# What is the point of keeping trucks onsite?!?!?!?!



## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

Ok well i've been trying to figure this out!
At a local nursing home this guy has one skid steer with pusher
a big box truck and 2 pickups 

Is he trying to advertise or what...

May i state this guys shop is literally 10 min. away!


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## R&R Yard Design (Dec 6, 2004)

He might not have room at the shop during winter.


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## Wayne Volz (Mar 1, 2002)

*They may be paying*

The Nursing home may be paying to have the equipment on site. That is not uncommon.


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## procut1 (Jan 21, 2004)

I do 2 sites right next door to eachother. I dont like my trucks on the road dealing with drivers.

Being on site, I dont have to worry as much about road conditions, guys crashing. Sometimes a 10 minute ride in nice weather is an hour in a snowstorm.

Years ago, my shop was 5 minutes from the job. Involved crossing a toll bridge. Accident closed the bridge for about 8 hours. The only other way there was usually an hour ride in decent weather.
We went to plow the complex at 6 am. It was noon before we could get our first truck there.

After that, I keep everything possible on site.


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

Wayne Volz;1247723 said:


> The Nursing home may be paying to have the equipment on site. That is not uncommon.


For what?
So they can use it?
I wouldnt be comfortable letting someone who i didnt know drive my truck! My workers are bad enough!


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## Wayne Volz (Mar 1, 2002)

*no*



Plow man Foster;1247742 said:


> For what?
> So they can use it?
> I wouldnt be comfortable letting someone who i didnt know drive my truck! My workers are bad enough!


Some clients pay a retainer (some don't) to have equipment on site to guarantee the equipment is set aside for their property. The contractor simply sends the operator to their site for the event.

Look around and I am confident you will see "pushers" sitting on sites as well. Maybe not at the nursing home but on other sites. Some also have sheds for deicing material that is stored on site.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Maybe he took the insurance of the trucks and keeps them there. Or maybe he has a guy who drives his personal car there and works that lot.


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## RLM (Jan 12, 2006)

We leave a box truck onsite, my shovel crew reports & starts there route from there. Other wise it is 20 minutes to my shop on good roads. Id rather have it there.


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## Mackman (Nov 3, 2009)

My oldboss does the IRS building in philly. He trailers his 5 pick-ups up there and two loaders every fall and then trailers them back in the spring. With the 5 pick ups he has no insurance, No tags , Last time inspected was in like 1995 lol. They are beater plow trucks. Thats all he uses them for.


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## paponte (Oct 28, 2003)

I see alot of guys do this and pull the tags, no insurance, reg, or anything. It's actually not legit to do, as a parking lot is not considered a construction site. Something happens, and you have problems.


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## bristolturf (Dec 20, 2008)

it depends on what equipment you have, and distance from the shop. Obviously equipment like loaders and stuff, usually will stay on site, but maybe not if the shop is just down the road. There are some around here that drive site to site, then back to the shop. If its the only site its going to, why bring it back and forth and have a bunch of people reporting to the shop just to go to one site.

I know guys with big cdl trucks, park those on site, and have people who may not have a cdl run it. I can drive a CDL, have my permit and have driven a dump before, but I cant drive it on the road without someone with me. So ive gone to the site before and plowed there, then we just park it there.

biggest thing though, is the convenience factor, everyone shows up to the site to work, and there is no wasted travel time. Get there work, done home. Not get there, drive, work, drive, then home


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## LB1234 (Oct 17, 2006)

i think the question should be more along the lines of "why wouldn't you leave your equipment on site" I wish I could do that...the benefits far outweigh the cons.


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## peterng (Apr 13, 2006)

I wish I could leave my truck on site but I'm afraid of it getting broken into. Beater plow truck may be the way to go.
Pete


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## Jacobsmovinsnow (Jan 12, 2011)

I got a oldtractor that has lost 4th gear, I park it about 1/8 mile away from work. 3rd gear is actually too slow for the road but ideal speed for the parking lots when it is equipped with a 12 foot pusher.


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## lawnkale (Dec 4, 2008)

i pay my employees $30.00 to $60 an hour to operate my equipment. They do not get paid for drive time. It saves me 500 to 600 a snowfall. It also makes the customer feel that they are number 1 in line when it comes to a blizzard. I also make the customer pay to keep the block heater plug in all winter.....A win win for me.


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## KMBertog (Sep 9, 2010)

We keep loaders/skids on site at many of our locations. Office complexes, homeowners assn's, etc... It's a benefit to them. They know the equipment is dedicated to their sites and it saves a lot of time rather than having to haul machines around each time it snows.


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

Plow man Foster;1247742 said:


> For what?
> So they can use it?
> I wouldnt be comfortable letting someone who i didnt know drive my truck! My workers are bad enough!


Boy sounds like this is realy buging you. With 271 posts here on plowsite it seems like you would already know the answer to your question.


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

motodad;1248615 said:


> Boy sounds like this is realy buging you. With 271 posts here on plowsite it seems like you would already know the answer to your question.


:laughing::laughing: ahahahahhahahahaa! i dont know!


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

lawnkale;1248447 said:


> i pay my employees $30.00 to $60 an hour to operate my equipment. They do not get paid for drive time. It saves me 500 to 600 a snowfall. It also makes the customer feel that they are number 1 in line when it comes to a blizzard. I also make the customer pay to keep the block heater plug in all winter.....A win win for me.


Let's go off topic for this. Why not pay them,they are working for you.


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## jgoetter1 (Feb 23, 2007)

grandview;1248686 said:


> Let's go off topic for this. Why not pay them,they are working for you.


I'd also like you to explain this. You don't pay your employees for drivetime to get to work or for drivetime between accounts??


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## wastedwages (Feb 9, 2011)

I had one plow contractor that I let keep two Bobcats on site. He had lots of accounts in town. So his men would come here and drive the plows to the accounts. I actually had keys to the units. So we would run them inside on the weekends. If it looked like he was going to need them then we just let them sit outside. That way they got a chance to thaw out. I also would let him do his preventative maintenance in the building. It worked out good and he greatly appreciated it.


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## lawnkale (Dec 4, 2008)

grandview;1248686 said:


> Let's go off topic for this. Why not pay them,they are working for you.


I dont pay them to drive to work....Once they get to job site they stay there all night... we do malls that take all night...I would pay them to drive from acc to acc but not our case. Just like a framer...timeclock starts when you get to jobsite and stops when you leave job site


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Not talking about getting to work that their deal. Once they punch they are on the clock. So why are they being penalized because you took stuff far away and may have to drive awhile.


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## turbo5560 (Apr 6, 2007)

lawnkale;1248447 said:


> i pay my employees $30.00 to $60 an hour to operate my equipment. They do not get paid for drive time. It saves me 500 to 600 a snowfall. It also makes the customer feel that they are number 1 in line when it comes to a blizzard. I also make the customer pay to keep the block heater plug in all winter.....A win win for me.


You pay your guys $60 an hour to run YOUR equipment?????? You hiring? Most people around here work for less than that running there own equipment. The guy that you pay $60 and hour- what does he do and what does he operate?


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

jgoetter1;1248694 said:


> I'd also like you to explain this. You don't pay your employees for drivetime to get to work or for drivetime between accounts??


My guys fill out time sheets. Time in to an account and time out of a account and they get paid for what they do. Now dont start busting my ass for running my biz this way because my guys get paid very good when they are working and has worked out great for me for years.


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## paponte (Oct 28, 2003)

turbo5560;1248719 said:


> You pay your guys $60 an hour to run YOUR equipment?????? You hiring? Most people around here work for less than that running there own equipment. The guy that you pay $60 and hour- what does he do and what does he operate?


Yeah really!! I'd run a loader all week for you @ $60hr. Hell, I might even buy the fuel! Thumbs Up


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## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

motodad, the method you described above with how you pay your employees is against the labour laws here. I would check there if you have not already. Last thing you want is a claim coming at you that is enforceable for all employees (not just the one that makes the claim with the labour office) and also may be retroactive. Some employees are very smart with record keeping, I know I always was. One employer I had to take to task on it and it changed the entire structure of how all the employees were paid from that point on. That company was a 15 store chain and had more than 40 employees per store. It did not amount to small change at all.


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

forbidden;1248849 said:


> motodad, the method you described above with how you pay your employees is against the labour laws here. I would check there if you have not already. Last thing you want is a claim coming at you that is enforceable for all employees (not just the one that makes the claim with the labour office) and also may be retroactive. Some employees are very smart with record keeping, I know I always was. One employer I had to take to task on it and it changed the entire structure of how all the employees were paid from that point on. That company was a 15 store chain and had more than 40 employees per store. It did not amount to small change at all.


Thats how alot of guys run it around here really no differant that being a car salesman you can sit there for days and not make a dime or even a sweeper salsman , If your not working your not getting paid. Things may be a little diff up there across the boarder.The only free rides around here are the people on welfare but thats another thread.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

So then these are employees or sub contractors that you hired?


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## lawnkale (Dec 4, 2008)

grandview;1248712 said:


> Not talking about getting to work that their deal. Once they punch they are on the clock. So why are they being penalized because you took stuff far away and may have to drive awhile.


who said anything bout getting penalized... i pay my guys very well. When there ass is sitting in loader they get paid. I do not pay to drive to work or to drive home. I also do not pay to go get coffee or cigarettes. There is alot of industries that do this. anyone that is in construction field is like this. Time clock starts at site and end's at site. Some site's are close some are little farther away. Just how it happens. all my site's are within 20 minutes.

Yes most of my guys average between $40- $60/ hr to operate my equipment. I am billing out 3 times that. So why not take care of my operators. I run 20 pieces equipment and at 1 hr drive time x $50/hr adds up. So to keep this post back to the topic. Why i place equipment on site.. for me is about saving money..


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## Mackman (Nov 3, 2009)

motodad;1248902 said:


> Thats how alot of guys run it around here really no differant that being a car salesman you can sit there for days and not make a dime or even a sweeper salsman , If your not working your not getting paid. Things may be a little diff up there across the boarder.The only free rides around here are the people on welfare but thats another thread.


But salesman are not paid by the hour!!


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

Mackman;1249154 said:


> But salesman are not paid by the hour!!


You get my point.


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## tkmack (Feb 5, 2011)

Why does it seem to bother you?
I would think one would have bigger fish to fry.


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## KMBertog (Sep 9, 2010)

paponte;1248822 said:


> Yeah really!! I'd run a loader all week for you @ $60hr. Hell, I might even buy the fuel! Thumbs Up


$60 an hour to be in a loader is cheap... if we could get away paying our guys who run front end loaders at that price it would be a steal.


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

KMBertog;1249475 said:


> $60 an hour to be in a loader is cheap... if we could get away paying our guys who run front end loaders at that price it would be a steal.


Your joking right? This is just snow we are pushing around. I have guys fighting over the loaders at more that 1/2 that price. Your neck of the woods must be high rollers. payup


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## procut1 (Jan 21, 2004)

KMBertog;1249475 said:


> $60 an hour to be in a loader is cheap... if we could get away paying our guys who run front end loaders at that price it would be a steal.


Youre obviously kidding.

Ill bet you can walk up to anyone shoveling sidewalks for $15 and hour and say

"Want me to teach you to operate this? Ill pay you the same"

And they will be all over that.

I know youre joking but some here might think youre serious


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## KMBertog (Sep 9, 2010)

procut1;1249891 said:


> Youre obviously kidding.
> 
> Ill bet you can walk up to anyone shoveling sidewalks for $15 and hour and say
> 
> ...


No, I am not kidding. These guys are the good ole union boys who run our loaders. It ain't cheap, but they know what they're doing.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

KMBertog;1249921 said:


> No, I am not kidding. These guys are the good ole union boys who run our loaders. It ain't cheap, but they know what they're doing.


Is the guy running the skid in your video at the high end or the low end of the range?


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## KMBertog (Sep 9, 2010)

cretebaby;1249925 said:


> Is the guy running the skid in your video at the high end or the low end of the range?


not talking skids

talking large front end loaders w/ push boxes or blades. Cat 924, Dresser, Case, etc.

Not here to start any arguments, but stating that's what we have to pay the guys who run these machines for us.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Surprised you found a union guy who wants to work during the winter and not collect unemployment.


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## procut1 (Jan 21, 2004)

Not saying to not pay a good wage. 
But jeez
Why use those guys? 
And you said $60 an hour was cheap? What do you pay them?

For not much more than $60 an hour I can get guys who not only operate the machine.....THEY BRING THE MACHINE.

For $15 an hour you would have a line around the block.

When I had loaders I paid $25 which was the highest in the area.

For $60 an hour, ill fly to IL and back whenever it snows and run one for ya.


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## Mdirrigation (Dec 12, 2003)

paponte;1248003 said:


> I see alot of guys do this and pull the tags, no insurance, reg, or anything. It's actually not legit to do, as a parking lot is not considered a construction site. Something happens, and you have problems.


There are no tags , registration , or insurance on a bobcat on the same parking lot , whats the difference ? I have 3 trucks not registered or insured that are lot trucks , my insurance covers me for commercial snowplowing .


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Mdirrigation;1250276 said:


> There are no tags , registration , or insurance on a bobcat on the same parking lot , whats the difference ? I have 3 trucks not registered or insured that are lot trucks , my insurance covers me for commercial snowplowing .


Check with your agent on this. If your plowing with a truck and hit something it will go under your auto insurance not your GL insurance.,I think?


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## peterng (Apr 13, 2006)

The way my policy is written here was explained like this: 

The auto policy carries snow plowing, but the auto policy covers nothing if I am in the process of plowing. If I have an accident while in the process of snow plowing, my general liability policy carries it. If I hit someone on a sunny day driving around with plow on, auto policy covers that. 

The only thing mentioning snow plowing to my auto insurance broker does is lets them know the vehicle is being used for work so they can't ***** at me when I do get in an accident.

I should check that though, cause my auto insurance broker explained that to me. Should pass that scenario by my general liability provider.
Pete


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## motodad (Jul 6, 2010)

peterng;1250399 said:


> The way my policy is written here was explained like this:
> 
> The auto policy carries snow plowing, but the auto policy covers nothing if I am in the process of plowing. If I have an accident while in the process of snow plowing, my general liability policy carries it. If I hit someone on a sunny day driving around with plow on, auto policy covers that.
> 
> ...


Around here if they know your plowing snow for anyone other than your own driveway you will be dropped and they will not cover anything. Example a local building contractor used a backhoe for his job but also plowed snow well he thought he was covered since his backhoe was on his construction paperwork. Guess what he backed into a lady hurting her while plowing a church and tried to turn it into his ins and they dropped him and said he wasnt insured to plow snow well now he dosent plow snow anymore and does not have that backhoe either. If your not paying extra to cover snow removal YOU ARE NOT COVERED plain and simple.


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