mtd and vub are the same co.... They might make em for deere too.

 

Airens are the thing in my neck of the woods

Just be careful if the book sez yours works like this:

 

I"ve got a ten horse Ariens that's somewhere between 20 and 30 years old. It runs as good as the day my brother originally bought it. All I've ever done is change the oil every year and I've put one new spark plug in it. I don't thing my brother ever did either...lol... but I could and probably will be proven wrong on that, when I ask him.

In my experience, I'd look at having a model with the chute angle adjustment on the control handles. Mine has a hand crank that changes the discharge direction and it could be a tad tighter... I'll work on that and see about a fix.

I currently am making a little riding cart to hitch to my blower, since being on my feet for very long causes me unbearable pain. I love to be out blowing snow, when we get enough to make it worthwhile. Took my first test drive of it today and discovered all the "flaws" in my design. Tomorrow I fix and improve the flaws. (Improved flaws?hmmm)

In any case... if you are young and strong, you'll learn how to drag the rear end around on most blowers, real quick. I never knew there were ones with individual brakes, but that would definitely be a plus.

My suggestion is Ariens and for sure, an electric start. I put a starter on mine two years ago and it was one of the best investments I ever made... even though the danged thing was pretty spendy.

 

Here is one thing that I haven't read, yet. (Maybe I missed it!)


Stand behind the snowblower and get a 'feel' for it, before you buy.
With that said. . . I'm 6'-06" and I have a bad back. My dear old Dad gave me a Sears snowblower to use after I injured my back.
The handles on this snowblower are LOW to the ground, for me.
My back hurts worse after using this thing, than you can imagine!!

Moving on. . . .
This Sears snowblower was built in 1979. It was made by MTD. It also has a Tecumseh engine on it.
I have NEVER been a fan of Tecumseh. However. . . this engine has been terrific, with one exception.
From day one, the carb has been a POS. No matter what you do. . . run the gas completely out. . . use Stabil. . . whatever. . .the carb has to be cleaned and 'rebuilt' every year. This carb is just a POS.

This year, I bought a Sears snowblower and it has a Briggs & Stratton engine on it. (I don't have the model # handy, sorry.)
The handles are high enough, so that I can use it comfortably.

Also, fortunately for me, we've had temps in the 50° to near 70° range this winter. . . sofar!!!

Thanks for reading.

 

Bolens made a snowmobile at one time by removing the snowblowing section of a snowblower and then attaching a sled for the riders to sit on.

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Canyon/9150/sledsi.htm

 

Cub Cadet is MTD. You'll pay more for it to be painted CC yellow.
We used to say MTD stood for "Made to Die", but I have seen a steady increase in quality as they have bought up so many of the other brands.
They ain't no John Deere (sorry I don't know off the top of my head who mfrs. JD blowers, but I know it isn't JD) but I believe an MTD will do a good job for you for the price.

 

Here's the link to MTD.
http://www.mtdproducts.com/corporate/index.jsp

They make (listed on site):

Cub Cadet
Cub Cadet - Commercial
Troy-Bilt
Yard-Man
Yard Machines
White Outdoor products
Garden Way
Bolens
McCulloch

And most Sears branded snowblowers (maybe all???) are MTD.

 

Here's my old snow blower and my invention that needs a few teeny tweeks to have her at 100%. After the minor tweeks, I paint it to match, plus make a vynal bag on the back of the seat to carry extra shear pins, tools and a thermos. Haven't quite figured out where the cup holder will be. Wife said I should have made it a recliner!







That's enough... now go out and get an Ariens. As for the guy with the bad back... that's why I made this contraption...so I can blow snow with much less pain.

And YES.. I upholstered the seat. And no wise cracks! I never said I was a pro and this is the first attempt at doing something like upholstering. Hey..no shortage on upholstery nails here!!!

 

Nice start.
I'd suggest you start here for ideas for your next "tweaks"
http://www.v8snowblowers.com/id6.html

 

No wisecracks here!!!!!!!
GREAT idea!!!!

As for a tweak, I have one question/suggestion. . .
Looks like copper pipe straps holding the axle on. Since the wheels have bearings and rotate on the bearings, drill the axle in 3 places and bolt axle to wooden cross-beam?
(Don't know what you weigh, but, with my butt sittin' on that, it would probably stress the clamps.)
Oh. . . . I'm 265 lbs. @ 6'-06".

And lastly. . Thanks for posting!!!!! That just might help my poor old aching back!!

Keith

 

Well, Gentleman,

I did it, I jumped in and bought a snowblower. I read about everything I could find and visited dealers, big box stores and after all that, I was totally confused. The bottom line to my research is there are only about 4 or 5 manufacturers of snowblowers and Ariens seemed to come out on top most of the time.

I was leaning towards the 7hp with the ohv, but then fate smiled upon me (or cursed me, not sure which yet). I had been at Home Depot looking at the Airens 2 days ago and they had a 926le with the 9.25 L head engine, but the chute didnt' seem to work right. Well, when I returned last night, that exact machine was sitting on the floor with a service tag on it. Hmmm, the ole wheels start to turn in my dusty head and I read it. It said: Broken Chute Cable replaced. Labor $5, parts, $23, all other systems tested & checked to manufactures specs. It was from a local authorized service center.

I start looking this thing over and there has never been any gas in the tank, the oil is still virgin, you can read the hashmarks through the dipstick and there is not a mark on the machine anywhere other than greasepencil marks next to the zerks where it had just been greased. It was the same machine that was on the floor 2 days ago (even had a small mark in the same place)

I called a manager over and asked him what the deal was. He said that the machine had come in with a broken chute cable and by HD's policy, they must send it to the authorized service center and then resell it at "return or reconditioned" at a discounted price. They are not allowed to sell it as new anymore nor can the order the replacement part themselves.

I went over the machine with a fine toothed comb--even opened the instruction manual and verified the assembly in the store. Now, here's the best part.

7hp Ariens OHV, 24" cut, $799
9.25 Ariens, L head 26" cut, $999

My price

$800-10% discount coupon, 12 mos, no interest, no payments.--$720

Bottom line---out the door for $767 with tax. Less than the smaller machine!

Probably didn't need the bigger one, but hey, horsepower is like testosterone--too much is never enough. The only down side is it doesn't have the ohv, but the L head snow king has been around for ever, so I figured for the price, why not.

How did I do?

 

Me thinks ya done good!!

And thanks for the compliment above, on my butt trolley..that's what I decided to name it. Now for fancy lettering and a cute little butt painted on it. ( Nah!! )

If I were you if you build one, I'd go with a welded metal frame and a steel hitch design. I spent a ton of time trying to cheaply assemble this one and it didn't turn out as cheap as I'd planned. As for the straps holding... I think they'll be fine for my 190 pound frame. If not, I'd already planned on flattening three spots and drilling it for additional support. So far though, I've bounced on it quite strongly and it barely flexes the straps. I wanted to get steal straps, but couldn't find any that fit right, like the copper ones did. If I make another one, I'd use a 4x4 for the center length, just for strength and being able to drill or add screws when and where needed.

Today, I found some cool solid steal triangle braces to add to the hitch plus got her painted. Now, if it'll dry in this cold weather, it'll be a miracle...or a month. Hope it don't snow too much for a few days. Ought to dry by then, cold or no. Soon's it's dry and I have all the finishing touches on her, I'll post another image here. And hmmm... gotta wait until summer to make the yellow wheels turn white. Maybe... Anyway...it's been fun and I'm glad you liked the idea. My back is horrible and getting worse all the time. This should allow me to blow the whole property area in one sitting...so to speak.