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

I have been looking at snow thrower for a little while now, and have done a good amount of research on here and elsewhere.  One thing that I have not seen too much discussion or opinions is standalone units vs garden tractor snow thrower attachments.

 

I have a pretty large driveway and parking area, about 300 feet long, so I am looking at pretty big snow throwers.  Are snow throwers attachments to garden tractors better in any ways than the stand alone machines?   Are they more problematic?

 

Thanks,

Alex

If you have a large enough tractor and a properly installed/balanced snow thrower attachment, they can be useful for clearing large, smooth, open areas. My father-in-law had brand new 48 inch attachment on his brand new 25 h.p. Craftsman lawn tractor. He also had a 1960's vintage Ariens 5 h.p./24 inch snow thrower. After one season with the tractor/blower, it never saw day light again. He took it off, put a cover over it and left it in the garage. It was too c u mbersome to use in anything but the most open areas, the blower had a tendency to ride up on the snow rather than dig in and it took up way too much space in his garage when attached to the tractor. Overall, he wasn't very pleased with it. Particularly at the price he paid for it, around $2300.00 all in. He has since passed away and the snow thrower attachment was sold. To this day however, his old Ariens is still called into service when we have to clear the driveway for the mother-in-law after a big snow.