future wheel horse's

[Desko 608]

I was thinking to day about wheel horse and the 315-8 and thought if they did a 60th anniversary many if were lucky they might just do a 70th anniversary in 2017. Now this is just a though but we all can dream right. What do y'all link like a special 500 series or something.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Desko

[KC9KAS 4,741]

I think we would be disappointed in anything that was made in todays age of disposable garden tractors.

It is probably best to just "Dream" of what it could have been.

[Desko 608]

I was thinking of the classic GT but you are right about todays "GT"

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

Its a great dream but TORO is a for-profit business and if it wont make them money they wont be doing it. Not to mention it would need a warrantee and they would have to support the tractor by providing parts for the consumer for years (not sure how many years they would have to guarantee parts availability by law).

We'll never see it unfortunately.

    Mike..........

[Desko 608]

I see the point but you never know oh how to days GT get thrown away and people get fed up with buying an new one every 2-3 years only hopes and dreams.

[Martin 2,131]

i think the way they are going with spare parts availability and pricing, they would rather see wheel horse just disappear into history. doing an anniversary special would only be a reminder of what used to be......

[Desko 608]

If I ever hit it big on the lottery I'd by the rights to wheel horse and produce parts and tractors for better or worse. :)

[Ken B 3,164]

If I ever hit it big on the lottery I'd by the rights to wheel horse and produce parts and tractors for better or worse.

Have you ever seen the show on TV that shows what has happened to many past Lotto winners that have gone broke? One of the winners got lucky to the tune of over 100 million and then lost it all within a few short yrs.. His motto was I came into this world broke and I plan on leaving it the same way...

[Desko 608]

Yea but that too is also a pipe dream lol.

[rwilson 128]

I was told by my dealer that toro wasnt even gonna make a "tractor" this year. All zero turns.

[stevasaurus 22,698]

WOW...there is a ton of negativity here.  All we need is a guy with a garage and a stash of stainless steel. 

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

WOW...there is a ton of negativity here.  All we need is a guy with a garage and a stash of stainless steel. 

 

I agree on the negativity.

 

I would even be ok with regular steel and some powder coat

 

We always talk about how simple these things were, so they should be just as simple to reproduce other than the sheet metal which will require tooling...

 

Kohler makes 27HP electronic fuel injected twins now too that should be stuffed under the hood and forget all that aero looking junk. Make it big and chunky mixing the style of 70's, 80s, and 90's era wheel horses....

 

Make a low power version and a 520 killer.

 

(OK, i know this isn't really commercially viable but still...)

[Desko 608]

WOW...there is a ton of negativity here.  All we need is a guy with a garage and a stash of stainless steel. 

yes don't forget the transmissions and engines.

I agree on the negativity.

 

I would even be ok with regular steel and some powder coat

 

We always talk about how simple these things were, so they should be just as simple to reproduce other than the sheet metal which will require tooling...

 

Kohler makes 27HP electronic fuel injected twins now too that should be stuffed under the hood and forget all that aero looking junk. Make it big and chunky mixing the style of 70's, 80s, and 90's era wheel horses....

 

Make a low power version and a 520 killer.

 

(OK, i know this isn't really commercially viable but still...)

it could be done with the HP have a larger newer 600 series the new era of the horses but keep the classic WH GT look. All our vendors could help with the parts and decals :)

[js5020 111]

I would like to find one or two 520H or 1100 axle "gliders", I want the hyd lift,, I don't think I would go much beyond 20/25 hp though, might even be content with a K341, I don't really see a need for more power with any attachments that can be put on em.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

The only reasons I would go with the high horsepower is to help make up for the difference in torque. The newer v-twins seems to be more HP and the older opposed twins more torque lower HP.

 

Then you throw EFI on there and you can save i think they claim 25% fuel savings. Imagine more HP then the onan 20 but the fuel usage of a K321 or K341. Who could ask for more?

 

It helps that I am an electrical engineer and so the electronics dont scare me as much as them might some people.

 

Also, im not sure if I would stick with the eaton (which is likely not made anymore and il bet replacements are not as durable) or go for a divorced pump/motor system where you can run higher pressures, extra lifts/attachments and such things. I mean if we are dreaming here. You could take the pump system like on the toro dingo and have full time 2WD or even 4WD if you were adventurous. Heck, you could hook up a FEL without adding an extra pump.

 

I would not want to go much bigger than the C/400 series though. Thats most of the appeal to me to keep it smaller than a CUT with most of the capabilities.

[Don1977 604]

All of the future Wheel Horses are been made by members right here. Just take a look around I can think of at least a half a dozen with out trying to hard.   

[Wheel-N-It 2,968]

All of the future Wheel Horses are been made by members right here. Just take a look around I can think of at least a half a dozen with out trying to hard. 

Agreed. I think the future of Wheel Horse is right here on this forum. Overall it could not be in better hands

[hm12460 53]

What gets me all cross threaded is the newer John Deere's. I've had A LOT of them. They make a good machine, and then put them pos "plastic" hoods on them. Look at them cross eyed and they are busted. You don't wanna know what a new one costs! I suspect all new ones are like that, of any brand. Perhaps if Toro had continued the Classic line they would be like that too.

[papaglide 542]

How is this for a pipe dream? Win the powerball, $200,300, whatever million after taxes. Throw $50 mill into this venture and see what happens. You still have a crapload of cash leftover.

[Desko 608]

I'd love to do that to show my generation what something real was.

[papaglide 542]

Maybe with the way that the economy is going and with prices for food consistently rising, a new breed of cat will emerge. One that wants to hobby farm or at least grow what they eat and with the prices of scut's becoming unaffordable, maybe just maybe there will rise a niche market for garden tractors again. There is a garden tractor out there; a Simplicity Legacy but the price is astronomical.

[Desko 608]

For the price of that GT you could get a good used farm tractor.

[SNYFIX 13]

Sadly a company as big as Toro looks at the numbers that the investors are looking for and not what the consumer wants.

We think they missed the boat by not looking at the past performance of the company and sit down and design a tractor from

the ground up that would appeal to the TRACTOR buyer. All they knew is that sales of tractors were declining as compared

to ZTR's which was greatly increasing at the time. "Research" also told them that people were buying smaller properties

vs larger properties however there are still folks out there with properties big enough that would require a rugged tractor

instead of whats' massed produced today.

Perhaps someday it may happen where a true Wheel Horse tractor will again hit the market  -- --

For the price of that GT you could get a good used farm tractor.

True, very true but try using a 40 HP farm tractor around your property -- --

[Desko 608]

I do use a 40 hp tractor around the farm LOL.