ago. My better half was following my research on different tillers and surprised me by ordering a "Horse" straight from the factory. She then gave me a belated fathers day card letting me know a tiller should arrive within the next week or two. She's a keeper in my book! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Maybe I will let her run it in the garden. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif