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

You guys with track snow blowers . I know they do not have steering, but do you have to fight them to go a straight line? I know wheeled units do not with a disk drive. I do not know about Hydro drive units.

If the track is adjusted according to the manufacturer specs as per the manual, they travel perfectly straight. It's the turning which is tuff at times especially in the garage but as they say, tracks have their time and place in the snow also.

I love my tracked JD TRX26, as mentioned it goes straight very well, you learn how to turn with time. I drive mine up stairs (4) to blow off my 40' x 22' deck. Traction is great, don't know much about hydro drive myself.                

I have a Honda 928TCD and use it mostly on a cottage driveway with some steep sections. It might go straight on asphalt but lumpy gravel with twists and turns in the driveway take a bit of steering. Tracks are much nicer in these conditions. The extra traction and hydrostatic transmission make going up and down the driveway much nicer. i used a wheeled unit for a couple of years. It worked reasonably well, the wheels would spin regularly and I had to wrestle the thing through the snow. With tracks you can loose traction but it doesn't happen as often and you can normally back out and try again.

I believe that for equivalent outfitted machines the track's top speed is a bit slower.

The Ariens Pro Track units all have auto-turn which is supposed to make turning easier.

The Honda has a lever that disconnects the tracks from the transmission. They are still locked together so turning is a challenge but it means that it is slightly easier to push the unit when the engine isn't on.

hirschallan wrote:

What hirschallan said above & track drive snowblowers are not that hard to maneuver once you have snow under the tracks. I keep my Honda HS928TA on a furniture dolly in my garage during the off season so I can easily move it if needed.

Sorry, I know this is is an older topic and my post isn't exactly on point, but I just joined the forum and saw this. I have a 2004 Troy Bilt Snow Tracker that has power steering triggers or if you like, steering assist. This works very well and turning while in use isn't difficult at all. Turning on a dry surface is tougher and trying to move it when turned off is tougher still. Engaging both levers while the blower is off helps a lot in moving it. I am really enjoying all of the information that can be found on this site.