# Considering buying a plow



## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

I purchased a 2008 silverado 2500 back in 2013 and specifically bought a regular cab long bed with 4x4 with hopes that one of these days I would put a plow on it. Well I think I am ready to take the jump and finally get one. I would be looking into just plowing residential drives, maybe small parking lots. Any suggestions?


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

Yep. Do a search with the keywords "buying plow". You'll get hours of reading.


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

http://www.plowsite.com/search.php?searchid=4477041


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

Before you do anything else, price GL insurance. Once you find out the cost, add the cost of the plow in, and decide if you think you can generate enough revenue to cover your expenses and turn a profit. Insurance is the key.


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## 04trd (Sep 21, 2013)

I'll be nice and say RUN!!!!! It's not worth it.


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## twotonballs (Nov 4, 2014)

Harleyjeff;2103110 said:


> Before you do anything else, price GL insurance. Once you find out the cost, add the cost of the plow in, and decide if you think you can generate enough revenue to cover your expenses and turn a profit. Insurance is the key.


GL ins. Isn't that bad.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

twotonballs;2103267 said:


> GL ins. Isn't that bad.


That depends on the area, and type you have.


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

twotonballs;2103267 said:


> GL ins. Isn't that bad.


Agreed. Also agree with the gentleman who said it depends on where you live. In NJ they pay an assload. I don't even know how those guys can stay in business paying what they pay. But my point was just to stress the importance of being insured.


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## crazyboy (Feb 3, 2009)

twotonballs;2103267 said:


> GL ins. Isn't that bad.


Come to NJ


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up on the insurance. I had general liability when I did lawn care before and it was only around $50 a month, I'm not sure how much more it would be for plowing.

That is something I will look into before hand.

I'm trying to get my parents on board of plowing during the winter for their business. We have the trucks and employees to do it, and we are always really slow during the winter so it would be a nice added income.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

I talked with my parents and they are actually interested in getting plows. One will be for an f350 diesel
dulley and the other for my truck a silverado 2500. The main use would be to plow our business parking lot, my drive, my parents drive, and our rental houses. But we would also take some snow removal contracts to make some extra money during the winter, because we are very slow in the winter, and when it snows we can't really work. I searched buying plow and didn't come up with much information about actually purchasing a plow. Our business already had general liability insurance so we would be covered under that for plowing. We also have a medium sized front end loader, a dump truck and 2 smaller tractors with front buckets if they are needed as well.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Buying a plow is easy. What brand dealers are close to you? And I would look at v plows. Insurance, just for laughs, ask your agent, I plowed this strip mall, granny came in for her morning paper. Got out, fell and broke her hip. Am I covered for this?


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## Billious (Sep 21, 2010)

Just an FYI, Duelly's can suck for plowing. Not saying "don't do it", because plenty of people do. But you lose a lot of traction spreading that weight over double the tire surface.

Definitely know *all* your costs upfront, don't skip the GL insurance, and be sure you have a rock-solid backup plan for the worst case scenario of combined snow and equipment/human failure.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

Thanks for the replies, I had read about dulleys not being the best for plowing, but thats sadly all we have. I'm going to price out plows for both trucks and see what it comes to. I also would check with our insurance, but i'm sure we are already covered with what insurance we have. We do excavation work as well, and I know our vehicle insurance is top notch. I would want to see what our break even point would be and if we would make money. Where I live the past few winters have been brutal with snow, and we could have made a great supplement with plowing. We are in the septic business, so once the snow falls, work drastically slows down. We need something to supplement income. Not only would they be used to make extra money, it would be used to clear our lots and driveways. We use the front end loader now and it rips our driveway up terribly.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

xandrew245x;2105730 said:


> I talked with my parents and they are actually interested in getting plows. One will be for an f350 diesel
> dulley and the other for my truck a silverado 2500. The main use would be to plow our business parking lot, my drive, my parents drive, and our rental houses. But we would also take some snow removal contracts to make some extra money during the winter, because we are very slow in the winter, and when it snows we can't really work. I searched buying plow and didn't come up with much information about actually purchasing a plow. Our business already had general liability insurance so we would be covered under that for plowing. We also have a medium sized front end loader, a dump truck and 2 smaller tractors with front buckets if they are needed as well.


 your GL will need to amended for the add liability of snowplowing.


xandrew245x;2103697 said:


> Thanks for the heads up on the insurance. I had general liability when I did lawn care before and it was only around $50 a month, I'm not sure how much more it would be for plowing.
> 
> That is something I will look into before hand.
> 
> I'm trying to get my parents on board of plowing during the winter for their business. We have the trucks and employees to do it, and we are always really slow during the winter so it would be a nice added income.


why haven't you talked to your agent yet?

next, what is taking so long?
didn't you do this back in 2014?.



xandrew245x;1806714 said:


> Hello everyone, Names andrew, from south central PA. I am in my third year of the lawn care business, a new client I just picked up for mowing was a group home, they have multiples in my area. Well they also want me to give estimates for doing snow plowing for all of them in the area this winter.
> 
> Before any of you get started let me give some background. I do have the proper equipment to plow with. I have a 2008 silverado 2500hd, standard cab long bed 4x4. Already had a plow on it before. I have 6 years of experience plowing with a front end loader and backhoes. I plowed my parent's business facilty(which is a couple hours of plowing with a front end loader), and I plow my parents house and 3 of their rental properties. I had entertained getting into plowing last year but I knew I wasn't ready and didn't want to rush into it. Thats what I am looking for the most info I can before buying any equipment or looking into it any further.
> 
> ...


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## Billious (Sep 21, 2010)

SnoFarmer is correct. Your GL policy does NOT just cover anything you do because you're a business. If you went out and started building skyscrapers, your $50/month policy isn't going to cover a beam of steel falling and crushing innocent bystanders. Likewise, you need specific coverage for snow management - which includes defense for slip-and-fall incidents, et al.

You'll also need to update your auto policies to reflect that you're plowing as well. If you get into an accident with a plow on your truck, your auto insurance will *not* cover you without it.

Finally, you need a rock-solid plan for what you'll do when the inevitable strikes. If you get hit with a 3' snow, and your plow truck breaks down mid-storm with a trashed transmission, how are you going to get to your customers? 

We're not saying this to be total downers. This is what legitimate snow management contractors do to retain customers, charge prices that reflect expenses, and stay above water. You'd be shocked at the percentage of snow guys who strap a plow on their truck, think they're going to make it big, and end up with a trashed truck, a lawsuit threatening all their personal goods, and no customers.

I pick up customers from these kind of guys ALL THE TIME.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

We are going to contact the insurance angencies tomorrow and get prices on what it would cost to add plowing to auto and general liability. Then we are going to price out plows, price what it would cost for maintenance, fuel, and wages for plowing. We are going to see what it would take to 
break even and make profit and see if its going to be worth adding it to our services or not.

The plan would be to have 2 trucks with plows. If one goes down we have another. We also have a tractor with a bucket if worse came to worse.

Its not something were just going to jump into without timely consideration. I appreciate all the advice.


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## twotonballs (Nov 4, 2014)

xandrew245x;2105756 said:


> We are going to contact the insurance angencies tomorrow and get prices on what it would cost to add plowing to auto and general liability. Then we are going to price out plows, price what it would cost for maintenance, fuel, and wages for plowing. We are going to see what it would take to
> break even and make profit and see if its going to be worth adding it to our services or not.
> 
> The plan would be to have 2 trucks with plows. If one goes down we have another. We also have a tractor with a bucket if worse came to worse.
> ...


If your just getting started a straight blade should be fine. Especially if you plan on plowing mostly driveways. Personally I prefer Western plows mostly because that's what I'm familiar with. It's also nice when you run multiple plow trucks to have all of your parts be universal between your trucks. A lot of people in my area run Boss plows also. You also have to consider buying new plows or buying used. A new straight blade plow will probably cost you $6,000.00 - $7,000.00. If you prefer v plows it'll probably be more like $7,000.00 - $8,000.00 range per plow. You could probably get plows ised in pretty good shape for less than half of that. Whatever you decide I'd recommend if you're setting up two plow trucks buy 2 of the same plows.
Good luck.


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

Disagree with the above poster. I would NEVER buy another straight blade again. They're the least efficient plow there is for snow removal. At a bare minimum I'd add wings to the straight blade. And I also wouldn't buy two blades to begin with. Why?? For the work you've listed so far one blade is more than enough to cover all of those. Don't add a second blade until you need it. Why lay out 5-7K on a blade that you may never need, or at a minimum not need for another year or two if you pick up more contracts? You realize that Winter is almost over for the year already, right? In most areas, you've got about 8 weeks of plowing left, and you still don't have plows or insurance coverage. By the time you got that done, you'd probably be down to six weeks of plowing left. I WOULD however get the second truck a mount and wiring harness in case one of the trucks went down, you could just put the plow on the other truck and go, and you can always purchase a second blade if needed next year or the year after.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Pretty much everything I was going to say has been covered. Your current GL won't cover plowing or S&F accidents (you say you're already going to look at it). I also agree with Jeff above about only getting one plow. Expecially this late in the season. You probably won't get any accounts this year except your places you guys have, and one plow is plenty for that. Make sure you like it. 

Even though it's your properties that will need plowed, pretend it's for a business. Make sure you're up all night watching the storm, do site checks everyday (you'll learn when you can probably skip it for a day with time), plow with the storm, pretend your trying to impress a client. Do everything this year as a practice, and make sure it's something you really want to do before investing in a ton of equipment. You also haven't said anything about spreaders. If you're going to be doing commercial (and even some residential) it's something I would at least look into. 

I'm also a little confused. Is this for your parents, or for your lawn care? I think I'm understanding it's for your parents business.

Let us know what you end up doing.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the advice. We aren't looking into getting a plow for this season. We are just checking everything out so that we could possibly buy one this summer or fall and get all set up for winter. This would be for my parents business(who I work for) I would be the one running the snow plow. Like I said we don't plan on getting into plowing this year because of how late season it is. Just want to be ready for next.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

I got an estimate for a 8' boss v-plow, it would be $6300 installed.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

xandrew245x;2108479 said:


> I got an estimate for a 8' boss v-plow, it would be $6300 installed.


Assuming that is the one that you are only going to run on your 2500 truck. The training wheels on the dually will always be in the windrow with an 8 footer.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

You are correct, our wheel base is roughly 80" and the blade in v-form is 88" which would cut it really close. The 9' would be much better.


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## ThatGuySnowPlow (Dec 6, 2015)

Randall Ave;2105735 said:


> Buying a plow is easy. What brand dealers are close to you? And I would look at v plows. Insurance, just for laughs, ask your agent, I plowed this strip mall, granny came in for her morning paper. Got out, fell and broke her hip. Am I covered for this?


If he has GL for his rental properties I'm guessing he is fully covered!


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

xandrew245x;2108506 said:


> You are correct, our wheel base is roughly 80" and the blade in v-form is 88" which would cut it really close. The 9' would be much better.


Not that it is any of my business what you do, have you put any real thought of going up to a 9'2"? For the 60lbs more difference, it seems to be a better option IMO.

If you are in scoop with your 8 footer, you have less than an inch on each side, and that is if you are going perfectly straight. Just a little food for thought.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

We called our insurance company, we have the same company for our general liability and our auto, we are waiting to hear back from them.


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## xandrew245x (May 3, 2014)

Philbilly2;2108512 said:


> Not that it is any of my business what you do, have you put any real thought of going up to a 9'2"? For the 60lbs more difference, it seems to be a better option IMO.
> 
> If you are in scoop with your 8 footer, you have less than an inch on each side, and that is if you are going perfectly straight. Just a little food for thought.


We will most likely go with the 9'2". When I was looking at the specs I just looked at the V and straight, didn't even think about scoop. The 9'2" would be much better.

The plan would be to get the plow for the f350, and then a mount for my 2500 just in case something happens to the f350. Hopefully we will pick up a skid loader over the summer so we could add that to our snow removal fleet as well.


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## kolwnmstr (Jul 1, 2014)

Why not go with western and get a real plow so you are looking at 8'6" and 9'6" instead of 8'2" and 9'2" :laughing:

Just kidding


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## jonniesmooth (Dec 5, 2008)

I wouldn't ever buy an 8' for a full size truck again. Unless it was a REALLY good deal, or I was going to put wings on it. IMHO


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

ThatGuySnowPlow;2108509 said:


> If he has GL for his rental properties I'm guessing he is fully covered!


No he's not. He wants to do commercial work. Needs slip and fall. His GL is only going to cover his rentals.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

ThatGuySnowPlow;2108509 said:


> If he has GL for his rental properties I'm guessing he is fully covered!


I have GL for my business and have to add on more for snow removal. It's about $75/mo in addition to what we already pay for the year, and that is only doing walks without a plow. It pretty much covers S&F, I believe. My agent let's me pay that monthly (even though we pay once a year to get a discount on everything else), so I don't have to pay for a full year when I only use it 5 months. Not to turn this into an insurance thread, just saying just because you're covered for one part of your business doesn't mean your covered for everything.

Looks like Randall beat me to it.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

xandrew245x;2108515 said:


> We will most likely go with the 9'2". When I was looking at the specs I just looked at the V and straight, didn't even think about scoop. The 9'2" would be much better.
> 
> The plan would be to get the plow for the f350, and then a mount for my 2500 just in case something happens to the f350. Hopefully we will pick up a skid loader over the summer so we could add that to our snow removal fleet as well.


Well.. I hate to stomp on this parade again, but what exactly is the Ford dually that we are speaking of here, are we talking stock to the tires?

Not sure on the outside to outside wheelbase on a 350 which is what I am guessing, but guessing it is within fractions of a 550. My 550 the outside to outside wheelbase is about 93 or 94 inches. Again, the scoop is going to have the training wheels in the snow again...

And again, just food for thought. Don't want you buying something that you will hate. Sh*t is expensive now a days! Thumbs Up

Also, don't worry about plowing in a truck with training wheels. I have had tons of trucks that sport duals threw the years that would out push a srw truck every day of the week and two if not three times on Sundays. It is all about how your set them up to attack the job that they are taking on, not the fact that you have duals. And that is not IMO that is a fact.


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## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

i got my gl through my auto policy id say get a plow


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

PLOWMAN45;2109972 said:


> i got my gl through my auto policy id say get a plow


Are you saying that you got a GL policy through the same vendor as your auto insurance is sold threw or your got a GL policy on your auto insurance??

If it is second one, I would be curious to hear more about this and what the limits are.


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