The Snowplowing Thread

  • Thread starter The Branch Doctor
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The Branch Doctor

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There are a few of us residing in areas that get enough snowfall to warrant owning a plow, driving a plow truck for someone, or just being a shovel monkey. Since it's that time of year I thought we could use a place to discuss plow related subjects without derailing other threads.:D

So if you plow snow post a pic for us and show off your set up.:thumbup:
 

rumination

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How far above the road do you keep the bottom of the plow? I assume you don't want to mangle the plow on the asphalt, but still want to get as close as possible. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I've never lived anywhere with snow before.
 
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The Branch Doctor

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Definitely not a stupid question Leon. I slap mine down all the way to the ground so that I can clear ALL the snow from the parking lots, driveways, walkways, etc. that I do. I'll have to replace the bottom of my blade in a few years from it being ground down but that's it.
 

rumination

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Ah I see now. The bottom of the plow is a separate piece of metal, so it is replaceable. Thanks for the explanation.
 
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Rotax Robert

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Short doing a major search what does one of those setups run costwise?
 
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The Branch Doctor

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Mine was right around $5,000 including installation and worth every penny. It paid for itself in 1 storm last winter... of coarse it was a blizzard.
 
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Rotax Robert

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Thanks for the link, hope you did'nt cost me 5 bills. It still would be nice to have but tough to justify with the amount of snow we get. Here we get about 12" a year and usually that 1 to 2 inches at a time. every so often maybe every 5 years we get what I would call a respectable amount.
 
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The Branch Doctor

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How long does it take for the snow to melt off when it snows where you live?
 

Paul B

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Doc, we had about 4 to 6 inches of snow here the other day, went up to 11 C overnight and heavy rain, most snow gone by midday. I am about 2 hours north of the Rotaxian one.
 
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Rotax Robert

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How long does it take for the snow to melt off when it snows where you live?

Heck sometimes in 1 day it's gone. Even on a big snow event say 8+ inches which we had a few days ago, it was gone by noon, hence our big floods. Rarely will the snow stick around for a week.
 
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The Branch Doctor

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Well, if you are wondering if you can justify the expense of a plow here's a few things that might help.

How big is the city that you live in? The more places of business there are, the more of a demand there is. Shopping centers, strip malls, medical offices, Day cares, senior centers, small-med sized companies with parking lots, churches, restaurants, etc. all need to have their walkways and parking areas cleared before the start of the business day. If they don't they risk possible lawsuits if someone slips on their property or they could lose customers/sales because of a lack of accessibility.

Also, I don't know about you guys but around here the tree biz slows down considerably during the winter months and when it snows it's nonexistent. So instead of sitting at home when the weather sucks, I'm making money!

All I know is I want/need to work year round no matter what mother nature throws my way and if I didn't have my plow I'd be screwed in Dec., Jan., and Feb.

Oh yeah, another nice thing is snow removal is not cheap so it can easily become very lucrative. I charge $100-$150 an hour to run my plow and $50 per hr for hand shoveling.:thumbup:
 

sotc

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hand shoveling? in nasty weather? 50 bucks? you nuts bro :) id hit at east 100 bucks on that to!
 
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Frans

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Cooper STT? I have been looking at those tires. Dont know what the road noise is like tho.
Also looking at the Michelin t2.

Interested to know what guys are using in snow country
 

Dave Shepard

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Frans, I use the STT, and have had great luck with them. Most contractors around here are using them now.

This is my plow truck, and big pile pusher setup:


Dave
 
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JonnyHart

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I'm sure those rigs are alot more productive than mine, but I bet I have more fun doing it. :D
Truth be told I can do my driveway and my dads ( he lives 2 doors down) in less time with the snowblower and do a better job, but that's boring.
 

Burnham

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Here's another one. Truth be told, it seems more use on minor rock fall and cut bank slippage clearance than on snow, but we did about 10 miles of road a little earlier this year for access to a work site.
 

squisher

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OK I've posted it a couple of times before but I better throw it in this thread. Mine's a v-plow which basically means it's split in the middle and I can control each 'wing' independently to form a V or a scoop or just wing up one side or any combination in between. Also my sander runs off of a pony motor on the back and everything is controlled from the comfort of the cab. I put airbags front and rear to help-out the truck and it's working out really well so far.

Frans or someone had asked about treads, I run BFG commercial ta tractions studded. A excellent tire imo, great grip/wear and they laugh at whatever weight you throw on em, take up to 85psi no problemo
 
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Jonseredbred

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Why doesn't that truck say Fisher Tree Service on it with a phone #??

Advertise it all the time !!
 

squisher

THE CALM ONE!!!!
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It will, in 55 days to busy right now to take on more than the odd little job that trickles in on it's own.;)
 

No_Bivy

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last time it really snowed good here...few years ago. This is how I plowed my drive. The snow was gone two days later, it took several runs....GRITS,(Girls Raised In The South) have trouble walking in the white stuff round here.
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zt0JVwXyQGU&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zt0JVwXyQGU&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
 

No_Bivy

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doh!
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u8swjI982jM&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u8swjI982jM&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
 
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