buying a tractor

[Anonymous Poster]

Please help. My daughter and I are buying 5 cleared acres in the country. The guy selling the property also wants to sell his tractor. It is a 1996 TroyBilt GTX 20. The tractor has a 60" belly mower and has about 400 hours of use. I cannot find much info about the tractor - i know that MTD is now producing the Troy Bilt garden tractor, but what about the older models before they were bought out? Does this machine have a good track record or should I look further. thanks for your help.

 

[2thdoc]

Found a review at: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://partner.consumerreview.com/reviews/showproduct.asp?partner=shopnow&SiteID=14&CategoryID=316&ProductID=45068&partnerproduct=>TroyBilt GTX - 20 HP</A>
Might want to keep looking if this review is representative of them all.

 

[karmakanic]

Man,,,the power of the internet! Ask a question about some obscure piece of our consumer society, and someone, somewhere can tell you about it.

And here I thought troy-built built their own stuff, and generally built good stuff. The chipper shredder we own of theirs has been first rate.

I guess that's what happens when you have someone else build it and put your name on it.

I know I would never buy a MTD machine. I think any engineers they have on their staff are directed to spend their time figuring out how to make something as cheap as possible that'll last the warranty period. And sometimes they don't even get that right, as the review suggests.

Thanks for the link, I bookmarked that site.
Dave Perry aka karmakanic

 

[rozett]

That is not the experience of most of the Cub Cadet owners on this forum... including myself.

It is every bit as strong and reliable as green or red.... and outspec's them in several areas. I looked at JD, Kubota, Kioti, and NH. I have never regretted the decision to buy a cub.

//bruce

 

[JohnMiller3]

Over the years, I've done a lot of service for Troy-Bilt employees... one gal told me to "stay away from" their riding mowers... she was a "key" customer service person... /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

(Troy-Bilt had one of their parts depot a few hundred yards from my shop...)

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I own several items manufactured by MTD: A Cub Cadet utility tractor that I would stack next to a John Deere or Kubota any day, a chipper that has exceeded my expectations and a Cub Cadet woodsplitter that works up over 10 cord of wood each fall. I have owned all of these for several years and used them all harshly and extensively with no complaints thus far.

 

[karmakanic]

Please excuse my ignorance, I did not know that the Cub Cadet was made by MTD. I have always heard good things about the Cub, and it's on my wife's christmas wish list.

 

[rozett]

Yes, Dave.... in addition to Cubs, MTD also makes Troy-Bilt, Yard Man and Ryobi..
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mtdproducts.com/index.jsp>http://www.mtdproducts.com/index.jsp</A>

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

How is their Yard Machine stuff? It looks quite a bit better built than the Huskee that MTD builds, for example. Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[rozett]

I have a Yard Man lawn mower and it performs very well. It's about 5 years old now. I have about 4-5 hours or mowing to do every 7-10 days. I do maintain it well, with annual tune-ups and blade sharpening. But I am very pleased with it.

 

[DavidInNH]

I own a TroyBilt 10HP Chipper/Shredder and an 18HP HydroStatic lawn tractor. The chipper/shredder kept slipping the belt from the time I bought it until the dealer noticed that the idler assembly was on completely backwards (from the factory). It developed stress-cracks in the flange weld of two different in-feed chutes. They replaced them under warranty, but I gave up and had it welded with some reinforcements and it has held up fine since. The bearings went out - lots of labor to replace. Another weld broke. If finally threw a rod (I'll take credit for that - worked it hard) and now here I am with Elly May and Sally.

A weld that attaches the steering link plate to the front axle broke on the lawn tractor. A couple of pulleys have died on the mower deck. Something is always breaking on the mower deck. I got tired of the down time and aggravation with this one and bought a ZTR. Since its worth almost nothing, I kept it around to pull the cart and fertilizer spreader (and as a backup in case the ZTR breaks).

The chipper was pretty poor at chipping, but the shredder worked well. I keep thinking about buying another engine and using it for fall cleanup. The dealer I bought my ZTR from also carries Troybilt and he recommended that I not do this. Apparently the Troybilt chipper line has been orphaned and you can't get any parts for them anymore.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

The chipper I have is a Yard Machine. It works great for what it was intended: shredding leaves and yard debris into mulch. It will chew up branches from a fallen tree, but it is rather time consuming. I prefer using a 3PT PTO chipper for that.