# How much a hour do you get to plow



## exmark kid

How much a hour are you guys getting to plow? The truck that will be used is a 2500 gmc, and the plow is a meyer straight, not shure on width.


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## Brian Young

Depends a lot on where you live. Guys will tell you anywhere from 40-65/hr. I pay my subs $40.00/hr with a 3/4 ton truck and at least a 8ft blade. Get some type of wing set up for your blade, you might get a few more bucks per hour.


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## Banksy

3 figures an hour but keep in mind that we rarely get snow and almost no one else plows. The market isn't saturated here.


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## grandview

100.00 an hr buy you need to deduct 95.00 for having a Meyer plow,


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## alsam116

i got 65 last year as a sub with a 3/4 ton ford and 8ftr straight. im just south of the ohio river near florence. hope that helps you out
alex


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## creativedesigns

exmark kid;808815 said:


> How much a hour are you guys getting to plow? The truck that will be used is a 2500 gmc, and the plow is a meyer straight, not shure on width.


Theres already topics about this: http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=84477


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## hydro_37

I won't drop my blade for less then $50 an hour.


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## 2COR517

grandview;808857 said:


> 100.00 an hr buy you need to deduct 95.00 for having a Meyer plow,


Been waiting for that


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## tls22

Guys get around 90-115 a hr here......i would not do it for anything less. We dont get the snow the great lake guys get......we avg about 28 inches of snow a year.


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## snocrete

subs around here will get anywhere from $45/hr - $75/hr for trucks, just depends on setup & operator, and who your working for.


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## KJ Cramer

I signed last week as a sub for $80.00 an hour + 5.00 an hour for fuel. I run a 3/4 ton with a 8.5' V and 3 years experience. Its about an 8 hr route with 3-4" on the ground. commercial and residential mix. I also do some of my friends' drives for 1 case of Busch Light each, a month, they are last and are only hit once a storm.


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## highlander316

average just over 100. Some more, some less, depends on the part of the route, and if I gotta drive for 15 mins or so.


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## Shop's Lawn

I get 110.00 per hour here in WI- western side of the state. I wont plow unless it turns out to be about 90-120.00 per hour. I dont do any Residentials under 35.00- and the 4 I have at 35.00 per time are right across the road from me! Dont work for free or low-ball!


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## Mark Oomkes

Seriously, it depends. Do you want to know what I bid it at?

Or what I actually make? With or without travel time? How about setup and cleaning\servicing the truck?


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## Longae29

If it wasn't for plowsite i'd feel a lot better about what I charge an hour for a truck/loader/sidewalk guys.....ugh! cheap disgusting [email protected] I tell ya.........I get so worked up about this, I should just start bidding in terms of cases or bottles to calm myself down.


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## kws

Here in WI i dont pay more than $50.00 per hour!
Residential only of course


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## azandy

N.E. Wisconsin area. Most contractors are around $80.00 per hour. Some non insured side job people are around $60.00. That is till they wreck something.


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## plowtime1

As example for subbing...Target Store lot $75.00 hr til cleared. Traveling to locations keeping places opened up $90.00.


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## jomama45

I have to say, these threads about pricing sure do get confusing! There really is no correct answer to any of these questions, other than figure out what ALL of your OVERHEAD costs are (many good threads detailing this) & simply add either the profit you want/need to make, or better yet, what your MARKET will bear. When it comes to the MARKET, it's fairly simple: if your area gets 150+" of snow a year, your going to be able to charge a fraction of what subs make in an area that gets 20" of snow a year.

Personally, as a sub, I keep it between my boss & myself what I make per hour. It's no one elses business, as he's the only one that can truly put an accurate value on what I'm worth per hour. Also, beware of random info over the internet from across the country, some guys may be "pulling your chain" a bit!


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## Shaw

Oh crap well last year I was working with for a landscaping company and it was my first year and wow I didnt make that much ($13CA/HR)


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## 2COR517

jomama45;810232 said:


> X2 !!!
> 
> Personally, as a sub, I keep it between my boss & myself what I make per hour. It's no one elses business, as he's the only one that can truly put an accurate value on what I'm worth per hour. Also, beware of random info over the internet from across the country, some guys may be "pulling your chain" a bit!


That's the best advice so far on this thread.


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## Mark Oomkes

2COR517;810537 said:


> That's the best advice so far on this thread.


What the................

What was wrong with my advice?


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## MileHigh

Sub contractor rates.

75 a truck,
25 per shoveler,
40 per blower,
25 per bag of melt applied.


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## cretebaby

BladeScape;812908 said:


> 75 a truck,
> 25 per shoveler,
> 40 per blower,
> 25 per bag of melt applied.


You forgot salt.


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## MileHigh

cretebaby;812948 said:


> You forgot salt.


Crete...

As of right now...I have no salting work other than spreading melt on Sidewalks at several locations...as my bid for the medical center was not accepted. :angry:

I'm still trying to break into the salt scene,..just havent got there yet.


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## terrapro

Shaw;810527 said:


> Oh crap well last year I was working with for a landscaping company and it was my first year and wow I didnt make that much ($13CA/HR)


I hope you weren't using your own truck!


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## scoops

I don't like even bidding by the hr, I will tell them how long it would take to do on the average snow fall, most owners would like something locked in. An hourly rate can get you in a piss-in match with owner or facility manager. If you are plowing at a set amount you will not have some one sitting there with a stop watch saying you plowed that out in 20 min. and charged me 1hr. I do like to average 100 per hr under 4 in, my set amount works very good 100-125 per hr over 6 in 50-75 per hr it seems to work out in the end, I have had some of the same costumer's for over 20 years and they are the ones that call me every season to make sure that I'm still going to take care of them.


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## doo-man

Someone once told me they got around $1.00 per minute but a min of $30.00 just to plow, that was like 7yrs ago so I would think prices have gone up since then?????

Just my couple of free pennies


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## MIDTOWNPC

JD Dave;814259 said:


> start bidding and if you get no work your prices are to high, if you get too much work your prices are to low. .


and when you get too much work everyone will call you a lowballer anyways.
Personally I find that term is thrown around alot.

Hopefully if you find out you are the lowest price and got the job you find where the next person was above you for the bid and find that you didnt leave much on the table.

I usually fill up my gas at the lowballer gas station.


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## terrapro

Bajak;814319 said:


> Here I see no one says anything about contracts lost to the desperate. At least not yet anyway.


Thats is because you have to be stupid not desperate to get up at 2AM and leave your wife/girlfriend to go play in the wet cold crappy snow.


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## 2COR517

JD Dave;814259 said:


> On a serious note, there is no way in heck, I'm telling people an hourly rate that I charge.


I think we all agree on that. If I tell you what I charge, you can undercut me by 10% and have all kinds of work. It doesn't matter that I have better equipment, or more plowing experience. If the customer is going on price alone, you will have the job. Further more, hourly rate can vary by town, county, state.

I still feel that pricing comes down to what the job will pay, and do I make enough money at that rate to justify getting out of bed at 2am.


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## NoFearDeere

Wont drop any of the Boss' for under $70 an hour


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## JeffNY

$100-$250/hr. depends on the driveway.


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## Kramer

KJ Cramer;809030 said:


> I signed last week as a sub for $80.00 an hour + 5.00 an hour for fuel. I run a 3/4 ton with a 8.5' V and 3 years experience. Its about an 8 hr route with 3-4" on the ground. commercial and residential mix. I also do some of my friends' drives for 1 case of Busch Light each, a month, they are last and are only hit once a storm.


just wondering how much fuel you go thru in an hr?


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## f250man

I get 75 an hr with a 3/4 ton and an 8' with wings


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## f250man

It all depends on the amount of snow and how big your route is. So it is hard to tell how much plowing you can do on a tank of gas.


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## augerandblade

Dont forget that some "lowballers" are actually fighting a economic war with their competitors. You can keep plowing on Baltic Avenue, I know I should charge more for Park Place, but if youve got it then youre going to be trouble "down the road". Hourly rates fluctuate depending on all kinds of reasons.


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## cretebaby

Kramer;817975 said:


> just wondering how much fuel you go thru in an hr?


~2gals/hour


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## KJ Cramer

Kramer;817975 said:


> just wondering how much fuel you go thru in an hr?


More than $5.00 an hour, but its just another bonus. The way it is set-up, and I don't know why, the 5 bucks an hour gets paid in a lump sum at the end of the season, while the 80 an hour gets paid with in 2 weeks (sometimes 2 days, sometimes 14 but always within 2 weeks) after each storm. This year he offered another option which was to fill up at the beginning and the end of each event, and he would pay the second receipt, which would be a better deal as far as money goes but I just didn't want to have to keep track of all those receipts for 4-5 months and subtract all the Mt. Dews and food from them as well, I have enough paperwork to keep track of. To me, I love plowing snow, yes its a business but as long as it pays the bills and leaves something in my pocket, I'm happy; including my insurance, fuel, equipment, etc. I figure I need to make less than 60 an hour at the avg number of hours per season spent plowing. So the 25+ an hour to do something that I enjoy doing doesn't seem too bad. This year I am hoping my expenses will be less with the new equipment vs. the last couple years, we will see, so I might even clear more than I did in years past, then again the new equipment needs to be "paid" for before I can start gaining a profit if you really want to get technical.


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## mtk469

For us it all depends on the job travel time Snow fall etc. We are between $65 and $100 / hour


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