Why the horrible noice in the beginning of the video. That puts people off. I almost zapped away and then it stopped. But great idea to use those tracks.
Like most paddle blowers. Looks like it struggles a bit at the end of driveway, but for the most part these do a pretty good job. And u can't beat free
I have 2 LT1000's. One is shiny, waxed and bone stock for mowing grass, named "Abel". The other ("Cain") has no deck, a dozer blade from my old water heater, 22" ATV tires filled with water and alcohol, and 75lbs of barbell weights bolted to the back plate. 18-1/2 hp Briggs and he does well; I push mountains of leaves, gravel, dirt or mulch. Spins occasionally and I'd love to halfback it, but not so much that I'd spend the time, because the rough old cod does well enough.
when you slide the large-diameter pipe spacer, lubricate it on the inside with cheap lube. it will keep moisture away and will not allow the pipe and the axle to corrode.
the trailer ball allows too much movement. up-down, twist, left-right. I would add 2 more diagonal connections on hinges, that will not allow left0right. The tracks may fall out of the rear wheels under extreme turn.
For those of you that are considering this go for it! I have one almost identical build, but after I drilled a hole towards the rear axle on the square tubing and mounted a 100lb weight from my basement it makes a world of difference along with the wheel weights. If we get a lot of really wet heavy snow I'll even throw another 50lb weight on top of the 100 and it has no problems.
going to do this with my 70's case lawn tractor, using a rear axle from an old yard machines riding mower, and using old car tires with cleats riveted to the outside for tracks. wish me luck! going to record it and put it on my channel. very well done, good video.
I like the simple design. Imma try a similar design for a Subaru gl sitting in my buddy's yard. The fronts are gonna be a little tricky buti think I got something in mind
Boy that thing can really push snow!-- thanks for taking the time to show this. I like the idea of a half track for a garden tractor. They even market them in Europe (Hensutracks for example but i have never seen one up close). But a lawn mower like this, used regularly like this (plowing significant amounts of snow each year for example), simply will not hold together for long. After a few years the frame will start to bend or the front end will collapse or the drive-train will have issues. A lawn tractor like the Craftsman being used is built mainly for lawn mowing and light towing (about 300 pounds or less weight) and the units themselves typically weigh about 500 lbs or less. Even if they make a snow plow for the machine it doesn't have the beef necessary for the machine to hold up if the driveway being plowed is more than about 25 feet long with an annual snowfall of more than 25 inches per year and you are careful not to strike any immovable object under the snow (like a sturdy tree stump near the driveway not seen under the snow). The frames, the drive-trains, the axles, the axle housings, the front end (usually no bearings just bushings, weak front axle, narrow spindles, weak steering links, etc) just aren't designed for heavy duty work like plowing significant amounts of snow each year, tilling soil, pulling heavy weights, etc. If you are very careful with the machine it might last 20 years mowing an acre and a half but only with a lot of attention placed on servicing the machine including the front end bushings, not abusing it in any way, not using it for ground engaging activities, never hitting a solid tree stump by accident with the mowing deck, etc. These are not real garden tractors which can do ground engaging activities successfully so your half tracks are terrific if applied to a real garden tractor (of which there are not too many brands around these days, like their used to be back in the late 60s and 1970s. After the early 80s year-by-year they simply faded away as more and more people bought inexpensive and perfectly fine lawn mowing "tractors" which look like a tractor (for the coolness factor) but simply cannot do heavy work but which cost a lot less $$.) It would be great to see you apply this to a 1970s Cub Cadet, Bolens, Case, Gravely, etc, garden tractor.
Advice: next time drill 1/8" hole, than 1/4", and then final 1/2" or larger. Faster and easier. The oil is good idea! Use a blade with less teeth next time also. The wood cutting blade that cut nails are the best.
I was using my lawnmower to plow myself out of the driveway and pushed snow across the street. neighbor called the cops and i was let go with a warning and if i did it again i would get a 250$ fine… so i wouldnt plow across the street going from MY experiences and note not all cops are nice like the girl i got.
OK whats up with the head gear? (the helmet) your moving at .05 mph, why the helmet? hell at least use a balaclava to keep your head, neck, and face warm!!!
I used to do Cub Loboy Conversions. You could make them full track so long as you explained to the owners not to try to lock the differential and to lightly skid steer so as to save the brakes. One of the companies that had the NOS brakes in stock got to realizing why I was going through so many and they cut me off. I went out and bought as many rear ends as I could just to build them. I think in total we did 12. A popular engine was IH imported Mitsubishi small diesels like in Toro's so if the gas engine was blown up we went to diesel. People got to restoring Cub's and they dried up for conversions. It is quite wonderful to see people not only come up with good ideas but also follow through. Bravo.
If you make a pulled tarp w/motor, you can bulldoze snow high onto it, flip on the motor, and move all the snow to a singular pile on the side. I've seen winched pull tarps for the back of trucks, really cheap.
looking good 👍.... Here is a little trick to keep in mind,,,,, de-flate your tires , make your adjustments to your tracks and then re-inflate tires back up to get a little more tension on tracks..
