Trobilt "Classic" work and methods

[OrtisEvans]

Re: "Running Away with you" I find that going down gradually is fine, but inevitably, I get down a ways, and am going fine and wham, I find a surprise rock. All you can do is get the handles up fast, get the pick, and pick the rocks(s) out.

On turns: The thing really needs another handle to unlock one of the wheels on turns. I had to fence my garden from the deer, and rather than leave a 6' strip of grass all around, I make turns that leave holes, and then fill them in when I am done.

It's a good machine, but primitive.

 

[2manyrocks]

How do you get a Troy Bilt Horse balanced on one wheel in a turn? The factory weight of a 6 hp machine is approx. 268 pounds per the manual.

The manual also suggests that you can till up and down a slope, but that you should overlap the freshly tilled area with the new area to be tilled. It says to make sure the oil is "FULL", and not to do any shifting because it could freewheel. The first pass should be uphill lifting slightly on the handlebars to keep it from digging in.

It it is too steep, the manual suggests that you terrace the slope.

The manual also says soil erosion does not have to be much of a problem "as long as you put in enough organic material to improve the moisture holding ability of your soil, and if you avoid packing down the soil with footprints."

 

[WayneB]

How do you get a Troy Bilt Horse balanced on one wheel in a turn? The factory weight of a 6 hp machine is approx. 268 pounds per the manual.

I agree I am not too sure how to put the tiller on one wheel. I seem to get to the end of the garden area, then pick up the tiller so the tines are out of the ground and make a wide turn and then start back lettign the tines go into the earth. Sometimes this works fine and others well we have all been there it sort-of gets away for a few seconds.

The manual also suggests that you can till up and down a slope, but that you should overlap the freshly tilled area with the new area to be tilled. It says to make sure the oil is "FULL", and not to do any shifting because it could freewheel. The first pass should be uphill lifting slightly on the handlebars to keep it from digging in.

Yep up and down, and never try shifting out of gear as the darn tiller will really take off and depending upon how old you are and how fast you can run you might keep up with it. Living on a hill I have had several run away conditions and always tell myself "Never do that again"

It it is too steep, the manual suggests that you terrace the slope.

The manual also says soil erosion does not have to be much of a problem "as long as you put in enough organic material to improve the moisture holding ability of your soil, and if you avoid packing down the soil with footprints."

Over the years I have put tons and I mean tons of stuff into our garden areas and the soil still produces more rocks the veggies!

Several years ago I stopped keeping track of the cost of gardening as even tomatoes were getting over a dollar each when I figure in all of the tools, compost, labor needed to grow the darn thing. Bottom line is there are no green thumbs just brown knees!

 

[2manyrocks]

Per $ spent, I don't know if it's cost and time effective, but I know my tomatoes are significantly better than the store's tomatoes. $1,261.37 for the tiller divided by 28 years is something like $45 a year plus gas, plants,...

Dennis, you could always let your tiller tires dig those ruts, but then go back around the edge of the garden with your tiller and clean up the ruts a bit.

But I have no solution to what you do with all the rocks that pop out of the ground other than to pick them up and haul them somewhere else (2manyrocks--see where I got the name?)

 

[bontai_Joe]

How do you get a Troy Bilt Horse balanced on one wheel in a turn? The factory weight of a 6 hp machine is approx. 268 pounds per the manual.

The manual also suggests that you can till up and down a slope, but that you should overlap the freshly tilled area with the new area to be tilled. It says to make sure the oil is "FULL", and not to do any shifting because it could freewheel. The first pass should be uphill lifting slightly on the handlebars to keep it from digging in.

It it is too steep, the manual suggests that you terrace the slope.

The manual also says soil erosion does not have to be much of a problem "as long as you put in enough organic material to improve the moisture holding ability of your soil, and if you avoid packing down the soil with footprints."

How to tilt a tiller on one wheel? If you are operating it with one hand and walking along side the machine, you push the handlebars sideways away from you while lifting the tines out of the dirt at the same time, leverage works well here as the handlebars are far above the center of gravity. Once on one wheel, you can spin the machine fairly easy, my sister-in-law can do it, it's technique, not brawn.

 

[CR172]

Dennis, another thing I learned after finally getting our garden tilled and 8 yds of compost churned in, that's another story, was. After going as deep as you can and getting it tilled to your satisfaction, make one last pass with the tines as shallow as they go, walking beside it of course. This really smoothed out the surface of our area.