Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Plowing Rates

[check]

At our cottage there is a guy who does many driveways at a time, often right next to each other. So, he can do it very quickly. He charges less than $20 for people who are close to each other on the same road where a lot of his customers are. Then, in about 1/2 hour or so, he can do maybe 20 or 30 cottage driveways, making $400 to $600, and making the cottagers happy since he has to do this maybe 10 times or 15 times per winter. His big advantage is volume, which reduces his travel time. Friday, one of his guys came by and plowed a 200' driveway next to me, and he was there maybe 30 seconds to a minute, and his travel time from the previous driveway he plowed was maybe 30 seconds. In addition, he has the (well-paying) contract for the little 1/2 mile road that all of these cottages are on, so the income side for him is very good.

Unfortunately for him, he uses Dodge trucks, which of course are always breaking down, so I don't know how much profit he ends up with!

On the other hand, a friend who gets his 300' driveway done infrequently gets charged $50 - $100, because the contractor has to first clean out the huge furrow at the entrance left by the county plows who do the highway, and only then can he go in and do the driveway itself, which may have 18" of snow on it.

Also, guys will charge less if you contract with them to plow ever time it snow a given amount, so that there is no build up.

Hoipe this helps!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have pushed snow with Ford trucks and one GM. I was mainly doing airports and its a never ending job.

Now I push snow with a 7.5' Meyer Plow on 28HP 4x4 Jinma Tractor and I also have a 7' Woods HD blade on the rear for about 10 customers all within 1 mile of me.

What I charge is $60 per hour. I have been doing it long enough that just looking at the drive I can say its a 1/2 hour job or $30.

Chris

 

[Gordon Gould]

Unfortunately for him, he uses Dodge trucks, which of course are always breaking down, so I don't know how much profit he ends up with!

You must mean Ford

 

[Mounted Madness]

Here in my town (Oakbank, Manitoba) I charge $50/hour, which is the same rate I charge for moving topsoil, digging holes and otherwise making my BX pay for itself.

Depending on snowfall and what all the municipality has done, the charge for that particular event will most likely change. From snow drifting into a business parking lot, and the duration of the storm... no job can be given a 'flat rate'.

Residential driveways in my neighbourhood (all pretty much the same size) ... I charge $20. I don't do walkways and I don't clear any closer then 3 feet from garage doors, etc. If someone approaches and asks me to do their driveway at the end of my rounds, I factor in how tired I am. Businesses on the other hand are charged by the hour (ie: 15 minutes = 0.3 hours = $15).

My BX is a toy I bought to keep me busy following retirement. I have to factor in insurance, fuel, and so on - but at the end of 3 1/2 years, the BX hasn't cost me a cent and I've had some profit, which I roll back into the business (more toys). But I wouldn't want to be relying on the snow clearing income to feed me, and pay the bills. Pension does that.

As was said, customer loyalty can be pretty fickle.

 

[retiredmgn]

You must mean Ford

Ford's aren't bad if they have the heated tailgate option.








Keeps your hands warm while you're pushing it.



nelson

 

[knightrider955]

You must mean Ford

Im a die hard GM guy and Ive plowed with all of them, And the fords are tougher and last longer. Dodges have junk trannys and front ends, GM's break cv axles and have occasional tranny issues. My Ford F-250, well.....built ford tough.

 

[mbrule]

I plow 10 driveways plus mine, mine is right-of-way for 5 apartment houses, of which
I am in the middle, it is the reason I have a plow. Five of the ten driveways are relatives that I do for free, the remaining 5 are older folks and either friends or friends relatives. I plow them when I can get to it, as I have a full time job, that I cannot leave just because it is snowing. I charge $25 - $30 for the paying customers, in an average storm it take me 3 or so hours, (bit of travel time as one relative is a ways out!).

I run commercial plates / insurance, have a $1 mill liability policy.

The paying customers pretty much pay for the gas and coffee.....

I don't make any money doing it, but am able to keep my right-of-way open and my family plowed out, and enjoy helping those that I plow, as even my paying "customers" get off cheap!

As others have said, there are a lot of factors to consider when trying to charge....

 

[ihuntbear]

where I live people charge any where from 300.00 to 750.00 per season depending on the size of the driveway.I charge 375.00 for asphault 25.00 extra if its gravel driveway per season for a two car wide and 75 feet long.or 50.00 per storm.I hate gravel driveways.I don't normally do them but sometimes I have a hard time saying no