I bought a Craftsmen 42" high speed sweeper, on sale price was $269.99 with tax the bill came to around $280.00. I put it together about a week ago.
Wasn`t that hard of a job, you don`t think a 42" sweeper is that very big [but this thing is] the hooper holds 18 bushels. That is big and it`s well made the tow bars are big to hold all that weight off the ground.
I like the way they have the bottom of the hooper high off the ground now. I bought a 30" last year at a church yard sale and it does a good job but the hooper is to close to the ground.
With a full load of leaves, twigs and anything else the brushes pick up the 30" sweeper will drag on the ground or bottom out on ruff ground. But with the 42" sweeper that doesn`t happen anymore. I like the way the top cover extends down and keeps leaves from being tossed out.
I used it on a job for the first time yesterday and I`m very pleased with the job it did. Like the fact that the hooper folds up when not in use and the pins could be a little easier to remove and install, but that minor. I didn`t use the hitch set up it comes with.
I installed a 1-7/8" ball hitch and use that, it`s much easier to hook up and you get a nice tight hook up, no banging around in the hitch plate hole. Don`t have to worry about lost hitch pins or the small spacers. I had to drill only one hole to mount it to the draw bars and open up the other so I could use a 3/8" bolt to bolt it on.
I had thought about getting the 46" high speed sweeper but I`m glad I went with this one instead. One thing though that hopper can get heavy if your not careful and empty it. It also empties better when not packed full of leaves.