Workhorse questions

[dodgeramsst2003 3]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and have searched and looked through the picture galleries. I am possibly trading a guy an old shopsmith ER-10 for a Workhorse tractor. He can't really tell me much about it except that it is 18hp and a hydro trans.

I haven't seen it or any pictures of it yet, but found an 83 workhorse 1848 in the picture gallery. Can anyone give me any info on these? Good/bad, things to look for?

Also any have any idea about its value, it has no mower deck, but it comes with a blower, and he thinks he has sleeve (maybe small 3pt?) hitch for it. We're in MI so the economy definitely sucks here.

Thanks,

Chris

[mavfreak 11]

:thumbs: There is several work horses maybe find out which one it is like a posible year. the engine could have been changed. Others will be chiming in so keep checking back

The economy sucks everywhere!

[zieg72 209]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and have searched and looked through the picture galleries. I am possibly trading a guy an old shopsmith ER-10 for a Workhorse tractor. He can't really tell me much about it except that it is 18hp and a hydro trans.

I haven't seen it or any pictures of it yet, but found an 83 workhorse 1848 in the picture gallery. Can anyone give me any info on these? Good/bad, things to look for?

Also any have any idea about its value, it has no mower deck, but it comes with a blower, and he thinks he has sleeve (maybe small 3pt?) hitch for it. We're in MI so the economy definitely sucks here.

Thanks,

Chris

I am of the understanding the the Workhorse was essentially sold with a deck, 1848 had an eighteen horse with a 48 inch deck. The Workhorse typically had Briggs Engine but other than that and a different color/stickers was the same but sold through other than Wheel Horse dealers...

[stevasaurus 23,292]

:thumbs: My dad had a Shopsmith...with all the attachments. Those are really cool. Depending on what shape and the attachments you have for it, I would guess that your Shopsmith could be worth more then the horse. Pictures of both would help to determine the value. Having the mower deck would also help the value of the horse. :thumbs:

[dodgeramsst2003 3]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

Zieg, Thanks for that, I have a city lot 50x275 so I don't need a mower, just looking for something to clear snow, do some light dirt work, haul a cart etc. I might add a johnny bucket type setup to it but not sure on that yet.

Steve, I agree that the shopsmith units are very nice, however I have an ER-10 which isn't the same as the mark series that most people know. This was the "experimental" unit sold by monkey wards in the early 50's. After that they sold out to Magna who makes the ones that most people know of. Around here an ER-10 sells between $75-$400 depending on condition, attachments etc. I'll try and get some pictures posted of the shopsmith.

[dgjks6 8]

I am always willing to add my opinion. If it is the workhorse we are all thinging about, then I think it is basically a 300 series, just painted grey. However, they did make some workhorses in the 60's. Maybe he just put a new motor on it.

Working snowblower $150.

Tractor is a different story. If it is in good shape and everything works - meaning you have to put $0 into it, I think it would fetch up to $500. But, I rarely seen a used one that needs nothing. And then the prices drop drastically. And definatley check the hydro out. Those things seem to be expensive and more difficult to repair.

And if you need to mow, a good deck can be expensive.

Pictures would be great and then you will get more opinions.

[can whlvr 994]

from what he said its an 1848 its an early 80s similar to the 300s,it was kinda the first of the 300or lighter dutie tractor,i have a 308 and would get another in a flash,its a very capable machine and if that briggs runs good it will be strong,make sure to get the hydro good and warm and then drive it around,thats a good thing to do with hydros,to make sure they are working,and look at the fluid to see if its clean

[c-series don 10,121]

O K please let me add my 2 cents here. I bought a gt-1800 BRAND NEW in 1984 mowed commercially for almost 10 years. I also did a lot of tilling +snowplowing with it,I wish I had put an hour meter on it. As a heavy equipment operator by trade I would say it has well over 4000 hrs on it. As for those who say it is equivelent to a 300 series I beg to differ, it is the same as a 400 series. Anyway I swear by my workhorse it still goes strong all original after all these years. I say get,use it,and have fun! Good luck! Don :thumbs:

[sgtsampay 117]

O K please let me add my 2 cents here. I bought a gt-1800 BRAND NEW in 1984 mowed commercially for almost 10 years. I also did a lot of tilling +snowplowing with it,I wish I had put an hour meter on it. As a heavy equipment operator by trade I would say it has well over 4000 hrs on it. As for those who say it is equivelent to a 300 series I beg to differ, it is the same as a 400 series. Anyway I swear by my workhorse it still goes strong all original after all these years. I say get,use it,and have fun! Good luck! Don

I agree with you 100% Its a 400 series tractor with a different color. :thumbs:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Technically, the GT-1800/1848 models are more like a (late) 3rd generation C series (C-125/145/175 automatic) with the "new" sheetmetal.

Since they were built from 1982 to 1984, that makes the 300/400 models descendants of the WorkHorse models.

The GT-1100/1142 & 1600/1642 8 speed models used the "lighter-duty" transaxle, which is more comparable to the early 300 series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

, Chris!

The '83 1848 in the gallery is mine. I bought it for $150, but it needed a starter gear, a battery, and one inner tube. It works just as hard as my 1990 416-H...... and uses less fuel. :thumbs:

[sgtsampay 117]

TT= Doesn't the workhorse have bigger front tires though than the 300series? Also, is it just me or are the workhorses a little bigger than the 300s and C series?

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

The 300 series only got the 6" front wheels for the first 5 or 6 years, but some 416 models had them too. Once the 37" SD deck was dropped from production, the tractors all had 8" front rims again.

As far as size differences, it must just be you. They're basically the same tractor.

[sgtsampay 117]

Thanks TT! That answered my q. :thumbs:

[c-series don 10,121]

One thing that makes them look a bit bigger is that the 1800+1848's came with 23x10.50x12 tires. I believe the only other tractors to come with that size were the 520 and 420 LSE. As far as 416's I have 2 of them they both have 6 inch wheels, the advantage of them is you can use a 60" deck with out a forword swept front axle. Yes they will rub if you turn hard but you can still stear about 95% of normal I'll post some pics when I get her set up for the season.

[Brandonsj04 0]

This is the GT 1800 I picked up late last fall for a song and dance. Unfortunately this one suffers from a blown rod. Not every Work Horse GT came with a deck, I think only the GT 1848 came factory with a 48'' deck, hence the 48 in 1848. Mine came from the factory just as the tractor. They are very capable units, and are close the size of my 520H. They come with wider rear tires as well as a non pressure lubricated/splash briggs 18 horse opposed twin engine. Everything else looks to be the same but haven't had time to take her apart. Compared to the 520h, a lot more simple in that it doesn't have all the electrical mumbo jumbo going on underneath the hood. Where are u located at in Michigan? Value from $50 up to $400 for bare "worker" tractor.

[dodgeramsst2003 3]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I'm just south of Detroit, and have yet to actually get the tractor. The thing is parked in a spot that is not accessible this time of year due to the mud in the yard. The guy is working on it and I should have it soon.

Does anyone have any idea if this tractor could handle a small homemade loader? I was hoping to make one for it just to move mulch and some topsoil around, not to mention the cool factor of having a small loader tractor around. nothing really heavy, probably 200 lbs tops at any given time.

I really want to get this thing home, cleaned up and in use, but I can't do anything about mother nature.

[Kelly 1,033]

Yes it will handle a loader, you might want to think about buying a 520 heavy duty front axle, but not manditory.

[wheelhorse2007 14]

Need some help. I have a GT-1100 Work Horse that I need to repaint gray, but I have NO idea what gray is the "proper" color to use. Any of you guys painted these, and if so, what did you use? Just looking for something in a rattle can, doesn't have to be a complete "resto" paint job. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[can whlvr 994]

i knom tt posted the colors not too long ago so if you search the topic you might be able to find it

[Don1977 605]

Some one on the board painted one Charcoal Metallic, I like it better than the original color.

[c175inMA 8]

One thing that makes them look a bit bigger is that the 1800+1848's came with 23x10.50x12 tires. I believe the only other tractors to come with that size were the 520 and 420 LSE. As far as 416's I have 2 of them they both have 6 inch wheels, the advantage of them is you can use a 60" deck with out a forword swept front axle. Yes they will rub if you turn hard but you can still stear about 95% of normal I'll post some pics when I get her set up for the season.

My C175 has 23x10.5-12 tires...

[mavfreak 11]

Thats whats on my C161 twin but not sure if thats stock

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Not too many models came "standard" with 10.50 tires or the 8.5" wide "full-offset" wheels.

I am pretty sure that the WorkHorse GT-1848/1800 models are the earliest tractors to use them. ( )

Original tires & wheels on my GT-1848:

The C-175 should have had 9.50's on 7" wide wheels (in stock form)

I believe the C-161 would have had 8.50's.

It's hard to tell what happened after they were sold - or what a dealer may have done while in his possession.