# Best snowblower to buy



## jay317

Whats the best snowblower i can buy with $1000-$1500 range i will be doing about 30 accounts when the snow comes any input would be appreciated


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## Chrisxl64

Ariens.....


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## Camden

Chrisxl64;1065962 said:


> Ariens.....


x2

The "best" blower you can buy is a Honda but you'd need to spend more than $1500 to get one of those.


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## Chrisxl64

And i mean a true power equipment store ariens,,,,,not a HD special,,,,and yes theres always a difference.


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## mayhem

Saw some research, can't remember where...the HD Ariens is he exact same item as the LHS Ariens of the same model number...same motor, same part numbers, same warranty. HD does not always have the best price and it pays to shop the stores in your area...and of course service counts for somehting too...you're not going to get much useful in-store service at HD if you have a problem.

Some other brands I guess HD does get their own crappy line of products...John Deere IIRC is one of them, but Ariens doesn't seem to make HD specials.

As for the best snowblower...we need to know more about what you're doing with it. Are you doing all the work with a blower or do you plow and you need a sidewalk machine...factors like weight are a big deal if you have to get it in and out of your truck 30 times a day...lots of guys seem to favor the single stage Toro snowblowers for supplimental clearing machines...reliable, light and powerful...but I wouldn't want to recommend one for a dirt or graqvel driveway or to use for all your accounts if you're not just doing a sidewalk here and there.


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## leon

*snowblower purchase saga*

snow blowers etc.



jay317;1065942 said:


> Whats the best snowblower i can buy with $1000-$1500 range i will be doing about 30 accounts when the snow comes any input would be appreciated


It may be worth your while to investigate the BCS 2 wheel tractor model 712 with a 5.5 horsepower Honda which is $1,750 and the 28 inch snow blower is $950 which is 50 dollars more than the 24 inch 2 stage blower attachment you will be able to use it for other tasks like mowing and sweeping too with other attachments.

The BCS is gear driven with no intermediate belts the BCS/Berta blowers have a ripper cross auger to remove packed snow easily( the Berta BCS blowers were designed for use in the swiss alpine snow country in Europe.

You will have issues of not being able to buy parts for the BCS as they have a wide dealer network too.

The snow blowers have very heavy steel construction and shear pins for the auger and impeller.

The prices are from the www.earthtools.com web page

The smallest new 2009-10 Yamaha is almost $6,000.00 canadian loonies and they have no plans to import them here any time soon, but they are sold out again in Canada.


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## jay albers

i bought a toro last year for about 20 accounts and it worked well. there was also a big storm we had and my phone rang off the hook, it went throw 20" no problem. Made my money back in that one storm.

Do yourself a favor grab a little trailer if you can. taking it up and down the truck sucks


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## AiRhed

My John Deere 1128 keeps up with Camden and his Ariens. I'm not saying I do, but the machine does. In reality, they're probably the same machine with different paint! I think you're top choices in that price range are Ariens, Simplicity, and John Deere. MIght want to pick up a single stage too for when the snow gets wicked wet/heavy.


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## EastCoast

Single stage when snow gets wicked and heavy?


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## leon

*snow blower*

Lots of fluid film and cooking spray as well as WD-40 works wonders for a single or two stage unit.


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## cmturner

For you guys doing blowers only with the 20 or so accounts how do you handle your customers during the storm? Like say you have a 3" trigger and the weatherman is calling for a 12" snow do you go out and start blowing once the first 3 is down or do you wait until its almost over?


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## Belleaire Care

*snow blower question.....*

Hey guys!

I just do commercial lots... small to mid size. However, they do have big sidewalks and a good snow blower is needed. Sold my old one earlier this year.

Looking at a Craftsman from Sears. They've got a 27" with 291 cc motor (about 11.6 hp) for a grand this week and a 30" 342 cc (13.6 hp) for $1300.00 - (Briggs and Stratton motor).


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## leon

*Snow blowers in Canada*



Belleaire Care;1078637 said:


> Hey guys!
> 
> I just do commercial lots... small to mid size. However, they do have big sidewalks and a good snow blower is needed. Sold my old one earlier this year.
> 
> Looking at a Craftsman from Sears. They've got a 27" with 291 cc motor (about 11.6 hp) for a grand this week and a 30" 342 cc (13.6 hp) for $1300.00 - (Briggs and Stratton motor).


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The best walk behinds are totally wallet dependent, please understand I am not trying to give you a wise a&* answer.

Candidly if per unit cost is a factor then the new 2011 Yamahas which are on the show room floors in the maritimes now are the best snow blowers with track drive in 2 models 28-32 inch.
and the most expensive units for the consumer or small contractor and cost almost $6000.00 
canadian for the larger Yamaha snow blower.

The issue is more of utility when you work year round and ideally a BCS or Grillo 2 wheel tractor with the Berta/BCS snow blower wil handle the heavy wet stuff just as easily as the Yamahas as they both are all gear drive.

The 2 Yamaha snow blowers are strictly for snow where the BCS and Grillo 2 wheel tractors will work the year round with other attachments.

The 2 BCS/Berta snow blowers will mount on almost every BCS tractor except the largest model and they will also fit on the Grillo tractors and the larger of the two BCS/Berta blower will fit on all the Grillo 2 wheel tractors.

Your budget is the what is going to affect your purchase choice in any case ,where the 2 wheel tractors can be used the year round and the dedicated snow blowers cannot be used the year round except for snow blower racing


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## Belleaire Care

*Yamaha snow blowers*

Hi Leon,

Just checked out a couple of sites showing the Yamaha snow blowers. I had never seen Yamaha snow blowers before. They look like really decent machines !!

Not available in the States but I'm gonna check out availability here in Ontario...

Thanks for the info on this.

Mike


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## bechbru2

we use a 28" frontier by john deere works really good for us.


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## Burkartsplow

toro sno commander


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## Slushpuppy

get a big simplicity signature series for the heavy stuff or a toro single stage for light stuff


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## GARRETTWOOD

Snapper 2/cycle 22" for small sidewalks works real good.


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## JayD2

jay albers;1076052 said:


> i bought a toro last year for about 20 accounts and it worked well. there was also a big storm we had and my phone rang off the hook, it went throw 20" no problem. Made my money back in that one storm.
> 
> Do yourself a favor grab a little trailer if you can. taking it up and down the truck sucks


Hey Jay, which toro did you get that worked good for your 20 accounts?

I'm picking up a new toro power clean 210 tomorrow. I got a new toro power max 1028 at the end of last season and that is pretty cool. I like the triggers you pull for turning its like a hydro lol....


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## Ben's Landscape

I just bought a Ariens 8 hp 24 in cut and I honestly like the machine a lot. last storm we had about 12-15 in snow (but drifts) and it cut through snow no problem! I would recomend this machine to anyone it didnt bog down and plowed through the snow in high gear. It is perfect for drives and walks are done in one pass. Good luck buying a snow blower.


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## bluerage94

We've been using Craftsman's for years...They're cheap...and the best bang for the buck. Keep em for a season or two and sell them off during a snow storm for the same money you bought them for, kinda like a no cost lease...


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## shiprec13

I am currently in the market for a snowblower myself. I went out to two of our local dealers to see whats what.
First off the Ariens at HD are the same ones you can get at your local dealer *if your local dealer stocks the lower models. The differences are what options the models have. Unless you're buying the Pro series you're getting a stripped down model. 
This information came from both the local dealers. 
One of the dealers also has one of each brand opened up so you can see the drive system. 
The Ariens Platinum series was extremely disappointing. The drive shaft was anemic as was the chain. The fly wheel actually flexed when engaged leading to the most common service call for the dealer......... The belt was actually falling off.
The Simplicity on the other hand. SOLID Thumbs Up
It reminded of the Ariens of old (like my fathers which is only 10 years old).
If you can only afford the Ariens then i'm sure it will be a fine machine. If you plan on using the hell out your snowblower on multiple drives then take a serious look at the Simplicity or go Ariens Pro series as I'm told they are built like the older ones.


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## ihwild

What about those tilting tailgaters for transporting the snowblowers? Obviously not the tractor mounted ones. Just the small/medium ones. Other then if you have a sander that would be easier to deal with in the snow then any trailers. Especially in tight locations. Even with a sander and some careful thought I'm sure you could fit it on the tailgater and then just remove it from the hitch to do your sanding.

Rich


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## bluerage94

I get two on my Tilt-Rack...


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