Hi Ian, Although the Troy-Bilt is a good snow blower if you put the two side-by-side the Toro 1030 Power Max HD will out-perform it in throwing distance, capacity, and ease of use. The Toro is balanced better and the joystick won’t EVER give you any problems.

Toro uses an anti-clog system inside the auger housing so it doesn’t need as much horsepower to do the work as other brands. The system also allows it to throw more snow farther than the Troy-Bilt.

Whats your recommendation. I live in western NY.

I was also looking at the craftsman sb630 for about 200 cheaper and has 12″ auger and impeller

Hi Clifton, When you say, “Small Tractor” I am going to assume you mean a compact or sub-compact – not a lawn or garden tractor. Why? A lawn or garden tractor front-mounted snow blower will not have enough capacity to handle the amount of snow you get. Mahindra, Kubota, and others all make great compact tractors that will accept a heavy-duty rear-mounted snow blower. Most have optional heated cabs for the cold weather you get.

If you want to walk the Ariens Professional 28 or 32 inch Hydro RapidTrak are my first choice. The Toro Power TRX HD 1428 OHXE and Toro Power TRX 1432 OHXE are another great choice.

All four have the traction to push through heavy snow, deep drifts, and go up your slope. All have the capacity to clear even deep snow about as fast as you can walk. All four will throw your snow 50-60 feet if you need to get it out of the way. (They all have over 30%more capacity and will travel much faster than a comparable Honda for about the same cost)

Hi Steve, I don’t recommend any Briggs & Stratton snowblowers at this time. With Briggs in bankruptcy and the snow blower division for sale I can’t recommend them as a long term investment. Besides, it not that good of snow blower…
And – instead of the Troy-Bilt 2840 I suggest the Troy-Bilt 2860 or the Cub Cadet 2X 28. The 2840 is actually obsolete and has MTD old style joystick chute control. No one liked that chute control. Both the 2860 and the Cub Cadet have better controls and will handle snow just as well or better than the 2840.

Thanks for your advise. I ended up not repairing my old blower. I was able to pick up a new Ariens Deluxe 28 on sale a few weeks ago. I went bigger because my neighbors have 28 inch blowers and not surprisingly, they all seem to alway get their driveways done much quicker than me.

Hi Doug, the “thing” is slow. So slow it will take 2 hours to clear their driveway and sidewalk. It’s also the lowest rated snowblower by Consumer Reports. Please stay away from it.

Hi Doug, Sandy, UT averages about 60 inches of snow a year so my first choice is to go with a good 24 inch 2-stage snow blower like the Ariens Deluxe 24. It’s easy to use and will handle any snow they get including drifts and the end-of-driveway mess. That said,

At their age though, I have a feeling he would rather stick with a single-stage snow thrower. He’s used to it and will be a lot more comfortable with one. Toro single-stage snow throwers throw snow a lot better than his old one and the new Toro Power Clear 821 QZE 21 in is the best of the best. It has the power to throw snow over 35 feet, clears down to the pavement and is very easy to work on. With the 12 inch intake, it will handle almost any snow he gets. It has electric start, new ergonomic handles and remote chute controls.