Roller Skid Snow Thrower Skid Shoe (Pair)

This fall I purchased a new Husky 12527HV 27", 8.5 hp 291 c.c. blower after having a 6.5 horse Honda for about 15 years. I miss the hydrostatic transmission that was on the Honda tremendously. The Husky seems to be a good machine utilizing friction disk drive. The price was right. I am impressed with the Chinese built LCT motor. It is smooth and powerful and exhibits high quality of assembly. Even though my break-in was not what I would have wanted.

It's first run was with the heavy, wet 10" slop we received in late October. It performed well. Although I did take it slow with the new engine. I have given it limited use this season due to the minimal snow we have had in the northeast. Important to drain the carb when using so minimally. Even stabilized gas does not weather well. I installed a new fuel line (neoprene) and installed an in-line fuel filter. The original fuel line already exhibited degradation (black milky particles in the float bowl).

The OEM skids on the blower bucket are made of somewhat soft steel. They drag and scar most asphalt surfaces. The Raftery design wheels seem to work quite well. You no longer have to fight with the machine to keep it from grabbing side to side and having to use the drive differential clutching more than necessary. I think they are the best invention I have seen in about 40 years of running 2 stage blowers. I think with the installation of low temp. grease used in snowmobile bearing application on the wheel axles the assemblies should work quite well for a long time.

This fall I purchased a new Husky 12527HV 27", 8.5 hp 291 c.c. blower after having a 6.5 horse Honda for about 15 years. I miss the hydrostatic transmission that was on the Honda tremendously. The Husky seems to be a good machine utilizing friction disk drive. The price was right. I am impressed with the Chinese built LCT motor. It is smooth and powerful and exhibits high quality of assembly. Even though my break-in was not what I would have wanted.

It's first run was with the heavy, wet 10" slop we received in late October. It performed well. Although I did ... more

The roller skids do not provide adequate ground clearance over other than paved surfaces. I get about 1/2 inch - same as the skids I replaced after doing about $500 worth of glass damage to my wife's car with crushed stone from my driveway. They could have easily added another inch of clearance. I'm disappointed.


SBD RESPONDS: Skids are not designed to give additional ground clearance, they are designed to prevent wear and tear on the snowblower auger and housing. In the case of roller skids, they are designed to improve maneuverability and protect against scraping pavement, concrete or pavers. If you use the Roller Skid Universal Adapter Brackets you can adjust the Roller-Skids downward. Problem solved!! For whatever reason, Ariens located their mounting holes on the Sno-Tek Series 2” above the bottom edge of the auger box. Because of this the Roller-Skids just barely touch the ground.

The roller skids do not provide adequate ground clearance over other than paved surfaces. I get about 1/2 inch - same as the skids I replaced after doing about $500 worth of glass damage to my wife's car with crushed stone from my driveway. They could have easily added another inch of clearance. I'm disappointed.


SBD RESPONDS: Skids are not designed to give additional ground clearance, they are designed to prevent wear and tear on the snowblower auger and housing. In the case of roller skids, they are designed to improve maneuverability and protect against scraping p... more

Colorado foothills got hammered last night I was excited to try out my new roller skids I’d just gotten. 10” of snow, the bottom inch was pretty sloppy due to warm asphalt driveway, as preventive measures with this type of snow, I hose the chute down with cooking spray or WD-40 to keep from sticking so much. Didn’t think to spray the skids, after five minutes the wheels on the skids were frozen solid, I cleaned them off and used WD to coat them. They lasted about 10 minutes, then frozen again. Pulled them off and put the old junky metal skids back on to finish. Will try the heavy duty poly one I saw instead. These are being shipped back to SnowBlowers Direct.

Colorado foothills got hammered last night I was excited to try out my new roller skids I’d just gotten. 10” of snow, the bottom inch was pretty sloppy due to warm asphalt driveway, as preventive measures with this type of snow, I hose the chute down with cooking spray or WD-40 to keep from sticking so much. Didn’t think to spray the skids, after five minutes the wheels on the skids were frozen solid, I cleaned them off and used WD to coat them. They lasted about 10 minutes, then frozen again. Pulled them off and put the old junky metal skids back on to finish. Will try the heavy duty pol... more

I have a Ariens snow blower that I use to clear snow from my driveway. The snow blower work very well and I am very pleased with it. Here in western North Carolina we do not get a lot of snow, but the last 2 years has been very harsh with a lot of deep snow, 8 to 20 inches at a time.

My drive way is macadam which is very abrasive, and about 640 ft. long. The original skids on the snow blower only lasted for 3 clearings of the driveway before wearing out. So I purchased the roller skids and found that they work very well on the snow blower. The snow blower now moves along without pulling, and seems to work with less effort.

The skids are also holding up well. There is almost no wear on the wheels. The only problem has been that the skids pick up fine rock particles and jam the wheels so that they do not turn. When that happens I clean out the skids with a small screw driver and all works well again. I do need to find out if I can get new wheels for the skid, because they will eventually wear out on this type of driveway surface.

I have a Ariens snow blower that I use to clear snow from my driveway. The snow blower work very well and I am very pleased with it. Here in western North Carolina we do not get a lot of snow, but the last 2 years has been very harsh with a lot of deep snow, 8 to 20 inches at a time.

My drive way is macadam which is very abrasive, and about 640 ft. long. The original skids on the snow blower only lasted for 3 clearings of the driveway before wearing out. So I purchased the roller skids and found that they work very well on the snow blower. The snow blower now moves along withou... more

I ordered a pair in November when I purchased my new Ariens snowblower and was quite satisfied with them the first three times I cleaned snow. They rolled easy and made maneuvering the fairly heavy Ariens much less of a struggle.

However the last two times I cleaned snow I noticed that the snowblower was pulling to the left severely. I thought there was something wrong with the traction wheels and was getting ready to complain to Ariens about the problem I was experiencing.

By chance I happened to check the roller skids and found that the wheel on the left side was worn completely flat! This explained why the snowblower was pulling to the left since the wheel on the right side was still round. Possible causes for the left wheel seizure are snowice freezing the wheel solid in the skid or gravel picked up off the road at the end of the driveway. I am leaning toward the latter since the pea size and smaller stone is quite capable of lodging in the opening around the wheel and jamming it tight. Unfortunately by the time I noticed the problem it was too late, a wheel flat on one side will refuse to turn.

Maybe these skids should ship with replacement wheels since they are simple to remove, just pull the cotter pin out. I won't be re-ordering this product and will buy some poly skids instead. My recommendation, if you own or plan to buy these skids, is to always check that they roll unencumbered before and after each use.

I ordered a pair in November when I purchased my new Ariens snowblower and was quite satisfied with them the first three times I cleaned snow. They rolled easy and made maneuvering the fairly heavy Ariens much less of a struggle.

However the last two times I cleaned snow I noticed that the snowblower was pulling to the left severely. I thought there was something wrong with the traction wheels and was getting ready to complain to Ariens about the problem I was experiencing.

By chance I happened to check the roller skids and found that the wheel on the left side ... more

This year I purchased a brand new Ariens Deluxe Platinum 30 snowblower and couldn't wait for snow to try it out. I knew here in Michigan I wouldn't have to wait long and I wasn't disappointed. First time using this snowblower I fell in love, what a great unit. Unstoppable power, great features, built like a tank and easy starting and man will it throw the snow! I have used other expensive brand name blowers from Yamaha and Honda and this beats them both. My only complaint with my new Ariens was how it would grab and pull when the steel skid shoes hit pavement. But that problem was solved when I came across the Roller Skid shoes here, watched the video and was sold! I ordered them Friday January 07th and received them the next day January 08th. Just installed them and tested them out and they work as advertised, simple to install and they work, no more grabbing and pulling. Great product, great customer service from SBD and super fast shipping! I most certainly recommend this product and Snow Blowers direct!

This year I purchased a brand new Ariens Deluxe Platinum 30 snowblower and couldn't wait for snow to try it out. I knew here in Michigan I wouldn't have to wait long and I wasn't disappointed. First time using this snowblower I fell in love, what a great unit. Unstoppable power, great features, built like a tank and easy starting and man will it throw the snow! I have used other expensive brand name blowers from Yamaha and Honda and this beats them both. My only complaint with my new Ariens was how it would grab and pull when the steel skid shoes hit pavement. But that problem was solved when ... more

The innovative, new Roller-Skid snow blower skid shoe was originally developed simply to make snow blowing easier.

I found that the steel skids on my 2-stage snow thrower would constantly grab and pull my machine until I became exhausted trying to control it. I was also annoyed that the steel skids were scuffing up the concrete on both my driveway and the front walk.

After substituting a simple pair of wheels for the steel skids I found that they worked well, but that I missed the skids when I was in heavier snow and ice.

Another benefit of using the Roller-Skid was protecting stamped concrete surfaces. In recent years the popularity of these decorative surfaces has grown dramatically and the damage being caused by these steel skids is very expensive to repair.

The innovative, new Roller-Skid snow blower skid shoe was originally developed simply to make snow blowing easier.

I found that the steel skids on my 2-stage snow thrower would constantly grab and pull my machine until I became exhausted trying to control it. I was also annoyed that the steel skids were scuffing up the concrete on both my driveway and the front walk.

After substituting a simple pair of wheels for the steel skids I found that they worked well, but that I missed the skids when I was in heavier snow and ice.

Another benefit of u... more