Okay Stanley, here is some input. I have been plowing snow each winter for 25 plus years in Ohio both in the private and public sector. Lets start with the public sector. I work for the Ohio Dept. of Transportation (ODOT). Now if you are starting out, most DOT's have opening for seasonals to plow snow. In Ohio you do 6 mos. or 1000 hrs, which ever comes first. Its a good gig, but as Stanley said, once a storm starts you are out there until it is over. You start on a 16 hr shift and go to 12 hr shifts. In large cities it is just driving forward clearing driving lanes and salting when needed. Now, you will learn a ton and they will train you. For example like dilution of solution with salt... how much you need to spread to melt the snow, when to salt, when not to salt, using calcium chloride, beet juice, sand, grits, pre-treating with brine (salt-water) and much more. Now I just seen you mention when salt stops working in your video "When I broke my snow plow and I'll correct you and help everyone out there when I finish this comment. Lastly you deal with a lot of idiots who drive to fast, rush hour, accidents, overhead lighting and 12 lanes with 10-12 berms. On the flip side, when plowing state routes out in the country there are no overhead lights and lots of drifting. People ask how do you know where the road is? Simple! You all have the reflectors one the edge of the road and the center between the lanes. We call these "Life Lights" or RPM's (Raised Pavement Markers) They're designed for plows to go up and over them and you hear a thud. So going down a snow covered road, we are listening for the, thud... thud... thud... etc. Then during the day when you can see, we do the plow back of uncovering the white "fog" lines and plow back the edge of pavement. Now in the private sector, I have plowed just like you show. HOWEVER... you nailed it in this video of something I want to touch on. If you are a snow plower or pay attention to those landscapers who do, you will see everyone fighting to those big commercial jobs lot big office or shopping center accounts. Sure for the most part, their big, wide open and you can use the big pusher blades, wheel loaders, plow trucks, skid steers, etc. So if you are new, you will find the bigger companies going after these accounts like vultures! So then as Stanley points out, most companies will start these FIRST, and THEN go do the accounts as Stanley points out that he gets paid even if it doesn't snow. The reason is just what Stanley points out. there are driveways to back drag and often a lot of jacking around cars. So it is a hassle. I sold my house a couple of years ago and I live in a 300 unit apartment complex that the snow removal was done by a landscaping company. I spoke to the property manage company and in years past, they were paying the landscaping company on average $40,000 a year just for the snow removal. HOWEVER, like most they would go do their big lot accounts and THEN come to their apartment and subdivision accounts. By then, every one has driven everywhere and packs the snow. When you come to plow, well you are wasting your time and just putting un-needed wear and tear on your trucks. You "might" salt that also is a waste of time, especially if you do it at night. If you want to know why, see my comments on salting under Stanley's "I Broke My Plow" video. Now what Stanley didn't mention is that it is good for companies like him. However, as a renter, well I end up paying a portion of $40000 a year for worthless snow removal. That is added to the property owner's overhead and rent goes up to cover those cost. While I was out bid on my complex, I spoke with the owners and now their contract states that if you bid, then you are required to be on-site within 2 hours of when it starts snowing. Plus no salting at night along with cleaning ANY parking space that there is no vehicle. This is getting more common around my area as more are utilizing skid steers and small compact wheel loaders to clear apartment complexes. What this does is removes a lot of the snow when it is fresh and before everyone drives over it. When they contractor does salt, it then is more effective. It also saves costs to the property owners and ultimately is not ripping of the property owners and the renters. Aside from my Ford F-250's and F-350 (gas burners) I lease a few John Deere 244J compact wheel loaders. Stanley while you stated you don't like them, you can use larger pusher blades with them. Plus we are NOT loading, hauling and unloading them, but driving them location to location. That is something you might want to touch on Stanley.. trailer decks can get snowy and icy and slide one off one time and well.... I do utilize my Bobcat skidsteers. For me, while everyone is fighting for the big lots, I'm after the big apartment complexes. I don't do the season contracts but contracts for the season on an hourly basis. I can charge more but still provide a savings to owners and cut the throats of landscaping companies who come days later and over charge. I put a pickup, a compact wheel loader and a skid steer or two on a apartment complex and they can know them out fairly quickly. Lastly, don't forget about checking with your local governments! A lot of cities have snow removal equipment but there is a lot of growing privatization. This means you may be able to get accounts like parks, public office building parking lots, etc. They ALWAYS pay and on time, provided you do the work per your contract. There is a bit more paperwork work. But don't be afraid to contact your local government entities and ask them if they contract any snow removal. You may be surprised! Good luck, be safe and get out there and make things happen!

Snowaplowing is great for people like me that find the simple enjoyment and peacefulness in it. However, I agree with you that it is NOT for everybody. Long nights that turn into days, equipment that breaks... all add to the headache, but like you said, it sure can be worth it for the extra income during the snow season. I work out of Rosemount, MN. Hope your ready for the big snowfall on Sunday/Monday! It's gonna be a long one! Hah!

love the V-Plow ... keep up the good work and videos!

When I'm not outside working I'm inside learning. Slow progress is better than no progress.

I have two trucks equipped with Ebling back blades. It's the best kept secret to productivity west of Lake Michigan. Pair up winged boss plows with 14-16' Ebling sand double your productivity without increasing labor or fuel costs. It's a no brainer

I've been watching your videos for some time and find them most entertaining. Stan you are quite the character. Is that a compliment or an insult?

We have an old bobcat model 2000 articulated loader. Think tiny front end loader. That thing drives circles around the tractor style loader that comes down to do bulk on our lots and can lift considerably higher. Can't even compare it to skid steers, they just can't compete. The bucket goes so much higher and is so far out from the wheel base can easily make piles taller then your machine. All the downward force in the world when it comes to scraping snow pack off too. Machine is older then me but just keeps on kicking.

Guys that drive around with two wheels in the air clearing snow drive me nuts.

I am a 16 year old and I have been watching you Stanley since you would talk with Greg or geek to freek. Love your vids man

I love these snowplowing videos

I had my fun operating a 908H2 with a 12’ blade last year Was a good experience Thank god for the radio

Rear plows are awesome for speeding up dead end snow removal. Loading docks, dumpster aisles, driveways.... nothing is faster. Added bonus is its a huge crash bumper. Ive had guys back into light poles, dumpsters, our own wheel loader.... zero truck damage. Only way it gets even better is to remove the pick up bed and replace it with a flatbed. Awesome visibility.

Alot of guys here in Ontario use giant farm tractors with huge dozer-like blades to plow parking lots.

You hit the nail on the head in the last part of the video Stan, it holds true with these "National companies" Ferindino & sons(biggest culpirit of the bunch) USM, Merit service solutions, command7 are just a few I remembered seeing on plowsite. Heck, I got another one that called me immediately after a storm to go clear a CVS immediately. I asked about payment and she couldn't give me an answer.

I have run a skidsteer on a very large condo site outside Boston for years now. The money has been great but sometimes it's just pure hell!

Your second account would be perfect for Skid Loader and Garden Tractor snow blades and snow blowers I actually started my business at the age of 15 with a weed eater push mower riding mower leaf blower a snow blower and a garden tractor with a snow blade I had a total of 5 lawns a day now I have 15 20 lawns driveways and parking lots thank you for sharing this video with us no matter how long you have been in business you can always learn something new

Just did my first plow job with a competitor during the work year I've operated a lot of equipment and its definatly a little different with snow thanks for the video

I tried to do sub contacting and half way through the meeting it turned into him asking how much I charge where I mow plow work. He was doing recon. I didn't tell him anything... Great work Stan another great video! If you're thinking about joining DMU. Do it! I can dig dirt all day. But when it comes to paperwork I have no clue! DMU helps with organization also helps me make more money! Thank you God bless!

Back blades are a good thing. All of our pickups have back blades (alaska). We made our own backblades with 2' wings. we can carry more with the backblade than we can carry with the front blades. If we have a long ways to go we push and carry at the same time. It doesn't take long to figure out to pick up the back blade before you stop the truck. The backblade can carry enough snow (+2 yards) to boil the snow clear up to your front pumpkin, so if you don't pick up the backblade before you stop you will be high centered and will be doing allot of shovel work. Our trucks are 3/4 ton Chevy and fords with no beds, utility tool box behind the cabs to carry tools and shovels in. These trucks are strictly for winter service and are parked for the summer and completely serviced in the fall. You will get allot more done with backblades, installing cameras would be prudent as garage doors are expensive. Good luck C. Silvers Alaska

You should get a ventrac so the shovelers would be warm and get closer to the ground

I hope instead of 2 trucks sitting there waiting on a skid steer to drag the driveways you are using the back blades now....you could probably do that whole account with only one truck (maybe 2 depending on actual size) in the night with no one sitting still burning gas and payroll waiting for another piece of equipment.

We have used the back blades on pickups and they work great if you have power up and down. It may seem stupid but yes you can buy the manual lift and drop bladed. Once you drop it down and you reverse it flops over so it doesn't push snow backwards they work ok if its light snow but if its wet/heavy crap its udless. The power down is really nice because you can really scrape up the snow with a back blade. They work great in small driveways and when you are doing lots as well. You can drop your main blade in the front and then drop your back blade and it scrapes up the snow thats been compacted down. When i was plowing all the time i loved having a back blade and the hydraulic wing on the front to keep snow or discharge once you have passed a entry or exit. I sure miss plowing we just don't get the snow here like we used to herd in Idaho.

I know that you have no use for a tractor like s john deere tractor other for snow removal but we have one for the farmer I work for and we rigged it up to use the loader controls to lift and pivot the 14 foot blade on it and then it's very versatile to get from farm to farm with it because it has a faster road gear. But hey man great work and great employees.

do a equipment video showing all your excavators, TLB's, skidsteers, and all the other equipment you have

To much small equipment for a big job ....to much labor costs , fuel . I'm ok with the TLB and a pusher or loaders with pushers or 10 foot v blades but I've owned skid steers before and they are ok to handle small areas way under sized for what your doing and what do you do when you get some big snow falls they can't clean down to the tare that's whey you guy was doing what he was doing . I'm glad it works for you and that's what counts .

I am by no means a snow plow professional. I have worked for my brothers' company plowing snow for years. Location has a lot to do with equipment. In southern Ohio where I am from, a backhoe is not very efficient for clearing flat lots, but is good for moving piles. A truck will run circles around a backhoe with only a few inches of snow. A skid steer is good if you have a large enough box. So basically, if you are in an area that only gets inches at a time, then a truck would be the best thing. An area that gets lots of snow each time (more than 6") would benefit from having more heavy equipment.

You should look into getting a metal pless live edge plow, it’s the most versatile one on the market

I just answered a question about snow removal with this answer: Good question, removing the snow while the snow is coming down on a driveway and sidewalks will help prevent ice buildup if it’s a wet heavy snow. If family members are not home yet it helps them get into the driveway safely. Plus it’s easier to clean up after the plows. Snow removal companies will do parking lots two or more times if it’s a big snow storm to make sure employees and customers can traverse parking lots/ lanes easier. A pet peeve of snow removal companies is having vehicles parked in front of where they’re pushing the snow. They watch where the water runs so big frozen puddles won’t build up.

Stanley, I have no experience in snowplowing except for my own driveway (learning from You). I use a curved blade shovel. More effective than the square flat plastic pieces of crap they making now. Even collected another handlle less blade to replace the one. Nevertheless, I'm for going to school as You've suggested after I receive my gift. God Bless!!!

You the best l love the way you sharing your experience and help full story think you

The most important thing u said in this video was plan on it not snowing, and don't count on it. I'm a concrete contractor in Iowa so I plan my year on about 8 months of income. I used to own a few groundheaters and semi loads of blankets to go all winter, but all it did was beat up the equipment and burn the guys out. I quit snowplowing because it seems like it only snows on holidays and when I am not in town.

i don't know why i never thought of subbing out my skid steer for snow plowing. my primary business is trucking. and do a lot of dump trailer work. i do plow snow, but mostly on larger snowfalls for people that may not plow every snow fall. smaller lots driveways ect. so i don't really get busy till we get more than 3 inches. i don't care to do contracts as sometimes i may be otherwise busy when the snow flys.

"Is that what she said" smashed the like button

Thanks for the great advice. Im ready for the new year with new business and an old business.

At 14:41 - 14:50 I love that GoPro view

I want a backhoe, I have no use for one, but I want one.

Depression kicking in... soon this snowy darkness is upon us yet again

Love your videos my man! Keep up the amazing humor and editing skills!

Check with the better business bureau before working for any company... It also wouldn't hurt to run a credit check to see if they have any leans on their business from non payments!

I do nothing but residential drives, and I use the back blade probably 75% of the time, if not more. Only time I use the front is to push up the pile that I just back dragged.

I know the lot was empty, but Elliot really shouldn't have ear buds in, no way he will ever hear anyone yell if he's backing up and they're in a blind spot.

I'm a very small operation in Philadelphia my biggest problem is trying to find people to work, I have plenty of jobs but nobody wants to work and money can't be the issue cuz I over pay people just to show up and they still don't want to work WTF I don't get it I'm just a natural born hustler and most people aren't but I enjoy you content sir

They aren't cheap, but I would consider a Metal Pless PlowMaxx for back dragging. It'll give you wider and cleaner swaths when back-dragging versus a snow bucket. Then you can swing the ends back around and use it as a pusher.

most times sub =way less $.more headaches. snow removal is a cake walk.yes long hrs. , no breaks and after about 24hrs your ready to go home.if you don't take on more then you can handle its easy $.hopefully you accounts will go for a good treated salt.don't use sand on your own accounts if you also take care of them in spring, summer and fall.makes a mess gets tracked in building's ECT. I feel like even if they pay you to sweep the sand out of the parking lots and driveways it's the worst part of snow removal. thank you for all you videos.

Thanks for creating this video man my friend recommended to me

Nice work! I have wings on my vplows, that way you don’t have any spill offs when wind rowing snow to one side, also in scoop mode it will seriously hold way more snow. Also nothing really beats the fisher XLS plows when it comes to windrowing, at least on a pickup. Just angle one wing and keep the other one straight, really like my XLS for that stuff.

YOU NEED TO FIX THE BOBCAT'S HEADLIGHT ON ONE AN TAILLIGHT ON THE OTHER :)

I just love this dude

yeah i rarely have the front wheels off the ground in skid steer. i just raise the arms up to get the angle i need.

well, that was a confident builder. I can say this, if it snows a lot and your ready to move it, then there is great money to be earned. but for 8 out of 10 years snow years, your just going to make a pay check that pays the bills and fixed the equipment for the spring. Its honest work that becomes apart of you, some guys get it and other just stay home with the wifey.

Great advice. My first year in snow I was a sub contractor and was never paid for my services.Be careful

Great video stan! always great information and usually a laugh or two,

If you get back blade set up I'd get the ones with wings so you can cover a bigger area while dragging, the company I plow for on their trucks on have basic "boxes" on the back for dragging and it's not the best. A tractor that I've plowed in before had an expanding one and that was much better! HOWEVER with my experience on backblades not all of them will scrap to the ground leaving its super clean. Granted not all front blades do that either so it depends on the blade and make sure it's set up and mounted correctly so you can get the edge down to the clean pavement

I use snow blower attachment in my garden tractor it save a lot of time

I work for a town i wish all we had to do is plow snow but we plow the roads then we go home come in the next night and pick up snow and some times we throw a water break in to the mix

One of my accounts is for a national 3rd party company. Beware, Difficult to get paid, invoices 60+ days old. They use accuweather as their "snow totals" from a site 3 miles from the location we plow and have told me they wouldn't pay for 3 of our events due to the snow total not reaching their trigger. I tried to quit and they said they would pay the next contractor with funds they owe me. So we gave them a proper notice and as of yesterday we no longer have any liability or responsibility to clear the lot. Kinda sucks to get rid of the account but it was't worth the head ache. Good luck out there.

Aloha, New take some time to ask the right questions before starting a job. Ask DMU about contracts and most importantly never rush to start a job. Gabe the general contractor

we put the snowblower on the bob cat. thats been working great

You should put back blades on your truck edbling it the way to go They make a model 16 foot I plow big lot and it’s almost cut my plow time in half Stan looking in to them

Nice video! Happy weekend Stanley!

ran sand truck and snow plow for a company and anyone looking to get into it get use to no sleep especially if its a smaller company that requires you to do your own maintenance work on the equipment my day started at about 2am and would generally finish up anywhere from 6pm to 1030 pm some times even longer and no sleep

Staley, you been moving snow longer than I've been on this earth

not a landscaper (yet) but my logic says there probably isnt like 100 bad contractors per 1 good one, it's just the bad contractors keep getting ditched because they're bad vs the good ones being hard to find because no one wants to leave a good contractor. in other words, bad contractors have higher turnover of subs, so you find them more often.

Get some vertical low pros. Get twice as much done with one of those instead of a bucket and it scrapes way cleaner

Great video Stan

Buy an ebling back blade, or three. You will increase your production for sure.

Those rear mounted snow plows are harder on your transmission, and traction is a problem unless you add weight to the bed of your pickup.

Thx for all the great info man 😎

Thanks for the great video buddy

yeah i worked 27 hours straight up for two days couple weeks ago we got 18 inches

Great Video man!

Friend of mine has accounts threw two fast food places and gets a nice chunk from them but he only plows when there is two inches at a time in the lots

I will be plowing next year with my truck , but this year I plowed for the company I work for as a diesel mechanic we have a bobcat to use on our yard, it takes around 1 and a half hours and my boss won't let me plow if we have other things to d

How much money can I make snow plowing in San Francisco?

im from norway and im earning much money alone just by using a massey ferguson 5600 sl, a snowblower and a snowbucket.

Great video!

1:25 to 1:30 love it 🤣🤣🤣🤙🤙

The only reason I Watch this Is because I like the snow ploughing videos

I'd like to learn how to snow applying. ;)

My company has had to help some of our subcontractors pay thier bills and made them pay us back by diing free work for us where all they supplied was the labor it helped them and got the job done but we also cut them loose after the books were cleared

Mighty Moe Excavating makes money with one tractor doing sidewalks! Not greedy less headaches. Ty Stanley for the entertainment

If I ever get into plowing I'm sticking with residential. It's not going to be my living. Easier to manage. Before I had a regular job I did under the table shoveling and lawn mowing. Made decent money doing it. If I had an atv with a plow I could've made even more but it was just something to be able to have a little extra cash so I didn't make any investments.

test the rear mounded plow and see if it is something you need a backup camera to get close to the garage doors. Like would you let s new operator use it up close to houses and garage doors just using good judgement and mirrors? I know most good operators would probably be just fine but all lot of the times everybody isn't a seasoned plow operator.

We have a 16 footer on a Case TLB

Love the vid keep it up

Love your videos... love that you criticize yourself as you go😂

Going to stick with the short version of my story. And I would encourage everyone to name names here. To help each other out. My first plow was on a 94 Dodge 7.5 Meyer with wings to 9.5 foot. In my first year we got 10% of the lot to wind row the lot for the back hoes with the box blades. This was for Trunorth we were the sidewalks crew. There were two other landscapers doing other complexes acrost the street. They were doing sloppy work and there salt spreaders broke down. I ended up getting the salting on these lots plus our shopping mall. In one week we did over $9,000.00 with one truck.(stans not lying 45,000 would be easy with 9 units) I was hooked. Now for the roller coaster ride. That was in 09 and the crash happened. Trunorth pulled out of our market not enough snow here. In 13 I worked for our worst management co with DG and that co is AGMG (Rich Arlington) after they owed us 45,000.00 we finally quite (and he still owes us over 9,000.00) They were sued in 15 and our insurance had to pay for it since it was one of our stores. (That's a long story just run from them) Being we only average 12" although we will go 3 years no snow. Brickman now Brightview has been very good to us although you have to be selective in choosing there better accounts. We just signed one location with Facility Source we will see how they are? Anyone dealt with them? My advice to anyone sub contacting is as Stan said make sure you cross your t's and dot your i's. And yes when there slow paying throw a fit these Co's will hang you up on technicalities insurance, reporting work, and the list goes on. I still when reporting work on these apps screen shot, screen shot all your reporting I'd numbers when closing reports. As Stan said you will loose so until you know who you are working with minimize your risk. Start small (one or two accounts) with them so that you will loose small that was my mistake in 2013.

Can you do a snowplow video with gust snowplowing

Hi Stan, l'm looking into the mastermind group but my question is I have started my own excavation company in April of 2017. It's just me right now and I don't really plan to hire an employees for awhile. I have a single axle dump truck, Takeuchi loader and excavator and seems to stay very busy. Do you feel the mastermind group would still be beneficial to a small company like mine? Thanks again, love the videos!

Stanley how do you get this big commercial properties is there a way for them contact you or do you contact in the off season for snow removal?

I had gotten screwed over by a sub contracter when I was trying to do lawn care. Their checks would bounce all the time, if I had the option, I would've done direct deposit on a debit pay card. At least in the end I was paid in full though so.

Did you get the plow fixed on the red truck

Record keeping for a one man band? i use an Adams voice log S8796. date/time for drivway, message for "done good" extra notes "hit car" JK and extra cost and description of cost. then check box when entered into Quickin invoicing or color in if notes on fuel or extra stop or equipment failing

Can you do a video on how you salt and what type of spreaders you use

ABP! Always Be Plowing! Haha

Being a Sub or doing sub work be vary vary vary careful. The contracts are written for the benefit of the management company and they will stiff you on payment, you will loss. Just from my own experience never go throw those "National services" unless you have good lawyers on staff and a lot of $$$ to wast. One of the biggest snow company's by me was over 1 mil out in invoice and the National management company would not pay them Bankruptcy was their way out. The next season that "national management company" could not provide services in my area because no provider would work with them, The big-box stores were forced to contract privet finely. Most national property management company contracts don't meet state or local regulation / laws anyways

nice work

A bucket on a skidsteer as a means to plow is completely worthless. Do not Ever do this. Use a box, plow blade, backblade converted..... really anything but a straight dirt bucket. Pouring massive amounts of money down the drain. If you are going to use back hoe loader machines to do your box work, find some means to replace your back hoe attachments with ballast and go as large as you possibly can with boxes in front. Large lot work will be painful and not profitable if you don’t make the right decisions.

Have u ever thought of using those winged plows? Western wideout types

hey what about Contractor's that are out of state that are looking for subs never had a face to face with one just phone call and Emails how you feel about them?