I went last winter without a snowblower, and my back did not like that too much. Plus, I have a corner house with a drive way (although it's not too big, maybe 10-15 feet), so there is a little more to do now than I ever had to deal with when living with my parents.

 

So, what do you guys recommend? I almost bought a Craftsman on Friday, but the reviews were iffy, so I passed. After asking around, looks like a lot of people really like Toro.

 

Also, is it worth the extra money to get the Dual stage, or would a Single Stage suffice?

I have a shovel.

I use a flamethrower.

I have a shovel, two arms, and a bad back

I have an outdoor temperature that rarely drops below 50, and a 100 year history of less than a dozen major snowfalls. When it snows, and it did a Christmas Day many years ago, we shut everything down, and stare at it until it melts.

I went last winter without a snowblower, and my back did not like that too much. Plus, I have a corner house with a drive way (although it's not too big, maybe 10-15 feet), so there is a little more to do now than I ever had to deal with when living with my parents.

 

So, what do you guys recommend? I almost bought a Craftsman on Friday, but the reviews were iffy, so I passed. After asking around, looks like a lot of people really like Toro.

 

Also, is it worth the extra money to get the Dual stage, or would a Single Stage suffice?

 

I’ve got a single-stage Toro that I got for free because one of my parent’s neighbors was just going to throw it out.

 

It works ok up to about 6 or 7 inches of snow on a smooth surface. Anything more than that it has trouble with. It doesn’t work real well on gravel either. If the snow is real heavy and wet it tends to clog up sometimes too.

 

On the other hand, a 2-stage is going to probably cost at least double what a single-stage would. Plus it takes up more room for storage and is a little more difficult to maneuver.

 

I have 80 degrees and sandy beaches.

When it snows here, it's all about how much milk and bread you have to survive.

 

Dont know what type, but it's a pretty decent Toro brand I think. I do miss the ol' days when I only had to shovel the sidewalks in front of my house, the family then moved into a house that had a driveway up a 25 ft hill, plus it was a huge driveway, that took about 3 hrs to snowblow/shovel with everyone helping. Now we live in a house with a round-about driveway that takes about 2 hrs to snowblow/shovel.

I mean no offense to Tex, Flaxx, or JPN, but it kills me the way Southerners talk about their lack of snow like it's some kind of medal. I f***ing love snow and it would just depress the hell out of me to go through the holidays with warm weather.