Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi Everyone:

Just moved and the new house has a gravel drive. I know in the past there has been discussion about welding "skis" onto the standard skids shoes on a 2 stage machine and raising the height of the skids about 3/4" off the surface.

Please advise as to what material to use and any other tips .

Thanks in advance.

I lived with a gravel drive way for about 7 of the 15 years I had my little 5hp 25" craftsman.
I didn't extend my skid shoes by welding on some extra long skies, but that does make some sense.
I did leave about 3/4 - 1" of snow on top of the gravel by adjusting my shoes down.
But occacionally I still ate some rocks and spit them back out.
So don't assume your safe, always throw where a rock won't do damage.
The plastic chute on my 5/25 is still in great condition, not a crack in it anywhere.

Here's where I would start... assuming your skid shoes are steel.
I would use some 1.5" wide steel flat stock about 1/8", turning the ends up.
I would make them about twice as long as the original, center up the length to the length of the stock skid shoes and weld them to the bottom of the stock skid shoes.
Mine couldn't have been more than 6"long and about 1" wide.. I never felt the need to give them more surface area.
It wasn't until I finally blacktopped my drive way that I started wearing out shoes. The gravel was more forgiving.
I spent 7 years on the first set. About 4  years after paving the driveway, I had to replace the shoes, that pair now needs replacing.

I fthe gravel is loose, the problem with throwing rocks is much worse. If it is solidly compacted, the snowblower will pick up a lot less, but still be careful as it takes only one stone to take out an expensive window. Not being familiar with your snowblower, I don't know if the addition of wider shoes will help, or if your unit has enough adjustment on it's own, but doing a gravel driveway does have it's own technique.

Hello,

Just adjust the skid shoes down to lift the auger housing up as high as it will go for the first two good storms.  This will allow a base layer of snow to freeze over the gravel.  Once the base is there you can raise your skid shoes and drop the housing and let it scrape the rest of the season.

C

fcarp,

It might depend on if you have a good cold winter or not.  Good hard freeze, do like Chris.  Sort of cold then melt?  I like a piece of 1 1/2 or 2 by maybe 6 or 7, bend a little less than 2 inches fore and aft, leaves you about 3 to 4 inches of contact.  Set them where you are comfortable, maybe a piece of "one by" under the auger housing, gets you about 3/4 off the ground.  I would becareful and maybe drive the machine around dry (no snow) with no augers turning, and watch or have a friend watch and see if you pick up any rocks.   I worry about the skids being too long or wide and flexing the sides of the auger housing.  So sort of close to what you have from the manufacturer, but just big enough to provide enough surface area to give you some "float" is perfect. IMO.

Here is a not so great photo of skids I welded onto the regular shoes. I heated up 1/8" steel (Foot long pieces) and bent each end over a pipe. They worked well for me after I was able to find the best height; anywhere from 3/8 to 3/4" depending on the packed snow base.

FCarp,
Where we are on LI, we can't get a "base" to freeze... been no such thing for years..
So I was always dealing with the loose gravel.

Where are you located?

I am in Litchfield, CT - Northwest Hills of CT - elevation about 1100 feet. Just moved there from further south in CT.

Machine I have is a Simplicity 1060E - 2 years old.

Thanks!

Good work Jonathan, you can still raise and lower the plates, very good idea.  That machine makes me long for some deep snow.

     fcarp...

We're neighbors... well about 15-20 miles anyway !

Dave...

fcarp wrote: Howdy. Always glad to hear from fellow  Connecticut members.