gjamison
SWCA Member
I bought toro several years ago, at that time my wife thought I was nuts for spending $1500 on a snowblower. Best money I ever spent, half the neighborhood thinks so as well.
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SUGGESTIONS ON A NEW SNOW BLOWER
- Thread starter chief38
- Start date
Got a guy who will do my three car wide drive and sidewalk for $15. No matter if its 3" or 30" deep. Would take a lot of snowstorms to eat thru the price of a $1000.-$1500. snow blower. Plus I'm an arthritic old man 
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WhitleyStu
Member
We get a fair amount of snow here in northern Indiana and I have had two Toro and one Ariens snow blowers over the last 32 years. Last fall we bought a new Ariens from Power Equipment Direct in Chicago. I have always had snow blowers with wheels, but decided to get one with tracks and wish I would have had bought a tracked unit years ago. Ariens snow blowers, whether wheeled or tracked now have Auto Turn which allows one wheel or track to stop and let the snow blower to turn with little force being put on the handle bars. I am sure this will be our last snow blower purchase so I went with the Briggs 420 PolarTech engine, hand warmers and a halogen light that really lights up the work area. I was used to having to "help" the wheeled snow blowers when it came to getting through deep snow or hard packed icy snow drifts. Our new Ariens tracked snow blower easily walks through anything I have had to move, even if the drifts were as high as the intake.
Ariens Professional Track ST28DLET (28") 420cc Two-Stage Snow Blower | Ariens 926042
Ariens Professional Track ST28DLET (28") 420cc Two-Stage Snow Blower | Ariens 926042
Nice! Looks like a Performance Center model . . . Admittedly, it costs as much as my first new car!
No offense to you MTD guys, but up here where we get real snow, those are regarded as the Taurus or Rossi of power equipment.
I did a lot of research a few years ago when I decided to get a new snow blower to replace the Murray I had been gifted. I found out that MTD makes snow blowers for a lot of companies. Yard Machines, Cub Cadet, some Sears, and on and on. The more I researched the less I liked the MTD machines.
All of my research, on line and going in to stores, kept coming back to Ariens. I looked at Simplicity. Good machines, but in my area for some reason no one sells or services the consumer grade machines. Husqvarna doesn't make their own machines. Honda has a great engine, but is incredibly expensive for what it does. The rest of the machine is no better than anyone elses. Deere is OK, but might in fact be made by MTD.
Snow Tek is the low end Ariens machine. Lots of plastic. Toro is no where near as good as it used to be. Craftsman are made by either Toro or MTD depending on the model.
I even talked to a repair guy that doesn't sell new snow blowers, but repairs all brands. He didn't even think about it for a second before he said "Ariens."
As other have said, get the biggest machine you can. I was going to get a 24" Compact Ariens, but ended up with a 28" Deluxe Ariens.
That thing that kills snow blowers is that hard packed snow that is at the end of your driveway courtesy of the snow plow. That's what you have to cut through and why you should get a big machine.
Don't pay any attention to the reviews in Consumer Reports. They review the machines when they are brand new, not after 4-5 years of use. Even the reviews from subscribers only go out to about a year. ALL of them will work the first year, it's 4-5 years down the road that the problems start.
Amazon has the best reviews of the ones I read. You don't have to buy a product from Amazon to review it, they don't care. People are brutally honest. Read those reviews and see what people say about Ariens.
Would love to offer some suggestions, but unfortunately Snow Bllowers ain't high on my "know something about" list.
Sorry.
Now Marsh buggies, surfact deives or long tails I can help you with
Long tails and tall ones too.
Roadtrash
US Veteran
I thought snow was cold enough, why do you need to blow on it.
coltle6920
Member
Had a Craftsman 5hp that struggled in the big storms we had in Colorado.Bought a Troybilt 10hp and haven't had any snow deeper than 9" since I bought it.It's still better to have it and not need it than the other option.
Vulcan Bob
Member
Another plus for Ariens, made in the USA, all steel and an iron gearbox. Definitely get a bigger one than you think you will need, besides it's fun to chuck a Volkswagen out into the tree line!
Bigger does last longer. My snow (and a lot of other things) removal is handled by a front loader on an 8000 lb tractor.
marvin the martian
Member
Maybe something like this? 
boatme99
Member
medxam
US Veteran
What the hell is snow and what are these machines that you speak of? Down here we just need generators for hurricanes (which thankfully we have not had to use this year!) I agree with Caj!
Do you have any ideas on ice removers, which is what we usually get here?
medxam
Do you have any ideas on ice removers, which is what we usually get here?
medxam
gaucho1
Member
Siberian
I prefer Russian brands. Fast..............and Easy
I prefer Russian brands. Fast..............and Easy
No offense to you MTD guys, but up here where we get real snow, those are regarded as the Taurus or Rossi of power equipment.
HEY! I like my Rossi!
Herknav
Member
When I lived in AK, I had a 2-stage (4-stroke) Toro with treads and electric start. I want to say it cut a 31" swath. It was the cat's meow.
OP
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Thanks guys...... I am planning on looking at your highly recommended (here) Ariens and Toro models this week. I want to get it before the weather changes.
Buy early. After the first big snow storm (or scare), they'll be gone or for sale at exorbitant prices. I made that mistake in early 2010 and had to wait until fall to buy mine. Which meant I had to borrow my neighbors Yard Machines snow blower. Which was brand new and had to go into the shop for a new carburetor, not under warranty.
Right now dealers have plenty of stock, but that won't last. The manufacturers are probably at the end of their winter equipment production runs and will soon be changing over to mowers and other summer stuff.
I recommend that you to buy high test gas and use stabilizer.
Right now dealers have plenty of stock, but that won't last. The manufacturers are probably at the end of their winter equipment production runs and will soon be changing over to mowers and other summer stuff.
I recommend that you to buy high test gas and use stabilizer.
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