Toro Power Max® 1028OXE (28") 305cc Two-Stage Snow Blower

I live in Newfoundland and this blower has no troubles with regular 12" snowfalls.

It will throw slushy heavy snow that turn department store brands into sausage stuffers with ease. I've used the Honda 9hp in the past and while it will throw a little further, this blower comes in a close second for a third of the price.

It will ride up on deeper snow if you try forcing it faster than it can get rid of what's in front of it but all blowers will do this, you just have to get used to dealing with different conditions and it's not a machine specific issue.

A slight inconvenience is that sometimes the drive to the wheels will slip when snow starts melting on the warm machine and getting the inner workings wet. This is easily fixed by bumping up the wheel speed and letting it rev for a few seconds until it engages again. I've spoken with other people and this is another problem that all wheeled blowers have. The Honda didn't have this problem but it was a tracked blower (and three times the cost).

To tell the truth, I prefer the maneuverability of this wheeled blower to a tracked unit. It's much easier to just pull back out of a drift for a second pass than it is to mess with the transmission and back out and turn. Also easier to use the handles to just lift the rear and pivot when necessary, a task that is more than difficult with a tracked unit.

Anyway, I am totally impressed with this machine. It's on it's third year now (just ate a 12" fall for a joke) and by the end of the winter, clears out my 5 car drive with ease even while launching snow over 8 foot banks. Anyone who asks for a blower recommendation gets a glowing review from me every time with regards to this unit.

I live in Newfoundland and this blower has no troubles with regular 12" snowfalls.

It will throw slushy heavy snow that turn department store brands into sausage stuffers with ease. I've used the Honda 9hp in the past and while it will throw a little further, this blower comes in a close second for a third of the price.

It will ride up on deeper snow if you try forcing it faster than it can get rid of what's in front of it but all blowers will do this, you just have to get used to dealing with different conditions and it's not a machine specific issue.more

I have had several large Craftsman Snowblowers and the last one was not very good. Despite being 12 horsepower it couldn't move much snow. It was as if the second stage couldn't handle the amount of snow the first stage collected. After the engine mounting bolts loosened up for the second time, a job you have to pull the engine and mounting plate off to fix because the bolts come up from the bottom of the mounting plate and thread into the engine base, I decided to try Toro.

I have heard great things about Toro and I bought a Toro Mulching mower last summer and it is great! It hasn't snowed yet but the Toro Snowblower arrived quickly from Snowblowers Direct and it looks like a well built machine. The recycling snow feature will probably make a big difference.

Let it snow!!!!

I have had several large Craftsman Snowblowers and the last one was not very good. Despite being 12 horsepower it couldn't move much snow. It was as if the second stage couldn't handle the amount of snow the first stage collected. After the engine mounting bolts loosened up for the second time, a job you have to pull the engine and mounting plate off to fix because the bolts come up from the bottom of the mounting plate and thread into the engine base, I decided to try Toro.

I have heard great things about Toro and I bought a Toro Mulching mower last summer and it is great! It ... more

I put the order in after 9 pm on Dec. 28 and received my new snow blower by the morning of Dec. 31. It came on a truck with a power tail-gate and the driver had a pallet jack to bring it to my door. Very fast and efficient service!

The Toro 10280 OXE was pretty easy to assemble. Took a little time to read all the directions but well worth it. I had to try it out right away on 6 day old partly melted snow and it worked like a charm - never clogged! I was impressed. I've operated Ariens blowers before and after getting use to the Toro controls, the Toro controls are much better.

Be sure to adjust the skids on the blower as well as the scraper - don't assume they are adjusted from the factory. This is especially important if your pavement or pavers are a little uneven, as is mine. Even after adjustments, it seemed to hop a bit so I'll do some more adjustments to tweak it for my situation. Also, it tends to ride up, particularly in deep snow, but I was over trying it on hard packed plowed snow that the road department plowed my driveway entrance in. The motor never bogged down though. These are the only reasons I didn't give it a perfect rating.

I wasn't taken any chances - the chains fit well and do enhance the grip on ice. I would recommend them, and they are easy to install.

The cover seems to be well made and the clip cinches it to keep it tight so it won't blow off.

Delivery of accessories were even quicker than the blower.

I put the order in after 9 pm on Dec. 28 and received my new snow blower by the morning of Dec. 31. It came on a truck with a power tail-gate and the driver had a pallet jack to bring it to my door. Very fast and efficient service!

The Toro 10280 OXE was pretty easy to assemble. Took a little time to read all the directions but well worth it. I had to try it out right away on 6 day old partly melted snow and it worked like a charm - never clogged! I was impressed. I've operated Ariens blowers before and after getting use to the Toro controls, the Toro controls are much bet... more

The blower took an extra few days to arrive. I ordered it with expedited door to door delivery the morning of what turned out to be a 3 day snow with a second snow a few days later.

We hit 34" here, then some melting, followed by another 12". Expedited shipment accomplished nothing because it still took over 24 hours for each 130 mile leg of the trip. Door to door delivery however was a life saver as an advertised shipping terminal nearby I would have otherwise picked the snowblower up at, turned out to have been closed some time before and the blower ended up at a terminal 100 miles from me.

Fortunately I had opted for the door to door option. We had over 25" of snow with some drifts in the 100 yard plus driveway the day the blower arrived at my home at sundown, so neighbors got the spectacle of me cutting open the crate and assembling the blower just off the road by flashlight.

Ever look for a dropped nut in the snow, at night, by flashlight? Use a drop cloth or a tarp. I did. I added oil and gasoline and fired it up within an hour. By 10PM I had reached the house and could now, for the first time in a week get the car to the road so I could buy some groceries.

The next day I cleaned the job up. Observations: The machine is a good one. I experienced clumping of snow in the chute only once and a tap of a handle fixed that.

Be careful near the house and parked cars with gravel driveways. The stones go a lot further than does the snow. Watch where the chute is pointed.

On deep drifts backing the blower up was needed several times as it tends to climb up so that soon you are running the blower on top of 10" of snow. Backing up and doing the same path a second time solves that issue.

There are tricks to efficient snow removal and operating a blower is the only real way to learn them. This was my first time using a blower so there was a learning curve. I suspect with a lesser machine the curve would have been longer.

All in all I see only two needed areas of improvement and both are possibly do-able here at home. There should be an off switch for the light. It isn't needed on a sunny day. I will probably add one over the summer.

The fuel tank needs a gauge so I know when it is nearing empty. I have some tank cap fuel gauges on other equipment and will see if any fit.

I am still undecided about wheel weights and wind shields. I can see the potential need for both, but conditions were calm here for the two days I used the blower and the snow had had some melt time. I think maybe with dry fluffy snow and wind I would want both.

All in all I am content with the purchase. First picture is of the driveway, then an attempt at reaching the road by hand, followed by again by hand after the second snow, and finally the morning after doing it at night with the Toro.

The blower took an extra few days to arrive. I ordered it with expedited door to door delivery the morning of what turned out to be a 3 day snow with a second snow a few days later.

We hit 34" here, then some melting, followed by another 12". Expedited shipment accomplished nothing because it still took over 24 hours for each 130 mile leg of the trip. Door to door delivery however was a life saver as an advertised shipping terminal nearby I would have otherwise picked the snowblower up at, turned out to have been closed some time before and the blower ended up at ... more