troy bilt tiller

larry@stinescorner

Well-known Member
My friend Jim G doesnt like troy bilt tillers at all,,,
He visited the other day and does like my soil,,it was all clay before the troy bilt worked goodies into the soil .I hope Jim sees this post,,,(lol)
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I have never been around the newer lightweight models they sell at the box stores but there is little to dislike about a Garden Way built Horse in my opinion, especially one with a K Kohler. If the operator bothers to read the manual and use it properly, starting shallow and working your way deeper they are a pleasure to operate. I just put mine away for the summer, everything is getting too big to get the Troy through now and I use the Stihl mini tiller. By the way your gardens are picture perfect! We will be picking summer squash end of next week.
 
Its hard to beat a horse model with a K161T Kohler engine, mine starts on one pull. Open the fuel valve, open the throttle, gently pull the cord to turn it slowly til it feels like a good spot, then give it one good pull, it will fire up every time.

You just cannot go wrong for the money, I just saw one listed for $150 locally, it did not last long and it did have a K161T engine.
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I'm not thrilled with the design either. Made to top heavy ! on a slope in the soft dirt they will tip over on you ! Too much flex in the fwd/rev rod I made a heavier one from better steel and it works a lot better. I once saw a cut away model of the BCS tiller. Now that thing really look built good ! Like a mini tractor and center of gravity is low.
How do you guys keep axle and tiller shaft seals in those troy builts ? I never had any luck keeping it sealed up.
 
My Horse is going on 25 years old and the seals have been replaced once and now they are seeping enough now that there is dark dirt at the shafts but doesnt drip on the floor, I can live with 12 year life on them, LOL. The direction lever is a weak spot but works well enough if the roller, ramp and engine slides get a few drops of oil now and then. Dont have to deal with slopes but can see where you are coming form with that. The BCS is a super nice tiller but the price will wow you.
 
I can't figure out why people don't like them. I have ran one for about 18 years now. I started when I was 7. This one needs a new engine or a rebuild but its the original Kohler from 1974. We have the 7hp Bronco. No shame for it. Still have the rock tines they bought it with and the furrower with the wings for taters. I think a lot of it is people pushing the limits. We go slow and take our time it works wonders.
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Mom uses a Mantis and it works great ! You have to have your garden ground established first. She just goes in and works up enough for what she is planting that day. And then runs it around for weeding.
For breaking new ground and big tilling you should try one behind a small hydro compact tractor. Now that's the cat's meow !
Troybilt is too big and bulky to get around and on slopes that are not that steep forget it, too top heavy and tippy !
 
I can imagine hill would be rough. Ours is sandy loam and its all river bottom. So its not to bad. The Mantis is awesome. We use it a lot too. We are looking to get a 3point tiller here soon but are working on getting the sawmill under roof and onto its new tracks.
 
I know people think they're the greatest tiller ever but where's the seat. I like my old 1968 Wheel Horse and tiller, then the man killer front tine for cultivating. Then the last couple of years my back and right shoulder hurt bad so I bought the Mantis, the women in the Sunday afternoon Mantis commercials make it look easy, I haven't found it that easy yet but it's fun to listen to the little Honda run.
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Rebuild the k161T in it, you won't regret doing so. That motor is specific to this tiller and its a perfect fit.

I still say they are a good value for the money you'll pay for one.

On slopes you have to work them a certain way, mind you flat ground is best, my garden is sloped and given how I use the tiller, it works fine. They are a bit top heavy, but in experienced hands, you still can't go wrong.
 
ive got one almost that old, got the brush chipper attachment with it too and i use it, its been a real good unit, i believe there are 2 reasons people get fed up on tillers, the first is trying to till hardpan soil which isnt what its made to do, take a tractor and rip it first and it will work fine, the next is they buy the smallest tiller they can, when they need the power and weight of the horse or red power horse for the job they have in mind for it
 
(quoted from post at 03:55:04 06/24/16) My friend Jim G doesnt like troy bilt tillers at all,,,
He visited the other day and does like my soil,,it was all clay before the troy bilt worked goodies into the soil .I hope Jim sees this post,,,(lol)
a230256.jpg

a230257.jpg

That's a very nice looking piece of land; pond, rolling hills, big trees, grow your own food for the coming end times. Yep, real nice. Got any winter pics with it under 4 feet of snow? I always wanted to live on something like that, instead of in some subdivision tract or in town. I bet you got enough room to make a pretty nice moto-x track, that would of been the other thing I lusted after as a kid.
 
Seems like I have been in this discussion before, so once again, I will add my little bit.
I have a Yard Man tiller made by MTD. It has the option of forward or reverse rotating tines. Very handy. With the tines in reverse rotation, this tiller will go through virgin sod and do a nice job of it.
My garden soil is reasonably workable, but not soft and amended like other soil I have seen. BUT, I still get nice vegetables from it. I do add in compost and the fall leaves every year. Any other soil amendments have to be hauled in one wheelbarrow full at a time. There is no access for a tractor of any size bigger than the one that El Toro has.
Then there is the time issue. When I start getting my garden ready in the spring, I usually run through it twice with the tiller. Then after a week or so, I repeat. Then I rake it out and begin laying it out for planting. I simply do not have the time or the weather to make 50 passes and each time going 1/4 inch deeper. I go full depth from the beginning. I've been doing it this way for 25 years, and it works well for me.

Now the challenge!!
I challenge anybody to a match of tiller against tiller. Bring your tiller, and meet at a neutral location, and we'll see who has the better tiller. I'll bring mine, you bring yours, and we can do it something like a plow day. Maybe run them in different kinds of soil in various levels of cultivation.

While the Troy-Bilt equipment is generally well built and durable equipment, sometimes their designs are lacking in practicality. Reversible tines is one place where they could use some improvement.
 
I need to get a bumper guard for mine. It has the original HH60 Tecumseh motor that always starts right up. The last time I parked it I hit a tractor tire with the air cleaner and broke the carburetor right off. No trouble finding a replacement carb but it cost as much as a bumper would have.
 
Once you have run a honda tiller with the 36" sweep you will never want to chase that heavy troybuilt iron around the garden again. Just try a honda once and you will never look back. Our troybuilt like that one is rusting away on the scrap iron pile. Running it was like chasing a unbroke draft horse through the garden.
 

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