Snow plow set up, which way?

[Septemberwheat]

Guys, I’m in the market for some snow removal equipment. I live in snow country and will use this equipment for myself & possibly use to make a few bucks on the side. I’m not sure where to focus my research, so I ask for any guidance. I own a 1996 f-350 regular cab diesel (150k miles on it) it runs well and I use it as a ranch truck and daily. I own a 2014 Honda 4x4 420 rancher ATV (runs well), and I have a 2002 JD 5420 4x4 (81hp, 65hp @ PTO). Cost is always considered and while I can afford more IF there is a potential income stream involved. Any thoughts on what you would do if you had this equipment set up are appreciated. Also, thoughts on making a few bucks on the side as a snow plowman are also appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

 

[George2615]

I have lived in snow country my entire life and plowed snow for the past 50 plus years. Most of those years I only plowed my own driveway with a truck plow. I plowed with a friend who had many contracts as a sub contractor. He always paid me on time per job. I moved and decided to start my own plowing business for about 10 years. I finally gave that up due to after a while businesses and or people would just stop paying me for plowing with no reasons given, failed to reply to phone calls or letters and the cost to take them to small claims court wasn't worth it plus vehicle repairs get costly. I now plow my own driveway and a few neighbors with a 7 1/2' plow on the front of my tractor and a snow blower on the rear. I don't charge my neighbors, I just enjoy the tractor time.

I know a lot of people who contract plow and end up getting the same type of deadbeats who don't want to pay after a while. They just drop them as customers and take the loss. Just remember that if you have plowing contracts and your vehicle breaks down you will have to sub contract and pay someone else to do your plowing. Been there, done that.

If you want to try your hand at making money plowing get a plow for your truck (new cost between 5-7K or more) Have a well written contract for your protection and I'd suggest getting insurance for potential lawsuits. If just plowing in your immediate area get a 7 1/2'-9' plow for your tractor.

Not saying everyone who plows have the above mentioned issues but just be aware as it does happen. I'm also not trying to persuade or scare you to not plow for money. Many people who do plow do make money and may get away without incident for many years. All trucks with plows will eventually need repairs which can be costly.

The info given is just my 2 cents.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Guys, I’m in the market for some snow removal equipment. I live in snow country and will use this equipment for myself & possibly use to make a few bucks on the side. I’m not sure where to focus my research, so I ask for any guidance. I own a 1996 f-350 regular cab diesel (150k miles on it) it runs well and I use it as a ranch truck and daily. I own a 2014 Honda 4x4 420 rancher ATV (runs well), and I have a 2002 JD 5420 4x4 (81hp, 65hp @ PTO). Cost is always considered and while I can afford more IF there is a potential income stream involved. Any thoughts on what you would do if you had this equipment set up are appreciated. Also, thoughts on making a few bucks on the side as a snow plowman are also appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

I have a regular Meyer snow plow on the front of a cab tractor and a big snow blower on the back. I've settled on this as my solution because I'm no longer running all over creation plowing snow for others. I just stick close to home and take care of mine and some neighbors.

If you think you want to drive to do commercial lots or driveways that are some distance, I'd think you would want to mount something on your truck. Otherwise the travel turns into a real hassle and time waster. Seems like this is the decision you need to make first. If I were setting up a truck, I'd put a salt spreader on the back because you'll have customers who will pay you extra for spreading salt -- especially on small commercial lots. Another income opportunity.

I do know it's hard on vehicles. I bought an old truck with a plow on it in '94. Blew the transmission up in that one. Moved the plow to an SUV 4x4, also used. When the engine on that one blew, I moved the plow to another old SUV and then kept that one till it was a total rust bucket. The last few years I wouldn't even drive it down the road for gas. Just carried gas to it and kept it here to plow snow. When the fuel tanks and brake lines rust out they're really not worth keeping, but I did.

Finally moved the same plow to the tractor and allowed me to get rid of the junk SUV. Plus with the snowblower it will handle anything.

The point is, plowing snow and all the salt that goes with it in Ohio is real hard on vehicles.

 

[Thomas]

I ended my plowing days years ago...seems everyone thought they should be first to get plow out,than there ones complain about lawn damage etc.,break downs seem to happen during dark hours and hard to get parts on the weekend,so now it's just my driveway and neighbor.

 

[Septemberwheat]

Thank you gentlemen.

 

[oosik]

I don't know where you live in WA. I live 25 miles due SW of Spokane. I haven't even had to start my tractor the last two winters to plow snow. If you plan on commercial plowing - sure hope you are where there is more snow than around here.

 

[ArlyA]

Oh but some of us do get snow! The street we reside on. In the bottom right, is a tad of our garage.

I'm really here to see what the responses are.

 

[Rustyiron]

Your tractor will be the least expensive to set up, less likely to get stuck, best "trimming" visibility and without a cab,
leave you thinking about a plow for the pickup.
If you start with only plowing your place for a season or two for some experience and the casual nature of it, like plowing when it's over and daylight, then make the decision about hired work. Your phone will be ringing after 2" or 2 hours with a 20 hour snow event coming, and "they" won't be happy no matter what you do. Then there's the handful of people that won't pay you or will drag out a $200 balance until the first hint of snow THE NEXT SEASON!

 

[Hay Dude]

Really doesn’t matter how much snow you get to make you “qualified” to discuss snow removal chores.
I have been in the game 30+ years and have removed/plowed snow with several different machines. A single cab F350 diesel will make a fine snow removal piece with 1000lbs of any kind of weight in the bed to aid balance (front to rear) and rear wheel traction.
I used an F-350 reg cab diesel for the last 10 years along with 2 130HP farm tractors. The farm tractors get better traction, and with R-1s almost impossible to get stuck. The problem with them and customers is the time it takes to drive from one customer to another.
The F-350 is a breeze to drive from 1 driveway to the next.
Overall, I would say go with a truck if you have customers scattered all over. If you are isolated to one small 1-3 mile radius of customers, the tractor would be ok. We can go 24MPH between customers in tractor, so not too bad. Tractor (if it has a loader mounted plow) can also be switched to a bucket, for scooping and dumping snow.
I sold my F-350 in March. Got tired of the repairs to the 6.4L diesel. Other than that it was a nice little truck. We have the 2 tractors now and I don’t know what we will replace the F-350 with.
Actually thinking about a Jeep since we are 95% twisty, congested driveways. Does a great job pushing snow into small areas near garages.
The tractor will not suffer the ravages of snowplowing that a truck suffers. Generally, tractors are not as easily damaged in the act of snowplowing as trucks. Rust is not non-existent in a tractor, but more easily washed off after use and less hidden sheet metal areas to get salt into. Tractor probably has better visibility. For a couple local customers tractor is great

 

[RjCorazza]

Hands down, I would outfit your existing tractor with snow implements. The only catch would be if you decide to go commercial and getting from job to job. I do up to 20 driveways with my tractor setup, but the jobs are all within a 1 mile radius or so.
My go-to setup is a 7' ssqa blade up front, and 7' rear blade. I can swap the front for the bucket, or the rear for a 6' blower on the rare big snow. A machine of your size would be a good candidate for a large inverted blower, as are becoming very popular.
My plow for the F250 stays stored in a shipping container.