When I lived up north, our gravel driveway was over 100' long by about 10' wide and snowfall could be measured in feet per day. We had a very reliable Sears Craftsman 2 stage, 12 hp snowblower with a Tecumseh engine and a clearing path of 33 inches. The transmission was a 2 speed (with reverse) and self propelled and reverse. It was also equipped with both electric and manual pull start systems. The cost on this blower at the time was just under $1000.00 on sale.

In 7 years, there were no reliability problems at all with the snowblower and it never failed to start. I ran synthetic oil in it and due to the severe cold (down to -40 F) I installed a small electric block heater which cost about $15.00 from the local Sears parts counter.

Not sure if Sears Craftsman power equipment is still quality or not, but is worth looking into. Whatever blower you decide on, ensure that it comes with tire chains...it makes a big difference.

As Doug pointed out, shear pins can be problematic, I eventually stopped using them and went to a nut and bolt setup that was a bit harder steel alloy then the shear pins, yet still soft enough to break when needed to protect the auger system.

I also found with the first couple snowfalls of the year, it was advantageous to lower the adjustment pads on the bottom of the blower so that it would leave a skim base of snow in the gravel driveway and prevent those unseen rocks from being propelled through the auger into the neighbor's expensive truck....ask me how I know.

After a few snowfalls, the pads were adjusted back down so the blower cleaned the new snow down to the now compact snow base. Now if you have a paved driveway, this may not apply.