# Snow Blower Skids



## Nick Karahalios (Nov 21, 2019)

My Ariens 1332 has been running like an animal this year. Did the Impeller mod to it and the thing fires snow further than it ever has. Problem is i have a gravel driveway and its been dipping into the gravel, obviously making a mess. Was looking into these "Snow Blower Skids" upgraded skid shoes. Seeing if anyone has used them and has any feed back. Thanks
ASE0275-A | Snow Blower Skids


----------



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Longer is better, wider is especially better.


----------



## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I have a set on my Toro and like them they are the best.


----------



## Seaweed (Jan 18, 2016)

I switched to these too. Much easier for me doing my gravel driveway, then going over to my neighbors paved. I can lower them right down. Before I was swapping between home-made skids for gravel and stock for paved.


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

I bought a 7/8" wide x 1/4" thick x 4' long hunk of steel from Lowe's, and made my own for about $10. I bent the front and back upwards, and then drilled 2 holes in them, and mounted them to my existing skids. I used flat-head bolts, and have them recessed into the bar stock. They are holding up well, and for about $10, I was able to do two snowblowers. 



I am cheap, but also creative - IMHO.


----------



## CTHuskyinMA (Jan 14, 2019)

I love this and would enjoy seeing pictures! Yankee ingenuity.



RIT333 said:


> I bought a 7/8" wide x 1/4" thick x 4' long hunk of steel from Lowe's, and made my own for about $10. I bent the front and back upwards, and then drilled 2 holes in them, and mounted them to my existing skids. I used flat-head bolts, and have them recessed into the bar stock. They are holding up well, and for about $10, I was able to do two snowblowers.
> 
> I am cheap, but also creative - IMHO.


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

I don't have a gravel driveway but I don't like the sissy, stock skids. Made my own... These are on my 921001 I just bought.


----------



## CTHuskyinMA (Jan 14, 2019)

I tried these out for the first time yesterday. Never used Poly skids before and I have to say, I was really pleased with the way they glide on my 40 year old paved driveway. I wasn't expecting them to be as small as they are (compared to the "Professional" stock steel skids.) I did have to grind flats on my washers to get them to fit in the counter sink slots, no big deal. I paid $16.50 shipped, but I see they are $20 now. Time will tell how long they last. Oh, and I can't get the images to load in the proper orientation, but you get the idea.


----------



## all3939 (Dec 21, 2014)

RIT333 said:


> I bought a 7/8" wide x 1/4" thick x 4' long hunk of steel from Lowe's, and made my own for about $10. I bent the front and back upwards, and then drilled 2 holes in them, and mounted them to my existing skids. I used flat-head bolts, and have them recessed into the bar stock. They are holding up well, and for about $10, I was able to do two snowblowers.
> 
> 
> 
> I am cheap, but also creative - IMHO.


we don't believe you until we see pictures:wink2:


----------



## badbmwbrad (Jul 30, 2019)

Composite skids 

I have a large gravel driveway and use the Ariens non-abrasive skid shoes. These are made of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) material. The skids are wider and wear slower than the steel skids. 

What is more important is to set the scraper bar at least 1.25 inches up and off the gravel surface. This time of year, the skids should be adjusted to raise the scraper bar as high as possible. In January, there's an ice layer on the driveway and the scraper bar can be lowered if desired.


----------



## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

micah68kj - what material did you use to make your skids? They look great
thanks


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

firedudetl1 said:


> micah68kj - what material did you use to make your skids? They look great
> thanks



Thanks for the kind words but there are others here who make my skids look like some kid was whittling. (And I was!) These are either UHMW or HDPE which are closely related but I believe the UHMW will last longer. I made these several years back, when I owned a Sno Tek. When I sold it I took them off and saved them. Glad I did!:wink2:


----------



## Nanook12 (Nov 26, 2019)

Well there are those welded and formed versions from armorskids or snowblowerskids.com


----------



## Richo (Nov 15, 2019)

I have a 928 tracked Honda with the skids on the rear of the auger housing. I got some regular front skids from Amazon and put them in the front of the housing in the pre-existing holes. Now I have skids on both the front and rear of the housing and it works great on my very uneven gravel driveway.


----------



## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@Richo,

I agree with you, I always noticed the rear of the bucket to be a somewhat out of sorts location from keeping the forward section off the ground, as just about every other machine location is on the sides of the bucket, parallel with the augers themselves.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Depending on how much snow comes the first few times it snows I try not to blow it and just drive on it to pack it down a bit so the blower has something to ride on instead of digging in.
I have 300' + of gravel and the first thing I'd ask is if the driveway has been groomed or if there is the bump in the center ? I know if I haven't groomed mine there is a huge difference in how forgiving my 24" will be compared to the 32" in digging into that hump in the center of the wheel tracks.
Then there is the setup. Check tire pressure and equalize, make sure scraper is level and then set skid shoes. Put a block of wood (paint stirrers) or whatever under the scraper bar and then adjust the skid shoes. I'd start with at least 1/2" under the scraper and see how it goes. While you are in there I'd put some grease or anti-seize on anything you have to loosen up for adjusting to make it easy on yourself should you need to adjust or replace something in the future.


Show & tell - - > https://duckduckgo.com/?q=youtube+adjusting+snowblower+skids&atb=v185-1&ia=web


----------

