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

I am thinking of buying a track conversion kit at my local ariens dealer for my Dad's 9526dle.  I would think that the tracks would help out the old man keeping pressure off his back, due to the fact of the tracks keeping the sno thrower much more level on the ground without having to pull up on the handles so often to keep the front down

my question is anyone else have tracks? Im not really worried about the price and Ive used a friends cheaper built honda with tracks and I think they are interesting.  But what are the downfalls

any response would be appreciated, thanks.

Don't do it. 

If he has trouble with moving a wheeled snow thrower, he won't be too pleased with a tracked machine.   They're good in a straight line but hard to turn and difficult in tight quarters.

borat wrote:

Right, but the described problem isn't turning, it's the fact that he has to sometimes pull upward on the handlebars to get keep the front end down. A track drive will help with this.

PK

borat wrote:
Hehehe, I remember one time we had an old Ski-Doo snowmobile that stalled about 500 feet from the house, we started pulling back by hand by lifting the skids and roll it down we did that about 25 feet and left it there, like Borat said rubber track are strong in the snow but otherwise they dont roll.........

      as far as i remember  ariens offers a weight kit for most of thier models.

Snowmann wrote:

Maybe so, but he'd be going from one problem to another.  Possibly some weight on the front of the wheeled unit would be the answer.  If the fellow has a bad back, a tracked machine might be more of a problem than a solution. 

Here's the answer, You just drive it around. It even lifts the auger housing automatically if you put it in reverse.

Meanwhile back to reality.

It might be worth while thinking in terms of getting a smaller machine that will put less strain on the back. The only other thing other than have someone else do it would be to go the tractor route.

BTW - What reasons are there for getting a tracked unit?

1. Traction - I've seen some comments claiming this isn't one;
2. Auger height adjustment without tools;
3. A suppressed desire to drive an Abrams.