Honda Tracked Snowblower

[TimberXX]

We are in the market for a small Honda tracked snowblower.

All of the reviews I've read have been good.

Does anyone have some drawbacks to a tracked blower?

We will be blowing a very small lot. 150' x 50'. The ground is paved but a little rough in spots. So I was planning on using the high auger setting for those areas.

Any comments?

 

[Fluid]

We are in the market for a small Honda tracked snowblower.

All of the reviews I've read have been good.

Does anyone have some drawbacks to a tracked blower?

We will be blowing a very small lot. 150' x 50'. The ground is paved but a little rough in spots. So I was planning on using the high auger setting for those areas.

Any comments?

I had a 1987 Craftsman Trac blower, it worked great for years. I never had any problems with traction, the unit was very heavy. I only problem was the disc clutch got stiff from seating every summer and the bottom of the blower housing rusted. I sold it for $50 last fall, but it still did the job,ran good. I think it had 8 or 9 hp tecumseh. Tru-Trac 21" path. I always like the tracks, they lasted from 1978-2013 when i sold it.

 

[PILOON]

I have owned many different blowers, both vintage wise and brands.
The Honda, while a little pricier that many, is a good value and definitely a quality product.
Uses real bearings, quality steel and a very reliable easy to start engine.
Tracked is a very nice feature.

 

[Scooby074]

We have had a 928 for close to 15 years now. Best snowblowers hands down. The only thing Id do different would be to get the 1132 for the wider path. Great traction. They can climb up onto decks to clean them. THe only thing is you have to work with the blower, you cant man handle it. Turns at the end of the driveway are a bit of work. Its too bad they dont offer the steering brakes like honda does on the large models. It throws further and more accurate than the blower on my BX by far.

 

[TimberXX]

Thanks for the help guys.

They don't have steering brakes? It looks like the turn easy on YouTube.

You climb stairs with them? You don't worry about the machine rolling back at you?

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[Scooby074]

Thanks for the help guys.

They don't have steering brakes? It looks like the turn easy on YouTube.

You climb stairs with them? You don't worry about the machine rolling back at you?

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

No steering brakes on the small machines.

They do have a lever that allows you to lift the auger section putting weight on the rear of the tracks (or the auger scraper for icey surfaces). Its not that hard to turn in truth, but it is harder than a wheeled model.

Yes It climbs stairs. I climb a set of 4 to get onto the deck. It climbs them no problem with the track drive. I cant say how they'd climb a particulalry steep set or an overly long one, but in my experice it climbs perfectly fine and Id have no problem climbing a set 2 or 3 times as long at the same pitch as Im climbing now. I climb the ramp into the back of my truck with no issues either and its quite steep (short ramp, tall truck).

Hydrostatic trans is awesome for that. You can dial the speed down to a crawl.

 

[kevinwak]

We have one of the small honda tracked blowers at work. We use it for clearing walking paths through the plant. Last winter we cleared a drifted path in the tank farm that was deeper than my waste. The only part of the blower showing was the shoot and handles. It was tunnelling its way under and then on the reverse pass we just blew what caved in. It is hard for me to steer and the handle bars feel really low, but being 6'3" May be causing that.

 

[peterc38]

I had an 1132 and while it would climb the side of a cliff, I found it cumbersome to maneuver and difficult to turn. I only used it for about 10-12 hrs and sold it. I bought it as a leftover in July and sold it for what I paid for it the following January. I now have a 28" Simplicity signature Pro model that I like much better.

 

[TimberXX]

Great info. The Husqvarna has tracks, hydro, and steering brakes. I may give that a shot.

 

[mikefromnh]

I had both the tracked and wheeled version of the honda hs928. I found a deal on the tracked one and used it for 2 years and then found the wheeled one for $400 in the middle of August... They were moving to Florida and it had to go.

I put them both on cl last fall and the tracked one sold first so I kept the wheels.

The tracked one is slower and harder to turn. But it will go anywhere and the ability to adjust the angle of the bucket is nice. It allows you to scrape the pavement at the end of the storm. And also reduce wear on skids and cutting edge when you want to clear the driveway during the middle of the storm. Also very good for going off paved surface.

I was ok with keeping the wheeled for the increased travel speed. When you have less then 6" of snow to move the tracks are to slow.

If I had it to do over again I'd keep both.

 

[TimberXX]

Interesting comment about having two blowers. I always have a small single stage and a larger 2 stage. Both have particular advantages. My Toro 418 is great for cleanups and my paver walkway.

 

[dirtydan]

I have owned a Honda track blower for at least 15 years. Where I live now it does not see as much use but I used to live around Minot, ND and it worked great there. The snow would pack in extremely hard sometimes. The hydrostatic drive lets you just creep into any drift. Blows it approx. 50 ft. I find it very easy to turn. Just go quickly back and forward and use a light pressure on the handles and it will turn on a dime.

 

[tcreeley]

A neighbor of mine bought a tracked snowblower to cut into the snow that gets packed by walking on it. He was disappointed by it because it tended to ride up onto the snow, instead of cutting into it - to the ground.

 

[PILOON]

A neighbor of mine bought a tracked snowblower to cut into the snow that gets packed by walking on it. He was disappointed by it because it tended to ride up onto the snow, instead of cutting into it - to the ground.

Any brand/model will react the same way on packed snow, even my 3000 lb tractor, in fact the tracked will be worst.
A snowmobile is made to ride on top of snow and its design is like the tracked blowers.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

I have an 1132, Scooby summed them up, awesome machine!

 

[tcreeley]

I've had a Bolens 8 hp and a Cub Cadet 8 hp. They both ride up. The trick I find is to cut a path 3 widths to start, and as it snows during the winter, you are not having one wheel on solid pack, and the other on soft snow - real headache. (We cut walking paths to the barn, drive, house, etc..)

 

[Garandman]

Interesting comment about having two blowers. I always have a small single stage and a larger 2 stage. Both have particular advantages. My Toro 418 is great for cleanups and my paver walkway.

You dont indicate where you live or what kind of snow you get, but Ariens also has a number of tracked models.

The big advantage of the Hondas, hydrostatic trans, is also now available from Ariens.

Because our new place has a gravel drive, I was planning on getting a tracked machine but others in the area talked me out of it. I got another Ariens Pro.

 

[BWSwede]

"A neighbor of mine bought a tracked snowblower to cut into the snow that gets packed by walking on it. He was disappointed by it because it tended to ride up onto the snow, instead of cutting into it - to the ground."

It probably wasn't a Honda. Honda's have a foot operated lever under the rear of the engine that changes the approach angle of the auger box. If you push the lever down, lift the handles, then release the lever, it will ride on the scraper bar and the rear portion of the tracks. In this setup it rarely rides up on anything.

I drive mine up my stair treads (about 7) all the time. It will not roll backwards, unless you want it to, because it is hydrostatic drive.

Easiest starting machine I own.

It is one awesome machine.

BWSwede

 

[TimberXX]

I live in downstate NY. We get about 6 storms in the 6" range.

We had a ariens platinum last year. It was awful. It has a ****** loud Chinese motor. The auto turn never worked right. And the shifter always got out of adjustment.

I am hoping for more of a premium machine this year.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

I live in downstate NY. We get about 6 storms in the 6" range.

We had a ariens platinum last year. It was awful. It has a ****** loud Chinese motor. The auto turn never worked right. And the shifter always got out of adjustment.

I am hoping for more of a premium machine this year.

If you don't mind the price, you'll love a Honda!