Snowblower on Gravel - Skid shoe question

[Skidude108]

I just picked up a VERY heavy 7ft snowblower for my L3240. I'm new to the CUT world, but have been snow blowing for years so I am looking for some advice on sizing things up for this tractor. I'm not sure exactly what this thing weighs, but it's enough that I can barely lift it on a pallet with the forks without lifting the (liquid ballast filled) rear wheels.

Before it snows enough to use the blower, I need a plan for my gravel driveway. The property is still under construction so the driveway is pretty rough, and I live in an area that doesn't really get a good hard freeze. It will freeze up pretty solid for a few months, but sunny areas will likely always be a bit soft especially for any early or late season storms.

Below is a picture of the blower; I can't find any markings on it at all to indicate a brand. I am just hoping my L3240 will run it; I don't mind driving very slow.


For the skid shoes:
My original plan, which I have started to implement, was to buy a pair of the 6" round shoes from a plow (fisher or similar), and fabricate some steel mounts to put them at the outside leading corners of the blower. My fear for those is that they will just leave a pair of 6" gouges in the driveway. On the plus side; I already bought the shoes, and the mounts will be machined out of scrap steel so they have already cost me $80 and won't likely cost any more besides a bunch of time machining and drilling.

I stumbled onto this site today:Snow Blower Skids and those look like exactly what I should be using, but they are $400 and I will still have to drill holes in the (very thick) sides of the blower.

Does anybody have advice on using such a heavy snowblower on a gravel driveway?

 

[The Evil Twin]

You may have to do some fab work but these might do the trick.

HHBSS: Heavy Duty Snow Blower Skid Shoes - Heavy Hitch - Compact Tractor Attachments

The Heavy Hitch snowblower skid shoes replace John Deere factor part #’s AM122263 and AM122264. We make them from super wear-resistant AR400 steel for maximum wear, will last twice as long as a standard skid shoe material. The holes have been laser cut for a perfect fit. This Heavy Hitch...

heavyhitch.com

 

[mendonsy]

Those skids you found are exactly what you need, but I agree that the price is high. I made myself a set for my blower about 15 years ago for around $40. Maybe a local welding shop could make something to fit your blower for a lot less.

 

[Crash277]

I would fab up a set of shoes. Make sure they are adjustable. I leave a 1' gap until i have a good base of snow on my gravel driveway, then lower the blower so the gap is only as thick as one of those paint stir sticks. Seems to be working well the last 2 winters doing it like that.

 

[ve9aa]

I would fab up a set of shoes. Make sure they are adjustable. I leave a 1' gap until i have a good base of snow on my gravel driveway, then lower the blower so the gap is only as thick as one of those paint stir sticks. Seems to be working well the last 2 winters doing it like that.

This, exactly.
Try (at least in the soft spots) to always be running in straight lines. Once you turn, pretty much no matter how good your shoes are, you'll dig up dirt on the inside edge of one shoe and the outside edge of the other, then next thing you know, you're "chucking rocks"
BTDT

 

[garyp]

skidude
I made a set using some angle iron. Cut out the one side so i could bend up the bottom side and drilled some mounting hole on the short side. Kinda looks like the one you can buy but i used the angle iron. Hope that helps

 

[woodsy]

I had pre- drilled holes so all I did was add these which worked well
for my 500lb+ 5' blower. Cheap @ $50 -$ 75pr. but effective. There are many to choose from , different hole patterns.
When the ground is soft I just keep the blower up 1" or so enough to keep it
from tearing things up. Good luck.

ARMORskids Heavy Duty Snow Blower Skid Shoes Fits 1.5 in. and 4.5 in. Slot Spacing (Set of 2) ASE1545 - The Home Depot

This extreme-duty replacement set of two snowblower shoes is designed to lift snow blowers up over sidewalk cracks up to almost 2 in. Bottom runners are 12 in. long, and are CNC cut from 1/4 in. steel

www.homedepot.com

 

[Skidude108]

I did some google image searching, and I think this blower is a Lucknow D7 with the top auger removed. That makes it somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000lbs.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

wow.... you not kidding when you said a heavy blower.... those things designed for tractors closer to 100hp or 3X the power you have on tap.

Wonder if having top auger removed makes difference on power needed to operate.

Good luck with your new adventure! and would love to know how your 'bota handles it.

 

[Skidude108]

As far as I can tell, the specs for the single-auger and double-auger versions are exactly the same, so I think it's effectively an S7 which calls for 40-70hp. For how much snow we actually get in this area, I should be fine if I just take it a bit slow.
I was shopping for a decent deal on a 6ft blower, and this one popped up for pretty cheap because the photos were awful. I showed up at night and forgot a tape measure, so it wasn't until I got it home that I realized it was a foot wider than I intended. If it doesn't work out, I'll sell it with better pictures hopefully for more than I paid and buy something a little smaller.
That's another reason I don't really want to spend $400 on skids; if it doesn't work I won't get that money back when I sell it.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

gotcha.... sorry I thought it was a D7 and around our parts that's a big machine. I guy I know has similar double auger unit same width and his has a 30" fan (28 - 32" common when getting into the small doubles) and its amazing how much hp is consumed (and how much more snow gets moved) by upping the fan size couple of inches. 2 augers needed to keep that size fan working at capacity.

Like you though if it simply not right you bought it well so you could probably easily sell and try again!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Bigger isn't always better. Cheaper isn't always better.

The right tool for the job is always better and cheaper.

 

[Hkb82]

Looks like a lucknow to me. It also Looks pretty big hanging off the back of your tractor. Not sure the I’ll just go slow method is the right approach. I think your tractor is gonna be working hard blowing with a 7 foot blower. The point about your FEL barley lifting it was your first sign. I’d clean it up as much as you can and flip it for a proper sized blower.

 

[BobInSD]

wow.... you not kidding when you said a heavy blower.... those things designed for tractors closer to 100hp or 3X the power you have on tap.

The HST will make a huge difference. HST let's me run an IH-80 (7-ft?) that my much bigger Deere struggled with.

Wonder if having top auger removed makes difference on power needed to operate.

Good luck with your new adventure! and would love to know how your 'bota handles it.

When I was shopping I was told the top auger was free (hp-wise) until the snow got that deep. Basically serves as a flywheel.

Where I live it freezes up and stays froze, so I let an inch or so of ice grow on the driveway and use that as my base instead of the gravel.

 

[Dennis.D]

I have a Erskine 84" snowblower on my tractor and they used round snowplow skids. They work fine on my gravel yard. I think the skids on the out side edges of the snowblower will have to be set lower, leaving more snow on the ground. Especially since you said your yard was quite rouge and uneven. The further apart the skids are the higher they will have to be set to miss the high spots in the middle. Where you already have purchased the shoes, I would just mount them about 12" in from both sides and go blow snow. Good luck and keep us posted, we all love do it yourself and reengineering projects.