skid steer or tractor

[Diamondpilot]

If I were doing parking lots I would just put a plow on a truck. Better speed, comfort, warmth, ect. Use the small stuff like a CUT on the drives.

Chris

 

[LoneCowboy]

If you are going to trailer it around, you should put a plow on your truck.
commercial snow removal is all about speed, how fast can you do the most properties. and trailering means they are too far to drive a tractor/skid steer from property to property.
5 minutes on either side to load it up and take it down, that simply won't pay.

a skid/tractor is MUCH more expensive to run than a truck. Figure $30/hour operating costs for a skid/compact tractor. A truck is about $7-$10 an hour

If you have like 3 decent sized commercial properties, than it might be worth doing the trailer thing, but otherwise, no.

Most people use skid/tractors/construction equipment on properties because they are either suited for that purpose (great big lots with great big pushers) or they already own the equipment.

Unless you have a really tight route (under 3 or 4 miles) with a lot of places on it, a truck is way faster than a skid/tractor. (in that tight route though, a skid/tractor will rule)

 

[PHS79]

I have to agree, if you are going to be trailering from job to job you are much better off having a plow on the truck also. Not only would that give you more versatility for your jobs, but there are alot of times that a plow truck is much faster than either a skid or tractor.

One other thing to think of, do you have year round work for the tractor/skid? Or is it just going to be used mainly for snow removal?

Honestly unless you are going to be putting 300-400 or so hours on the tractor/skid every year they aren't making you any money. That is if you figuring paying roughly $20K for a used cabbed skid steer or cabbed tractor, if you are looking at new equipment the prices go up alot, our S250 was $42K. At 300 hrs for a used machine, by the time you figure in your payment for the equipment (and trailer if you have to buy one), insurance, fuel, operaters hourly wage, ect, you are only going to break even.