# Choosing the right setup



## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

Hi my name is Neil and this is the first year I will be plowing, I have been mowing and landscaping services for the last 2 years and decided I wanted to expand and start plowing. I'm doing this solo and I have a '05 dodge Dakota as that I use to hual everything with in tHe summer. The truck is in great shape still with less than 100k miles. I'm trying to find a good plow to put on it for plowing residential drives. I'm only going to be advertising to residential homes this year to start out. I've heard good things about the snowdogg plows and they are light and I was leaning towards getting one and just wanted to know how well those work with backdragging since I'll be doing that a lot. I also was thinking of getting a pull plow mounted on the back since all I will be doing is driveways for now. Any info will help and if you have any questions at all just ask I'll be checking the forum often.


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## MSsnowplowing (Nov 1, 2012)

Every plow has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Look for the nearest dealer support for a plow.
Someone who is open during storms at all hours if you run into a problem and can't fix it yourself or you need to buy a part at 2am in the morning.

As for the snowdogg, I personally wouldn't touch one having read about the problems other guys here have had with them -(look it up)

good luck


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

MSsnowplowing said:


> As for the snowdogg, I personally wouldn't touch one having read about the problems other guys here have had with them -(look it up)
> 
> good luck


This^^^

Everyone has found that Buyers products are not as heavy duty as most of the known name brands...


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

MSsnowplowing said:


> As for the snowdogg, I personally wouldn't touch one having read about the problems other guys here have had with them -(look it up)
> 
> good luck





Philbilly2 said:


> This^^^
> 
> Everyone has found that Buyers products are not as heavy duty as most of the known name brands...


While I do agree with both of these posts on Buyers, you are going to find most plows for your truck are not going to be "heavy duty". That being said no will want to look for a plow with down pressure and an available back drag edge. T


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

kimber750 said:


> While I do agree with both of these posts on Buyers, you are going to find most plows for your truck are not going to be "heavy duty". That being said no will want to look for a plow with down pressure and an available back drag edge. T


You just had to bring up down pressure... as if tires in the other thread was not enough...


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

Philbilly2 said:


> You just had to bring up down pressure... as if tires in the other thread was not enough...


These light duty plows needs some kind of help since they weigh less than the available women at last call on a Friday night.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

kimber750 said:


> These light duty plows needs some kind of help since they weigh less than the available women at last call on a Friday night.


And you tell me to stay on topic....


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## scottr (Oct 10, 2013)

Neileo said:


> Hi my name is Neil and this is the first year I will be plowing, I have been mowing and landscaping services for the last 2 years and decided I wanted to expand and start plowing. I'm doing this solo and I have a '05 dodge Dakota as that I use to hual everything with in tHe summer. The truck is in great shape still with less than 100k miles. I'm trying to find a good plow to put on it for plowing residential drives. I'm only going to be advertising to residential homes this year to start out. I've heard good things about the snowdogg plows and they are light and I was leaning towards getting one and just wanted to know how well those work with backdragging since I'll be doing that a lot. I also was thinking of getting a pull plow mounted on the back since all I will be doing is driveways for now. Any info will help and if you have any questions at all just ask I'll be checking the forum often.


Welcome Neil, As you look for a plow, keep in mind your Dakota front end may sink out of site when you lift the plow, different springs may be in order and your going to excelerate your ball joint wear, etc. Might stick to the lighter poly plows, etc. Then start educating yourself on current draw you will experience, you may need to look at higher output alternator and duel batts. ( look up " the big three" )


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

scottr said:


> Welcome Neil, As you look for a plow, keep in mind your Dakota front end may sink out of site when you lift the plow, different springs may be in order and your going to excelerate your ball joint wear, etc. Might stick to the lighter poly plows, etc. Then start educating yourself on current draw you will experience, you may need to look at higher output alternator and duel batts. ( look up " the big three" )


Poly plows on average are heavier than steel.


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

Philbilly2 said:


> And you tell me to stay on topic....


I am on topic, Weight of plow has to do with back dragging and I was just using a comparison to illustrate how light these light duty plows are.


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## Defcon 5 (Mar 20, 2014)

Philbilly2 said:


> You just had to bring up down pressure... as if tires in the other thread was not enough...


No one has mentioned Chainlift plows and how that Stack higher and save transmissions???..

Welcome Neil....All kidding aside....Find local dealers and go see what they are offering...Asking what's the best plow on here just starts bickering and childish behavior....Everybody has their opinion...All the plow company's offer lighter duty plows that will suit your needs......lowblue:


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

Thank you for all your replys, I appreciate it, I will deffinitally look into local dealers and see what they have to offer that's suitable to my truck. Do any of you have pull plows mounted on the back? They seem extremely useful


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## bootstrap (Apr 29, 2016)

That Dakota will struggle to push deep snow compared to a 3/4 ton pickup. So keep that in mind on a big storm you would want to make multiple trips to a customers house where as a 3/4 ton could probably do most driveways once.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

bootstrap said:


> That Dakota will struggle to push deep snow compared to a 3/4 ton pickup. So keep that in mind on a big storm you would want to make multiple trips to a customers house where as a 3/4 ton could probably do most driveways once.


 I thought as much, so how so you all charge your clients, I was thinking of charging per push, so if I have to go back there times in one day because of one storm and to prevent damaging my truck more than I have to, does that make sense to charge them 3 times or would you all charge them once and go as many times as you have to in one day


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

bootstrap said:


> That Dakota will struggle to push deep snow compared to a 3/4 ton pickup. So keep that in mind on a big storm you would want to make multiple trips to a customers house where as a 3/4 ton could probably do most driveways once.


Anyone who waits until the end of a big storm to plow is just beating their equipment. You plow with the storm. I prefer to push every 3" but doesn't always work out that way.


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

Neileo said:


> I thought as much, so how so you all charge your clients, I was thinking of charging per push, so if I have to go back there times in one day because of one storm and to prevent damaging my truck more than I have to, does that make sense to charge them 3 times or would you all charge them once and go as many times as you have to in one day


So if you get 6" of snow and push every 2" you will charge them 3 times? Either your rates are very low or you are gonna lose a lot of customers. It is most common to have a tiered charges, ie 2"-4 $100, 4.1"-6" $150 and so on. Then you plow as many times as you need to to keep up with the storm.


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## BUFF (Dec 24, 2009)

Philbilly2 said:


> You just had to bring up down pressure... as if tires in the other thread was not enough...


Can't have DP with a chain lift unless you have Birds fab skill set.....:hammerhead:


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Let's keep this on topic, we all no Birds now a Gun Advocate for library crowd control.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

They deffinitally makes more sense, is that scale you mentioned similar to what you use? I will have to find out what the co petition around me charges


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Do you have a house? You can hide your plow and get a few bids. Maybe just call around and pretend to be interested and see if you can get prices over the phone so you don't waste a bunch of their time. Good way you get an idea of what they're going for around you, and how they charge. Act like you know nothing and ask questions like a customer.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

He could go on Craigslist and see what other people are charging.


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## BUFF (Dec 24, 2009)

Task Easy: https://www.taskeasy.com/
Figure they're taking 20-25% of the rate shown from the contractor.


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## bootstrap (Apr 29, 2016)

I don't run a plowing business. I got out of that work a while ago. I have experience plowing commercial properties and even the airport.
Most people know that in a big storm you have to go back more than once. But sometimes you cannot avoid having to push 12" of snow. I'm not saying you should ever aim to do that but if its coming down at 1-2" per hour and your expecting 18", and something delays you, you'll find out what I'm talking about.
Now my plowing now life consists of plowing out my 80ft driveway and my 100ft driveway to my shop, my 1/2 mile road to our hunting/camping property, and I am a backup for the local VFW and sportsmans club if they have issues or need help.

For reference, my friend that does this for a living charges by the inch. 1-4" means he comes out once. 4-8" means twice and 8+ means 2-3 times. Something like that. So a smart guy would figure operating costs for each of those(some of which is estimating), and what your profit margin needs to be in order to price that.

Keep in mind that a Dakota with a plow on it, even if its a V8, is more for the home owner doing his/her own driveway and nothing you can do will ever make it push snow like a 2500. I don't think it will handle pushing deep snow especially if its wet. So for starting out, I wouldn't bring on too many clients.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't planning on trying to get a large number of clients this year, and I wasn't going to advertise to any commercial properties this year either, I will deffinitally call around and try and figure out what local companies are charging near me


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## bootstrap (Apr 29, 2016)

That's a good plan. You should be able to handle driveways and small parking lots fine so long as your able to hit them more than once successfully when needed. Consider having a friend thats in the business, as a backup in case something happens. Because if you dont have a backup, something will happen but if you do have a backup nothing bad will happen. Good luck.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

I talked to a plow dealer near me and they have me three options of Meyers plows to choose from that will work with my truck, has anyone ever used the lot pro 7.6, the drive pro 6.8, or the do standard operating system 6.8? And do you guys think a 6.8 plow would be good enough for driveways and maybe next year small lots?


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## ktfbgb (Jan 31, 2016)

I wouldn't get anything smaller than that lot pro. Out of those options it's the only commercial use plow out there. In other words it's built to stand up to use. The homeowner plows will not stand up they are meant for the amount of use a homeowner would put on it. If you upgrade to a full size truck none of these plows will work as they will not be wide enough to clear the snow under the tires while angled. So if you plan to upgrade to a hd truck remember that you will also need a new plow. I used lot pros for years just in the 8.5 foot and larger. They are good plows as I was never able to break one, and I usually break stuff.


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## bootstrap (Apr 29, 2016)

7 1/2' is a lot for a Dakota but its something you could bring to your next truck. And though its a lot for a Dakota front end, it will handle it. I would suggest the lot pro.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Is it the lot pro, or the lot pro LD? The LD is lighter and more for half ton and smaller. The regular lot pro is built for bigger trucks. I'd look at used plows, then if you get a bigger truck you're not going to be stuck with a brand new plow that is too small for your new truck.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

It is the lot pro LD


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

I'm also not against buying a used plow, I just know there will be no warranty and I'll have to go out and buy a mount separate and work on it myself


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## ktfbgb (Jan 31, 2016)

If you buy a used one from the dealer they should have the mount and everything there with it.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

For any of you that run one truck during the winter what would you say the average profit and how many clients? If you guys don't mind sharing that kinda info


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Neileo said:


> For any of you that run one truck during the winter what would you say the average profit and how many clients? If you guys don't mind sharing that kinda info


This a sort of a loaded question.

Are we talking a legit corp/LLC with GL insurance?
Claiming everything so uncle sam can take a peak? (no cash)
Paying yourself a wage per hour worked?
After repairs, maintenance, and deprecation?
Without any major breakdowns?
Are you the driver or is an employee in the truck?
Do you have work comp?
What is the area you are working in?
What is your average snowfall/ number of events?

Lots go into each persons margins.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Phil is right, our numbers will all be very different. Where are you from?


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## BRL1 (Sep 13, 2014)

If your planning on being in this industry for a while save your money on putting a plow on that truck.
Sell it save some money and get a 3/4 or 1 Ton


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## BRL1 (Sep 13, 2014)

To your question above my trucks make $115 an hour for hourly clients. More for per push if everything goes right. But more than half of your profit is already spent if your legit company. More like 60%


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

First...where are you located ??
What is an average winter like for you ??

I would not charge any less than your competitors. If you do you will get customers but in the long run be running on empty. If you charge more you will make better money and in the long run afford better trucks. You will be less busy but when it is time to plow...people look for someone who has time to do them. Not waiting for a day to be done.

Keep your accounts close to each other.


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## Neileo (Oct 19, 2016)

Sorry for taking so long to reply, I live in northeast Ohio so if we have a good winter it can really dump on us, I don't think I will be a llc but I will be claiming what I make on my taxes next year, it would just be me in my truck, I'm considering what BRL1 said and saving the money to buy a larger truck and and plow


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## bootstrap (Apr 29, 2016)

It would be wise to start an LLC to protect yourself.


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## BRL1 (Sep 13, 2014)

I started with a small truck too but quickly had to upgrade to a 3/4. Nothing fancy and you can usually find a good deal on them at state surplus. They may have higher mileage but usually they have strict service schedules and are pretty well taken care of. You don't need a diesel or anything huge I have a diesel because I pull a lot of weight landscaping.


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## Ankah (Dec 23, 2016)

Hi!
I figured I would jump in instead of starting a new topic. I also have a Dakota, and we are really trying to get a smaller truck for some of the real tight spaces around my area (we also have a 2003 2500HD Silverado). I had talked to my past mechanic, and he suggested to get an old speedcast at 6.5. I did, the entire set up, including the hydraulics. Now, it does not look as if the hydraulic pump will fit inside the engine bay (we have the 4x4, v8), but has any one tried? Should we move on another direction?

Lastly, does anyone know of a good plow mechanic that would have some time now, instead of "in the spring", wiling to deal with older equipment (everyone wants to do new installs...) in the Boston/greater Boston Area? Ours past away two weeks ago....


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Ankah said:


> Hi!
> I figured I would jump in instead of starting a new topic. I also have a Dakota, and we are really trying to get a smaller truck for some of the real tight spaces around my area (we also have a 2003 2500HD Silverado). I had talked to my past mechanic, and he suggested to get an old speedcast at 6.5. I did, the entire set up, including the hydraulics. Now, it does not look as if the hydraulic pump will fit inside the engine bay (we have the 4x4, v8), but has any one tried? Should we move on another direction?
> 
> Lastly, does anyone know of a good plow mechanic that would have some time now, instead of "in the spring", wiling to deal with older equipment (everyone wants to do new installs...) in the Boston/greater Boston Area? Ours past away two weeks ago....


I would start a few new threads. You will get more attention from them than this one.


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