Snowblower Skid Pads for Gravel

[Ideehoan]

Here’s my mod for my BX2750D for use on a new property with gravel driveway.
3/4” rebar was welded onto circular plates and heated with a torch to form a circle.
1” square tubing slides in receivers made of 1 1/2 angle iron welded together.
Three 1/4” holes 1/2” apart allow setting them 3/4” or 1 1/2” or 2 1/4 below the cutting edge.

I’ve also previously done a mod attaching 1/2 strips of rubber to the impeller blades which not only minimizes plugging in wet snow, increases throw distance but has the unexpected effect of eliminating the harsh grinding of the impeller on it’s housing when gravel is ingested.

The skids should get a test soon.

 

[CalG]

Looks fine!

I'm a fan of running Round pad shafts inside Square tubes. Keeps 'em from jambing up with rust etc.

 

[Ideehoan]

Looks fine!

I'm a fan of running Round pad shafts inside Square tubes. Keeps 'em from jambing up with rust etc.

That’s a great idea. I plan to keep oil or grease on them and take them off in the off season. If it’s an issue I’ll switch to round shafts.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

[rScotty]

I've thought about using something like those skids, but don't they cut gooves in the dirt?
No one seems to use tires instead of skids, but it seems to me they would work well - maybe better.
What am I missing??
rScotty

 

[alexinPA]

I use 8 inch wheels mounted in the hole for skids. Gives me about 1.5 in height adjustable using 3 point curl

 

[CH4Ohio]

I think those will just dig in and make grooves where you'd rather have a smooth surface behind you. Just tilt the blower back on its skids so it isn't digging in and catching the gravel.

 

[sd455dan]

I've thought about using something like those skids, but don't they cut gooves in the dirt?
No one seems to use tires instead of skids, but it seems to me they would work well - maybe better.
What am I missing??
rScotty

I think so, had round skids on a Western plow and rectangular on a Meyers, I always preferred the tapered rectangles, but the Western plow was built better than the Meyers imo.

The pull behind blower has rectangular but some more surface area would be helpful early and late in the season to reduce tracking. Any skid has got to be better than none, if trying not to scrape up the gravel in volume.

 

[Ideehoan]

These are common on blades. There’s a YouTube video of trying different setups on a similar snowblower and the guy was happiest with this.

There’s no tilt, just up and down on this front blower. I think wheels could work but not sure how they would handle tight turns without a swivel. I also have pavement so they have to come on and off quickly.

I’ll give this a try. It cost nothing but a couple hours of time.

 

[ruffdog]

The small shoes on my old Lorenz rear blower are not big enough to ride over a gravel surface. I always thought that I would check these guys out for bigger skids:

Kubota | ARMORskids®

 

[Cycledude]

Put Armor skids on my 72inch Meteor blower, they are nicely made but not really much help if the ground isn’t well frozen.
The past couple years the ground usually hasn’t been very well frozen so I been mostly using a pretty heavy duty 9 foot rear 3 point blade to plow my yard and driveway.

 

[sd455dan]

Wifo uses shoes that are similar to Armor skids but the blower is really heavy so even bigger shoes would be better for gravel if I had a choice.

https://d1wo3d2v97kuwi.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/d821301c2a5857860f60bd6ca3655375/w/i/wifo-pull-type-snow-blower-2_1.jpg

 

[Ideehoan]

I’d be curious to hear from anyone who has used the armorshield style on a front blower.
Part of the reason for my design is quick on and off and adjusting.

 

[civilian]

I mounted two trailer tongue jacks to the back sheet metal of my BX2230 snowblower. Crank the handle to raise or lower. But like with all skids, the gravel drives or grass needs to be frozen to support the blower weight. Jon

 

[07wingnut]

I've thought about using something like those skids, but don't they cut gooves in the dirt?
No one seems to use tires instead of skids, but it seems to me they would work well - maybe better.
What am I missing??
rScotty

Someone does.

 

[Ideehoan]

Someone does.

Someone does.

That’s a great looking solution. Wide tire on a beefy swivel.

 

[Ideehoan]

I mounted two trailer tongue jacks to the back sheet metal of my BX2230 snowblower. Crank the handle to raise or lower. But like with all skids, the gravel drives or grass needs to be frozen to support the blower weight. Jon

Very creative.

 

[dj1701]

I found this site that makes wheel setups for plows and snowblowers. I think they would work fine for folks that have blacktop or concrete driveways. Problem with wheels, they don't have enough surface area to support a heavy snowblower on softer ground. I think the skids are the way to go for dirt driveways. The aftermarket skids that I see out there IMHO still need to be wider and longer.

Home of Snow-Wheel Systems

 

[Runner]

I use 8 inch wheels mounted in the hole for skids. Gives me about 1.5 in height adjustable using 3 point curl

Me too.

 

[Gator6x4]

I know nothing about using a snow blower on a gravel driveway. I filed this away years ago in the event I ever needed a snow blower. The interesting thing about this to me is the Poster who ever he is recommended 2 or three stage Snow Blowers for a gravel driveway.

• Use a two- or three-stage snow blower: Single-stage snow blowers can scoop up gravel, which can be dangerous. A two- or three-stage snow blower is recommended for gravel driveways.
  
  
• Attach skid shoes: Skid shoes prevent the snow blower from scattering gravel.
  
  
• Point the chute downwind: The wind will help blow the snow.
  
  
• Move up and down the driveway: It's usually best to move in the direction of the driveway, not perpendicularly.
  
  
• Start upwind in strong crosswinds: If there are strong crosswinds, start upwind.
  
  
• You can also use a snow plow on a gravel driveway. A plow shouldn't usually touch the surface, so it shouldn't damage the pavement. However, it's easy to spread gravel around with a plow