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.

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.

Have been running over 1 inch crushed stone drive 45 by 24 feet for 15 years here in Eastern Maine.

I pick up and toss the snowblown stones back onto the drive every spring.

We have 18 inches on the ground right now from five storms so far this winter.

I keep full bag of shear pins and socket set handy with first snow.

I've used the strategy mentioned by Chris S about adjusting height of skid shoes to ride over. 

Works well except for turns and doesn't help when tires are locked and you make a hard turn.

The tire piles up some rocks to be caught with the next pass.

Once a layer of snow is down I can be less cautious with skids and wheels but never blow toward anything I wouldn't want rocks flying toward and hitting.

I'm in the process of fabricating flatter and wider skid shoes now for my new(er) Ariens ST11528LE; patterned off the size and adjustability of the stock items.

I'm betting a 3 by 6 inch skid shoe, centered on the side of the auger barrel, with all four edges turned up a 1/4 or 1/8, except maybe for where scraper blade will line up over it, should allow straight runs and turns to run over stone and should only have to worry about the locked tire piles.

Currently have cardboard full size mockup for fabricator to copy.

Will upload pictures and opinion of results in future, if people contact with interest.

I'll be doing this drive for many more years, I hope; since my grandfather's Arien's lasted 40+ years and I don't want to move.