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

Are there any significiant advantages to a blower with tracks on flat concrete? Or they made for severe icing conditions and uneven ground?

I used a track drive MTD-Craftsman for 14 Years, the friction wheel & drive plate mechanism that drives all machines except Honda's would wear under heavy loads, like compacted wet snow.  I often felt that wheels would have served me better because when the machine becomes stationary from too heavy a job, the wheels might have slipped, rather than the rubber on the friction wheel.  Tracks grip so well they never slip, so something else has to.  In my case living alongside a busy main road that is heavily salted and plowed constantly, that caused me to learn a lot about the limitations and constant repairs of the friction wheel driven snow blower in such heavy load conditions. People with light powder snow would never have experienced what I did because the machine is designed for such snow, not the heavy sticky salt filled slush my driveway entrance encounters at almost every snow storm.   What the driveway surface is would have little to do with the equation.  Gravel makes you raise the skid shoes is all.  Pavement allows the scraper to clean it close, with any machine.  I hope this helps with your decision.

stresst wrote:

I had a Tracked Honda a 928TAS The Tracks allow you to do inclines with ease and if you own a Honda the setup they use makes for doing gravel driveways easier. Tracks equal more grip but are a bear to move around except under power (see thread involving using dollys). All tracked machines are not created equally and if you just have a flat driveway you really don't need a tracked machine. I returned the Honda and paid a penalty for doing so. But I now have a wheeled Toro and it's very well balanced, easy to use and I do have an incline that at the EOD has to be used sideways as it's normally wet slushy crap.

So no significant advantages to tracks unless you have an inclined driveway. Cheaper to buy a wheeled unit and easier to move around.

Actually a track driven " friction wheel" snowblower can be maneuvered fairly well without the engine, however the Honda track machine has a transmission that MUST be dis-engaged, and even then it is near impossible to move without the engine, hence the thread about Dollies to move them.  Since these machines usually spend the bulk of their lives in storage, the engine off maneuverability is an important concern.

New_Yorker wrote:

I had a tracked Honda so I am aware about the disengagement aspect. Even with it unlocked it's still a PITA to move around. So with Honda which costs a bundle you have to use a dolly to move it around your garage or start it up. My Toro just require squeezing both triggers and I can move it anywhere with ease no power needed. Honda makes a fine machine but since I don't need a tracked machine and neither does the OP if he has a flat surface to clear. Tracks IF they are needed are worth the money. If not then they are a Pain to deal with and cost a lot more $$$. My Toro has sat for 2 months in the garage without being started and all I did was prime it and put on the choke and in 1 pull it started right up. I'm sure the Honda would do that as well. It would just cost twice as much to do it.

Hi,

I have a Honda HS1132TAS. This is a tracked snow blower. The advantages are that for slopes it is really good and it can handle my 300ft long driveway's 1:14 inclines. It takes me approx 30 mins to clear a 3-inch snow fall. Last year when New York got dunkned on, it took like 3 hours!!!! Mind you I had 18 inches.

Alot of people think that steering is difficult. The trick is to stear the back. I.E. no point in trying to make the front move around or hold one side back. You cannot do it. What you can do is push / pull on the handles sideways and swing the back around. Once you understand that then it is quite easy to steer.

Moving around the garage is a pain though. I *NEVER* run the snow blower in my garage due to the risk of carbon monoxide posioning. Pushing the Honda around with the engine off is not easy, but is manageable. I am only 5 feet 3-inch and have the standard middle age rubber tire middle!!!

Honda Tracked snow blowers are also good for gravel. The bucket in one of the modes can be made to float over the ground. Hence you do not scoop up gravel.

It is easy to start. I have the electrical start thing, but never use it. Too much of a bother. Easier and faster just to pull the start cord. If you want one of these I recomend buying it without the electric start and save yourself a few $US.

Cheers, Mike.

Everybody's covered it pretty much.  Tracs are a pain unless you need tracs.  If you need tracs nothing else would work anyway.  Don't worry so much about the CO posioning.  Great to be catious but its harder than it looks.

I had a MTD 26" 8HP Track for 14 years and I can tell you first hand that the Track drive along with the trigger mechanisms made the snowblower totally manuverable.

The thing would turn on a dime right in the middle of the sidewalk. I was also able to maintain a nice close line and get really close to the car without worry.

 Keep in mind that the cog drivewheels are made of plastic and over the years plastic will get brittle and they are eventually will crack and break.

I finally got rid of it because I was having a tough time finding parts. This time I am trying an Ariens wheel drive unit only I don't expect to get the same manuverability.

The nice thing about the Ariens machine is that the Track drive is an option and can be converted from wheel to track drive. The MTD was Track drive only. It really was the trigger mechainisms though that made the MTD machine so manuverable. Additionally it had a tendancy to ride up in packed or heavy snow and it would take a couple of swipes.  Most likely it was because the unit was a little light up front.

For medium duty use where you need some manuverability in I would say the Track model is definately the way to go.  If you have a real long stretch where you need muscle to plow through in heavy pack, I would suggest a heavy wheel drive. 

 Starwarrior