Built-From-Scratch Tracked Snowblower

2015 - Volume #39, Issue #6, Page #43

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“After spending several winters getting stuck in my driveway, I decided to build a machine that could cut through deep snow and blow it away,” says Greg Braun, Rosholt, S.D.
    His “Sno Cub” rides on a pair of 7 1/2-in. wide, 121-in. long tracks made by cutting an old Polaris snowmobile track lengthwise in half. A pair of trailer wheels support each track and are just wide enough to fit the track’s lugs. A 40-in. wide snowblower mounts on the front of the machine and is driven by the gearbox off an old pull-type fertilizer spreader.
    “I didn’t want a lot of belts that could fail,” explains Braun.
    The machine is powered by a Briggs & Stratton 21-hp. engine connected to a pair of belt-driven transmissions off a zero-turn riding mower. The transmissions control the rear drive wheels for each track.
    The battery is located under the machine’s hood, and there’s a 3-gal. fuel tank under the seat.
    “It works a lot like the old Caterpillar dozers made years ago and was fun to build. I’ve used it for 2 years with no problems,” says Braun. “I built the entire frame from scratch, and my nephew designed the graphics for the body. It steers a lot better than I thought it would. I push both levers to go forward and pull them back to go backward. To turn, I pull one lever backward and the other one forward.
    “I welded two bars onto each rear wheel rim so they grab the track’s lugs like a snowmobile does without slipping. However, I don’t use this machine to move dirt so there’s not a lot of pull on the wheels, and the tightness of the wheels on the track is enough to keep them from slipping.
    “I painted it Cub Cadet colors because I’ve always been a Cub Cadet fan. I had tried using a Cub Cadet equipped with a snowblower on the front and chains on the wheels, but I still couldn’t seem to clear my two driveways without getting stuck. When I built the Sno Cub, I made new brackets to adapt the snowblower to it.”
    “The rig’s steering system is off the zero-turn riding mower and uses two levers connected by metal rods to the transmissions. Each lever is equipped with an electronic switch - one to lift the snowblower and the other to turn the spout. The levers are fitted with hand warmers. I bought the seat at Northern Tool and the wheels and exhaust at Fleet Farm. The rest was for the wheels, steel, and electric lift mechanism.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Greg Braun, 115 E. Second St., Rosholt, S.D. 57260 (ph 701-866-0188).

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Built-From-Scratch Tracked Snowblower SNOWBLOWERS “After spending several winters getting stuck in my driveway I decided to build a machine that could cut through deep snow and blow it away ” says Greg Braun Rosholt S Dak His “Sno Cub” rides on a pair of 7 1/2-in wide 121-in long tracks made by cutting an old Polaris snowmobile track lengthwise in half A pair of trailer wheels support each track and are just wide enough to fit the track’s lugs A 40-in wide snowblower mounts on front of the machine and is driven by the gearbox off an old pull-type fertilizer spreader “I didn’t want a lot of belts that could fail ” explains Braun The machine is powered by a Briggs & Stratton 21 hp engine connected to a pair of belt-driven transmissions off a zero-turn riding mower The transmissions control the rear drive wheels for each track The battery is located under the machine’s hood and there’s a 3-gal fuel tank under the seat “It works a lot like the old Caterpillar dozers made years ago and was fun to build I’ve used it for 2 years with no problems ” says Braun “I built the entire frame from scratch and my nephew designed the graphics for the body It steers a lot better than I thought it would I push both levers to go forward and pull them back to go backward To turn I pull one lever backward and other one forward “I welded 2 bars onto each rear wheel rim so they grab the track’s lugs like a snowmobile does without slipping However I don’t use this machine to move dirt so there’s not a lot of pull on the wheels and the tightness of the wheels on the track is enough to keep them from slipping “I painted it Cub Cadet colors because I’ve always been a Cub Cadet fan I had tried using a Cub Cadet equipped with a snowblower on front and chains on the wheels but I still couldn’t seem to clear my two driveways without getting stuck When I built the Sno Cub I made new brackets to adapt the snowblower to it ” “The rig’s steering system is off the zero- turn riding mower and uses 2 levers fitted connected by metal rods to the transmissions Each lever is equipped with an electronic switch - one to lift the snowblower and the other to turn the spout The levers are fitted with hand warmers I bought the seat at Northern Tool and the wheels and exhaust at Fleet Farm The rest was for the wheels steel and electric lift mechanism ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Greg Braun 115 E Second St Rosholt S Dak 57260 ph 701 866-0188

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