plowing snow

cojax · #1 09/06/12, 08:13 PM

can you make a living plowing snow in the northern states....the reason i ask is here in tn i know guys that have lawn businesses and they make a lot of money working 12-14 hour days when the grass is green and growing....then usually dont hit a lick over winter.....other than hunting....

just curious any info would be appreciated....thanks cojax

painterswife · #2 09/06/12, 08:21 PM

Snow is how the company I work for pays the bills in the winter.

ai731 · #3 09/06/12, 08:28 PM

In the north, usually a person/company that mows lawns (or does landscaping-type work) in the summer, ploughs snow in the winter. People contrct to have their driveways ploughed for the season, exactly the same way they contract to have their lawns mowed.

Helena · #4 09/06/12, 08:30 PM

I guess it would depend on the weather in a way. Usually they contract from people for a $$ amount no matter if it snows 20 inches or 20 feet that year. That way I guess they get their money no matter what kind of winter is it.

FlowrsETC · #5 09/06/12, 08:38 PM

It all depends on how much snow falls. Some years are better than other years. Here in Western Ma, last year we only had 2 storms that we needed the snowblower and the Eastern end was hit haed thruout the winter. This was very unusual. The year before they were busy shoveling snow off roofs, at $600-800 a roof.

**Ross** · #6 09/06/12, 08:42 PM

Snow contracts charge for a maximum number of clearings with extras for more than that if needed. It will vary. Not sure you'd make a living working by yourself but extra cash sure.

painterswife · #7 09/06/12, 08:59 PM

Snow contracts are of two varieties. Per push or per season. Lots of snow and you hope you have a per push contract. Little snow and the per season pays off.

If it is not fair to both parties you will not have the contract the next year.

treasureacres · #8 09/06/12, 09:02 PM

Are you wanting to do commercial properties or mostly just private driveways? There can be big money in commercial, and good extra money doing private. In Iowa last year our company only had four billable snow events...not good. After paying for very expensive insurance and expensive equipment, and paying employees to be "on call", we lost money. The previous two years...awesome $$$.

dabprod · #9 09/06/12, 09:15 PM

Supplement your income would be more like it. I live in up-state NY, on a lake in a private community. Built up a snow plowing route over 18 years and never left the lake. Pricers were $25 - $ 40 per driveway depending on how long, steep, narrow the driveway was. Billed the customers at the end of the season, made a nice accounts receivable to look forward to. The truck was my every day driver and lasted all those years, finally rusted out and sold the route and junked the truck. Plow now on a very limited basis, my house, my kids across the lake, our lake office and a few of my wifes real estate listings so they can be shown in the winter. Move here, my original route is available, guy is moving to NC, wife just sold his house.

siberian · #10 09/06/12, 09:30 PM

Depends. Around here , work has been somewhat tight. Lots of people doing it. Do you all ready have the truck and plow or do you have to buy? Do you have a decent amount of connections?

rambler · #11 09/07/12, 12:13 AM

As mentioned, lawn & landscaping outfits plow in winter to use the equipment and manpower, and make their winter incomes. You need to be on call and get going at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning to keep your contracts the following year, folks need to get to work at 6:00 in the morning, you need to be plowing before the highway trucks are out there, so it can be a joy.

--->Paul

davel745 · #12 09/07/12, 01:14 AM

Plowing snow is very hard on equipment, as you don't know what is under the snow. The concrete stops for cars are about the worst.

cojax · #13 09/07/12, 12:50 PM

thanks for the replies.....if you were to do the plowing thing what truck would be the best........

painterswife · #14 09/07/12, 02:04 PM

Any truck with the power and 4 wheel drive will do as long as it is reliable. The right plow for the conditions is what is most important. More often than not a snow blower is the right tool for the job.

City or country. Long drives or short? How much snow? You have to know what you are going to plow before you choose the right tool.

ai731 · #15 09/07/12, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by painterswife

Any truck with the power and 4 wheel drive will do as long as it is reliable. The right plow for the conditions is what is most important. More often than not a snow blower is the right tool for the job.

City or country. Long drives or short? How much snow? You have to know what you are going to plow before you choose the right tool.

Exactly.

Around here people ofen use snowblower attachment on a tractor, especially if they have a long drive. Plows are really only good for short driveways, or places with lots of open space, like parking lots, because you need somewhere to put the snow you've ploughed...

Callieslamb · #16 09/07/12, 06:10 PM

Most of the plowing here is done by a company that has several drivers. It would be hard to earn enough to live on (especially last year) just due to the equipment you'd need to have on hand. If you don't have a blower, you need a dump truck and the ability to load it in it. I don't know that I've seen a commercial blower in town here - just people blowing their own drives.

**Ross** · #17 09/07/12, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cojax

thanks for the replies.....if you were to do the plowing thing what truck would be the best........

John Deere 6230 MFWD and a loader.

TheMartianChick · #18 09/07/12, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabprod

Supplement your income would be more like it. I live in up-state NY, on a lake in a private community. Built up a snow plowing route over 18 years and never left the lake. Pricers were $25 - $ 40 per driveway depending on how long, steep, narrow the driveway was. Billed the customers at the end of the season, made a nice accounts receivable to look forward to. The truck was my every day driver and lasted all those years, finally rusted out and sold the route and junked the truck. Plow now on a very limited basis, my house, my kids across the lake, our lake office and a few of my wifes real estate listings so they can be shown in the winter. Move here, my original route is available, guy is moving to NC, wife just sold his house.

Hi, Dabprod! I'm in Central NY, so your prices are familiar to me. Last year, no one made any money from snowplowing here. I think I might have shoveled once, but I don't remember it too clearly. I expect us to get slammed this year, so those that do plow should be busy.

I have three clients that have snowplowing businesses. One does landscaping during the warm weather, another does property maintenance for landlords year-round and the third only plows in the winter as a sideline. During a big storm, there is a lot of money to be made per push, but it helps to have a partner so you can keep going around the clock.

**clovis** · #19 09/07/12, 09:38 PM

I am told, that around these parts, the commercial end of snow removal has gotten very, very competitive when we have snow.

I hear that driveways are the money maker for the person that wants to work that hard. This is for my little area of the world where a local business has been very aggressive selling snow plows.

FWIW, I had two young teens stop by my house and wanted to had shovel my walk and steps. It takes me about 5 minutes to do the steps, and about 15 minutes to do the front walk. I have to admit I have a soft spot for kids willing to knock on doors looking for lawn/snow work since I used to do the same thing when I was a kid...but I about fell over when they told me they wanted $40 for that work.

**highlands** · #20 09/08/12, 07:42 AM

I use a tractor for plowing with a bucket. Don't use your favorite truck as plowing is very hard on trucks. Some insurance companies jack up the rates if they know you have a plow on the truck. If they don't know and you have a claim and they find out then they cancel without paying.