Spend $7 and buy a month of consumerreports.org and look at their ratings. I did once and they made sense to me.

I've been put off using them in a private place like a house after reading about Sheryl Sandberg's husband. Using one at the gym, at least there are people around you.

I've had a landice for 15 years. Very heavy and durable and a joy to use. That's all the company makes -- treadmills. Pricey but worth it. For most of the time I've owned it I weighed more than 300 lbs. but now in the low 200s.

TRUE

Like 12:44, I have a Life Fitness treadmill, which I bought nine years ago for $2100. It was well worth the cost for me. This brand always stood out to me at hotels, and I find it incredibly user friendly. Depending on the weather, I may run on it every day or may not run on it for weeks. it is one of my favorite things that I own and especially beneficial if you have small children. I would go to a treadmill store and test out the ones you like. Good luck!!!

I have a True treadmill that was recommended by a friend who is a serious runner. I am a walker, but the cheap, older fold up treadmill I had previously was hard on my hips and knees. The True is very comfortable. I second the idea of getting a better quality used treadmill rather than a brand new, cheap one.

Landice.

I have a Livestrong treadmill, those are discontinued now but I got it on crazy super clearance because they were discontinuing the brand due to the association. It is definitely a just-below-gym quality one, and the difference is HUGE. Get as good of one as you can afford, and watch for clearances like that.

I'd also rather spend $500 for a high-end lightly used one on Craigslist than $400 for one new, for what you can get for that price.

I want to say I paid around $775 all in, delivered, but it was around a $1800 treadmill.

thanks! space isn't really too much of an issue for us. there's plenty in the basement. I'll look into these.

please keep suggestions coming!

I have a ProForm treadmill. It was recommended by consumer reports. I like it because it has a fan and port to plug in my MP3 player. It also has multiple workouts or you can set your own pace. Only downside is that it takes up a lot of space.

I have a Life Fitness treadmill and it's very sturdy, but also very pricey. Mine is about 9 years old now and still works great (and it gets a lot of use). As I recall, they come in different lengths (taller people usually want a longer deck) and maybe different widths, too. I don't know the max weight. It doesn't fold up, either, so you would need a dedicated space for it and it's on the large side.

I would recommend going to a fitness equipment store or maybe Dick's Sporting Goods or something similar to test out different models. You can walk on them, adjust the settings and get a feel for which one you like. Good luck!

My husband and I are in the market for a treadmill. I'm a little nervous about investing in one-- we want something really sturdy that can handle a 300+ lb person. It's a bit intimidating shopping for one when we're so overweight. ugh. Since buying a home and not having a fitness center in our apartment building we've really packed on the pounds. I don't remember the brand or model of what we used in our last building. Any recommendations? I am so not a fan of exercising in public...