Hi Jason, If you get any drifts and a knee-high snow plow pile at the end of the driveway you will like the extra power and the SHO impeller.

Hi Joeseph, I’ll be glad to answer but would you first please tell me where you live? City, State/Provence is close enough.

Hi Justin, This one is hard to explain. Yes, the hydro is nice, especially on the ST330T track drive. But the nice hydro does not make up for the engineering that has gone into the Toro. The Toro Power Max® HD 1028 OHXE (38802) is the only snow blower Toro rates for both residential and commercial. It is the snow blower most schools, municipalities and large businesses use as their standard machine. There are fewer than 6 snow blowers made rated as commercial machines and this is one of them.

If you would use each machine for an hour – you would buy the Toro because it is so easy to use.

Husqvarna does not make a commercial machine. Toro has 2 and Ariens the rest. Oh, I forgot, Honda has one $7000 snow blower that is rated commercial.

Good to know. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the 1028 but what do you think of the Husky ST330P? It seems to check all the right boxes that I’m looking for AND it adds hydro drive, which seems preferable.

I’m getting close so thanks for the help.

Hi Justin, There is only one snow blower with adjustable height handles. That’s the residential grade Husqvarna series but I’m very confident that you will not have to bend over the Toro’s.. They have large rear wheels and the handle height is taller than any Cub Cadet, Craftsman or Husqvarna. They are about equal to the Ariens.

Thanks for the response. I’m going with the 1028 or 1128 then.

Is the handle height adjustable on either of these higher-end models (Toro and Ariens)? I’m going to be behind one for a while each session and don’t want to have to bend over to operate it.

Hi Justin, You have answered your question the same way as I would. I like the price of the Ariens but with your long driveway the trigger steering on the 1028 HD is a better choice. You won’t be disappointed over they years by buying the Toro.

I do suggest the 928 for people who’s average snow is closer to 60 inches. You will wish you bought more power when you get the deep snows. Remember with your long driveway, horsepower matters because with the extra power of the 1028 or 1128 you can move snow pretty much as fast as you can walk.

If you convince yourself that you can work with the auto-turn also look at the Ariens 30 SHO. The 420 cc engine on it is pretty much unstoppable.

Thanks for the time you take for these reviews and the thorough responses which are just a helpful.

I’m 39yo, 6’2″ and in good shape and will be blowing a 300′ dirt drive way with 30’x60′ dirt/gravel parking area at 8,300ft in west Evergreen Colorado. We ave around 90″ of snow but we had several 30-40″ wet heavy dumps this spring. The drive way is mostly straight and flat aside from the portion connecting to the road which has a slight grade.

I’ve nailed it down to either the SHO 28 or the 928 HD or 1028HD. I really like the price of the SHO28 but I would prefer the power steering vs auto turn for the surface and length of the driveway.

Should I rule out the auto-turn or is it something I could get used to?