Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Plowing Rates

[Jw5875]

I have my Kubota L3400, back blade and a GMC 3/4 ton with a 8 ft plow that I use for my road and do a few elderly neighbors. Seems time and time again I get stopped between plowing by people wanting to know how much I would charge to "Dig them out" and do their
driveway.

Really don't want to do it because I know that I would need insurance, but being a human being I would like to able to tell them what fair charge they could expect from full time plowing person / company etc.

Do they charge by the hour or length of road?

I tried to ask a fellow that was doing a mall parking lot and said he didn't Know, his boss just calls him and tells him where to plow. Wouldn't tell me his "Wage", guess he works under the table.


JW5857

 

[whistlepig]

I have my Kubota L3400, back blade and a GMC 3/4 ton with a 8 ft plow that I use for my road and do a few elderly neighbors. Seems time and time again I get stopped between plowing by people wanting to know how much I would charge to "Dig them out" and do their
driveway.

Really don't want to do it because I know that I would need insurance, but being a human being I would like to able to tell them what fair charge they could expect from full time plowing person / company etc.

Do they charge by the hour or length of road?

I tried to ask a fellow that was doing a mall parking lot and said he didn't Know, his boss just calls him and tells him where to plow. Wouldn't tell me his "Wage", guess he works under the table.


JW5857

What your time is worth per hour. 10 cents an hour or fifty dollars an hour. You would be that judge. That's fuzzy. Do what you want.

What your vehicle costs per hour used based over a five year spread including the maintenance. But charge only the time you are using it. That's sealed in stone. Your equipment. Your cost for wear and tear. And also their cost for wear and tear.

 

[doall]

Heck, I can't find any work here or I would tell you.:laughing:

 

[Jw5875]

Re: to plowing rates.

1. I am retired and DO NOT want to do this, exception would be for an Emergency and I would not charge to help someone. (Police / Fire / EMS response)

2. My posting was for info to give in response to the question on what could be expected from a professional who does snow plowing.


Thanks, jw5875

 

[Jnasystems]

I pushed snow for a couple of years. About 3 for a guy in Indianapolis at $75/hour and one for a guy in Milwaukee for $65/hour. As far as what the end user would be charged, I was not sure, but if I were to negotiate a rate, it would involve a bunch of factors. First of which, time. If the drive is half a mile long, but it just takes 2 passes to complete, I would charge less than a 200ft driveway with a bunch of funny contours or turn-abouts. I would also consider my equiptment - if I had a small plow, I could charge less for the short drive above and more for the long one because the smaller plow would be better off on the shorter drive and the turns are easier to deal with. The third item to concider is proximity - if they are on my way, it takes less time. Then there are the friend and family discount. Every market is different too. And don't forget that the less you want to do it the more you charge.

Bottom line, there is no set rate, and nothing I could recommend you tell people as there are just too many variables.

 

[LD1]

I have been plowing commercially for the last 5 or so years.

That said, since I have a full time job and cannot get out everytime it snows, I dont have any accounts of my own. I am just a sub The going rate for subs in central ohio and columbus area is between $40 and $70 per hour. What one gets paid depends a lot on experience and equipment. The guy with a half ton and 7.5' plow and first year out is going to make less than the guy with the 1-ton, v-plow with wings, and salt box that has been doing it for 10 years.

As far as what we charge per drive, If it is on my way somewhere and someone flaggs me down, It is usually $50 bucks provided I can have it done in 10 minutes or less.

If someone were to actually call, the rate would be $75-$100 per drive for an average drive.

A lot of people complain about that, but what they dont understand is that for us to spend 10 minutes plowing their drive takes about an hour away from another job by the time travel is figured. Having to pull a truck away from a good paying commercial customer for an hour can be as much as $150.

But they could always opt to call a c-list add for guys that charge $25-30 per drive. As long as they understand that someone only charging $25 per drive probabally isnt insured in the event that they may run through a garage door or slide into a car or take out the mailbox or whatever.

 

[smstonypoint]

Just a few thoughts.

There are three C's of pricing a product/service -- your cost, your customers, and your competition.

As other posters have noted, you need to know your costs of providing the services.

What do your potential customers want, when do they want it, how do they want it done, etc?

What is the competition providing and what are they charging?

Do people providing snow-plowing services advertise on Craig's List or other venues? If so, you might be able to get a handle on the going hourly rates.

Iowa State conducts a survey of custom machinery rates for Iowa, including snow plowing. I'm sure that the rates vary considerably across the country.

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/fm1698.pdf

Steve

 

[zzvyb6]

I'm headed out to the shop to put my plow on right after this. A few neighbors have mentioned that they contract with a guy to do their driveways for $40 for the job. It would take me about 15 minutes apiece to do their jobs, just like it takes him. That's $160 per hour.

However, they or I would need to mark the driveway carefully so I don't hit anything. Or they need to remove little Rembrandt's bike that's been left outside and is buried in snow. And my heavy tractor might crack their 1/2" asphault surface which they swear is 15 inches thick. And I might have to go buy another 5 gal. of diesel to last me through the winter instead of the 2 gal I will need.

I would charge by the job for everything if given a choice. My equipment for grass, leaves, snow, cement, hay making, rototilling driveway raking and general hauling is set up high efficiency. Others may need to do the same job with equal results in more time. Why should they make more money if everybody charges the same rate?

 

[jenkinsph]

I'm headed out to the shop to put my plow on right after this. A few neighbors have mentioned that they contract with a guy to do their driveways for $40 for the job. It would take me about 15 minutes apiece to do their jobs, just like it takes him. That's $160 per hour.

However, they or I would need to mark the driveway carefully so I don't hit anything. Or they need to remove little Rembrandt's bike that's been left outside and is buried in snow. And my heavy tractor might crack their 1/2" asphault surface which they swear is 15 inches thick. And I might have to go buy another 5 gal. of diesel to last me through the winter instead of the 2 gal I will need.

I would charge by the job for everything if given a choice. My equipment for grass, leaves, snow, cement, hay making, rototilling driveway raking and general hauling is set up high efficiency. Others may need to do the same job with equal results in more time. Why should they make more money if everybody charges the same rate?

I get alot of calls in my business from people wanting to know how much I charge per hour. I am always humored by this as it is meaningless, what they need to know they aren't asking. What they need to know is how much you charge to do it once and do it right the first time.

 

[PILOON]

In the snow removal business, someone will always do it for less.
" " " , there is no client loyalty.
In other words, dog eat dog.

 

[check]

At our cottage there is a guy who does many driveways at a time, often right next to each other. So, he can do it very quickly. He charges less than $20 for people who are close to each other on the same road where a lot of his customers are. Then, in about 1/2 hour or so, he can do maybe 20 or 30 cottage driveways, making $400 to $600, and making the cottagers happy since he has to do this maybe 10 times or 15 times per winter. His big advantage is volume, which reduces his travel time. Friday, one of his guys came by and plowed a 200' driveway next to me, and he was there maybe 30 seconds to a minute, and his travel time from the previous driveway he plowed was maybe 30 seconds. In addition, he has the (well-paying) contract for the little 1/2 mile road that all of these cottages are on, so the income side for him is very good.

Unfortunately for him, he uses Dodge trucks, which of course are always breaking down, so I don't know how much profit he ends up with!

On the other hand, a friend who gets his 300' driveway done infrequently gets charged $50 - $100, because the contractor has to first clean out the huge furrow at the entrance left by the county plows who do the highway, and only then can he go in and do the driveway itself, which may have 18" of snow on it.

Also, guys will charge less if you contract with them to plow ever time it snow a given amount, so that there is no build up.

Hoipe this helps!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have pushed snow with Ford trucks and one GM. I was mainly doing airports and its a never ending job.

Now I push snow with a 7.5' Meyer Plow on 28HP 4x4 Jinma Tractor and I also have a 7' Woods HD blade on the rear for about 10 customers all within 1 mile of me.

What I charge is $60 per hour. I have been doing it long enough that just looking at the drive I can say its a 1/2 hour job or $30.

Chris

 

[Gordon Gould]

Unfortunately for him, he uses Dodge trucks, which of course are always breaking down, so I don't know how much profit he ends up with!

You must mean Ford

 

[Mounted Madness]

Here in my town (Oakbank, Manitoba) I charge $50/hour, which is the same rate I charge for moving topsoil, digging holes and otherwise making my BX pay for itself.

Depending on snowfall and what all the municipality has done, the charge for that particular event will most likely change. From snow drifting into a business parking lot, and the duration of the storm... no job can be given a 'flat rate'.

Residential driveways in my neighbourhood (all pretty much the same size) ... I charge $20. I don't do walkways and I don't clear any closer then 3 feet from garage doors, etc. If someone approaches and asks me to do their driveway at the end of my rounds, I factor in how tired I am. Businesses on the other hand are charged by the hour (ie: 15 minutes = 0.3 hours = $15).

My BX is a toy I bought to keep me busy following retirement. I have to factor in insurance, fuel, and so on - but at the end of 3 1/2 years, the BX hasn't cost me a cent and I've had some profit, which I roll back into the business (more toys). But I wouldn't want to be relying on the snow clearing income to feed me, and pay the bills. Pension does that.

As was said, customer loyalty can be pretty fickle.

 

[retiredmgn]

You must mean Ford

Ford's aren't bad if they have the heated tailgate option.








Keeps your hands warm while you're pushing it.



nelson

 

[knightrider955]

You must mean Ford

Im a die hard GM guy and Ive plowed with all of them, And the fords are tougher and last longer. Dodges have junk trannys and front ends, GM's break cv axles and have occasional tranny issues. My Ford F-250, well.....built ford tough.

 

[mbrule]

I plow 10 driveways plus mine, mine is right-of-way for 5 apartment houses, of which
I am in the middle, it is the reason I have a plow. Five of the ten driveways are relatives that I do for free, the remaining 5 are older folks and either friends or friends relatives. I plow them when I can get to it, as I have a full time job, that I cannot leave just because it is snowing. I charge $25 - $30 for the paying customers, in an average storm it take me 3 or so hours, (bit of travel time as one relative is a ways out!).

I run commercial plates / insurance, have a $1 mill liability policy.

The paying customers pretty much pay for the gas and coffee.....

I don't make any money doing it, but am able to keep my right-of-way open and my family plowed out, and enjoy helping those that I plow, as even my paying "customers" get off cheap!

As others have said, there are a lot of factors to consider when trying to charge....

 

[ihuntbear]

where I live people charge any where from 300.00 to 750.00 per season depending on the size of the driveway.I charge 375.00 for asphault 25.00 extra if its gravel driveway per season for a two car wide and 75 feet long.or 50.00 per storm.I hate gravel driveways.I don't normally do them but sometimes I have a hard time saying no