Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Anyone have any opinions on the Cub Cadet snowthowers?  Particularly the 528 SWE model.  My husband and I are in the market for a new one and he likes this one.  It appears similar to the Craftsman 88790 but it has bigger tires and a 10HP engine.

I know everyone on the forum here prefers Ariens and Toro and we have looked at all these models but he likes the size of the Cub Cadet the best.  He didn't want anything too big or too heavy.   

I've never even seen one so I'm just going by the web site specs and general experience.

Looks like your basic 10HP Tecumseh L Head snow thrower. One thing that looks good is the trigger controls for "steering" I'm guessing that there are two ( its plural) and that they let you lock and unlock the axle from the associated tire. This isn't quite as good as the Ariens DLE series that uses a true differential ( much like a car) but it does seem to work nicely in the other brands I've handled in stores.

Things to consider

1. Where do you get service?
2. Talk with the folks who will service the beast, particularly if its different from where you buy it.
3. A 10HP unit is fairly big, do you want something a bit smaller and more agile? It would help if you specified what the working conditions are;
4. It has a plastic chute, I prefer metal ;
5. The "L" head engine has been around for decades, it isn't as nice as OHV and is more sensitive to low oil conditions. It is reliable and probably powers most of the walk behind snowblower on the planet.

Advice:

1. Read the manuals
2. Exceed the safety suggestions
3. Do the maintnenance
4. Check the oil every time you are about to start the engine.
5. Have fun

Thanks for the advice.  Although Home Depot carries this model, there is a local dealer that we will purchase from and I'm sure this is where it will be serviced from.  As I said this model looks very similar to the Craftsman 88790 (same chute, steering, headlight, etc) but it has bigger tires and a 10HP.  Seems to be a little more solid than the Sears version.  This model is the smallest of the Cub Cadet snowthrowers, I think.  

          just a note  cub cadets are made by mtd.  

mech12 wrote:

Yes...I figured that out.  Just wondering about the quality of them.  They do have a 3 year warranty.

I am concerned about the plastic chute.  The plastic on the Toro and also the larger Cub Cadets seem a lot better. 

Our driveway is only about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide but it is steep.  So we definitely want a 2-stage snowthrower.

Easy maneuverability is very important.   My husband really likes the ones with the joystick controls.  He definitely

doesn't want a crank.

  Take a look at the 10.5 HP, 30 inch cut Huskys at Lowes, trigger controls for left or right turns, quick chute controls.

On sale with 10% off if you charge it.

$999.00 - 10 % =  $899.00.

                                                                     Fred

Cub Cadet has always been known for quality, I hear that MTD is going to keep it that way now that they bought Cub. I suggest you check out the 526WE model. It has an 8.5hp enigne, otherwise pretty much the same as the 526SWE. For $799.99 MSRP, I think this is the best buy in the new two stage snow blower martket right now. If my wife would agree, I would but one tomorrow.

BillvB wrote:

Cub Cadet has always been known for quality. Yeah, BEFORE MTD bought the name a few years back!

You've GOT TO BE KIDDING ME... Cubs are now MTD clones. They use the SAME THIN sheet metal, cheap hardware, plastic bushings etc. Looks like MTD is doing JUST THE OPPOSITE of what you said...

Marty FORMERLY MAJORXLR8N

cub cadets better be good for what they are charging for them. i live in washington in an area that gets hardly any snow so a snow thrower is hard to come by here. this is proably why i have not seen one. we have a MTD rider though and it has started to fall apart. its not that old either but the cub cadets are much better.