Disappointing Troy Built purchase

[CJBOTA]

After owning a Troy Built Pony for ten years I decided I needed a newer bigger better tiller. Since I was satisfied with the Pony I thought the Horse was the answer. Yikes, was I mistaken, Troy Built sure has gone down hill. I paid $1875 and it has only been used one afternoon and the first $1500 can have it. Problems:
1) The handle only has two positions. ( to high and to low) A finer pitch would have allowed for a couple more settings.
2) You could find better hand grips on the cheapest kids bike at Walmart's. Thin foam grips that continually slide off.
3) The first handle I pulled on came off in my hand. ( depth gage )
4) The belt tension adjustment has two positions. ( to lose and to tight )
5) After several belt adjustments I went with to tight, since to lose didn't move the dang thing. Great I am starting to do some work, whoops, now the motor shuts down about every 7 minutes. Oil is ok and I have fresh gas, pull the rope and you are good for another 7 minutes.
6) Nothing goes in gear positivly. You just keep pulling and tugging until something happens. High, neutral, low speed good luck. Push, pull, rock, and eventually it find s home.
7) I had so much trouble getting it to break ground I actually checked to see if the Tines were assembled backwards. The best way is to get it to work is get a spade and dig the dirt a litlle to loosen things up and after you get it dug up the tiller works great.
Thank goodness I sold my old Pony to a friend. He let me borrow it so I could till my garden.
The fun part was trying to talk to someone at the Dealer, Troy Built, or MTD who was concerned. Is there a lemon law for Tillers? I told the one customer service Girl it was not defective, it was actually designed this way.
If you want to have a load of fun next Saturday, go buy one of these things for $1875 plus tax and go out in the 85 degree sun and expect to get something done. ( don't forget your spade ) I can't remember ever buying a piece of equipment so poorly designed.
cj

 

[CJBOTA]

I forgot to mention, it has four speeds but really only works in Low at .5 MPH, Yep you read it correctly 1/2 MPH. My row was 750 feet long, it took three bottles of water, four belt adustments, and some duct tape to go end to end. I guess high speed is to get it back to the repair shop faster. I might consider $1400, remember you don't have to pay tax. Normally you shoot a Horse that runs like this.
cj

 

[gauthier]

Yeah since troy built sold its name to[who was that?mtd or something?],they are still red buts thats about it,if your pony was a new one,only 10 years old,it was made by same people,not the old troy built company I bet?

I got a 17 or so year old horse,made by troy built,the old troy built,used it alot,its the only, thing,[mower,trimmer,chainsaw,etc],that is worth spending several hundred on to fix.I've put new tires,tines and gas tank on mine,thats all,never been in a shop,8hp kohler magnum runs like new,trans works like new too.

 

[Hawghauler]

I recently bought an old Troy built horse, about 15 years old. Estate Sale. Old man had it and only used it a few times. Looked show room brand new. It has an 8HP Tehcumsah engine. It weighs as much as a Buick LeSabre. Digs like a brute and could be classified as a WMD. I know Kohler has a better reputation than Tehcumsah, but I have always had great luck with them and with good maintenance I have no doubt this beast will be there for the next generation. Very heavy cast iron built.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Yea, Troy Built sold everything to MTD years ago, all except their Tomahawk chippers and I can't remember who they sold those to. It seems that everything that MTD touches goes downhill but they sell a ton of stuff.

Should have bought a tiller for the back of the Bota.

 

[JoeinTX]

I can totally understand. Too many things these days are living on a name and letting quality/performance fall way, way down the list of attributes. I see it in other products all of the time.

That being said, I bought a Troy-Bilt Pony riding mower a few years ago (I know, completely different animal) on the cheap and in a hurry from the local bog Big Blue Box retailer.......and it has been one heck of a little lawn tractor. I mow about 25 acres a year with it and apart from blades and pretty soon a new drive belt...........numpin' wrong with it. It mows the grass as good as any high-dollar rider, runs like an ape, and doesn't use just a whole heck of a lot gas to boot. Very pleased with it. I recently had chance to use a recent model Craftsman mower helping out some family on a few things. Not at all impressed. Shifter was stiff and hard to get in the right gear. Clutch/brake touchy as he**. The mowing deck had a bad tendency to dig into the surface as opposed to riding over it. Inferior product in my experience.


Somebody out there still makes decent tillers. It sounds like you may still be within your return period (????) so maybe take that pile back, get a refund, and try somebody else's tiller. I think I would after that......

 

[CJBOTA]

I have a 33 ton Troy Built Log splitter which is fine. Although, I did make a few design changes along the way. And I do have a 60" KK tiller for the back of my L3700. I hope MTD doesn't buy KK. I bought the Horse for a specific purpose.
I forgot to mention I also bought a Cub Cadet ATV tracker a last year which I have been very pleased with. Except, I recently did the 50 hr maintenance and I wish I could have gotten my hands on one of their Engineers if they have any. You would not believe the location of the oil filter.
Oh well, live and learn. I thought if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck then it must be a duck. This thing looks heavy built, sort of, is painted Red, and says Troy Built. But it just can't be a troy built.
cj

 

[jenkinsph]

Man I would try to get my money back. Reminds me of MR COFFEE, they had good workable products to start with, the more they improved them the worse the designs got.

You have already heard the solution to your problem, find an old one in good shape.

 

[Kernopelli]

I hate to say it but Troy Built is pathetic. I posted not too long ago about my pressure washer. After using it for a couple of years I started replacing replacing hard parts. After 2 motors and 2 pumps myself, I decided to call them and complain. It took several calls to finally reach someone who took credit for building it and when they asked how much I used it they explained that I should have bought a different pressure washer. Theirs are for "residential users" and that amounted to (don't quote me but it was ridiculous) something like 10-12 uses a year at 15-20 minutes each and the warranty was for 2 years. Let's be generous...a whopping 8 hr warranty? I told them I got all the good out of it the first time I used it, for $3XX, I'd sure like for them to put a big tag on it saying that it really isn't supposed to be used more that a few times. I have had 2 of their weed eaters, I bought the first one and returned it within an hours use and received the second as a gift and it is junk too.

I also had a Pony years ago and it was excellent. I don't think that there is anything branded Troy Built that is even close to that kind of quality any more

 

[LBrown59]

Yea, Troy Built sold everything to MTD years ago, all except their Tomahawk chippers and I can't remember who they sold those to. It seems that everything that MTD touches goes downhill but they sell a ton of stuff.

*Should have bought a tiller for the back of the Bota.

*I only paid 1100 bucks for my 48''KK tiller for my BX.

 

[Mace Canute]

MTD = Made To Die.......

 

[radioman]

I agree with your post on troy built tiller. My father got a troy bilt pony tiller to replace his 40 year old ariens tiller since the motor just finally quit. My tiller from sears tranny was trashed after 2 years of simple use, I ended up giving him my motor for his old tiller and took his troy built tiller to till between the rows. My GOD!!! what a peice of CRAP !!! even the brand new sears tiller i had for 2 years was hecka lot better!! I have 2 tines already snapped off!!!!?! Mind you, there are no rocks in my garden, already tilled from my bushhog pto tiller and tines still broke?! JUNK! I just need a small walk behind tiller for tilling between plants to keeps weeds down. SIGH!!

 

[LBrown59]

MTD = Made To Die.......

My Tractor Died

 

[gauthier]

Before I bought my old troy bilt,[which was made by troybilt],I did a little looking,heard bsh,[or bch] or bcs,,or somthing like that,think it was bcs,was a very good walk behind tiller,like the old troy bilts,maybe even better?? I think they still make them,italian or something?,cost more than the old troybilts,but not by much,I don't think.
But they are probably made by mtd of italy now!!??

 

[nomad289]

I may be in the market for a new tiller also but the reviews on recent Troy-Builts are not encouraging.

BCS (Italian) and/or Honda seem to have the best ratings, but are 2x the cost. BTW, why is the "Tiller" section of the Forums titled "Troy-built & other tillers". Are troy-built's dominantly superior? Doesn't seem so now that MTD makes them.

 

[gauthier]

They probably should cost 5 times as much if they are comparable to the old troybilts. Don't think they was that more expensive than the old troy bilts[bcs I mean],back 18-20 years ago though. But everything I have read about them they were good tillers,just that troybilt had dealers everywhere,bought mine 45 min from here and you gotta go that far to get to a walmart now.[not that I want a walmart closer or anything],hows/wheres the bcs dealers? are they in every state?,,,guess I could go to the internet,thats where I learn every other question I got at.think I looked at troybilts[mtd] website not long ago and their horse seemed like it cost about same as my real horse 18 years ago,so they ain't cheap priced anyways.

 

[Johndeere3720]

My mom got a ariens tiller last year and it is crap too. The handel bar litterally, fell off the tiller and i noticed that only 1, yes 1 small tack weld to held it on. i took my drill and drilled a hole through the hanel bar and put in a 3/4" bolt. Hasnt fell off since. That thing is so hard to put into gear, i usually have to help my mom or sister to get it into gear. The only thing that is really good on it is the engine so far. Luckly, i got a 50" tiller for my tractor now so we wont have to use the junky tiller any more. BCS is a very nice tiller. Rather than chains or belts, it has gears and a PTO shaft so you can run tillers, mowers, blades, cycle bars, snow blowers, etc from them. If i got a walk behind tiller, i'd get a BCS:thumbsup:. But i got one for the tractor so i wont need a walk behind any time soon.

 

[Marveltone]

When I was in the market for a new tiller last year, I looked at Troy Built and was totally unimpressed. I ended up buying a Husqvarna and haven't regretted the decision yet. It seems to be built much sturdier than the Troy Built and has performed like a trooper so far. If any problems arise, I'll be sure to let you know.
BTW, My garden is hard river clay, so it's been a good work-out! :thumbsup:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I tilled yesterday with my old troybilt pony. The engine is starting to not run right, after 20 yrs, should I change the spark plug? :laughing:

It has been good, but it is starting to not run right, I think the carb needs a good cleaning.

I have heard others say the new stuff is junk.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I have heard others say the new stuff is junk.

Most of the new stuff is junk.:drool: