Snowblower Snowblower slightly narrower than wheel track - a mistake?

[dbk123]

Hi,

I am planning to set my rear wheel track so that the overall width of the tires is 76.5". I am considering purchase of a used rear mount snowblower whose with is 74". Can anyone tell me if this is a big mistake or if I'll need to add wings to increase the blower width a bit?

Thanks,

-dbk123

 

[Tig]

I'm not sure if 2.5" is enough to cause problems but I think you will find that the consensus is that you will need to add wings. Otherwise you will pack down the snow on the edges and create a dish shaped surface that will hold water during a melt.

 

[herringchoker]

I would say: yes, it is a mistake, but it is easily corrected by adding wings to the blower, as you suggest. Having the tires wider than the blower could mean loss of traction and/or packing of snow under the tires, extra passes to clean these up and difficulty edging up to curbs, etc., not to mention the dished edges like Tig says. I like to have at least 3 or 4 inches extra width on each side to keep loose snow from rolling into the wheel tracks.

 

[slowzuki]

Depends where you live too. Do you get feet worth of snow or inches? I've done the to narrow thing before and you have to blow and scrape extra wide to account for the build up but we get lots of snow here in NB.

 

[studor]

Adding wings would be ok as long as you don't get snowfalls higher than the blower --it does happen. Is there a reason you need to set the wheels that far apart? My current blower extends six inches beyond the wheels on each side and that is very handy in front of doors, around parked trailers etc. If your blower is inside the wheels not only will you rut lanes but you will find it difficult to get close to anything without putting a wheel into it -- don't ask me how I know