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New Wheel horse


richp

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I stopped by local power equip. house and saw a nice looking tractor that just caught my eye. It is a Wheel horse model 315, with I think 18 hp. This thing looks like the classic look of the older tractors. It doesn't have that cheesy aerodynamic look, (what do these things max out at, like 6 mph?). The price tag was $4500 bucks, A little pricey for me.
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I thought Toro bought Wheel horse? Didn't realize they were still using the Wheel horse name. Elon
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quote:
Originally posted by ehertzfeld
I thought Toro bought Wheel horse? Didn't realize they were still using the Wheel horse name. Elon
Toro did buy out Wheel Horse...They use both names on the tractors for some reason...I think because the Wheel Horse name was/is well known...
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The 315 is a 15HP Kohler command single cylinder engine. Very nice tractors, but they are only available in a 8-Speed manual shift. They quit building it in a hydro back in 1997. $4500 is not bad considering it will likely last 30 years with regualar maintinance.
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The Toro/WheelHorse 300 Series is one of the last of the classic heavy-duty garden tractors built today. It is equivalent to the Sovereign type garden tractors that all of us here know and love. I worked as a mechanic for a Toro dealer from 1991 to 1993. We sold a ton of the 300 Series tractors in the time that I worked there. I even sold a brand new Toro/WheelHorse 314 8-speed to a cemetary in my hometown back in 1991. This tractor has a 14HP Kohler Magnum that they put in them back then. Let me tell you, that tractor has been "used and abused" over the last 13 years at that cemetary and it is still going strong. Same engine and transmission. As a matter of fact, I saw someone mowing with it the other day. Looks like it is well used, but still going strong. Oh, by the way, I did try to get this dealer interested in the Simplicity product line back then, but just couldn't quite convince him. He knew I loved Simplicity tractors over the Toros he sold.:D
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[img]/club2/attach/jj marshall/after wheel horse 003.jpg[/img] here a GT14 wheel horse i'm try to restore. [img]/club2/attach/jj marshall/after wheel horse 002.jpg[/img] this one here is build quite heavy.
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I do not own a Simplicity (though my Dad just bought a Prestige), I have always been really impressed with them. In the spring of 1998, I was in the market looking for a replacement for my old Sears Custom 10XL garden tractor. I narrowed my choice to two machines. A Sovereign and a Toro/Wheelhorse 314-8. Why? I wanted a simple design like my old Sears, that was durable for years to come. As I recall, the Sovereign was a left over (perhaps a '97). The dealer said it had an older engine that was a bit more noisy than the newer one - maybe it was not an overhead cam engine - but it was not the newest engine offered by Simplicity at the time. The dealer had bought several of these and they all had power steering. I could have my choice of a 48 or 42 inch deck. I think the price was about $5K. I really liked that tractor, but could not swing the $$$. In retrospect, I wonder if it had the undersirable engine so many have had trouble with. I bought the 314-8 for about $3K with a 42" rear discharge deck. The idea was that I could trim on both sides and sweep while I mowed. I still have this tractor and have since made it a hobby to work on these things - my herd of 'horses is at 4, down from 5. But I still have my eyes open for a nice used Sovereign - should one present itself at the right price. One concern I have is that there are a gazillian parts both new and used for the Wheelhorse, including implements. I don't see that much for the Simplicity. Maybe just my geographic location vs reality. Bill
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