Snowblower Erskine Rear Pull Snowblower Issues

[Zinno87]

I've got a 5' Erskine rear pull snow blower that I purchased last Fall. I just realized, when I was greasing the blower the other day, that the skid shoe mounts were very poorly designed. The bottom of the bracket that supports the bushing that the skid shoe fits into is welded to a heavier structural member, but the top of the bracket is welded to the body of the machine, relatively thin sheet metal. The stress from dragging the shoes has started to rip through the sheet metal. See attached pic. I haven't contacted Erskine regarding the problem yet, but will tomorrow at some point. Has any one else had a similar problem? If you have a similar blower, I would suggest that you check it out.

 

[art]

You do have plenty of tractor in that!

 

[Zinno87]

I know, probably too much, but I don't think that has anything to do with the damage.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'll be very curious what the dealer says about this. Welding to thin gage sheet isn't a good idea.
I wouldn'd be too surprised if the factory left some doubler plates off. A doubler is a plate of heavier gage material used to stiffen and strengthen or provide a more sold area to attach components.
If it turns out you've got to do the repair, I suggest you use a doubler plate of about .12" (just over 3 mm). You'll want to do all the attachment points.

 

[art]

I know, probably too much, but I don't think that has anything to do with the damage.

Part of it is not the horsepower but the weight of the tractor turning with the blower being used as a pivot point. It would be like putting a 20 to 30 horsepower rated rear blade behind a 35 horsepower tractor chassis. I don't believe there are any pieces left off from the factory as Roy suggests but to add some plates like he suggested sure wouldn't hurt to keep it from getting any worse.

 

[Zinno87]

I don't think that the issue has anything to do with the sie of the tractor or the force exerted on the blower when turning as the brackets are bent toward the tractor. Either way, the fact that the brackets are welded to the sheet metal represents poor engineering. I spoke to the manufacturer today and they said that they haven't had any similar issues in the past, but are more than willing to pay for the repairs/reinforcement. I'm going to get a guote from a welding shop and send that to them.

 

[WayneB]

I don't think that the issue has anything to do with the sie of the tractor or the force exerted on the blower when turning as the brackets are bent toward the tractor. Either way, the fact that the brackets are welded to the sheet metal represents poor engineering. I spoke to the manufacturer today and they said that they haven't had any similar issues in the past, but are more than willing to pay for the repairs/reinforcement. I'm going to get a guote from a welding shop and send that to them.

I agree with you Sal, the part that has broken away / starting to fail is not a fault of the tractor size. Run out quickly and get an estimate and let them pick up the cost of the repair.

 

[rbargeron]

I may be off base but it looks like the shoes have run into high obstacles - like edges of asphalt or concrete. In that case the weight of the tractor isn't to blame but does play a part. On a small rig you might just stop on whatever the shoes hit. In any case, they should be a stronger design. Do the shoes have a good ramp on both ends so they can jump over stuff? Frost has a way of misaligning driveway edges so they stick up and grab things that would normally slide by. With a heavy enough tractor you might not feel much of a bump. Anyway, they should be beefier.

 

[Zinno87]

My driveway is gravel, not as smooth as asphalt, but it doesn't have cobbles sticking up all over the place either. The size of the shoes is a good point though. I'll inquire about improving on the shoes in order to maneuver over larger obstacles. When I spoke to the dealer, he mentioned that he hadn't heard of any similar issues. I questioned whether he thought that the design was adequate, but he only agreed that it shouldn't happen and agreed to repair it. Either way, I'm disappointed that after spending what I did on the unit that I'm having such a problem. I would think that a rear pull unit would be built to withstand a lot of use. Chances are that it will clear more driveway than a back-up unit in its life time.