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troybilt???

2K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  Lawn Dog2001 
#1 ·
I saw that troybilt has a 33" walk behind for about $1500. It seems to be a cross between residential and commercial--10 hp engine, 33" cut.

Has anyone used one and opinions??

I believe Troybilt is now owned by MTD.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
thier stuff is mainly residental quality, i had a chipper/ vac and it wasnt worth much for commercial use,it was good for a perfect yard and if it was used every couple of days
 
#3 ·
Starting out full time just last year, the best I could afford was the TROY-BUILT 33". The dealer said it was semi-commercial and knows guys who use it 4 days a week. So I bought one and it gives a good cut by my standards. And it fits through most gates (36"). But it does not go fast enough for me personally and I did have some problems with the shift linkages. Once when it was in the shop for repairs, I used my 21" and found that my times were not that much different. Even though it is 57% wider than the 21" mower, it only gave me about 10 - 20 % faster cutting time.
 
#4 ·
I purchased one last year. Being fairly new to the business, I used it till I got my 36 Exmark. It did real well except for a belt breaking under the deck and one of the pulley's completly fell off. :dizzy: This happened to another user I know. The dealer was very cooperative in replacing both under warrenty. Very easy to manuver however the tranny did need some adjusting later in the season. Always fits through the back gate when a 36 won't. Actually used it today to do mulching while doing a spring clean up. I did see them @ Menards last year for around $1,300.00 in season and $1K toward the end of the season.
 
#5 ·
I've had two of the 8hp 33" troybilts(actually still have one, it's for sale, has side discharge, mulch plug and bagger) I think I would also call it a semi-commercial, I mainly use Z's but these were handy in the right situations, mainly gated yards or fenced in pool areas. Not the easiest mower to handle on steep side hills though since it does not have steering clutches. Mows decent but the bagging system could be a little better thought out. I guess it depends on your situation. If it bagged better in heavy or wet growth and had a bagger that was easier to empty I wouldn't even think of selling it as the rest of the machine is up to par, just my opinion. If you want a used one let me know. (sorry for the shameless advertising , couldn't resist)
 
#7 ·
freddyc said:
I saw that troybilt has a 33" walk behind for about $1500. It seems to be a cross between residential and commercial--10 hp engine, 33" cut.

Has anyone used one and opinions??

I believe Troybilt is now owned by MTD.

Thanks.
That mower is homeowner quality at best! If you need a decent mower for a good price check out the new Redhawk mowers. They have been getting a lot of play here on LS recently.

www.redhawk-usa.com
 
#8 ·
Wow, I'm shocked to even hear a positive comment on here about the troy-bilt 33"! I have one, my 2nd one in 6 years. I really like the machine. Yeah it's had it's ups an downs. My old one used to have a problem losing the drive belt if you were moving it without the drive engagued, like off the trailer, and hit a bump. off came the damn belt... I just always made sure to keep some sort of pressure on the lever as I'm unloading, never had the problem again after that. Yeah I also lost a pully, well the whole spindle once actually! The bolt on the top of the pully some how came loose and unscrewed itself. Not visible from the topside because as it loosened the spindle and blade were dropping! I was mowing fairly high but noticed that it was really cutting unlevel! LOL. Easy fix, tightned bolt... If you his something hard you can slip the timing blet the connects the blades, you do that and the blades will contact each other. it only takes being about two cogs off and they hit. Oh, shift linkage was coming loose on mine too last summer, simple, loose bolt again.

As for bagging I have made (modified) a set of blades that are high lift for a 36" Bunton walk behind. I don't know how I came up with them in particular but they had a nice sail that wasn't too tall for the deck and a 5/8" center hole that I could take my die grider and make the hole the same shape as the factory blades. these blades mulch, discharge, and bag 400% better then the factory blades!

One feature I love on the machine is the deck height adjustment. infinatley adjustable with a simple crank handle. I will say this tho, My deck cover hasn't been on mine in a long time. Reason, the crank handle is a large screw rod and needs some lube periodiocly! If you don't shoot some wd-40 on it it will eventually start to seize up and strip the threads. Been there, done that.

Humm, well my old one I had broken the handle on a few times, re-welded and added braces finally and worked fine. The new one has extra bracing on it, so not a problem. There is a funny problem with the bolts at the top of the handle that connect then together with the control panel, they are small, but shouldn't really have pressure on them. Well somehow it twists when mowing and I have exploded the head right off of one bolt or another many times. I even drill out the holes for 5/16 bolts, grade 5 or 8 it it still happens eventualy! Another simple fix, but irritating...

All in all I don't use it that much anymore. about ten or 12 times a week and only for fenced back yards. Overall a good machine, but needs some mods to make it work efficient. I goose up my govenor a bit too, run 3,800 to 4,000 rpm. speeds the blade speed up as well as ground speed. makes 4th gear, the only gear I ever have it in pretty quick! Yeah, many will say you can't run an engine over 3,600 rpm, but I have for years and haven't blown up one yet. same goes for my 23hp kohlers, both are running at 4 grand and run perfect with 1,000 hrs on one and 2,000 on the other. older machine I sold to my parents was the same and is running at about 2,200 hrs no problems.
 
#9 ·
I have one too. I use it for the backyards when I cant get my other stuff through the gates. Its a fine mower at about $800 - what I paid years ago. I dont think I would pay much more than that. There are more heavy duty commercial mowers around $1500 range that would be more durable and give you better resale value when you want to upgrade.
just my 2 cents worth
 
#10 ·
I had two of them years back. Drive belt would fall off constantly. The spindles wore out fast. Blade belt would break at least once a month. Getting parts from troy bilt was like pulling teeth, always backordered. Handles broke on both sides of both machines and had to be replaced. I had more problems with the machine than I even care to type. I could go on all day if i wanted to.

The machine does have its good points also. I personally thought it gave a great cut. It mulched better than any mower I have ever had. And it does have a real reverse, which was cool. If they ever found a way to actually make it commercial. It might not be a bad mower.
 
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