Toro Aquisition

[ishmael1980 1]

Is there a consensus as to what year the quality of the Wheel House products went south after the acquisition? 

[slammer302 2,156]

i think they keep their quality all the way to the end on their higher end wheel horses i know they made alot of cheaper models too but even compared to the cheap lawn mower market the wheel horses were still pretty good and better quality than alot of the cheap mtd mowers out their at the time 

[bmsgaffer 2,053]

Toro kept up the quality tradition on their garden tractor line (300+) all the way up through the completion of the XI series when wheel horse was killed off in 2007. Some people didnt like the Toro name, but they did not really cut quality except in the cheaper vertical shaft lawn tractors.

My 1994 520 has the same quality frame, transmission, and steel hood (ok it MAY have thinned a little over the years but not by much) that my 1984 C-105, 1964 854, and 1961 551 have...

[DennisThornton 4,771]

The chart I have shows the 2006 420 as the last Horse.  My 93 416 looks like the older WHs and my 1998 520Lxi certainly seems quite well built.  On the other hand my TORO (no mention of WH!) 2006 LX500 however is just another ridging lawn mower and pretty sure by MTD.  It's not a bad rider, but it's obvious they were watching pennies everywhere and I have to keep fixing little crap to keep her going.  What I've heard through the years was if it said Wheel Horse and Toro it was still a Wheel Horse!  Now my interests are mostly limited to just GTs and I have no first hand knowledge of anything else, other than the LX500.

[squonk 43,809]

I talked to a long time dealer a few years back. He said when Toro took over Wheel Horse, the quality control went way up. Said many times a WH tractor would be shipped missing parts and that ended with Toro. I don't know, I was never thrilled with Toro. I bought a 210-H in 2000 and was skeptical but I saw enough WH features on it to take a chance. Had it for 20 yrs and only replaced a tie rod and a diode.

[Racinbob 11,928]

The quality stayed up there through their demise in 2007. There was only one model by that time which is probably why it was called a 'Classic'. This is my 2005. It now sports Terry's patriotic decals.

[boovuc 1,090]

Toro got a bad rap from loyal Wheelhorse owners but it was Toro that saved Wheelhorse and the Garden tractor line. They could have killed the line and made Toro branded tractors changing every year or two so the attachments would not fit many consecutive models.
As it turned out, Toro kept the Wheelhorse line going and were responsible for the incredible run of the C-Series through the 300, 400 & 500 series tractors and the compatibility of the attachments to extend decades of models. And as was touted earlier in this thread, the Xi line of tractors were built heavy-duty and were actually heavier in weight than the 520-H. Much heavier.
Toro made many cheaper models that were riding lawn mowers at best but they were still far superior than the MTD junk sold in the box stores.
Toro even kept making parts that were interchangeable to older machines.
I've said it many years ago here but it bares repeating. We should thank Toro for buying Wheelhorse and keeping Elmer Pond's tractors going for the many years that they did. Toro knew they bought a great design with a loyal following. And it showed!
 

[Racinbob 11,928]

Boovuc, that was well said. Living in the South Bend area for 45 years until 2000 I was one of those who bashed Toro when they closed the plant. I now understand the reasoning and you are spot on. Toro respected Wheel Horse quality. Thank you for saying it so well.