# Newer Deluxe 28 or last year’s SHO



## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

Hey all, been lurking for a while but this is my first post. Just moved into a new house south of Denver and need a snow blower. I posted a picture of my driveway for perspective. I’m at 6,400’ elevation. I have the opportunity to buy last year’s Deluxe 28 SHO or this year’s Deluxe 28 (non SHO). Both new and both about the same price. Should I go with the bigger engine or is the newer model a better deal? I’m also up for any other suggestions or recommendations.

Thanks!


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Go with last year's 28 SHO, great machine for the money, will out perform the standard Deluxe. How much annual snowfall do you get?

The differences between last year and this year are cosmetics, LED headlight, bigger handle on ice drill style chute control and dash control layout. 

Ariens offers a kit to upgrade to the LED headlight if you find the halogen light is not powerful enough in the future. The other changes do not improve operation/performance IMHO.


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

Ziggy65 said:


> Go with last year's 28 SHO, great machine for the money, will out perform the standard Deluxe. How much annual snowfall do you get?
> 
> The differences between last year and this year are cosmetics, LED headlight, bigger handle on ice drill style chute control and dash control layout.
> 
> Ariens offers a kit to upgrade to the LED headlight if you find the halogen light is not powerful enough in the future. The other changes do not improve operation/performance IMHO.


Thanks for the input! From what I can tell we get about 80" annually on average.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Larkspur? Perry Park? I have a 2012 Deluxe 28 and it works great in Larkspur. It was a year old when I bought it as a steal for $400. Buying new today, I’d go with the SHO.


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

CO Snow said:


> Larkspur? Perry Park? I have a 2012 Deluxe 28 and it works great in Larkspur. It was a year old when I bought it as a steal for $400. Buying new today, I’d go with the SHO.


I’m actually in SE Parker.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

H-10btr said:


> I’m actually in SE Parker.


I was just guessing from the photo. I’m at 6700’ elevation here in Larkspur. Welcome aboard!


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## Darkwoods (Dec 25, 2020)

I would go with the SHO deluxe. It’s a great bargain because you get a more capable machine compared to the Deluxe 28 for a small increase in price.

Also, looking at your driveway, you might want to consider tracks, and if you want to stick with Ariens, take a look at the Platinum SHO 28 rapidtrak.


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## Smokie1 (Sep 17, 2019)

Darkwoods said:


> I would go with the SHO deluxe. It’s a great bargain because you get a more capable machine compared to the Deluxe 28 for a small increase.
> 
> Also, looking at your driveway, you might want to consider tracks, and if you want to stick with Ariens, take a look at the Platinum SHO 28 rapidtrak.


I have a 2019 Platinum SHO, and it’s an excellent machine. There are several non SHO machines in my neighborhood, and there not bad machines, there just nowhere near as powerful, and they can’t throw snow as far. I definitely think you’ll wish you’d have gotten the SHO with your first big snow when you hit that pike at the end of the drive. I also believe the SHO you are considering is one of the best values in machines for the $ out there.


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## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

SHO


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!







*


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

plow


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## RattlerGUNZ (Nov 3, 2013)

*S H O *


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

Darkwoods said:


> I would go with the SHO deluxe. It’s a great bargain because you get a more capable machine compared to the Deluxe 28 for a small increase.
> 
> Also, looking at your driveway, you might want to consider tracks, and if you want to stick with Ariens, take a look at the Platinum SHO 28 rapidtrak.


Oh man, just when I thought I had it all figured out you had to throw tracks out there. The slope is definitely a concern of mine but I’m not sure I can swing the extra $1k plus right now for a tracked model. Might need chains though.


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

1132le said:


> plow


I might end up with a plow in the long run but for right now I’m leaning more towards the snowblower option.


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## KJSeller (Nov 3, 2021)

Welcome to the forum.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

NICE looking property H-10. Gotta admire that buck standing down there, significantly adds to the view. He's a dandy. 
As 1132le replied, I myself would lean towards a plow as well.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

H-10btr said:


> I might end up with a plow in the long run but for right now I’m leaning more towards the snowblower option.


then get a 32 inch bucket


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## minnesotaman82 (Sep 19, 2017)

SHO. Hands down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

NO TRACKS and you won’t need chains.


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

sledman8002002 said:


> NICE looking property H-10. Gotta admire that buck standing down there, significantly adds to the view. He's a dandy.
> As 1132le replied, I myself would lean towards a plow as well.


Thanks. For some reason all the critters feels safe hanging out around my house. I think it’s bc they know I’m a terrible hunter 😂


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Outstanding!


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## mfrs2000 (Dec 1, 2014)

Tracks all day long for that driveway. Wheeled blowers ride up, with the grade you have you will be disappointed. Even with 25 lbs of weight on the bucket, it will be riding up.


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## Michigan_Snow (Nov 19, 2021)

I struggled with the same choice…. I ended up going with a 28” SHO, slept on it, and then cancelled the order due to the odd ice auger type chute control. They are nice machines, but due to some health issues, I needed something a bit easier on me.


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

Michigan_Snow said:


> I struggled with the same choice…. I ended up going with a 28” SHO, slept on it, and then cancelled the order due to the odd ice auger type chute control. They are nice machines, but due to some health issues, I needed something a bit easier on me.


What did you end up with?


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## Michigan_Snow (Nov 19, 2021)

H-10btr said:


> What did you end up with?


Honda HSS


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## H-10btr (Nov 18, 2021)

Ok, so to close the loop on this, I ended up with the newer model of the Deluxe 28 SHO, so the best of both worlds. I found it in stock for what I was going to spend on last year’s SHO so I’m pretty happy. $1350 out the door. The place I bought from had the new Platinum 28 SHO Rapid Trak, beautiful machine which made me think really hard about what I was buying but in the end I couldn’t swing the extra $1400 dollars. Thanks for all of the input.

Now I wait for snow!


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

That's a lot of snowblowing .... Stay warm and enjoy ...


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## Darkwoods (Dec 25, 2020)

Cheap like Borscht! Nice score. The deluxe SHOs are going for around $2400.00 in Canada after taxes this year.


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## puma1552 (Feb 11, 2021)

Nice, now get yourself some poly skids and a weight kit and you'll be set.


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## Huntergreen (Sep 24, 2017)

Great machine !


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## bisonp (Mar 23, 2018)

The Rapid Track is very nice, but it's difficult to justify twice the expense unless you really need tracks. This should work well for you.


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## Webskis (Feb 17, 2021)

H-10btr said:


> Hey all, been lurking for a while but this is my first post. Just moved into a new house south of Denver and need a snow blower. I posted a picture of my driveway for perspective. I’m at 6,400’ elevation. I have the opportunity to buy last year’s Deluxe 28 SHO or this year’s Deluxe 28 (non SHO). Both new and both about the same price. Should I go with the bigger engine or is the newer model a better deal? I’m also up for any other suggestions or recommendations.
> 
> Thanks!
> View attachment 183191
> ...





H-10btr said:


> Hey all, been lurking for a while but this is my first post. Just moved into a new house south of Denver and need a snow blower. I posted a picture of my driveway for perspective. I’m at 6,400’ elevation. I have the opportunity to buy last year’s Deluxe 28 SHO or this year’s Deluxe 28 (non SHO). Both new and both about the same price. Should I go with the bigger engine or is the newer model a better deal? I’m also up for any other suggestions or recommendations.
> 
> Thanks!
> View attachment 183191
> ...


When I bought my SHO it was only $100 more than the 28” Deluxe. However the belts blew in a pretty average storm last year. It was on its 2nd year after a very mild winter from year 1. Ariens would NOT stand behind the product. This was very annoying since I previously owned a 24” Snotek that went thru the incredible winter of 2015 in the Northeast without a hiccup. This really shook my loyalty to Ariens since my dad and grandfather were big Ariens fans. You may want to look at Toro which has good quality ratings.


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## Mountain Man (Oct 14, 2018)

Webskis said:


> When I bought my SHO it was only $100 more than the 28” Deluxe. However the belts blew in a pretty average storm last year. It was on its 2nd year after a very mild winter from year 1. Ariens would NOT stand behind the product. This was very annoying since I previously owned a 24” Snotek that went thru the incredible winter of 2015 in the Northeast without a hiccup. This really shook my loyalty to Ariens since my dad and grandfather were big Ariens fans. You may want to look at Toro which has good quality ratings.


Belts wouldnt be covered as a wear item. Strange to see double belts blow quickly. Sounds like the dealer didn't set it up and run the belts in correctly, and should be taken up with them.


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Mountain Man said:


> Belts wouldnt be covered as a wear item. Strange to see double belts blow quickly. Sounds like the dealer didn't set it up and run the belts in correctly, and should be taken up with them.


It is strange.
My dad's Hydro Pro 32 pulled a large rock into the augers in a way that didn't break the shear bolt but did slow the engine down a lot but didn't break the belts.

Best I can tell there's not a way to get enough power into those belts with the tiny drive pulley to break them, they just slip. Thats the main reason there's two belts in the first place.


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