Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing what snow plowing costs?

[thatguy]

$1 a minute sounds like a good starting point at least.. I do about 6 neighbors for free, BUT i would guess that a small driveway would cost $50 to $75 and go up..

Brian

 

[wallace]

You know, one other thing with equipment is it has great resale. I keep everything I own in a pole barn. I mean everything, eve the trailer. I could get what I bought it all for or more if I sold it today.

Chris

I would need a pole barn as big as PA and then I couldn't afford the taxes!

 

[dave1949]

LMAO on the washing machine analogy Some of you guys are pros.

Around here, there is a small army of guys with pickups with snowplows. For a 20" storm, they would hit your drive 2-3 times. They just drive all night and however long it takes. On the last pass, they take time to clean up the edges and blind corners.

I think you would easily pay $125 - $150 for 20" snowfall on a 700' driveway in these parts. Depends if you have an easy plow or will there be lots of back dragging or dealing with obstacles. Some contract for the season, some pay by the snowfall. For sure, you will do a neater job yourself with less destruction and gravel to rake out in the Spring.

Funny thing about equipment prices, they don't go low just because you live in a poor area.
Dave.

 

[bp fick]

Went into town today at 45th Parallel (Gaylord) and stopped by the TSC. Manager quoted me $259 for a 5' back blade that is on their website for $319.

I have no idea why the discount, but I didn't blink. Loaded it into my utility trailer on the spot. Oh, and I had a $5 off coupon in my pocket too!

Just saying that a $254 back blade pays for itself in something like 2 or 3 uses on a long driveway at today's hiring rates. No brainer.

 

[varmint]

For the record, I do have a tractor (Kubota B8200 4WD, but gear drive, not so good for bucketing snow), with a 4' loader bucket and a nice 5' JD rear blade. I probably spent 10 or 12 hours moving snow to just get the lane clear, but it needed abour 9' of clear width for an oil delivery, and with 3'-4' packed snow banks on either side, I couldn't push it anywhere. That's when a neighbor with a big old J D farm tractor, and tire chains, and a humongous bucket, came to my rescue. He spent over an hour just widening the lane, which was about 6' or 7' wide at that point. I seriously looked into snowblowers, but that blade is real handy for modest snowfalls, and I wonder if a blower could get me down to bare gravel without a lot of ballistics. Still, a blower would have been the ticket for this last round of storms. I just ordered tire chains, so when and if this happens again (27" of wet snow, followed by 19" of wet snow) I will at least have traction. Other than immediate neighbors, I don't plan on doing any more snow clearing than I have to. Now, if I had a big Kubota, with a heated cab, I'd be game. I am attaching a photo taken by our house, just to show what I was dealing with. After the first snow.

 

[bp fick]

Seeing that you are from Maryland, you honestly don't face blizzards of this magnitude all that often. I feel for you all who got blitzed as badly as you did. Normally, your equipment would be just fine.

Don't think one can purchase equipment just for once a decade or once a century storm. At least, there's no way I could.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Now we know the rest of the story. You have a blade and a fel. You need the chains, no doubt and they don't cost much compared to a snowblower.

Consider how often your current equipment is going to be swamped by snow. That will help you decide. If it was going to happen every year, get a snowblower. If not, you might just watch for a good deal on a used one.

I got a 5' rear mounted in rough rusty condition but works ok for $500 last August. But I'm sure I wouldn't get that deal today in the middle of winter. Now that I have had a couple of good snowfall tests, I know my tractor can handle it, before next year, I'm going to sand blast it, paint it and do a few more improvements on it. My guess is you'll be ok with what you have and some help from the neighbor the rest of this year. Think about whether it is worth it and watch for a good deal in the next 8-9 months.

 

[MF RED in MT]

What snow plowing costs? - its priceless
Varmit, my wife asked the same thing and we did not have a tractor. I told her I thought they charged by the minute and that I thought it was about $20 per minute (we just moved into this house near a resort town). We get over 12 feet of annual snow and I am disabled. Long story short, we did not purchase a new truck last year, but got the tractor instead. We also discussed that with the backhoe, I could plant her trees and plants in the summer - priceless .
F.Y.I. working on a grapple for fuels reduction on the property - again priceless . Good luck.
KC

 

[varmint]

Seeing that you are from Maryland, you honestly don't face blizzards of this magnitude all that often. I feel for you all who got blitzed as badly as you did. Normally, your equipment would be just fine.

Don't think one can purchase equipment just for once a decade or once a century storm. At least, there's no way I could.

I wish I thought that way, but we had a blizzard with 29" in 2003 (which made me get the tractor in the first place, though I'd been thinking about one for the scores of wooden fence posts I had to install) and the chances are increasing I will live to see a lot more of them, thanks to climate change. At least the effects of that around here seem to be "enhanced" weather events, but not drought, which is harder to deal with. I am looking forward to getting those chains, since I still have some access areas to plow out.

 

[bp fick]

I wish I thought that way, but we had a blizzard with 29" in 2003 (which made me get the tractor in the first place, though I'd been thinking about one for the scores of wooden fence posts I had to install) and the chances are increasing I will live to see a lot more of them, thanks to climate change. At least the effects of that around here seem to be "enhanced" weather events, but not drought, which is harder to deal with. I am looking forward to getting those chains, since I still have some access areas to plow out.

If you chart your snows and find that you do indeed receive multiple storms of more than 8" every year, then yes, a blower or hydraulic front blade will make your life easier. Guys who live in true snow belts, who live with this every year, justify their purchase of good snow fighting equipment. In fact, snow removal is often the main reason for purchasing a tractor and puts the majority of hours on their machines. You will have to weigh this out for yourself. Here in Northern Michigan? It's flat out mandatory. We are in a historic, 120 inches a year area. Your area averages what? 30-40"? I surely cannot speak to whether you are experiencing just a bad year or climate change.