Snowblower Skid Shoes vs Trap Rock Drive

[ChrisFromWisconsin]

It’s getting to be that time of year again…

I bought a 72 inch Woodmaxx snowblower last year to use behind a NH Boomer 35. We only got a couple feet of snow so it only got used a couple times. I’m in northern Wisconsin so we typically get a lot more. My drive is old asphalt, and the parking lot is trap rock. The asphalt will eventually get replaced with gravel of some sort.

The skid shoes on the woodmax are lacking to say the least. They’re not large enough to float for how heavy the snowblower is, and they’re bolted on with through holes so they pivot under pressure so their angle changes and they dig. The trap rock is also not very forgiving because there’s no binder.

I intent to add a pipe to the cutting edge as others have done. Should I use a 2 inch or 3 inch?

My other question is do the skid shoes get used at all when using the pipe? I can weld the skid shoes fixed and add on to them, but I’ll be on a manual top link because my hydraulics are tied up with the deflector rotate and tilt.

Thanks for any responses.

Chris

 

[Seven Gables]

I’m in Northern Michigan so similar winter conditions and have been using 3pt snow blowers since 1985. I take the shoes off , never use them . Most drives I do are asphalt , some are road gravel. I personally wouldn’t want a pipe covering the cutting edge as it’s going to inhibit feeding of snow into the augers especially on wet heavy snow, you’ll end up pushing a growing pile.
Early in the season before the road gravel drives have frozen up solid I’ll shorten the top link slightly to help keep the cutting edge from digging then use the 3pt control to keep the cutting edge a inch or two above the gravel as I go . With a little practice it’s not to difficult, once winter sets in and ground freezes I let the top link out and run the cutting edge directly on frozen road gravel.
Not sure what trap rock is but if there’s no binder it may not ever freeze up solid , if that’s the case I’d get rid of it and replace ASAP. Pea gravel drives up here are terrible, can’t freeze up with no binder, all you can do is keep blower elevated above them all winter.
Here’s a pic of a buddies drive I occasionally do that’s road gravel early in the winter I believe.

 

[leonz]

Hello Chris from Wisconsin,

You should visit the www.armorskids.com web site as they have skids for the wood max snow blowers.

I have attached the page for them here. I have a set of armorskids on my original troybuilt walk behind and I am very happy with them, I would recommend then for any snow blower that needs skids

You should consider renting a compactor to pack down your trap rock driveway as that will help you a great deal each winter.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have a homemade box blade with a roller on the back. I use it to pack the snow so that I don't pick up rocks while snow blowing.

I usually wait untill a 4" snow fall to move the snow around and pack it down. I use my hydraulic top link to controll how much snow is packed down.

The snow blower skids are set to leave about an inch of snow behind. That snow freezes to the old snow which usually has become ice between snow falls. That results in a driveway which is not slippery to walk on.

 

[Racer4]

Hello Chris from Wisconsin,

You should visit the www.armorskids.com web site as they have skids for the wood max snow blowers.

I have attached the page for them here. I have a set of armorskids on my original troybuilt walk behind and I am very happy with them, I would recommend then for any snow blower that needs skids

View attachment 1725631

You should consider renting a compactor to pack down your trap rock driveway as that will help you a great deal each winter.

That link doesn’t work. HOME | ARMORskids®

 

[RustyA]

Trap rock is awful. My sister in law loved the uniform look of it, but it tracked into vehicles, garage and home like crazy all year. Replaced it with crushed granite 3/4- with rock dust binder. Leveled and compacted with water and plate compactor. She was amazed her house, cars and garage no longer had that flaky trap rock chips all over.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

It’s getting to be that time of year again…

I bought a 72 inch Woodmaxx snowblower last year to use behind a NH Boomer 35. We only got a couple feet of snow so it only got used a couple times. I’m in northern Wisconsin so we typically get a lot more. My drive is old asphalt, and the parking lot is trap rock. The asphalt will eventually get replaced with gravel of some sort.

The skid shoes on the woodmax are lacking to say the least. They’re not large enough to float for how heavy the snowblower is, and they’re bolted on with through holes so they pivot under pressure so their angle changes and they dig. The trap rock is also not very forgiving because there’s no binder.

I intent to add a pipe to the cutting edge as others have done. Should I use a 2 inch or 3 inch?

My other question is do the skid shoes get used at all when using the pipe? I can weld the skid shoes fixed and add on to them, but I’ll be on a manual top link because my hydraulics are tied up with the deflector rotate and tilt.

Thanks for any responses.

Chris

I have the exact same blower. I put bolt on Edge Tamers on mine. One on each end and one in the middle. Zero problems or issues. I have a gravel driveway and never pick up rocks. Works well on the grass approach to my shed also.

 

[Runner]

You can also add gauge wheels to the blower.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel driveway. We get sprinklings of snow every winter, now. It's been five years since I've had to clear snow. We get a couple inches of slop - it melts in a couple days.

When we use to get real snow - this is how I would "do" it. The driveway has not frozen hard yet - reverse the rear blade and clear the snow. The driveway is now frozen - rock hard. Either the rear blade in it's normal configuration or my 3-point blower. I always ran the blower - angled up slightly. Picks up less rocks. Never needed skids - hoses - pipes or any kind of special lubricating paints.

 

[ChrisFromWisconsin]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I'm going to go the homemade edge tamer route. I would think those shouldn't be hard to make.

I don't think the trap rock will be long for this world, especially after the asphalt drive gets replaced. It will most likely just get mixed in. It does look nice in the summer though. Before getting the blower, I would use the 3pt blade on the trap rock and then just be sure to keep the snow pile in the parking lot. In the spring I would rake it all back to where it belongs.