Snow plow wheels vs skids

[oldnslo]

Looking at putting some form of depth limiting device on my plow and am looking into the pros and cons of shoes/skids vs. caster wheels.

My initial thoughts are:
Cons:
Shoes/skids:
wear along with cutting edge so the yboth may require replacing around the same time.
Would they have a tendancy to push gravel if it is not froze? probably depends on the design.

Wheels:
Would they have a tendancy to follow the contours of the ground and potentially exagerate any blade chatter?

Would they have a tendancy to wobble of shake from uneven ground. Figure travel speed around 5 MPH with the BX.

Should have sealed pivot bearings which increases the cost.

any other thoughts.

TIA

Roy

 

[ihuntbear]

i always use shoes.Never replaced cutting edge yet.Six years,still in g:thumbsupod shape

 

[Dirt Farmer]

I have similar experience with shoes. I have also been plowing my driveway for 6 years without any appreciable wear on the shoes or cutting edge. My driveway is dirt/gravel. I usually let the driveway build a little base and harden with the first couple storms. I do not experience any carving up of the driveway using the shoes with this approach.

 

[beenthere]

And I never use shoes on the plow (7' Western). Been plowing with this plow for 12 years, and have about 1/4 mile of drive and roadway, plus three good size turnarounds.

Before topping my drive 8 yrs ago, it was gravel and also didn't use any devices. Just as mentioned, let it freeze in before plowing snow off the gravel.

And just recently there was a good thread on adding wheels to blades and to snowblower. Might find some good info there.

 

[oldnslo]

Problem where I live it is not uncommon to have snow wth out the ground being froze or it goes through freeze thaw cycles where the top inch or so unthaws and then we get snow. Older lighter smaller plow this wasn't much of an issue. The bigger heavier plow now wants to push dirt and snow.

looks like shoes/skids in the most common so will see if I can scrounge some materials since the cheapest thing on a Kubota is the operator.

thanks again

Roy

 

[beenthere]

OK
But if the ground isn't frozen, then plowing just makes tire ruts with the tractor wheels in the mud in addition to the plow wheels or skid tracks in the mud.

 

[Argosy]

Spin the blade around and back blade your drive. Because of the shape it will ride up instead of digging in but still clear the snow.

Keeping you top link short will also lessen the amount it digs into the gravel.

 

[lhfarm]

Here in central Indiana, our weather swings so much that ground rarely stays frozen. I have a new to me snow plow and the skids are useless on gravel that isn't rock hard. Looks as though I'll be changing to wheels.

 

[Chilly807]

I added some cupped shoes to mine this year. It still drags a little bit of gravel until the ground freezes, then it works fine. Much less damage than using the plow without shoes.
Flat shoes would be worse. There's a thread here on the process, a search will get you there.

Sean

 

[oldnslo]

Here in central Indiana, our weather swings so much that ground rarely stays frozen. I have a new to me snow plow and the skids are useless on gravel that isn't rock hard. Looks as though I'll be changing to wheels.

IH, your weather is a little worse than ours here in Northern, IL but we still have the swings.

I am considering using old curved disc blades. They are rounded so no matter if the blade is turned or straight they should float the same. Just have to track down some from one of my still farming friends. Ahh to have the old junk pile again.

Argosy: I should have stated this is a front mount plow so no option for spinning the blade.

 

[OffGrid2009]

Argosy -- I've been plowing snow, but moving a lot of gravel, too. I was trying to choose among narrow skid-shoes, "upside-down mushroom" skids, and wheels for my old Leinback SO-7 blade. I'm no hand at welding (...I know, I gotta learn), and so far I hadn't found any ready-made skids or wheels for my blade. It never crossed my mind to spin the blade and shorten the top-link. I think as long as I get out there before the snow gets too deep, it should work. I'm not positive the snow will slide down the blade past the supports if it gets too deep. But I'm sure going to give it a try. THANKS!!

 

[Adventureman]

On the news that we are just about to get 12-16 inches of fresh heavy snow (Nor'Easter) and with no snow on the driveway and the crushed gravel has thawed a few inches over the past few weeks, I decided to take the little factory mounted flat skids on my frontend snowblower on my BX23 and mount some chopped off alpine skis. I cut off about 30 inches from the tips and drilled holes in the skid plates. Then clamped the skid plate to the now shortened ski and drilled through the holes I had just drilled into the skid plate. Bolted the shortened ski to the skid plate with two 1 inch x 3/8 carriage bolts. Rebolted the new setup back onto the snowblower and it looks pretty slick. The ski tips curl up just in front of the blower with the same curve of the auger. If I paint it Kubota Orange, ya might think it was factory! :laughing:

Just finished it in about an hour! I knew the old straight edged alpine skis would come in handy for something! I'll post a progress report tomorrow during or after the snowstorm. AND maybe get a picture or two!

I might have to add spacers in between the leading edge of the snowblower and the skis to give more lift. Right now the skis only give about a quarter inch rise and I don't know of any driveway that's perfectly level.

 

[devildog1]

Don't believe it as I see no picture!
Devildog

 

[JerryK]

Now, with those new alpine ski skids, do you have to yodel whilst you are snow blowing ????

 

[zmansmac]

I modified a Land Pride 6 ft back blade to hook up to my loader arms. I bought the heavy duty mushroom shaped skids originally. But after 1 season of use when the gravel drive thawed the skids just dug into the gravel. The next season I went to 10 inch swivel pneumatic tires on each side. That was 7 seasons ago and it's still one of the best mods I've made. I understand some guys cut a slot in a piece of PVC or metal pipe and put on the edge of their bucket for plowing on gravel. But I suppose that could also work on the edge of a back or front blade as well.

JohnZ
B7500

 

[Adventureman]

I'll have to figure out how to get pics up of the alpine ski mod when daylight comes around. And yes, I do yodel.... thankfully the BX23 is so loud at full throttle the neighbors cannot hear me.

I have to say it worked like a charm! I only spit out less than a handful of gravel while doing the whole driveway(150ft x 20ft on a slope). It was weird not getting ALL the snow because I'm used to pushing the blower all the way down and lifting the front wheels so it would be near bare surface after each pass. What was left was about a half inch of snow which quickly melted in a couple hours.

Sure enough, today's sun melted a lot.... I could have left 3 inches of snow and it would have been gone by 3pm.

The snow was a thick settled wet pasty type so I seemed to push some of it while moving forward but most got sucked up and out as it should. Can't wait to try it on colder deeper snow!

I like the pneumatic tire idea and may try it because I just found a set of 10inch tires behind the trash cans and I could mount them on the sides of the auger chute. Guess I just can't throw some 'useful' stuff away. :laughing:

 

[irvingj]

Yeah, Adventureman, let's see those pics!

I also tried to come up with a way to deal with the wet, heavy stuff on top of a soft gravel drive.... my solution was "free" (had some 5" casters laying around), but wasn't entirely successful.

It did help some, and might be quite useful next winter, but I like your skis idea!

I took my skids and flipped them upside down to mount the casters; however, the casters are a bit too narrow to prvent sinking in, if the ground is really soft. They'd probably be fine if the drive was firmer.

 

[Adventureman]

FINALLY! I have to find an easier way to get pics from my camera onto my laptop.

Anyways.... here's the pics I promised.

 

[henrysMFGC2310TBL]

I should have kept the old Sidoo skis for the blower I am trying to use, I will be on the lookout for some more.

 

[devildog1]

WoW I stand corrected you do have pictures, my hats off to you, glad it works for you.
DevilDog