# 158 driveway HOA with a Ebling



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

I currently use a 8ft protech pull back box on a bobcat. I works good but I am always wanting more HP and weight. I am always looking to speed up the operation. I have been wanting to try a back blade for a pick up forever. From the videos I have seen this could be the answers to my prayers. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT CURRENTLY OPERATE BACK P{LOWS, how long would you say it takes on average to clean a driveway say 20 x 30 ft. I know therte are many types of back plows but if I am going to get one I think a Ebling would be my choice from what I read. Sorry about the length of the post.


----------



## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

How close are the homes across the street from each other? Some guys have problems with a back blade because by the time they make it to the end of the driveway they are in the one across the street.


----------



## DirtyJerzey (Dec 21, 2007)

grandview;1306901 said:


> How close are the homes across the street from each other? Some guys have problems with a back blade because by the time they make it to the end of the driveway they are in the one across the street.


thats the exact problem I see you having Matt. Youll be on the neighbors lawn by the time you drag out each driveway.... I think best bet... Spend the money and rent a BIG skid steer and use one of your others on another account or just run 3 skids.


----------



## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

The problem with the back blade is that once you pull the drive out, you waste time cleaning up the street with the front plow. Could your Bobcat follow the truck and clean up the pull outs? With that many drives close together, I think the Bobcat is better and more versatile as far as snow location goes.

I think you'll hear the words tractor and blower coming up soon.


----------



## Glenn Lawn Care (Sep 28, 2009)

If you put a snow plow on you skid I think it will make your life easier.


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

20 x 30ft?

A minute maybe, with backing in and getting lined up. A larger Ebling that is.

You have to turn either way to catch the corners, so what these guys are saying might be an issue, it isn't as big as they're making it out to be.

I think this phrase might just be key: *FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT CURRENTLY OPERATE BACK P{LOWS*


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

WIPensFan;1307283 said:


> I think you'll hear the words tractor and blower coming up soon.


You took the words right out of my mouth. That sounds like a great place for one dedicated tractor/blower. If you can make it work, your probally looking at 4 hours for one tractor, and less time after the operator gets good at it.


----------



## erkoehler (Sep 25, 2008)

I have a 16ft Ebling, and I would guess you could be completely done w/ a 20x30 drive pretty quick. I always turn coming out of the driveway, and then push it up in to the grass or easement.


----------



## plowmanben (Feb 7, 2009)

A buddy of mine does a HOA with a back blade. I helped in out a few times and it works great. The driveways aren't exactly across from each other. He has no problem with running up in the lawn, as some people have said you may have to turn a little at the end of the drive. I don't see any problem with it, but I have never used one just observed it in action.


----------



## Triple L (Nov 1, 2005)

When you turn sharp you gotta watch you don't be peeling up the lawn on the one side as the back blade swings out... Reg cab short box half ton would be a slick rig for this job! Use the back blade to clear the street as well


----------



## MIDTOWNPC (Feb 17, 2007)

The only thing that will drive you crazy is if someone parts across the street on the road.
Its hard to wiggle in. Best would be to drop the front blade, pull all the drives then go hook up the front blade and tuck all the snow into the corners or drag it to the final pile zone. If you get alot of snow in your area it could be kind of a selling feature that you wont have giant piles at the end of everyones lane. Makes for less blind spots and its probably a lot less work to pull all the snow onto the private road ways and then to a pile zone then to tuck in 150 some lane ways. 

An ebling will make fast work of that, but you might get a soar neck vs using the bobcat.

however with the purchase of an ebling you essentially free up the bobcat for another job which is a good trade off. I did this because my ebling could now sucessfully drag out loading docks at a site and I didnt have to move a bobcat there. Thats a big savings for me.


----------



## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

Thats a lot of driveways! If i were you i would downsize the driveway biz. loose the aggravation and do and some small commercial. Since you already have a good size fleet.


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

Plow man Foster;1307477 said:


> Thats a lot of driveways! If i were you i would downsize the driveway biz. loose the aggravation and do and some small commercial. Since you already have a good size fleet.


Why?

If he sets it up right, he will be making far more money per hour than a few small commercials.

He has no travel time. It's almost like plowing small commercials because of the reduced travel.


----------



## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

have you thought about a blower for initial cleanup and scrape with a blade, easier to move snow once


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

Plow man Foster;1307477 said:


> Thats a lot of driveways! If i were you i would downsize the driveway biz. loose the aggravation and do and some small commercial. Since you already have a good size fleet.


If you dont want it, I will take it. Lets see 158 private homes, at my market pricing they would go for $310 each. Thats $48,980.00 for the season. I would then buy an ag tractor with an inverted blower. I know you can get a Kubota M100 for around 50 grand with 0% financing over 5 years. You would have to buy the blower so to keep it simple lets say 10 grand. So far your initial investment is 20 grand, a good driver will take 3 hours to do that run, but lets say 5 because he needs to learn this new system. You pay this driver 25/hr which you can increase when he decreases the amount of time it takes him. It will cost you around $10/hr on fuel. So every pass costs you $175 + your equipment. Now lets say two passes per event and you have 20 events = 40 passes lets add 10 for some bigger storms and we are at a total of 50 passes. That times $175 = $8750.00, now add your capital investment of tractor and blower and you are at $28,750.00. Leaving you with 20 grand after the first year. Now year two you already own the blower so that leaves you with 30 grand. After 5 years you now own that tractor outright, and you still have 10 more good years with that tractor. Ok yes you will have maintenance costs for the tractor, it will not be more than $1500 a year, and definately near to nothing in the first 5 years. You do need insurance, but slip fall is not an issue unless they want you to salt also. If that is the case your salting pricing should have the liability factored into it. So there you have it, the reason why I do resi. Oh by the way do these homes like you would any 50 grand commercial with care and timely service and you will see that there will not be many calls. You may just want to think twice about refusing resi, then again everyone thinks I am a crazy Canadian.


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

Neige;1307604 said:


> If you dont want it, I will take it. Lets see 158 private homes, at my market pricing they would go for $310 each. Thats $48,980.00 for the season. I would then buy an ag tractor with an inverted blower. I know you can get a Kubota M100 for around 50 grand with 0% financing over 5 years. You would have to buy the blower so to keep it simple lets say 10 grand. So far your initial investment is 20 grand, a good driver will take 3 hours to do that run, but lets say 5 because he needs to learn this new system. You pay this driver 25/hr which you can increase when he decreases the amount of time it takes him. It will cost you around $10/hr on fuel. So every pass costs you $175 + your equipment. Now lets say two passes per event and you have 20 events = 40 passes lets add 10 for some bigger storms and we are at a total of 50 passes. That times $175 = $8750.00, now add your capital investment of tractor and blower and you are at $28,750.00. Leaving you with 20 grand after the first year. Now year two you already own the blower so that leaves you with 30 grand. After 5 years you now own that tractor outright, and you still have 10 more good years with that tractor. Ok yes you will have maintenance costs for the tractor, it will not be more than $1500 a year, and definately near to nothing in the first 5 years. You do need insurance, but slip fall is not an issue unless they want you to salt also. If that is the case your salting pricing should have the liability factored into it. So there you have it, the reason why I do resi. Oh by the way do these homes like you would any 50 grand commercial with care and timely service and you will see that there will not be many calls. You may just want to think twice about refusing resi, then again everyone thinks I am a crazy Canadian.


Actually Paul, I believe the latest term for one using common sense is being a nitwit. tymusic


----------



## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

Neige;1307604 said:


> If you dont want it, I will take it. Lets see 158 private homes, at my market pricing they would go for $310 each. Thats $48,980.00 for the season. I would then buy an ag tractor with an inverted blower. I know you can get a Kubota M100 for around 50 grand with 0% financing over 5 years. You would have to buy the blower so to keep it simple lets say 10 grand. So far your initial investment is 20 grand, a good driver will take 3 hours to do that run, but lets say 5 because he needs to learn this new system. You pay this driver 25/hr which you can increase when he decreases the amount of time it takes him. It will cost you around $10/hr on fuel. So every pass costs you $175 + your equipment. Now lets say two passes per event and you have 20 events = 40 passes lets add 10 for some bigger storms and we are at a total of 50 passes. That times $175 = $8750.00, now add your capital investment of tractor and blower and you are at $28,750.00. Leaving you with 20 grand after the first year. Now year two you already own the blower so that leaves you with 30 grand. After 5 years you now own that tractor outright, and you still have 10 more good years with that tractor. Ok yes you will have maintenance costs for the tractor, it will not be more than $1500 a year, and definately near to nothing in the first 5 years. You do need insurance, but slip fall is not an issue unless they want you to salt also. If that is the case your salting pricing should have the liability factored into it. So there you have it, the reason why I do resi. Oh by the way do these homes like you would any 50 grand commercial with care and timely service and you will see that there will not be many calls. You may just want to think twice about refusing resi, then again everyone thinks I am a crazy Canadian.


Ok okay i see.... Not bad. I do drives still but in MY market we have guys going for 125 and lower while im charging almost 3 times that. So instead i have recently (past 3 years) purchased heavy equip. and have been lucky enough to move onto Big commercial such as Strip malls, Costcos and churches/ temples. Not to mention some good size HOA's. I have found that i can get more money doing commercial and less maintenance opposed to doing 200 drives. But thats just me. My guys like it also because they can stay at one site for hours instead of traveling and switching gears many many times...


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

First let me thank you all for the posts they were helpful
Im not sure I explianed good enough. I do one current private 55 and older HOA. It has 1.7 miles of roadway which i use two cat here currently and do quite well with normal amounts of snow. 27 inches like last years dec 26 storm takes longer. So its not like I am dealing with 125 customers just one or two managers.
This new place is the same thing a 55 and older with 1.8 miles of private roadway and 158 single family homes. So again I am not dealing with all those people rather one manager. I think a rear plow would def help but now I am leaning toward a AG tractor with a rear plow or possible a inverted blower. I also would have another cat there to clean up all the driveway pulls if neccassary.
My question with the blower is 
1. does it scrape down to pavement or would i have to have guys clean the remains
2. will it work good with a little bit of snow. like would it still scrape and blow as good with 4 inches of snow compaired to lets say ten.
I was thinking used tractor and new blower.
Please let many know any of your input.
Thanks again


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

well after reading all the post i am wanting a tractor with inverted blower.These two HOA are across the street and have a combined of 275 driveways. Iwant to know what tractor and blower you all would suggest. I want about a 100 hp machine and a nice inverted blower. I also will be running three other skids to help. I have seen videos of the tractor/blower set up and in a 5 min clip the dude is doing 4 to 5 driveways. Is this possible could i do 15 drivways in 30 mins. Ilike new holland and case but would drive anything. Ithink i should email this guy with like 50 tractors and 30 blowers, looks like he knows what hes doing. Please keep the suggestions coming as I want to seal this deal this coming week.. Thanks


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

Hi MnM,

I'm a dealer for Normand snowblowers, and a sponsor on the site here. I can help you with exactly what your looking for in a snowblower setup. Send me an email or give me a call at 218-205-7198, even tonight still is fine, and we can get started on it right away.

Thanks, Steve


----------



## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

Neige;1307604 said:


> If you dont want it, I will take it. Lets see 158 private homes, at my market pricing they would go for $310 each. Thats $48,980.00 for the season. I would then buy an ag tractor with an inverted blower. I know you can get a Kubota M100 for around 50 grand with 0% financing over 5 years. You would have to buy the blower so to keep it simple lets say 10 grand. So far your initial investment is 20 grand, a good driver will take 3 hours to do that run, but lets say 5 because he needs to learn this new system. You pay this driver 25/hr which you can increase when he decreases the amount of time it takes him. It will cost you around $10/hr on fuel. So every pass costs you $175 + your equipment. Now lets say two passes per event and you have 20 events = 40 passes lets add 10 for some bigger storms and we are at a total of 50 passes. That times $175 = $8750.00, now add your capital investment of tractor and blower and you are at $28,750.00. Leaving you with 20 grand after the first year. Now year two you already own the blower so that leaves you with 30 grand. After 5 years you now own that tractor outright, and you still have 10 more good years with that tractor. Ok yes you will have maintenance costs for the tractor, it will not be more than $1500 a year, and definately near to nothing in the first 5 years. You do need insurance, but slip fall is not an issue unless they want you to salt also. If that is the case your salting pricing should have the liability factored into it. So there you have it, the reason why I do resi. Oh by the way do these homes like you would any 50 grand commercial with care and timely service and you will see that there will not be many calls. You may just want to think twice about refusing resi, then again everyone thinks I am a crazy Canadian.


Very good post Paul! It took me laying out just about this exact scenario on a napkin at dinner to decide to go for it. tymusic


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

MnM;1308063 said:


> First let me thank you all for the posts they were helpful
> Im not sure I explianed good enough. I do one current private 55 and older HOA. It has 1.7 miles of roadway which i use two cat here currently and do quite well with normal amounts of snow. 27 inches like last years dec 26 storm takes longer. So its not like I am dealing with 125 customers just one or two managers.
> This new place is the same thing a 55 and older with 1.8 miles of private roadway and 158 single family homes. So again I am not dealing with all those people rather one manager. I think a rear plow would def help but now I am leaning toward a AG tractor with a rear plow or possible a inverted blower. I also would have another cat there to clean up all the driveway pulls if neccassary.
> My question with the blower is
> ...


It scrapes well, use a steel cutting edge and you will get down to the pavement. It works on as little snow as 1 inch, on 4 inches its great, and even on 10 inches you will hardly notice a difference. This is where the HP on the PTO will make a difference. The bonus of a tractor snowblower combo is that you will also be able to clear the private roads. Just go up and down a few times and blow it right on the properties.



MnM;1309504 said:


> well after reading all the post i am wanting a tractor with inverted blower.These two HOA are across the street and have a combined of 275 driveways. Iwant to know what tractor and blower you all would suggest. I want about a 100 hp machine and a nice inverted blower. I also will be running three other skids to help. I have seen videos of the tractor/blower set up and in a 5 min clip the dude is doing 4 to 5 driveways. Is this possible could i do 15 drivways in 30 mins. Ilike new holland and case but would drive anything. Ithink i should email this guy with like 50 tractors and 30 blowers, looks like he knows what hes doing. Please keep the suggestions coming as I want to seal this deal this coming week.. Thanks


Yes it is very possiable, and with time you will be able to do 30 drives in 30 mins. I am not kidding, thats why I show those vids. 



 This one you are looking at 2 foot snow banks, and 10 inches of snow in the drives. As you can see it really does not slow him down very much.



merrimacmill;1309580 said:


> Very good post Paul! It took me laying out just about this exact scenario on a napkin at dinner to decide to go for it. tymusic


Thanks Collin, thats why your well on your way to becoming the next go to guy in resi snow. tymusicussmileyflag


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

Thanks for your help neige. Its becauce of the videos on your website that Has me dead set on this combo. What type of blower is that red one and was size and cost is it.
Now as for tractors go. I would love a new one if i can afford it if not I will go used. I want a macine big enough but nothing crazy. What HP would you recomend and weight. How many hours is too many. I obviously have zero experience with AG tractors. Should i get a hydrostatic trans or a gear shift, I dont even know what is offered and how it works. This is why I have so many stupid little questions. 
I def want to make the next step in snow removal and it just seems for the type of accounts I am going after this would be such a time saving snow moving money makin SOB..................Thanks for listening


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

I too am looking into this setup for next year and have been doing lots of homework. I just went out today and picked up brocures on John Deere and Kubota AG tractors and had Pronovost send me a brocure on there blowers as there is a dealer close to me. Neige and Image have tons of useful information in there posts which has helped me out tremendously. Do any of you use the per push method with this setup instead of seasonal? Im thinking around here people will not want to pay for services they may not receive even after explaining the benefits of a 3 yr contract. Also, for larger HOAs, are you guys figuring your bids by how long the entire subdivision will take you or figure each driveway is xx.xx amount x how many homes to get a price? I also noticed that some of you who offer this service are charging approx 10-15 dollars per drive. Is this correct or am I missing something? Im assuming thats without shoveling.


----------



## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

Neige Impressive video. Aftwer seeing your stuff on this site last year I was determined to go back to residental. Decided not to and was content after that video IM thinking about it again. We do target HOA's for year round servuce and if I can land some of these bigger ones the tractor blower is on the list.
To the OP I think you decided the route to go already and if not watch more of neiges videos and it would be hard to say much competes at doing lots of drives close together in a short time.


----------



## Landcare - Mont (Feb 28, 2011)

IMAGE;1307341 said:


> You took the words right out of my mouth. That sounds like a great place for one dedicated tractor/blower. If you can make it work, your probally looking at 4 hours for one tractor, and less time after the operator gets good at it.


Can't believe that more contractors don't go for the tractor/blower combination. I guess a lot of them keep using their work vehicle for their personal vehicle as well. Hard to go out on a date in a tractor.


----------



## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

There is no substitute for having the right equipment for the job. Any project with many drives is a ideal candidate for snowblowers. When guys try to run the numbers and can't seem to justify the price, then they are in the wrong business. How could one even begin to think that they would want to use a truck on 158 drives? Even a skiddy with bucket. 
Once I switched to snowblowers for the driveway accounts, there was no looking back. In fact, I have another blower (Normand inverted) coming this fall. If all goes as planned, it'll be on the back of a Kubota M100X. 
As much as I like skidloader and snowblower combo's, you can't touch these type of machines/blower set ups when it comes to consistent service and speed; no matter what the amount of snow!


----------



## CleanCutMN (Dec 4, 2009)

How well does the tractor/inverted blower combo work in snow falls of 4" or less?


----------



## 4wydnr (Feb 3, 2008)

Landcare - Mont;1310401 said:


> Can't believe that more contractors don't go for the tractor/blower combination. I guess a lot of them keep using their work vehicle for their personal vehicle as well. * Hard to go out on a date in a tractor*.


I beg to differ. My wife and I left the church after our wedding on a John Deere 4020.


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

CleanCutMN;1310749 said:


> How well does the tractor/inverted blower combo work in snow falls of 4" or less?


They work great. Thumbs Up


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

CleanCutMN;1310749 said:


> How well does the tractor/inverted blower combo work in snow falls of 4" or less?


They work fantastic, here is a vid when there was only maybe 2 inches of snow. Its an inside cab view, and you will notice not much snow coming out of the blower. 



 and this is one on a final cleanup and maybe an inch of snow had fallen so he was recleaning the drives. 



 Please keep in mind we use how ever you want to call it UMHW, Teflon, Tivar, or plastic cutting edges. They do not scrape as clean as a steel one. We use these because of the many interlock drives in our market. These cutting edges will not scratch, but the draw back is they do not scrape as well.


----------



## MRHORSEPOWER1 (Dec 10, 2008)

4wydnr;1310801 said:


> I beg to differ. My wife and I left the church after our wedding on a John Deere 4020.


That's awesome! I do have a '64 JD 4020 at my farm.


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

I was looking at a Kubota M9540. I was wondering what horsepower is needed to run the inverted snow blower . The 9540 price is about 10 gs more than the 7450 and basically the same size except the engine. Thanks for your input


----------



## PTSolutions (Dec 8, 2007)

MnM

Just wanted to let you know we will be pulling the trigger on a m9540 within the next couple of weeks. I have found them for 27-35K with anywhere from 400-1700hrs on them. We will be putting this setup on a 200 drive route and will be replacing 3 pickups that are now free to go and do other parking lots.

Listen to Neige, I have picked his brain before and he is really one of the top go-to guys here on plowsite (def. top guy for resi's!)


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

if you dont mind me ask are you laying out the cash or finance it. I want a used machine just like that but finacing options seem much better for a vew set-up. Not trying to pry but I want to make this a very smart and most economical. Thanks. And What about that 7040 you think that will be good enough to run a inverted blower on the back


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

MnM;1314204 said:


> if you dont mind me ask are you laying out the cash or finance it. I want a used machine just like that but finacing options seem much better for a vew set-up. Not trying to pry but I want to make this a very smart and most economical. Thanks. And What about that 7040 you think that will be good enough to run a inverted blower on the back


You have 62 hp on the PTO, it will still work but its on the low side. Look at it as a scale minimum HP would be 60 and maximun HP 120. It will get the job done, just may take a little longer.


----------



## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

ProTouchGrounds;1314170 said:


> MnM
> 
> Just wanted to let you know we will be pulling the trigger on a m9540 within the next couple of weeks. I have found them for 27-35K with anywhere from 400-1700hrs on them. We will be putting this setup on a 200 drive route and will be replacing 3 pickups that are now free to go and do other parking lots.
> 
> Listen to Neige, I have picked his brain before and he is really one of the top go-to guys here on plowsite (def. top guy for resi's!)


You will be very happy with the M9540. I have two M7040's currently and have nothing but great things to say. I am debating my next tractor purchase, if I will move to the M9540 since the operation of it will be the same for the drivers, many parts will be interchangeable with my M7040's, and the layout of the tractors mechanics will be the same to make my mechanic's life easier. Or if I will move up to a larger frame machine like the M100X.


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

merrimacmill;1315252 said:


> You will be very happy with the M9540. I have two M7040's currently and have nothing but great things to say. I am debating my next tractor purchase, if I will move to the M9540 since the operation of it will be the same for the drivers, many parts will be interchangeable with my M7040's, and the layout of the tractors mechanics will be the same to make my mechanic's life easier. Or if I will move up to a larger frame machine like the M100X.


I too was wondering about the M7040s. What size blower are you running with these tractors? Also, when marketing this service do you emphasize on blowers being over plows to help sell this service? Im racking my brain for ideas on marketing, any insight would be great.

John


----------



## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

I see a big advantage in winters when the banks get big like they did here last year.


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

Well I am now the proud owner of 2 accounts next door to each other that consists of 263 driveways and approx. 4 miles of road way. This is def taking my operation to the next level, and in comes the blower tractor combo. I am pretty set on a kubota 9540 but dont know much about the blowers. what blower will allow me to get closest to the garage door when backing up to drop the blower. Now that the account is mine I want to set this tractor up soon. Thanks for all your posts and the help


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

clncut;1316605 said:


> I too was wondering about the M7040s. What size blower are you running with these tractors? Also, when marketing this service do you emphasize on blowers being over plows to help sell this service? Im racking my brain for ideas on marketing, any insight would be great.
> 
> John


Hey John,

The M7040 is best suited to the Normand N92-260INV blower. That's what I'd put on it anyways.

Here's what I'm using for marketing right now... and getting really good returns. The way its going I might almost fill a 100 resi route in one part of town with just mainly doorhanger advertising. Let me know if you have any questions of if you need prices shoot me a PM

Thanks, Steve


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

MnM;1319019 said:


> Well I am now the proud owner of 2 accounts next door to each other that consists of 263 driveways and approx. 4 miles of road way. This is def taking my operation to the next level, and in comes the blower tractor combo. I am pretty set on a kubota 9540 but dont know much about the blowers. what blower will allow me to get closest to the garage door when backing up to drop the blower. Now that the account is mine I want to set this tractor up soon. Thanks for all your posts and the help


Congrats!!! To get closest to the garage door you need the back blade like in the picture below. Then you can get as close as you dare, but safely like foot away I'd suggest.

One thing I gotta say, Inverted Blower supplies are very short right now. You should call me ASAP at 218-205-7198 or send me an email to [email protected] and I can make sure you still get one in time if we can get it ordered in the next few days.

Thanks, Steve


----------



## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

MnM;1319019 said:


> Well I am now the proud owner of 2 accounts next door to each other that consists of 263 driveways and approx. 4 miles of road way. This is def taking my operation to the next level, and in comes the blower tractor combo. I am pretty set on a kubota 9540 but dont know much about the blowers. what blower will allow me to get closest to the garage door when backing up to drop the blower. Now that the account is mine I want to set this tractor up soon. Thanks for all your posts and the help


Fargo, I was going to say the same thing. Congrats on the accounts! However, the hard thing about accounts that sign up late is trying to get equipment in order!

This I learned the hard way... Bought the Bi-directional tractor, then thought I could just call up and get a PXPL blower. (Like it's a Mc Donald's order in a drive through)
Not! They laughed, then kindly got in contact with a dealer in Canada that had 3 coming in on order for mid December. The dealer so nicely gave up one of their blowers so I could get it! 
The problem? Our winter starts in mid November sometimes. I was stuck setting up my tractor with a 12' pusher with pull back blade for a temporary fix.

Moral of the story.... Hurry up and get a blower. You might also want to consider the M100X and up Kubota's, they are more ergonomically designed.


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

IMAGE;1319121 said:


> Hey John,
> 
> The M7040 is best suited to the Normand N92-260INV blower. That's what I'd put on it anyways.
> 
> ...


Thanks Steve, ill look into the Normand blowers. How many events do you get per year? Not sure how well a seasonel Contract will sell for residentials around here. Have you been able to sell your service just because of the use of a blower over a plow? Btw...doorhangers look great!!


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

clncut;1319585 said:


> Thanks Steve, ill look into the Normand blowers. How many events do you get per year? Not sure how well a seasonel Contract will sell for residentials around here. Have you been able to sell your service just because of the use of a blower over a plow? Btw...doorhangers look great!!


Thanks on the Doorhangers, they are proving well worth it, I got them from adeasprinting.com .If you order any tell Julie or Glenda that Steve from Fargo Snow sent ya 

I think selling the blower only idea has been great for customers. A lot of them say 'the guy last year messed up our lawn with the plow". Let me know if I can be of any help with the blower selection or prices just let me know. I should mention - there is an 82" Normand that would be good on a M7040 also, just depends if you need to stay narrow or not for which one to choose.

In an average winter we get about 50-60" and that's about 16-18 services depending on how it falls. The last few years have been really heavy for us, like around 90-110 inches, and we services residentials about 25 times on those heavy years. FYI, the price on the flyer is for the driveway only, no hand work at all.


----------



## snocrete (Feb 28, 2009)

Thanks for posting the pics of flyers Steve! They look very nice! I have considered doing this, but think I may wait till next fall. If it works good enough, I may need to look into a tractor/blower setupThumbs Up


----------



## krpalex (Apr 10, 2011)

Hey Steve that flyer looks awesome, I bet you will have a lot of jobs close to each other with those neighbor discounts, that is an awesome idea.


----------



## maelawncare (Mar 4, 2004)

For driveways like this wouldnt it be sweet to have a ebling on the front of a truck with a skid following your to clean up.


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

maelawncare;1319976 said:


> For driveways like this wouldnt it be sweet to have a ebling on the front of a truck with a skid following your to clean up.


Thats the beauty of having an Ag tractor, one piece of equipment, and you can still be faster than the truck and skid.


----------



## MnM (Sep 23, 2005)

Hey Neige still waiting for your email about the blower. [email protected]. Hope to receive it soon so I can get the ball rolling. Thanks again for all your help


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

MnM;1320152 said:


> Hey Neige still waiting for your email about the blower. [email protected]. Hope to receive it soon so I can get the ball rolling. Thanks again for all your help


I just resent it. Not sure why it did not go through last week.


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

Niege, Image, Blowerman....or anyone whor runs a setup like this, have you ever had any problems with damage to the driveways from the weight of the equipment? I thought I read back somwhere throughout all these posts that the weight wasnt an issue but I cant remember.


----------



## StuveCorp (Dec 20, 2005)

clncut;1320256 said:


> Niege, Image, Blowerman....or anyone whor runs a setup like this, have you ever had any problems with damage to the driveways from the weight of the equipment? I thought I read back somwhere throughout all these posts that the weight wasnt an issue but I cant remember.


I've been looking at the tractors and a 100 horse/90 horse pto tractor was only around 8,000 pounds, so it is about the same as many 3/4 trucks. My skid with tires would be around 7500 pounds also.


----------



## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

clncut;1320256 said:


> Niege, Image, Blowerman....or anyone whor runs a setup like this, have you ever had any problems with damage to the driveways from the weight of the equipment? I thought I read back somwhere throughout all these posts that the weight wasnt an issue but I cant remember.


As far as the tractor goes, it has never been an issue. The weight gets spread over the tires very well. If you go with a steel cutting edge on the blower you may see marks and scratches just like you do with a plow. Guys in my market often run stainless steel cutting edges, so the scratches don't rust up, so are less noticeable. That is why we run all our blowers with UMHVW, scratching becomes a non issue. Last thing to remember is that once it starts freezing, the driveway becomes like a slab of concrete. It is not unheard of in my area to have the frost go down 3 feet.


----------



## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

Weight hasn't been a big problem. My Bi-Directional is a little on the heavy side, 18-19K but we also get deep freezes. In reality, a 3/4 ton truck with a v-plow and loaded salter probably has a heavier psi compared to even my heaviest tractor. 
While it is over kill, I've pulled into driveways and back dragged out snow with our bigger wheel loaders over the years. Even then I have never had problems with the weight issue. Now, scratching has always been a concern.


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

I'm not to concerned about scratching, my plow will leave scratches and luckily Ive only had one person question Me about it. I do like the stainless steel idea though. Another question about seasonal contracts....I'm assuming you have a trigger with these? Or since they are seasonal do you still go no matter how little has accumulated? All my residential are per push with a 2" trigger. Thanks in advance for all the help.


----------



## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

clncut;1320622 said:


> I'm not to concerned about scratching, my plow will leave scratches and luckily Ive only had one person question Me about it. I do like the stainless steel idea though. Another question about seasonal contracts....I'm assuming you have a trigger with these? Or since they are seasonal do you still go no matter how little has accumulated? All my residential are per push with a 2" trigger. Thanks in advance for all the help.


On seasonal residential there is still a 2" trigger for us. We actually do service at anything over 1.5" though, because it's close enough in my opinion.

On seasonal commerical it's usually a 1" trigger, and with that we go out at anything over a dusting, depending on the time of day.


----------



## clncut (Jan 8, 2004)

Thanks guys...you all have been a big help. I pretty much have all my numbers and just need to put it all together now. Looking forward to trying this next year. I'm sure ill be picking your brains again soon!

John


----------

