Home made walk behind tractor??

On the local Craigslist there is a MTD rear tine tiller for $125. Problem is the trans is screwed. It operates fine forward and reverse. But the tines jump out of gear. So it gave me the idea. How hard would it be to find an older rear tine tiller and turn it into a walk behind tractor? I know the MTD used a uni-body ( for lack of a better word) design on their tillers but what about an older troy bilt? Troy bilt had/has a worm gear design. Cut the main shaft shorter and machine a new back plate? What brand(s) would be easist to remove tines? Also need a machine with some heft to it. Ideas? Like I said just a idea that popped into my head.

Sod Buster

Most have just enough tire to keep it moving, and very slowly. Looking realistically at them, the primary power is directed to the
tines, and as a result the strength of the motivating components may not be in league with the engine power. Putting on duals, or
bigger tires might get traction, but the weakest link will then fail. Find an old David Bradley or ? real machine, then fix it up
and use it for 2 months because you fixed it. They will teach you your age in about 15 minutes of trying to keep from plowing out
the rudibegas. Jim

Here?s a nice walk behind tractor on Craigslist

With the Troybilt "Horse" models you can detach the tiller unit midway between the tine shaft and
the wheels and you're essentially left with a two-wheel tractor. Years ago they made different
attachments (log splitter, generator, cultivator, and I believe a chipper) that you could install
in place of the tiller unit. However, I would think that the relatively small tires used on most
tillers would limit the drawbar pull when used as a walk-behind tractor for ground-engaging
implements. By comparison a David Bradley walk-behind had tires nearly twice and quite a bit wider
the 4.8-8 tires used on the Troybilt tiller.

Just curious, what would your intended purpose/use be of a "walk behind tractor" made from a broken "tiller"?

Some years ago, (at least around here) you literally couldn't give away an old David Bradley or similar walk behind "tractor" complete with several several attachments.

As usual, I must be missing something here!

(quoted from post at 20:40:08 07/21/18) With the Troybilt "Horse" models you can detach the tiller unit midway between the tine shaft and
the wheels and you're essentially left with a two-wheel tractor. Years ago they made different
attachments (log splitter, generator, cultivator, and I believe a chipper) that you could install
in place of the tiller unit. However, I would think that the relatively small tires used on most
tillers would limit the drawbar pull when used as a walk-behind tractor for ground-engaging
implements. By comparison a David Bradley walk-behind had tires nearly twice and quite a bit wider
the 4.8-8 tires used on the Troybilt tiller.

Click to expand...

Thanks I did a quick search for Troy Bilt Horse and found half a dozen of them of various vintages and conditions for under $1,000 cheapest was $300. Probably less than trying to build something.

To answer the above question. I've been toying with the idea of the "perfect" garden tool for a while. Picking up a Planet Jr did not help the situation. The Planet Jr is a neat little garden tool but the hard rubber tires leaves something to be desired.

What I would be using it for mainly is to pull a potato ridger and a small spring tooth. My problem is I need something narrow enough to go between the rows. Otherwise under the axle clearance becomes an issue
. I could just plant wider rows and find a Farmall Cub or similar. But I water with just a old fashioned sprinkler when dry and I hate to see water wasted on empty dirt. Also narrow rows seem to form a canopy that discourages weed growth.

As I think about it now. I will probably just look into a Troy Bilt Horse.

Thanks guys,

Sod Buster

I think one of these would be handy for weeding between rows. Think it was made by Simplicity.

If narrowness is a big concern then you might also
consider the smaller TroyBilt Pony. We have one
for our small garden & I like it. Original engine was
tired when we bought it so I put a Harbor Freight
engine on it; has done well. No reverse anymore
but the Pony is so light it?s not needed.

Some of the Troybilt horse models were actually 2 gearbox models. The rear tine gearbox and tine assembly could be removed by removing two
bolts. Look for that model if you are trying to make it into 2 wheeler. I've seen a wood splitter attachment that goes where the rear
gearbox mounted and I think you could also get a chipper that mounted there.

Of course, you could find an old David Bradley or Simplicity two wheeler and they already have implements that fit.

My experience with the Simplicity is that it either doesn't have enough traction or if you weight it enough to minimize wheel slip, then it
is hard to control.

I'm disappointed with my TroyBilt Pony. The tines rotate in the same direction of travel, so if I get into hard ground the pony jumps up and leaps forward.

The bigger TroyBilt the tines are reverse acting, does a better job and easier on your arms.

The pony works for weeds after the soil has been loosened with a reverse acting tiller.

I should have clarified that only those Horse models built since the early- to mid-80's have the
detachable tiller unit. Machines built prior to this had a single casting that incorporated both
the wheel drive transmission and the tine shaft drive. The difference is obvious when you look at
the area between the wheels and tines.

(quoted from post at 13:19:31 07/22/18) I'm disappointed with my TroyBilt Pony. The tines rotate in the same direction of travel, so if I get into hard ground the pony jumps up and leaps forward.

The bigger TroyBilt the tines are reverse acting, does a better job and easier on your arms.

The pony works for weeds after the soil has been loosened with a reverse acting tiller.

Click to expand...

Try dropping the foot a little for hard ground.

(quoted from post at 05:19:31 07/22/18) I'm disappointed with my TroyBilt Pony. The tines rotate in the same direction of travel, so if I get into hard ground the pony jumps up and leaps forward.

The bigger TroyBilt the tines are reverse acting, does a better job and easier on your arms.

The pony works for weeds after the soil has been loosened with a reverse acting tiller.

Click to expand...

I had a Bronco with the reverse rotating tines. Never liked it. It was slow . seemed liked the tines and the tires were always fighting against each other. I had a Cub Cadet, which had both normal direction and reverse rotation. I never used the reverse rotation because it seemed like it over tilled the ground. Turned it into flour then when it rained it compacted that much harder. Currently I have a Pro-line with the forward rotating tines. Yes it jumps when on hard ground. BUT only when you have it set too deep. To trick is to make several passes gping a little deeper each time til max depth. If your concerbed about it jumping around you could try one of those vertical tn