I've been shopping for a rototiller and found one I liked on amazon, the Troy-Bilt 21A-644H766 Pro-Line CRT 6.75 HP Rear Tine Tiller. I went to my local lawn & garden equipment place because I knew they sold Troy-Bilt. Well, they only sold one rototiller, a Simplicity, but it didn't have counter rotating tines. The guy there said that they stopped selling Troy-Bilt because Troy-Bilt had been bought by another company (MTD?) and the equipment built by the new company was basically substandard.
MTD now owns Troy-Built, Cub Cadet, and several other brands. My guess is the same factories which made Troy-Built products are still making the Troy-Built branded products. However your customer service will now be through MTD.
But they are popular. They are pretty reliable. The new MTD ones look cheezy. MTD is obviously hoping to cash in on the name before everone knows how much they have changed them. I admit the old Troybilts are clumsy beasts but they are simple and rugged. I tried an old Gravely walk-behind rotary plow today and it was bizarre.
Had an uncle that bought a gravely (he got the ride behind seat). Had a snow blower, brush hog, roto tiller and a reel mower attachments. He bought this rig in 1952. My cousin's son is still using it today and takes care of 20 acres with it. Built like a Sherman tank.
Bad Bob
"Cook him till he's blue, and smother him in onions."
Does he use the rotary plow? I gave it a try. It provides a swath of only about a foot but will fling the dirt three or four feet. That was my problem. You are supposed to have a dirt shield on there to minimize that but it was missing here. Basically with such a narrow swath and dirt all over I could not keep track of my passes. Also the adjustments require tools. The depth setting clips require a pair of pliers to pry off and the plow angle setting requires two 3/4 wrenches. It was difficult to judge its effectiveness and I had no extra time to play with it much. I ended up with a bunch of mounds that were extra work to level out once I switched back to my Troy. I wonder how many owners have converted that rotary plow into a conventional set of tines? The Gravely does use conventional tines on the cultivator attachment, but these are very small diameter for shallow work.
The worst thing you ever purchased? That seems a little odd to me. I don't think I would have shelled out $1800 on a tiller, but then I did spend $700+ on a Troy in 1980 (what is that in 2004 dollars?) and I am still using it although the original 6hp Tecumseh broke the rod this Spring so for $300 I put a new 8hp Tecumseh on it. I need to adjust the sliding block for the disengage lever every year or two. Maybe you need to file the sliding block a bit if you have such trouble pulling up on the disengage lever. The Honda looks like a virtual clone to me although with some added bells and whistles. To anyone considering it my suggestion would be to buy used, in the Fall or Winter.
The list price was $2,395 in 1999 US dollars and I got it on sale during the Fall season for $1800. US dollars at Sears. It is a 8hp electric start so it would more then yours. At any price it is still junk !!!
Its going on Ebay soon. Right now its now working again, the moter runs but the tiller does move. I don't have time until this weekend to look at it again.
I brought it to the Troy Bilt representive in my area (very large company) for servicing once, and the customer service manager said they repair them (all the time ! ! !) but stopped carrying Troy Bilt because Troy Bilt have so many problems before and after MTD acquired the.
I was also at a Rental Yard last year, and the owner there complaint that each time he rents out the Troy Bilt, the renter calls up after a hour, and complains about the tiller, so he has to drive out to the customer's house, and delievers the Honda tiller for the renter to use and brings back the Troy Bilt for more adjustments. He also mentioned that the rental customer consistently complain about Troy Bilt and speak very highly of the Honda, and wants to know why they even bother to rent out the Troy-Bilt tiller.
Additionally, reading the Troy-Bilt Operator's Manual is like reading the Boeing 747 Airplane Operator's Manual in Latin. IE Loosen Part A while hold Part B which is shown back on Page 33 and now reach around to Part D which is shown on Page 44, while kneeling on your right knee. You get the idea??
Maybe back in 1980 they were made better.
-- Duane
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So to have a lot of trouble with it I have to guess that the forward/reverse lever is your main problem? Maybe the sliding block is not tightened enough? Maybe the spring is just too strong? I think I had to mess with the spring before the tension was finally right. The operation of the tiller is pretty simple and straightforward. I keep the belt in the slower position and use only the slow gear speed for tilling.
I bought a Sears 8hp rear tine for $600 about the same time. I wouldn't say it was built as solid as Troy-Bilt but I have done a lot of tilling and very little adjustment or repair. I might be giving it up now because a bearing went on an intermediate shaft and it looks like you have to take half the machine apart to replace it. Just looked at a 10 year old 8 horse electric start Troy-Bilt that looks like new. He started at $1200 and is down to $1000. My best offer is $800. I'm getting too old and decrepid to spend more than that at this point. My son is pushing me toward a BCS because he likes all the attachments.
Fall and Winter is the time to buy them. I would like to look at some of these other fancy models, like I mentioned trying the Gravely. Don't know what attachments are really cost effective though. Changing back and forth between attachments could be a headache.
Good luck !!! My advice behond what I said above, would be to try tilling with it before you buy it. Try stopping it were you want to stop, turning it around to do another pass, moving it around. These large troy tillers are not for the young at heart, they do take some muscle to move around.
But Good Luck,
-- Duane
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I agree on the turning issue. You don't want to turn a Troy in a confined little garden. It has a solid axle and weighs several hundred pounds. You need to walk in a big circle to have the leverage to turn it.
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