# Troy Bilt Super bronco woes



## U&A (Oct 28, 2019)

So i put down a handsome dollar for a new Troy Bilt Super Bronco with CRT last year. Ignoring the other issues I have with it my main issue is the Counter rotating tines. 

Every year we put compost material from our food compost, a mixture of “yard waste” that is compostable and some Cow manure on top of the soil and expect to till it in with my $800 tiller.

The counter rotating tines have a major issue with packing all the “****” (pun intended) Right in between the front of them and behind the drive wheels. This is basically unstoppable even if I don’t have much of anything at all for the Rototiller to mix in. It builds up to the point where the tines don’t dig down deep AT ALL and the Rototiller stops propelling forward. So I have to lift the back up clean out all the stuff from underneath it and continue on.

If I just have pure dirt it works fine but anytime just a tiny amount of compostable material needs tilled in I have this problem at least once in every row. The longest length I till is about 38 feet. 


I am beginning to think this is most likely common occurrence with counter rotating tines. I assume I basically cannot put anything on the surface and expect the tiller to mix it in. A few years ago I rented a forward rotating tine tiller and it was amazing but it also pulled me around the garden and was literally a “bronco”[emoji23]. 

The materials that cause the most trouble are leafs. We use maple.

I’m not going to pretend or act like I know a lot about gardening as I don’t. This is the third year my wife and I have been doing it with a garden that is about 40x32 (outside dimension).

Im Open to constructive criticism. 

Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]


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## farmer steve (Oct 30, 2019)

Sound like a PITA. Not familiar with the CTR tiller. Does it have a depth adjustment? If so maybe try chopping your compost at a shallow depth first. Then go over it a second time a bit deeper. Also maybe the slowest gear/speed.


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## U&A (Oct 30, 2019)

Only one forward and one reverse gear speed on this particular tiller. I will try shallow first with a deeper sexond path. It does have a depth adjustment 


https://www.troybilt.com/equipment/troybilt/super-bronco-crt-garden-tiller


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]


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## Lionsfan (Nov 3, 2019)

My old walk behind Poulan Pro does the same thing. If I lay out 2 or 3 inches of "stuff" it usually takes me about 3 passes spaced out a week or so apart to get it broken up and mixed in really well.


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## boltonranger (Jan 1, 2020)

I have a couple of horse tillers with non-crt; but try this:
Lift the tines up, run over the compost.
When the tines are almost past the pile, drop them in. Let them churn and then lift and back up a little more and repeat. Do this until you’re at the “beginning” of the compost. 

It should all be tilled in a bit- so now you can just go forward over all normally. Let us know if it works like I expect it will.


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## U&A (Jan 1, 2020)

Anyone in Michigan area want to buy a super bronco [emoji16]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]


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## arto_wa (Mar 9, 2020)

I have owned Troy-Bilt Pony Pro-Line (Honda GX 160 engine) for about 12 years now and finally bought a used 1976 Horse with 6 HP Tecumseh engine.

My Pony has forward rotating tines and I finally got tired of trying to hold it back to keep it from running away when tilling! 
(It's geared little too fast and not enough mass when the tines take a little bigger bite it just tries to run away)

What a difference when tilling with the Horse tiller - wish I had bought one of those in the first place.





Cheers


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## bubmiller (Mar 9, 2020)

U&A said:


> Im Open to constructive criticism.
> 
> Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]



Ok, I'll criticize. What were you thinking when you expecting satisfactory performance from an $800 tiller?!?

Just kidding, but only on the criticism part. 

Having owned 5 rear tine tillers in 5 years, I can say that anything less than 2k (new value) buys you disappointment. Consider a troybilt horse as minimum for soil that is not worked several times a year.

Since you own the tiller already, get the tires filled with foam. The heavy kind, like they use in manlift tires. With frt it reduces the jumps, and with CRT, it adds traction to pull through the clogs.

Then, set the depth control and take an inch or 2 at a time. It might seem like you're not gaining anything, but about the time you're ready to give up, you'll realize that you made it to full depth. Btdt

Good luck!

Conservatives view liberals as people with bad ideas. Liberals view conservatives as bad people with ideas.


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## U&A (Mar 9, 2020)

I love your last paragraph.

And thank you for that pointers[emoji1303][emoji41]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]


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## Del_ (Mar 9, 2020)

Counter rotating tines don't work well, IMO. Bolo tines on the Troy Bilt Horse model work compost into the soil quite easily. I've had two of the 8hp Briggs Horse models since about 1982. I've use a Pony model and it is just not much of a tiller. I'll never own one. Garden Way, the originator of Troy Bilt tiller went out of business some time ago and the brand name is now owned by MTD, a mass manufacturer of poor quality outdoor equipment. The new troy isn't the same as the old troy.

Here is one pass tilling in weeds that grew up since last fall's garden. (taken a couple of springs ago)


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## arto_wa (Mar 10, 2020)

Nice size garden.

I agree what you say about Pony!

If it had more mass (like the Horse model has), bigger wheels and slightly slower speed forward gear (like the Horse) it would probably be OK.
May as well forget the pony and buy a horse!

No shortage of used older models for sale on the Craigslist, but most of them will need some overhaul...


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