# how far between jobs is too far at 20 MPH



## Snow=White Gold (Dec 4, 2019)

my snow mentor who has given me every snow removal job i have may be putting me in a sticky situation. until now, he gave me 1 out of the way retail job that he didn't trust his guys on. but every other apt. complex he gave me, 10 of them, are densely located 10 miles away. so far i've used my pickup and wideout and it takes me about 11 hours total on an average snow. this spring, after i got him a very nice real estate commission, he said he's going to be giving me "a lot more properties" im worried that i'll be getting his 40 unit twin home complex that is ill suited for my pickup. i could handle a normal snowfall, but a blizzard/snowstorm there would be a nightmare and more than my pickup could handle. i have a few options, buy a used skidder/trailer/pusher for $50K +- , or spend $65K+- on a used compact loader, case 321F/pusher. i would start at the retail (bills out for an hour and a half, drive 2.5 miles to get to the 40 unit complex (bills out for 5 hours) , then drive 10 miles to the rest of the 10 apartments (9 billable hours). also considering 90-100 hp kubota tractors with top speeds around 24 mph. do i turn down the work, keep my set up, and hope there's no repercussions, again the guy has handed me every snow removal job i have. driving a compact loader at 20 MPH would add at least an hour and a half to each event in drive time but also be much faster when pushing snow. how is loading and unloading a skidder a couple times a day? i don't have DOT now, but would have to for the bobcat as i would be crossing state lines and MN is anything commercial over 10K gvwr. any advice on any part of this equation is welcome. "too much of a good thing"


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## MIDTOWNPC (Feb 17, 2007)

Hire someone to help you on your tight route area with a machine that will make you time when it’s deep. Take the truck to the remote site plow and salt it then work with your machine and help. If you don’t want to buy a machine find someone with the tractor and buy the blade. Owner operators are usually well committed. The sites you have now you know well so you can explain them perfectly. Draw push plans and get the machine working. Make your operator push early start of the season to get time in and learn places.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Depends...money you can make on the lot. Time spent on the lot. Amount of time you have committed already.


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

for ME I will not travel 1/2 mile, I have 105 driveways in a 3 mile dia. circle.

I only plow driveways! Cant pay me enough to plow commercial.


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## Plow Masters (Sep 30, 2020)

I have had several 2speed skid steers and I never trailer them, it is too time consuming to tie down every time. Anything within 10 minutes drive time in a truck is worth walking your equipment instead of trailering. However I wouldn't ever buy a skid steer again, compact wheel loaders are much more profitable and versatile. Unless the areas are super super tight a loader or truck is the way to go.

I would just work longer hours to get it all done. But if you're on a time constraint then sub out on the days you think you can't finish in time. You should know after a couple snow falls how much help you need. But if the type of work is what you typically do I wouldn't fret over a little travel.

I would only buy new equipment if I had enough work to keep both the old equipment and new equipment busy. with the exception of retiring a piece of equipment which hasn't happened yet.


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## sota (Jan 31, 2011)

I can only describe myself as a "filthy casual" in the plowing game, but I've a similar situation with the landscaper that hires me on every year. I've told him on a couple occasions, that some of his suggested additions to my current route (out of the way, long travel time, not a residential driveway) would put me beyond my comfort level for getting the job done in a reasonable amount of time. Having done my current route for a couple of years, myself and my hired shovel guy can get it done in 4.5 hours on a light storm, 8 hours on a moderate, and 11 hours on a heavy. It's about 30 miles driving total for the loop, assuming he doesn't pull rank and kick me to a specific site out of sequence because someone needs to walk their dog or some other moronic reason. Mind you we get paid by the hour, so longer == mo money, but I'm not interested in risking either of our lives by getting to tired doing this job.


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