Visibility with cab

[Karl2]

Last night when I parked the tractor I thought I was done...it had stopped snowing and the plow passed while I was playing.....woke up to find another 4" to get rid of....
Got a neighbor down the road and he looked like Frosty the snowman on his open station because it was such a light fluffy snow.

Yup, woke up to the same sight. I was not amused lol. NOAA didn't get it right these last few days, was supposed to be "less than 1 inch" overnight. Caribou radar was down a few hours so couldn't see it coming. Looked at Quebec and Mont-Joli radars on the Environment Canada site (those radars reach far into Maine and overlap Caribou's) and saw the snow but figured it wouldn't reach us because it appeared to be circling Quebec City (I kid you not, it was circling for hours). But sure enough that cowardly snow waited until we went to bed and then jumped us.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Yup, woke up to the same sight. I was not amused lol. NOAA didn't get it right these last few days, was supposed to be "less than 1 inch" overnight. Caribou radar was down a few hours so couldn't see it coming. Looked at Quebec and Mont-Joli radars on the Environment Canada site (those radars reach far into Maine and overlap Caribou's) and saw the snow but figured it wouldn't reach us because it appeared to be circling Quebec City (I kid you not, it was circling for hours). But sure enough that cowardly snow waited until we went to bed and then jumped us.

Karl,
How many driveways do you do and what/how do you charge? I had one guy down the road who wanted me to plow last year and he drove me to the point of basically saying "go bleep yourself" my driveway is clean, I dont need your money, this is my TOY & Hobby and I was doing you a neighborly favor by doing it what I thought was a fair (cheap) rate....
Seems like Plowing here in Maine is such a touchy feely subject....my BIL gets screwed all the time into plowing for friends, family, etc.. last thing I do is get a Fisher for my truck....bad enough I got one on my tractor, LOL

 

[Karl2]

Karl,
How many driveways do you do and what/how do you charge?

I do commercial contracts so it's mostly parking lots and alleys, it's much easier to extract fair money from stores, hospitals, schools and other various institutions and commercial properties than from individual homeowners who seem to think that just because they "could" do it themselves then it's not worth much. What they forget is that there's no way they could do it themselves in 30 seconds and that's what you pay for: expeditious convenience. When they come out in the morning the job's all done.

I specialize in difficult areas where larger equipment won't fit, that's the reason I was glad to find a machine like the 4720 which is one of the most powerful tractors of that size available. I do just over 100,000 square feet, rate is between $0.50 and $1.05 per square foot per season depending on difficulty. If I have to cart snow away it's $150 or $250 extra per truckload depending if I load the truck myself (with the blower) or hire a loader for the job. Truck is a hired 10-wheeler and my share of the pie is $60 per truckload if I load it or $35 if a loader does the job. Naturally the latter is more profitable since it's basically a broker fee that involves no expense on my part except when the loader is operated by an idiot in which case I have to keep on blowing spills back on the snowbank being loaded, so I have to be present regardless. But there are areas where a loader can't operate, that's when I load myself. If the snow is laid out right it takes 15-20 minutes to load a truck and that's a lot of snow.

That said I still do a few driveways for some folks who don't mind paying the going rate. A typical 20' x 60' driveway brings in about $600. Kid with walk-behind snowblower charges the same so people who hire me know what it's worth. One thing about residential contracts: you need zero-deductible insurance otherwise if you break something you may end up working for free. Something I make clear on the contract: I'm not liable for damage to any obstacle hidden under snow that's not specifically mentioned in the contract. One customer once tried to make me pay for a fancy mountain bike his kid had left lying in the middle of the driveway during a snowstorm that I subsequently wrecked with the blower. I told him I'd pay for the bike if he paid for damage to my blower and that was the end of it. He didn't know that my "damage" amounted to a 20-cent shear bolt but the bike was his fault anyway. Most other customers are much nicer and more careful.

It's not bad money but the hours are horrible and unpredictable, almost always night work. You have to really enjoy seat time and endless maneuvering to like this work. I do

 

[Spudland_Dave]

It's not bad money but the hours are horrible and unpredictable, almost always night work. You have to really enjoy seat time and endless maneuvering to like this work. I do

Thanks Karl for the info...
The driveway in question was a fairly small driveway...essentially the typical 20x60 straight shot off the road. 2 driveways down from mine so road time wasnt an issue, and I LOVE the seat time (who doesnt in the JD Cab listening to the radio, etc)...charged him 30 bucks a shot which was cheaper then most "guys with a truck" setups down here....He was well aware I had a full time job and was MORE then ok with mee plowing in the AM and when I get back from work..what pissed me off was his constant moaning about frequency....towards the end of last year we'd get 6" and he moaned about it saying I shouldnt have plowed cause it was gonna melt soon. This year, he let the first 3 storms pile up which were back to back so I had 25" of snow to blow in a single pass...which is when I said I'm done, either I do it like a professional outfit or I stay home. I dont want my name associated with half "butted" plowing.

 

[Karl2]

Thanks Karl for the info...
The driveway in question was a fairly small driveway...essentially the typical 20x60 straight shot off the road. 2 driveways down from mine so road time wasnt an issue, and I LOVE the seat time (who doesnt in the JD Cab listening to the radio, etc)...

Indeed and the worst the storm swirling around the cab the better I enjoy it. In a commercial operation you can't always wait until it stops snowing but that's fine with me.

charged him 30 bucks a shot which was cheaper then most "guys with a truck" setups down here...

That's a bargain. And sometimes "guys with trucks" pile up snow in front of the garage for the customer to shovel, there's only so much one can do with a pusher blade on a pickup truck. I know, I have one that I use for "quickies" involving fluffy snow but 6 inches of heavy snow makes the truck useless.

He was well aware I had a full time job and was MORE then ok with mee plowing in the AM and when I get back from work

I'm lucky enough to be able to work from my home office 4 days a week, which allows for having two jobs in winter. I intend to retire from my "real" job at 50 (I'm 45) and live off the snow removal business with a second larger tractor (probably a 7030 although I'm trying to convince myself I could use a NH TV145) and a couple of like-minded buddies who don't mind working nights, a sort of loose co-op arrangement. A lot of the older operators who used logging machinery have retired over the last few years due to fuel costs and this created demand to tap into. You can't just use a huge loader for medium-scale snow removal like in the good ol' days anymore, it requires more fuel-efficient tractors using implements designed for the purpose and easier to self-maintain. You'd be surprised at the array of snow removal implements that are available nowadays. The hydraulic-extensible reversible snow bucket is amazingly efficient.

what pissed me off was his constant moaning about frequency....towards the end of last year we'd get 6" and he moaned about it saying I shouldnt have plowed cause it was gonna melt soon. This year, he let the first 3 storms pile up which were back to back so I had 25" of snow to blow in a single pass...which is when I said I'm done, either I do it like a professional outfit or I stay home.

Good call. Such a situation is one reason why I don't get involved in piecemeal residential work, too much fuss. With a season contract the customer knows exactly how much snow is required to fall for me to show up and is assured that I will be there when required at no extra cost. Peace of mind for everyone and the bank likes contracts when I apply for machinery loans. They like it so much they offer loans I don't need... yet.

I dont want my name associated with half "butted" plowing.

Right, not worth loosing your name over a cranky customer. That's why I investigate when someone calls me in late fall for a contract saying they can't find anyone. If no one wants their business I want to know the real reason. Just got back into the business after 20 years and what a surprise, many of the same people are still causing problems. Now I know for certain some people actually get off on whining.

 

[JasonMac]

I can see the bottom of the bucket... enough to know what the bucket is doing... I also marked my bucket indicator rod too.... I Painted an orange band around the indicator rod... so when the bucket is at full height, I know the bucket isn't rolled back towards the cab more than it should be...

How I did it was raised the bucket to full height..... and positioned the Rollback of the bucket, so the side cutters are parallel to the ground... that way I should never have an accidental over roll of the bucket and drop something on the cab or the hood....

so basically I made my rod have two indicators... the bend in the rod is for flat level.... and the paint on the rod is for maximum height carry position of the bucket... pretty simple and easy...

 

[Karl2]

so basically I made my rod have two indicators... the bend in the rod is for flat level.... and the paint on the rod is for maximum height carry position of the bucket... pretty simple and easy...

Pretty good idea!

 

[Nuru]

I had some fun plowing our neighborhood's private drive this week and two of the driveways. Got a chance to compare ice melt and salt, Ice melt won without any issue.

 

[AKfish]

I had some fun plowing our neighborhood's private drive this week and two of the driveways. Got a chance to compare ice melt and salt, Ice melt won without any issue.

Got about ~7 inches the past couple of days.. it's now minus 20F! (Does ice melt work @ -20F?)

AKfish

 

[cbturf]

(Does ice melt work @ -20F?)

AKfish[/QUOTE]

Doesn't matter cause I don't work at that temp!