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

I have spoken to 2 different dealers that sell both machines and both reccomend the Ariens over the Toro. 

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts!!

I live in northern WI with a long driveway.  I have been using a neighbors 2-stage Ariens Deluxe.

Important question to ask and thanks!!

You're welcome, glad to help. I switch quotes around every so often. I found that one a while back, and I agree with it. I'm opposed to PC in any form.

Anyway the Ariens is a well built machine, I just don't think it's built any better than the Toro, but as I said for us my small wife had to use it. I'll post a link to her using it she's 4'10" and 84 lbs. Look how high the handlebars are compared to her and yet she can easily handle it. Her main problem is when she tries to muscle it around while it's under power, you can't do that it just pulls you along. :)  She's getting better at it tho. I had concerns about the plastic chute as well as the plastic joystick and so far so good. I had a Honda 928TAS with tracks and I think all snowblowers will rise up if they are going too fast. I drove the Toro slowly into hardpacked plowed up snow that was mostly ice and it chewed it up and spat it out with a vengeance.

My main advice is try them out and see which one YOU like the best, different machines handle differently for different people. I'd buy the Toro again over the other machines. The quick chute makes a difference and the dual trigger steering is great too. I use gloves rated for pro skiers at -35F so I don't need heated grips. Try them both out and let me know what you think. I'd be interested in your opinion after you test them.

Here is the link of my wife. Keep in mind she had only used this once before. She's looking forward to using it again this year, so more videos later on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUBRE7vsRU

That's a good idea except my wife would probably fall, she's very blonde in many ways. Black hair, but truely blonde inside.

It would stop her from trying to pull the machine backwards while she is walking with it tho.

I went to several dealers, considered online sellers.  In the end, I went with a local dealer:  delivery and assembly was included; the snowthrower cost was $1,299.00.  I read something about the skid shoes leaving red marks on the drive?  Steve or others have any experience/advice with this?  

Thank you all for your advice!   

Congratulations! It's a great machine, I'm certain you'll be very happy with it.

As far as red marks, I'm sure the paint came off after the first use. I am looking into replacement skids because mine are wearing down. In all fairness my skids are set very very low on purpose. But those ones with the wheels look good. I'll price out a pair of metal shoes and see which is cheaper. But our driveway is pretty old and while it's noty cracked it's not pure black any longer. It's also not 100% flat either so there are probably some scrapes here and there that I might notice if I went out and actually looked for them which would mean doing the leaves which after the heavy rain and hail we had today won't be happening for a while.

If your driveway is pristine and brand spanking new, you might be better off with a skid shoe that is smooth and like teflon or something. For me I don't notice it. I just don't want to buy skids every 2 years if there is a better option available.

That's about right as far as wear & tear on the skid shoes goes. I went through about 3 or 4 sets over the 10 years I used & owned my HS624 and a couple of those sets were the commercial skid shoes. Those are about 1" thick bar stock and do definitely last 5X longer than the residential skid shoes. The scrapper bar is another item that sees a lot of action but I only replaced one of those. These are however, typical wear items and will need to be inspected & replaced on a fairly regular basis. Just part of the snowblowing experience!

Thanks FrankMA, yeah it's a wear item, but I'm hoping that there is something out there maybe that skid with a wheel that would last a lot longer, hard to say. But the skid shoes can't cost much. I'm sure I can get 2 more years out of this pair if I flip them when they wear out on one end. Commercial skid shoes would be good too. How much they cost in my area is another matter. The Scraper bar seems ok so that should be fine for a few years.

Just curious, how much did you pay for your skid shoes?