# 2014 will be our first season plowing



## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

I own a lawn service company and last winter we did just snow blowing which went great and I have a good pricing structure for that but I know this numbers won't work for plowing...
I will be having my foreman run the blowing crew and I will be plowing. I have a 2014 F250 and will be putting a Boss DXT V Plow on it. This will be a driveway only service, no shoveling. I am thinking I will have a minimum of $20 for residential driveways, to much or to little? What I have no clue about is what size driveway will start taking me longer to do, so I need to charge more?
I also have a 350ft long driveway that is single wide most of the way but at the garage it widens out to about 3 1/2 cars. Could use some pricing advice or some help with how long this will take? There is lots of room to put snow.
I know a bunch of you guys are going to say just do a search. I have and I have read a lot and learned a lot but I still have these questions. 
Thanks for any help you can provide.


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Anyone out there that can give a little advice?


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

Who will shovel out in front of the garage door? 
I shovel as well makes them happy. I find the ones that don't want shoveling will complain that you do not get close to the garage. I do not do these anymore it all the way or no way. 
Min charge for small intown $45 .1-3 inches snow , these are really cash cows and easy on equipment.  you could do 3-4 per hour. As for price I would rather find the one that will pay $45 and do one than do 2-3 for 15-20. Just saying. 
Large Country Drive $85 .1-3 inches snow


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Thanks for the reply. But as I said earlier this will be a driveway only service (no shoveling) we have a blowing service that does do shoveling in front of the garafe and up to the front door. 
I am wondering about just doing the plowing on driveways. Is there a calculator out there that helps estimate the time it will take according to square footage or by car length? For example our blowing service charges by the number of cars that fit in the driveway, like a 2 car long x 2 car wide driveway is $30 - $35 depending on the sidwalk and steps to the front door. Can i use this same calculation for plowing but obviously different numbers?


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## Whiffyspark (Dec 23, 2009)

Why plow when you can blow?


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Whiffyspark;1810975 said:


> Why plow when you can blow?


We have customers asking for both services and we have 2 trucks. Why wouldnt i want both trucks making money?


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Your calculator is experience.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Why do you need a DXT to do driveways. I would just get a regular Boss V not even a VXT.

A 2 wide 2 long would take 3-4 minutes. That 350' should be 10 minutes tops IMO.


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

cet;1811020 said:


> Why do you need a DXT to do driveways. I would just get a regular Boss V not even a VXT.
> 
> A 2 wide 2 long would take 3-4 minutes. That 350' should be 10 minutes tops IMO.


Thank you, this is the first advice that was applicable to what I was asking. Anyone else have info like this. Thanks


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## Whiffyspark (Dec 23, 2009)

Erik1981;1810976 said:


> We have customers asking for both services and we have 2 trucks. Why wouldnt i want both trucks making money?


Because a tractor is far more efficent then a truck


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Whiffyspark;1811022 said:


> Because a tractor is far more efficent then a truck


Agreed, i should have explained the blower service a bit more, our blower service uses two walk behind snowblowers for driveways and sidewalks, shovels for steps.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Whiffyspark;1811022 said:


> Because a tractor is far more efficent then a truck


that would depend on how close your route is. I have watched a lot of Neige's youtubes so I know how fast they are.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Whiffyspark;1810975 said:


> Why plow when you can blow?


Why blow when you can plow?


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

If all you are doing is driveways why a V? 

They can be nice for long drives with deep snow or drifts and maneuvering in tight spaces but they are not as efficient as a straight blade for back dragging (limited room for snow.) and they cost more money.

If you do get a veer be sure to take the truck in loaded and ready to plow condition so the installer can adjust the wings so they remain in contact with the ground though the wing's entire motion. 

You could consider a back plow (with rear camera) for pure driveway work.

Pricing varies depending on location, what is too expensive for Buffalo could be to cheap for New Jersey. Number of events, average snowfall, insurance costs, etc make a single nationwide pricing structure impossible.


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## Buswell Forest (Jan 11, 2013)

A good rule of thumb is seek to make $100 per hour as a bare minimum. $200 is better, but never less than $100. So figure out how many drives on your route can be done in 1 hour, including travel and gas stops and such. Divide, carry the 1, and Bob's yer uncle.


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Buswell Forest;1811495 said:


> A good rule of thumb is seek to make $100 per hour as a bare minimum. $200 is better, but never less than $100. So figure out how many drives on your route can be done in 1 hour, including travel and gas stops and such. Divide, carry the 1, and Bob's yer uncle.


I had figured around that. With mowing we are anywhere from $125-200/hr so I figured around the same for plowing. Last winter with blowing we were right around $125/hr, but that was 2 guys and two walk behind blowers and shoveling off front steps. 
Is there a good rule of thumb for figuri out how long a driveway takes to plow? Let's say its a 2 car x 3 car driveway so roughly 20'x60', how long should this take? Or a 20'x50'?


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## maxwellp (Feb 16, 2013)

"Let's say its a 2 car x 3 car driveway so roughly 20'x60', how long should this take? Or a 20'x50'?"

2-3 minutes 

But you must also add in, how long did it take you to get there, Gas fill ups, Eating and so on.....................


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## Buswell Forest (Jan 11, 2013)

Erik1981;1811498 said:


> I had figured around that. With mowing we are anywhere from $125-200/hr so I figured around the same for plowing. Last winter with blowing we were right around $125/hr, but that was 2 guys and two walk behind blowers and shoveling off front steps.
> Is there a good rule of thumb for figuri out how long a driveway takes to plow? Let's say its a 2 car x 3 car driveway so roughly 20'x60', how long should this take? Or a 20'x50'?


Lots of variables. How much snow? Wet or fluffy? What surface? How far do you push it at the beginning so you have room in late February? Gotta wait for cars to move? How experienced are the drivers? How hard will they run?
Will there be obstructions to avoid? Will there be hassles backing out into the street because of traffic or highway plows?

These are questions only you can answer. So, look at a job, decide you need to make "X", then add 10 bucks. Better to not get a job than to do it for nothing. Only time I would go cheap is if it were 5 in a row. 5 drives done in 25 minutes @ $20 each is $240 per hour.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

What's your back up truck?


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

grandview;1811539 said:


> What's your back up truck?


My other truck is a 2010 Dodge Ram 1500, in the winter this is used for the blowing route. If for some reason something went wrong with my 2014 F250 with the plow. I have a guy that I subbed some plowing to last year that would be happy to run the route til I was back up and running.


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## CashinH&P (Jan 14, 2012)

He says that now...it will be another story during a snow storm when he has his own route to plow.


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

CashinH&P;1811641 said:


> He says that now...it will be another story during a snow storm when he has his own route to plow.


His is a unique situation. He is a guy that is just under 40 and is retired. Has family money so he does not need to work. However he loves to plow and loves to work hard. He ran my blowing route a couple time for me last year when my wife was in the hospital having our second child and has asked me to consider giving him his own route this coming winter. I probably will give him a partial route so that when we travel for Christmas it is not a problem for him to run my full route.


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## Drakeslayer (Feb 11, 2011)

So let me get this straight....your were subbing him last year on a plow route but you don't know what to charge?


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## Erik1981 (Mar 19, 2013)

Drakeslayer;1811671 said:


> So let me get this straight....your were subbing him last year on a plow route but you don't know what to charge?


Yes, really I had no idea. It was all residential driveways and pretty small stuff. So I just charged what I figured my minimum would be at $20 and paid him 1/2. It worked out pretty good for both of us.


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## jbsplow (Sep 16, 2013)

if ur going to spend the money on a dxt, get a wideout, don't waste your time with a dxt, no need for that big plow. a wide out would be a lot better, plus when you need the 10 feet for bigger lots or driveways, just click a button. my buddy just sold all his v plows and upgraded to western wideouts


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## Fannin76 (Jan 1, 2014)

Erik1981;1810973 said:


> Thanks for the reply. But as I said earlier this will be a driveway only service (no shoveling) we have a blowing service that does do shoveling in front of the garafe and up to the front door.
> I am wondering about just doing the plowing on driveways. Is there a calculator out there that helps estimate the time it will take according to square footage or by car length? For example our blowing service charges by the number of cars that fit in the driveway, like a 2 car long x 2 car wide driveway is $30 - $35 depending on the sidwalk and steps to the front door. Can i use this same calculation for plowing but obviously different numbers?


Listen you go in and back drag 6 inches in front if the door at least a truck and a half back if its a longer drive then you back in and push it out.20 is way to cheap. You should be making the same if not more then the blower crew. It may take you less time but you've burnt more fuel and you probably have a plow payment. 20 a drive and 10 in an hour equals 200 40 a drive 10 in an hour =400 don't cut your head off no one likes to plow their drive so they will pay.....if they don't want to pay let the guy who does it for a 6 pack and a pack of sings have it.


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