# looking for snowblower suggestions...



## jerseydrew (Mar 6, 2010)

so for years i have been plowing my 2 large driveways with my trucks and have been using my honda hs724 track drive blower to do the corners and sidewalks. i am getting tired of loading and unloading the blower in my tall 3500. so i want to get a second blower for the second house. i love the honda and it has served me very well for almost 20 years. we bought it before i started buying trucks and adding plows to them. i read a lot of conflicting info online about all the brands of snowblowers and to be honest i don't want to drop almost $3k for a new honda. on top of the fact that they now have a lot of bells and whistles i don't think i really need. so i am shopping for something in the 2 stage 24 inch size. the second property has no hills so i don't need track drive. 

the ariens seems to be regarded as a good blower but to me it looks cheap especially sitting next to a honda unit. i then look and all the MTD brands and the only one i somewhat care for is the cub cadet. i know nothing about the brand and it looks like i buy it at HD and then good luck for parts later since there doesn't seem to be a real dealer local. husky and troy built just seem like inferior brands to me and the only other one that seems to be ok is the higher end simplicity. 

i am totally lost in my descision making process. please help steer me in the right direction.


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## fireball (Jan 9, 2000)

If the last honda lasted 20 years why wouldn't you pick honda again. Think about your grandson.


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## jerseydrew (Mar 6, 2010)

fireball said:


> If the last honda lasted 20 years why wouldn't you pick honda again. Think about your grandson.


comes down to cost and too many features.


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## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

buy an older ariens, put a carrier rack in your trailer hitch to move it


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

You don't want to spend $3k for a Honda, but the cheaper Ariens looks too cheap .

I have a commercial style Ariens. I think I paid $1500 or something about 5-6 years ago. No issues so far.

The carrier rack suggestion is a good one. Find one wide enough for your blower, and one with a ramp. That's how I move mine.


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## fireball (Jan 9, 2000)

Trust me those heated handles are really nice. It's only a matter of time before you can plug your electric boots into the blower too and a backup camera I will keep your eyes on eBay and craigslist for a good used one. There are differences between the Ariens units at home depot and the commercial units that you buy from local dealers. Most of the differences are in engine horsepower. Ariens parts are easy to buy on the internet. We usually get parts within two days while our dealer has to wait for a once a week delivery from the distributor if it isn't backordered. Those finger tip controls on the cub cadets are nice but take time to get used too. That 40 inch 30 hp blower is really nice. Only cons are the unit is so heavy that it catches on everything like cracks in walks. The other is that while it has a remote rope start you don't have a enough strength to manually start the unit 3 blocks from the nearest outlet. I'm not sold on these new three stage units


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## MajorDave (Feb 4, 2011)

Toro 721 R-C Commercial. I've used many brands. This machine is unbelievable.


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

I've got a 721 RC as well. Single stage, but very fast. My shoveler almost has a hard time keeping up with it when he's using it.


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## MajorDave (Feb 4, 2011)

Haha. You're right. It will run away from you in lighter snow! Can use one hand and let it run!


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