Summary:
I would NEVER buy a troy-bilt snowblower again. I've hated this machine just about the entire time I've owned it. I bought it used and it's been broken down more than it's been running.

Strengths:
Wide

Weaknesses:
Not enough motor Eats auger belts Bogs down too heavy pain in the butt to work on very hard to steer

Summary:
This is a great machine to have & run if you've got a very long, very wide area to cover with large snowdrifts/plow ins. It wll handle the job. I originally bought it for when I was living in an old farmhouse and when the plows came by in front of the drive in tandem on a 4 lane highway at 50 mph I'd have a 5' wet salty drift to deal with. My little 1974 Simplicity 5 HP., 28" took me a forever to clean up those messes. No problem for the 13045. I have since moved to another place with a shorter, narrower drive on a 2 lane road and find that the Troy Bilt is too much overkill for what my present needs are. I'm going to try to sell it this fall, and go back to the 5 HP. Loupy I

Strengths:
Powerful, easy to start. (once small problems sorted out- see below) Does an excellent job of clearing heavy drifts when set up right (runners, speed, etc.) Impresses the neighbours - it's the biggest and meanest looking Badboy on the block.

Weaknesses:
Yery heavy to maneuver, even with the assisted steering paddles. Also very heavy to lean back to balance on tires in order to work in tight quarters. Assembly and operatioal checkout at the store I bought it at was poor - Headlights wire was left disconnected - choke throttle valve was sticking in carb.body (I had to carfully file out the imperfections on the diecast body in order to free up it's operation) - recoil starter rope pulled broke after using it 5 times-the right outside wheel fell off after 4 runs.