# Poly Shoes for new Ariens Platinum 24 SHO



## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

So I have the new Ariens Plat 24 SHO, and we have not had snow yet for me to try it. I keep seeing mention of people getting poly shoes for their units, and I have to ask why? Also, if I should get the poly shoes, which ones (OEM, generic poly, ArmorSkids, something else). 

EDIT: I have a cement driveway, so no gravel to be concerned with.


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

The machine tracks better with the poly skids, less interaction/annoyance from AUTO TURN. 

I have the Ariens poly skids, bought at Home Depot.

Armorskids are steel.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

Mine are OEM and I really have nothing to compare them with. I purchased a pair based on probably the same posts you saw. Specifically, my 2015 Deluxe 28 is considered an "early" Auto-Turn equipped model, and poly shoes were highly recommended. Early ones supposedly had issues withe the Auto-Turn and this was corrected with "later" ones. Not sure what the fixes were and when - if someone knows, please share.

The one thing that I don't like about the OEM ones is the width. They are abut twice as wide as aftermarket shoes. When I do the edge of my driveway, they tend to hang up on the grass/soil beyond the pavement. HTH.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

Clutch Cargo said:


> Mine are OEM and I really have nothing to compare them with. I purchased a pair based on probably the same posts you saw. Specifically, my 2015 Deluxe 28 is considered an "early" Auto-Turn equipped model, and poly shoes were highly recommended. Early ones supposedly had issues withe the Auto-Turn and this was corrected with "later" ones. Not sure what the fixes were and when - if someone knows, please share.
> 
> The one thing that I don't like about the OEM ones is the width. They are abut twice as wide as aftermarket shoes. When I do the edge of my driveway, they tend to hang up on the grass/soil beyond the pavement. HTH.


Do you know what the Ariens part number is? I see part number 72603100, but the last two entries for their reviews say they are junk as they were redesigned. This has me concerned.









Skid Shoe - Non-Abrasive - Ariens


Ariens genuine OEM parts provide peace of mind and the confidence of knowing these parts were specifically designed for an exact fit, optimal performance and safety.




www.ariens.com


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Nothing but the Arnold Poly Roller Skids for me on all my machines, and on sale at Home Depot and Amazon for 22.50 a pair.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I have the Ariens plastic skid shoes because they do not mark the paved stone driveways, and they work well with AutoTurn. Last year I tried the original steel skid shoes and they are terrible, high friction and cause the AutoTurn to track poorly on driveways that should be replaced.

I installed a new AutoTurn differential in the spring of this year and while it is a lot quieter (no clicks) it does not make much difference for my machine with the new plastic skid shoes.

Ariens did not have complaints for the AutoTurn on the Pro models that are very light on the bucket. So about 2017 the Ariens line had the drive axle moved forward to mimic the design of the Pro models. It seems to have worked but a number of people have complained that this design needs extra weight on the bucket to keep the front end down and not ride up on the snow.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

kd8tzc said:


> Do you know what the Ariens part number is? I see part number 72603100, but the last two entries for their reviews say they are junk as they were redesigned. This has me concerned.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The Ariens composite skid shoes that I bought from my dealer (April 2019 and installed in 2020) have the part # ARI 72600300 for CAD$49.99 and they are the same as the ones I bought in 2015.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

Town said:


> The Ariens composite skid shoes that I bought from my dealer (April 2019 and installed in 2020) have the part # ARI 72600300 for CAD$49.99 and they are the same as the ones I bought in 2015.


Thanks @Town .. it says that part has been replaced with the one I had in my post that had some bad reviews.

@oneacer , so those are poly AND rollers? The rollers don't lock up on you? The plastic that it rides on looks quite thin. Do they hold up for you?


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

kd8tzc said:


> Do you know what the Ariens part number is?


Damn, I am embarrassed to tell you that I can't find the receipt and didn't write it in my O&M log. I know I have an image of the box showing the number, but can't find it either. This will drive me crazy going forward. What I do know is that I purchased them off the shelf from an Ariens dealer downeast and from the dust on them, I would say that they were the older version.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@kd8tzc,

This is the second year on 2 of my machines and there like new ... slide along beautifully. Very well made skid and roller material. These and the XTrac tires are probably the best 2 upgrades on any machine.

Many here have converted over to these roller poly skids.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

oneacer said:


> @kd8tzc,
> 
> This is the second year on 2 of my machines and there like new ... slide along beautifully. Very well made skid and roller material. These and the XTrac tires are probably the best 2 upgrades on any machine.
> 
> Many here have converted over to these roller poly skids.


Thanks... I have an aversion to rollers from when my Dad had rollers on his 1970's Craftsman single stage blower. Granted, that was back in the 1970's and things have advanced, but I just remember how those rollers locked up with crud. I'll check them out as if you like them as do others, that says enough for me.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

oneacer said:


> @kd8tzc,
> 
> This is the second year on 2 of my machines and there like new ... slide along beautifully. Very well made skid and roller material. These and the XTrac tires are probably the best 2 upgrades on any machine.
> 
> Many here have converted over to these roller poly skids.


I might give those a try when the OEM ones I have wear out.


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## badbmwbrad (Jul 30, 2019)

The Ariens skid shoes are made of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW). They're machined blocks of plastic. After about six years in service, there is no wear showing on my Ariens UHMW skid shoes. These shoes don't leave skid marks on my concrete bricked front walkway.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

I can't find the Arnold ones on Prime ...well I see a "used" pair... but I will pass on those. I didn't realize Prime sells used stuff other than books.

I ended up buying a pair of the Arnold Universal ones. That should work for now. When I add the new ones, what's a good clearance to adjust too? I don't have any paint sticks, but would two quarters on each side (assuming that is level) be okay? I have a newer driveway, but there is one expansion joint that likes to float if water gets under it and freezes.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Here is the Home Depot link, as Amazon appears to have sold out ....

Arnold Universal Rolling Skid Shoes for Two and Three Stage Snow Blowers (Set of 2)-490-241-0038 - The Home Depot

Walmart.com has them as well at the same sale price ....

Snow Thrower Rolling Skid Shoes 490-241-0038 - Walmart.com - Walmart.com


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## NVA4370 (Sep 12, 2016)

kd8tzc said:


> I can't find the Arnold ones on Prime ...well I see a "used" pair... but I will pass on those. I didn't realize Prime sells used stuff other than books.
> 
> I ended up buying a pair of the Arnold Universal ones. That should work for now. When I add the new ones, what's a good clearance to adjust too? I don't have any paint sticks, but would two quarters on each side (assuming that is level) be okay? I have a newer driveway, but there is one expansion joint that likes to float if water gets under it and freezes.
> View attachment 172195


Those will work, but you will need to create some spacers about 1/4" thick or so to use on the bolts between the bucket and the skids because of some metal work on the sides of the bucket in the skid mounting area. I used them for one year without any spacers and it kind of warped the sides of the bucket a little. The warp wasn't permanent, but I did replace the Arnold skids with the Ariens poly skids after one year. I really liked the way the Arnold universal skids worked as they are longer than the Ariens skids. I just didn't like the slight bends that they caused on the bucket sides.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

NVA4370 said:


> Those will work, but you will need to create some spacers about 1/4" thick or so to use on the bolts between the bucket and the skids because of some metal work on the sides of the bucket in the skid mounting area. I used them for one year without any spacers and it kind of warped the sides of the bucket a little. The warp wasn't permanent, but I did replace the Arnold skids with the Ariens poly skids after one year. I really liked the way the Arnold universal skids worked as they are longer than the Ariens skids. I just didn't like the slight bends that they caused on the bucket sides.


Thanks... so I would assume I could put some stainless washers in as spacers?

@oneacer, rats, I looked on HD and could not find them. Possibly because I was using Arnold in the name. Oh well... I'll use the others for now and then see how they work. If the spacer is too much of an issue I will switch out to the roller ones. Thanks for posting the links. It would have been less monkeying around with the roller ones I have a feeling.


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## NVA4370 (Sep 12, 2016)

kd8tzc said:


> Thanks... so I would assume I could put some stainless washers in as spacers?


I'd think some stainless steel washers would work. I'd probably find an old inner tube and cut out some rubber to go between the washers and the side of the bucket.


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

NVA4370 said:


> I'd think some stainless steel washers would work. I'd probably find an old inner tube and cut out some rubber to go between the washers and the side of the bucket.


Good idea... last thing I want to do is make my shiny new blower rust from the washer scratching the paint.

EDIT: Actually, we redid all the flooring in our house this past summer and I have a ton of these strips of the premium vinyl flooring that have this nice rubber backing on them. It's about 5/8" thick, so one or two of these cut to size, with the rubber against the bucket might work well as the spacer and prevent the bucket from getting scratched.


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## MSP Paul (Dec 5, 2019)

Detroit Thermo Ariens Replacement... Amazon.com: Detroit Thermo Ariens Replacement snowblower Skid Shoes Non-Abrasive Polymer with Hardware fits Ariens: Garden & Outdoor

I didn’t have any issues with my oem cast shoes, I thought I’d try poly shoes anyway. Unfortunately it hasn’t snowed since I put them on but a dry run down the driveway my pro 28 rapid track handled like a sports car


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## kd8tzc (Dec 6, 2020)

Well, I got the Arnold "universal" skids on last night, but they are not exactly universal. As @NVA4370 stated, they do need a spacer, but the big problem I had was that really large slot. I had to place that over the back bolt in order for it to fit the 3" spacing of the bolts on the Ariens. Problem is, they don't give you a washer that is big enough to bridge that big slot. Also, with my spacers that I made out of recycled flooring with the rubber backing, my bolts were not long enough. 

What I did instead is mount the one narrow slot to the front bolt, and then identified where the bolt hole would need to be next to the large slot. There was enough material there to make a new slot, so I did just that with a router. I then didn't need my spacers as it sat behind that flare on the front of the bucket. It looks good and is on there securely and can be adjusted up and down if need be. I will see how it works when it snows. It I don't like it, I'm ordering the rollers like @oneacer recommended, or maybe those steel ArmorSkids that Bob Sayre makes. Hopefully we get some snow soon as I really want to use the blower.


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## slingshot (Feb 8, 2011)

Detroit Thermo works well.


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## kemlyn (Oct 16, 2018)

I converted to Ariens OEM poly skids in 2018 on my 1332 Pro. After 17 seasons the OEM metal skids were worn out and left nasty rust spots on my garage floor. As others have mentioned the benefits are less damage to the driveway and reduced drag on machine as it gobbles up snow. My guess is poly skids will outlast metal by a long shot too.🙂


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## Hogan773 (May 14, 2021)

I may spring for the poly shoes on the new to me Deluxe 24 I just got while I am still excited with my new purchase. Are the Detroits better than the OEM Ariens? I haven't googled or Amazoned yet to check prices. 

I'm surprised that poly will outlast steel in terms of wearing down on my driveway but I do like the idea of one less place where I will see rust, and also the better smoother handling. Why don't snowblowers come with poly as standard? Cost or just wanting to preserve another "upgrade" they can sell you?


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