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

Hi,

I live in Michigan, and I have a very steep curved driveway. It is cement at the top and asphalt about 225 feet long with about 15 degrees of pitch. 

I went  to my local Ariens dealer to buy the Ariens 1332DLET Track Drive Thrower, since that model is brand new he didn't feel comfortable recommending one. He did say that he didn't like the Honda Track drive. Although the Honda dealer in my area claims all of their customers love the Honda. My local Ariens/Toro dealer recommended a Toro Commander single stage, with the idea that a rubber blade would contact the pavement better and reduce the ice problem. I did that, however we had a couple decent snow falls and it took around 4 hours to clear my drive today. The dealer sells both Toro and Ariens, and said he would work a deal with me to take the Toro back if I didn't like it. I

What I'm trying to decide is if I want to go with a Honda or Ariens track drive. Has anybody looked or operated both of these? Anybody with experience on the Ariens? Easiest thing for me to do would be to get the Ariens, but I think the Honda may be a better way to go.

Thanks all in advance.

I'll chime in as a newbie to snowblowing. I actually boought a Toro Wheeled 1028 and found that wheels among other things wouldn't work for me. The Ariens dealer said he doesn'tt reccomend Ariens tracked models and that if I wanted tracks I should look at buying a Honda which has great track. Considering that he doesn't sell Honda, I found that enlightening. My wife 4'10" 83 lbs. could use the Toro with it's skid steer. No chance with an Ariens wheeled model with limited slip. The Honda 928TAS she could move under power but not so much even with the tracks set to free wheel. I'm 5'7" and out of shape and I had no problem with the 928. The 1132 was a different story. My wife could not turn it under power and when it was off and in freewheel mode it was a bear to move backward, forward was not an option. The 1132 is a lot bigger than it looks and it's unwieldy on the tracks compared to the 928. I'm sure it will move a LOT of snow but getting it to turn isn't fun at all and since my wife can't use it, no point.

The 1132 also has issues with the snow getting into the carb. The local dealer said you have to have an actual problem before Honda will install the kit on the machine. That's looney! Our driveway is 230 feet long, 18-20 feet wide at EOD and 15-16 feet wide for most of it and then we have 40+ feet coming off of that just before the garage. I wouldn't get the Ariens since I was unimpressed with what I saw and my wife couldn't use it. The Honda 1132 is a lot of machine and I would not want to have to turn it a lot. The 928 with tracks seemed best all around for our needs. I thought it might be too little machine for outr needs but it's still 28" wide and we did play with it and it is a monster for snowbanks! I'd buy a Honda over any other model. We are going to have to make adjustments on the skids for our needs as the dealers set them too high and I'd rather replace the scraper bar every few years and have a clean driveway. So my vote as a newbie is for the Honda. It's not perfect but it's damn good.