# Biggest jobs with UTVs



## Carroll257 (Nov 13, 2014)

I'm in NW Arkansas. We usually get a pretty good winter every other year. Last year was kind of mild, so if the trend continues, we should be due for some good storms this year. Most of our events are 4" or less and we get 5 to 8 events a year. There has been the occasional 8-10" dump, but that's rare. We get a lot of sleet though. I have a landscape and maintenance business. There has been interest in plowing services for some of my accounts so I bought a plow for my Kawasaki Teryx last year. It's a 72" Denali Pro county plow. I used it some last year with good results, but we also had a pretty weak winter. What's the biggest lots that you would consider pushing with this setup? We are fortunate that the mound from the previous storm are usually gone by the time the next one hits, so I shouldn't be fighting with the same mounds over and over that just keep getting bigger with each storm. I have a tractor with a bucket if needed for higher stacking, but the SXS will be the main animal. 
Also, plow services are pretty scarce around here so amending my insurance policy to cover plowing was a bit of a hassle, but it now covers plowing as well. Most of the people plowing, are plumbers etc using their backhoes or skid steers. I have the ability to push and salt. Like I said, I was impressed with how it worked last year but I anticipate more snow this year. Most of what I'm looking to do are residential and small business lots. I have had a few churches request bids though. Thanks for the help.


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## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

Two questions - Why not put a plow on your truck, and why not get a pusher for your tractor?

To answer your question, I think it would depend more on what your plowing than how big. It also depends on how many properties you have. Can you afford to to plow one lot for an hour that a guy with a truck could do in half the time? With your current setup I try to get a bunch of residential right next to each other so you didn't have to load and unload. You could knock those out pretty quick.


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## Carroll257 (Nov 13, 2014)

Putting a plow on my truck is out of the question. It's a long wheelbase 3/4 ton crew cab that turns in about 3 acres. I have considered looking for a dedicated plow truck, but I want to see how this season turns out first. The tractor is ok, but I have a cab and heater for the teryx and would prefer to use it. I'm not looking to go big scale with this so I'm going to run what I've got for now. Also, the tractor will be on standby unless needed because I plan on driving the SXS around from job to job. I have a trailer that I can pull behind it with salt and spreader that I can drop once I get there while I plow. All of the jobs that I have lined up are relatively small that I can do pretty quickly. The only one that is of any concern is a church lot that's decent size. Things are always subject to change though, I guess we'll see how it goes. I hate to dump a lot of money into equipment when snow is pretty unpredictable in this area. If it takes me longer on a job that someone else, it's not the end of the world. I'm still servicing my established clients landscape maintenance clients who weren't utilizing the service before. I've also got a good relationship with my equipment dealer who would rent me skid steers with cabs and heaters if needed for a good rate, but they are super slow going from job to job.


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## halfkeck (Sep 9, 2015)

Welcome to the snow biz in the South. What we do in our area to keep costs down is to go up to the frozen tundras and buy rusted out trucks that have good working operating plows then move everything over to rust free trucks down here. Lot of work but keeps our costs down as the demand is so hit or miss. I did spend some coin on two new spreaders this year as it seems salt spreading is going to generate more money than straight plowing.


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## banksl&s (Sep 7, 2007)

You can plow as big of a lot as you want or are comfortable with. I've plowed parking lots with a 500cc atv with a 60" moose plow. The biggest being about 120'X250'. I don't mind the being out in the cold and I like plowing with the atv. Like you said keep the overhead low and working with what you have. Having a cab and a heater will be nice, just like a mini truck. Plus I pick up work that guys in trucks think are too small and don't want to mess with. Good luck this year!


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