Finds: The Troy-Bilt Horse
By Chuck Cage
My Dad made extra money for the family when I was a kid by doing small engine repair out of the garage, the upshot of which was that we almost always had whatever motorized lawn implements we needed/wanted. They might not have been new-looking, but we had ‘em, and they worked. But there were two lawn/garden machines that we didn’t have, and he always talked about them as if they we magic: the Troy-Bilt roto-tiller and the Ditch Witch.
The Ditch Witch wasn’t part of our fleet mainly because it was tremendously expensive — and we didn’t really have any good reason to dig that many ditches anyway. The roto-tiller, on the other hand, would’ve been extremely handy. Instead of Troy-Bilt’s smooth-running, easy-to-use Horse, we had a crappy open-front-tine type which tore the living mess out of whatever got near it (including me) and was prone to climbing chainlink fences. (Don’t ask.)
I remember when Dad did finally get hold of one. He bought it used, but in great condition. Of course it was in even better condition after he’d pulled it apart and renovated it. The first time I saw him with it, he was tilling the garden out ‘back of his place, and he brought me over and had me put my hand on it and easily guide it single-handedly down a row. It almost operated itself. All that was required on my part was holding the kill-switch and gently guiding it a little every now and then.
Compare this to the start it up, wrangle it into position, then release the clutch and all-hell-breaks-loose experience you normally get with a ’tiller.
I could read you specs and so on, but let me just tell you this: These ’tillers — they make a couple of different models — rule the roost. If you’ve got a sizeable garden, you should seriously consider one. Take some time and visit a dealer. They’re incredible.
Even though I currently live in a relatively urban area — and, consequently, I have a slightly-bigger-than-a-postage-stamp yard which certainly doesn’t require this type of serious machine, I still kept the one Dad had. I’ve considered selling it a couple of times — they hold a lot of their original value and bring quite a bit on the used market — but I just can’t bring myself to. It’s sitting patiently in a storage unit waiting for an opportunity to till a garden, or maybe the underlay for the new walkway I want to put in the (miniscule) backyard.
I won’t tell you about street pricing because it’d depress you, but let’s just say that they cost a little more than my first car did. Thankfully, my first car was purchased a pretty long time ago, and Dad certainly didn’t pay that much for his. Your mileage may vary.
The “Horse” Roto-Tiller [Troy-Bilt]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
September 22nd, 2006 at 3:42 am
Oh, let’s hear the fence-climbing story! That sounds like a doozey. When you’re trying to wrangle the thing away from the fence, your natural tendency is to grip the handles harder, not let go of the kill switch, right?
Our front-tine Briggs has never done that, but Comcast likes to bury their Coax about an inch deep across the garden. We’ve offered to rebury it deeper if they’d simply flag it after installation, but neither their techs nor Miss Dig seemed interested in averting the obvious.
This last time, we did finally convince Comcast to not bury the line at all. They replaced the whole segment from the house to the pedestal, and left it sitting on the grass for us. We buried the few feet from the house to the fence, then used plastic zipties to secure it along the fence rail where, unless we live next door to Chuck Cage, it should be safe from roto-tillers.
At least they’re better than SBC (nee Ameritech), who “buried” my phone line so deep it got hit by the lawnmower.
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:07 am
My family has a troy-built from the early 80’s and it still runs like a champ. It is seriously the best piece of lawn/garden equipment I’ve ever used. It needed the head gasket replaced a few years ago but other than that it has been trouble free. It is true that it only takes a light touch to guide it.
September 22nd, 2006 at 11:11 am
If you’re looking at new models, stick with the Troy-Bilt Super Bronco CRT. CRT stands for counter-rotating tines and means that when the wheels go forward, the tines spin backwards. These are a lot smaller than the horse, but really do a great job. We’ve got hard Ohio clay, and use two of these all day long for seedbed prep for grass.
September 22nd, 2006 at 11:28 am
We had a Gravely, with brush hog, tiller, mower, and snow plow attachments. The attachments were heavy and unwieldy to switch, and it took half a can of ether and a lot of pull to get that thing to turn over. I didn’t really like it all that much. If the Troy-Bilt takes a light touch to steer, the Gravely takes the exact opposite. That thing used to throw me all over the place and drag me behind it. Luckily speed was not one of it’s strong points. My dad hung onto it forever, come to think of it, he may still have it. We ended up either getting other tools to do each job, or hiring people, or in the case of the white stuff, a Dodge Sno-Fighter w/ plow.
September 22nd, 2006 at 11:56 am
I used to work in a rental yard and we had something that made a Troy-Bilt look crude and wimpy. Barreto rear tine tillers have hydrostatic drive so no belts to slip and really precise control, plus hydrostatic drives are much harder to break which is why the rental guys love them. Their site is http://www.barretomfg.com/.
September 22nd, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Oh yes, I forgot to comment earlier: One major disadvantage of the rear-tine models is that you can’t till up to the corner of the yard. Look at how far that sucker’s front bumper is from the tine axle! For a country garden with no nearby fences, this Troy-bilt is probably perfect. But here in fenced-in suburbia, I’ll take the superior reach of the front-tine beast.
September 22nd, 2006 at 4:24 pm
Oooo. I don’t even have a yard to speak of, but I want one!
November 11th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I am curious regarding your statement as to the value of the Troy Bilt Horse model. Many years ago, I purchased a used model on a shared basis with another relative. He has since run it poorly and I’m wondering if fixing it would be financially worth while. We could still have use for it, but a smaller model would be more helpful. If you have an opinion, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I recently came by a troy built tiller.Cant find a model # but plenty of other part numbers and a serial # 21 9239 some of the other numbers are TH1003 and the like.Trying to find a owners manual.Thanks for any info.
April 6th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Shayne,
Don’t know if you’ll even see this, but there’s a Yahoo group strictly for Troy-Bilt tillers. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/troybilttillerclub
There’s quite a bot of info for your tiller at that club. As for the tiller serial number, typically it is stamped into the metal somewhere on the gear box/transmission. This would be the area right above where the wheels are.
I recently purchased an old 7hp Troy-Bilt Horse that I found (through the club) to be a 1976 model. The thing still runs like a champ. I’ve replaced the spark plug and gear oil, and now all I need to do is change the engine oil, air filter, and belts, and I’ll be in tiller heaven. The belts are obviously old and worn because I’m getting slippage when I encounter tough soil.
As for the fellow who made the initial post, I’d sell that horse model tiller if you’re in such a tiny urban area. I know that things like are very sentimental to hand on to, but wouldn’t it be great to know that someone will buy it who can really use it like your dad did? Wouldn’t he have wanted that? Just a thought.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
When I was a kid back in the late 70’s - early 80’s my mother had one of these that she bought used then tilled up a couple of football field’s worth of garden (2 big gardens for 6 years) that a lot of our food came from. Then she decided that the 3hp motor was to small and pop’ed on a 5hp B&S (she is the mechanically inclined one, She rebored the cylinders on the truck too) and kept going for another 3 years when we moved.
I was back in the area with her visiting the old area last year and we found it still in weekly use by the people that bought the place. That thing has been in use for nearly 30 years and been rebuild twice and it still needs only one hand to guide it. I remember using it when the handle were at my chin height.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I have an 8hp HORSE model that I bought new about 1985 or so. If you live where the soil doesn’t have rocks, it’s great. Otherwise, not so great. BTW, Troy-Bilt (Gardenway Mfg) went bankrupt several years ago. The Troy-bilt name was bought by MTD, but they do NOT support the older Gardenway products, so parts are somewhat hard to find.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
We have a 1992 8 hp Troy-Bilt Horse and we need a worm gear and a set of oil seals. Can you help us?
May 30th, 2008 at 7:22 am
You might look into the BCS tillers. TroyBuilt were made so that you would buy a belt ever year or 2 if you use the tiller at all. Very back woods tech! BCS has no belts and works much better in the ground! IMO