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

Well, looks like my trucker buddy is on a long-haul trip. He just called from Mississauga Ontario (near Toronto), and is on his way west to Thunder Bay Ontario. That's out. I have another guy to call in the morning, and if that doesn't work out, I'll rent a truck if I can find one. Small town here, so not much available I'm afraid.

I'm hoping to go see the machine tomorrow evening, or Friday morning.

Since this will be my first snow thrower, what do you recommend I look for when doing the inspection?

Trouts2 has a good link in his signature.

Here is the full site:
http://www.kedawei.com/snowblower.htm

Here is the page about looking at older machines:
http://www.kedawei.com/Snowblower/kicking_the_tires.htm

drifter wrote:

Get a couple of 2" x 10" x 8' boards that you can use as ramps. Even a piece of 3/4" plywood will work. I've used this method before and had no problems, especially if you back up to a small incline or little hill. Doing this reduces the angle substantially and makes loading/unloading a snap.

FrankMA wrote:

Good advice FrankMA, the boards are pretty cheap and since these units have tracks he should have no problems using boards. He could probably get away with using 6 foor boards. One 12 foot cut in half. The Honda tracks climb with tenacity. Shorter boards and backing up to a hill should work. I'd be leary about the plywood even at 3/4" as it will bow if it's too long.

   How about transporting it in your car?     Blowers can fit sideways into many trunks.  They rest on the bottom of the trunk lid and "fall" into the trunk, actually lean to the rear of the trunk.  I've transported about 100 this way.  The biggest has been 28 inch.  I've hauled about 4 MTD 10hp track machines that way. 

   I use blankets between the machine and car and tie off the machine by the trunk supports.

If I'm lucky in about 10 minutes I'll be picking up a Honda 5.5hp track which should easily fit in the trunk. 

I don't know how the Hondas are put together, but the old Ariens only have 2 bolts holding the front and back halves together.  Ok, add 2 more bolts for the belt cover and a hair pin for the crank rod.

The drive section would probably easily fit in a truck and then the scoop in the back seat or in the trunk next to the tractor drive assembly.  Splitting it in half would also help with the lifting/loading.

There's no way this snow-thrower will fit in my trunk. The trunk lid is wayyyy to short. (Acura RL 3.5)  I'll most likely rent a truck.

As for a make-shift ramp, that shouldn't be a big deal. Boards can flex at different rates though, but I can always wedge something under the mid-point of the boards, to keep them from flexing excessively. A set of spare tires for example. I don't have any boards though, so I'd have to order some, and that takes time.

I'm working on yet another solution. I just called a guy who transports seasonal equipment (golf carts, etc). He's going to call me back with a price, later this afternoon.

Ask the guy you are buying from if he has the means to deliver it...

drifter wrote:
You don't need anything fancy. Just go to Home Depot, Lowes or any lumber yard and get a couple of 2 x 10's or 2 x 12's. They even sell a little gizmo that screws onto the end of the board that will kind of clip the board onto the edge of the floorboards so they don't slide down.

drifter wrote:

If you go to HD and get a 2'x12' board and have them cut it in half at no cost you will have a 6' ramp that will work for anything except a Pickup truck.

Just curious as to how much they wanted to clear your property for a year? Did you ever get that estimate?