Just apply some body pressure to direct the machine to turn instead of trying to pull it sideways. If it has reverse gear (which it should) then make the snow blower do all of the work. You don't need snow to figure out how using it will affect your back. If I were you, I'd just go over to where that unit is and try it out. Only you can decide whether your back is up to any kind of snow removal regardless of whether the blower has tracks or wheels. There are bad backs and then there are really bad backs. I can't tell you if the machine you're looking at is as well-balanced as our Honda but that method worked well for us. I used it several times and found that if I pushed down on the handles so that the machine was on the rear portion of the tracks, it was fairly easy to do a 180 with it. He loved it and never complained about having difficulty manuevering it. I bought my dad a new Honda track drive blower back in the 80's when they were first introduced. I added a fuel shut off just under the tank, and run the engine dry after blowing.Īny Honda engine that won't start on the first pull with the choke on is a Honda in need of proper service.

They were quite pricey when they were around. The rubber tracks I don't think are available anymore. I'm on my 3rd year with the two I bought at a yard sale. Mice like to build trheir nests in the transmission area, where the disc is. It is very hard to push because of the treads, if you can't start the engine. They have 2 separate controls, one for the auger, one for the drivers. If your walk stride is long, you'll keep hitting the blower with your feet. The angle of the handle is very steep, you walk right at the back of the blower. The 'drivers' can be either independent or synched, just by removing a pin on one axle drive. I've moved snow that filled the height of the bucket, and as wide as it is.

The tracks work very well and go over most everything. The primary one runs pretty well and doesn't clog in the wet snow I get up near Boston. I've got 2 of the Sears/Craftsman 5hp 20 or 24 inch track blowers (haven't dug them out yet).

Craftsman 5 horsepower track snowblower