Troy-Bilt TB WC33 XP (33") 420cc Wide Area Self-Propelled Lawn Mower

First off, this mower is the EXACT SAME as the Cub Cadet 760 ES, so if you want to read more reviews, look up that mower. MTD makes them in different colors and slaps different brand labels on them. They get $100 more for the Cub Cadet name and the yellow plastic. If you don't believe it is the same, read the owners manual carefully, they even forgot to do a "find and replace" on the Cub Cadet name in several places. :)

I have only had this mower for a few weeks, so too soon to talk about longer term quality. I have mowed with it 3 times and so far it is proving to be just what I needed. I am on .7 acre and most of it is grass and relatively flat. This mower has cut my yard-work time from 1:30 or 1:40 down to an hour even which is about how long it takes my neighbor on his zero turn. This mower is very simple to operate and very maneuverable. In low gear, I am able to mow very close in to my kids playset - cutting down on the need for much weed eating. On the open areas, the 33" deck really helps reduce the number of passes. I really like that it fits on the side of my garage where my 21" mower was. Most larger mowers would have required purchasing a shed to keep it in. $$

I think I only have three small complaints:

1) mulching is not as good as I had hoped. Even dry grass where I am not cutting more than 1/3, I find it leaves whole (unmulched) blades of grass on top of the lawn. No clumps mind you, but some whole blades. Maybe that is to be expected with this type of mower, but my 21" Troy-Bilt self-propelled that I replaced this with did not do that. It fully mulched every blade.

2) I wish 4th gear were a bit faster. I don't want to jog behind it, but just a bit more top-end would be nice. This is about the same speed as my 21" Troy-Bilt self-propelled mower.

3) I received the mower low on oil. It did not reach even the lower mark on the dipstick. I read of this happening in a couple of the Cub Cadet reviews, and the manual does tell you to check the oil level, so I was sure to check it before I started it the first time.

Knock on wood. So far, no issues with belts coming off or anything else. Maybe they straightened that issue out for the 2015 model years.

This mower fits my needs well, and at a good price point.

First off, this mower is the EXACT SAME as the Cub Cadet 760 ES, so if you want to read more reviews, look up that mower. MTD makes them in different colors and slaps different brand labels on them. They get $100 more for the Cub Cadet name and the yellow plastic. If you don't believe it is the same, read the owners manual carefully, they even forgot to do a "find and replace" on the Cub Cadet name in several places. :)

I have only had this mower for a few weeks, so too soon to... more

Okay, I have mowed about 3 times with my new Troy-Bilt. My yard is flat in front & pretty steep in back.
Here is my view of mower so far:

*Arrived in great shape-boxed solid.
*Assembly easy..anyone can do it.
*CHECK OIL-from other reviews I read, it was first thing I did after assembly. It was 1/2 qt low.
*Little cranky to start, but I probably need to figure out how much to choke.
*After first use I had to raise deck 1 notch higher than I normally mow, as it will shave any high spots down to the dirt in a hurry due to the front wheels extending out in front of deck. Not a complaint, but if your yard isn't perfectly flat/even this mower will make it that way if deck set too low!
*This thing is a man's man-mower. I am still trying to get used to it, but it is heavy & can be awkward until you get used to letting the mower do the work for you.
*Practice mowing away from landscaping/trees/etc for a bit. Takes some getting used to using both hands to keep drive engaged, & mower deck engaged (left drive-right blades...or is it right drive-left blades!). If you confuse the mower engagement lever for the drive engagement lever you may end up running over your pretty landscaping when you are stopping the blades instead of the drive! Believe me, you are not going to hold this thing back manually if you are heading toward something with drive engaged! Again not a complaint-just have to think about it when mowing.

Stuff I am correcting:

*Rubber grips are pretty little shiny red ones, but slick as snot when you start sweating. Mower will literally pull out of your hands when they get wet. I am looking for rough textured grips, & will use cycling handlebar tape if I can't find grips that will work. Maybe rubber palmed gloves would work, but gloves may get hot on 95 degree day.
*Shifter lever a bit unhandy. It is located at back of mower/engine assembly. It is a bit low to get to when needing to back up on hillside or incline. You are trying to hold the mower, let off drive lever, reach down to shift in reverse, then get back up to drive lever to back up, then hold mower, reach down to shift back into forward, then get back up to drive lever. I have already seen that I can make a bracket & new shift lever bracket to get it closer to drive levers. If you don't live on a hill, this is no issue whatsoever though.
*Probably get a bit better mulching blade once this one has some use on it. It isn't bad, but could mulch a little better.

Good stuff:
*Power, power, power!! This thing is a beast for power.
*I was surprised how quiet it is...nice!
*Blade speed is fast-so mows clean if if grass a bit wet.
*Built solid-other than a bit of plastic in the upper handlebar area for hour meter & throttle, this thing is built like a tank.
*Neighbor envy! The guys in the neighborhood hide with their self-propelled Toros when I bring this dude out!!!

Overall a great mower if you want something built well & don't mind getting a bit of a workout when mowing. If you are one to send the wife out to mow, or don't want to work those boney little arms & legs skip this mower & hire the neighbors kid to mow for you!

Okay, I have mowed about 3 times with my new Troy-Bilt. My yard is flat in front & pretty steep in back.
Here is my view of mower so far:

*Arrived in great shape-boxed solid.
*Assembly easy..anyone can do it.
*CHECK OIL-from other reviews I read, it was first thing I did after assembly. It was 1/2 qt low.
*Little cranky to start, but I probably need to figure out how much to choke.
*After first use I had to raise deck 1 notch higher than I normally mow, as it will shave any high... more

Mower arrived in good health and is performing very well...better than anticipated. Shipping, however did not include a key, manual or any accessories.

Have used this a few times . I always used to guess but according to the hour meter it takes me 2 1/2 hrs to mow front and back. Plus wise it's new , engine is 12hp compared to my old 8 hp model which still works. Cons shifter rod to low just plain sucks , my old mower has blade and drive levers on the left handle which makes it much easier to turn in tight areas.

Caster wheels are too close to deck , mowing height lever on old model was a small very easy to use crank , this lever is easy but is made with cheap thin grade metal to hold it in position and I do not think it will last long . No grease fittings on axels or blade bearings will have me buying new parts I never needed with the old one. mulching blade won't even pick up a dead leaf at next to last deck setting. I bought new because I liked the old model hoping it would be similar . If I could return it I'd rather buy a rebuilt older brand . In time I'll see if it lasts as long as the first ...I highly doubt it !

Have used this a few times . I always used to guess but according to the hour meter it takes me 2 1/2 hrs to mow front and back. Plus wise it's new , engine is 12hp compared to my old 8 hp model which still works. Cons shifter rod to low just plain sucks , my old mower has blade and drive levers on the left handle which makes it much easier to turn in tight areas.

Caster wheels are too close to deck , mowing height lever on old model was a small very easy to use crank , this lever is easy... more

First impression - good equipment. Delivery was well done. However, 1 hour into first mowing, blue smoke appeared and that led to loading mower on trailer, driving 20 miles to an authorized warranty dealer, who after a week is still too busy to look at it.

I have had other great Troy-Bilt equipment, including 8 hp tiller that is 40 years old and still going strong. It may be a fluke with this one - the jury is out as I await warranty repair.

Have 6 hours on mower. Works great. Does good level job in my rough yard. Has a extremely good height adjustment. Gears are great and spaced appropriately for most mowing conditions. Well 4th gear is best used for moving from operation to operation, unless you like to sprint along and just hit the high spots.

I have mowed some boot-top-high grass, and it did well without lugging the engine or stressing the cutting. But one wet morning in tall grass, it built up a wad inside the deck and threw the engine to deck shaft belt. However, it was easy to reinstall and be off. I advise against mowing tall, wet grass, as is well advised with any mower.

The machine operates very smoothly and seems very fuel efficient. It has used 2 oz. of engine oil in the 6 hours, but keeps using less and less. Between the 4th and 5th hour, I was mowing in 3rd gear and it suddenly just died. Started looking for the problem, took a couple of minutes, and that the wire cluster plug had came off the ignition switch.

Reinstalled the plug and it ran fine. It hasn't happened since. I believe, after setting the mower up, it would be a good idea to use cable fasteners to secure wiring and cables to handle bars. Overall, I believe it to be a well-priced, well-designed machine. Time will tell in the long haul.

Have 6 hours on mower. Works great. Does good level job in my rough yard. Has a extremely good height adjustment. Gears are great and spaced appropriately for most mowing conditions. Well 4th gear is best used for moving from operation to operation, unless you like to sprint along and just hit the high spots.

I have mowed some boot-top-high grass, and it did well without lugging the engine or stressing the cutting. But one wet morning in tall grass, it built up a wad inside the deck... more

Got this to use on my farm and the first time I used it (on its highest setting) in foot high pasture grass, the blades locked up and smoked the timing belt before I could shut it off. When the timing belt slipped, the blades start hitting each other and shut off the mower. The culprit was a 1-1/2" limb hiding in the grass. The lockup also bent the tension pulley arm for the timing belt so much that my repairman had to take it off and straighten it and the blades started hitting the slightly warped mower deck on one side. After initial repairs, I went back to work and after a few hours not hitting anything, the belt driving the blades stretched so much that it could not keep the blades turning. I will say that the unit's drive wheels were able to pull it up steep hills, which is why I got it to begin with. My advice is keep it in the short grass and perhaps buy shorter blades that won't hit each other even if the timing belt slips.

Got this to use on my farm and the first time I used it (on its highest setting) in foot high pasture grass, the blades locked up and smoked the timing belt before I could shut it off. When the timing belt slipped, the blades start hitting each other and shut off the mower. The culprit was a 1-1/2" limb hiding in the grass. The lockup also bent the tension pulley arm for the timing belt so much that my repairman had to take it off and straighten it and the blades started hitting the... more

The Troy Bolton walk behind is really good perfect for medium size yards with small gates. It powers threw tall grass without a problem.

Mower cuts great. I love this thing.

So far, so good. I've mowed home lawn about six times so far and mower seems great.

After waiting @ 2 weeks longer than expeted delivery I'm Very sad to say that this mower is already broke and I'm not sure where to get the parts. I'm not even finished paying on it and its not working. Not sure if I will be ordering again.