Great vid! I second the insurance comment. The nice advantage we have here Nick is the barrier to entry. Most people will never take the risk to buy a tractor. That leaves all the gravy for us.
Totally agree with the risk taken. I pulled the trigger on a 4066r with weights, tires, inverted cyclone and 8 foot arctic sectional. I plan to do at least one commercial account with a large amount of steep docks that never get cleaned out properly and its always a stacking account so being able to blow into the stack piles will be nice. We can then service the three nearby neighborhoods and the condo complex.
Agree! The price to get in this keeps so many people on the other side of the fence. Then the other factor is their preconceived notions and perceptions. That keeps a lot on the other side as well. Looking to pick up another whole setup for the next season. Can’t wait for it to arrive
I don't do near as much as you do but I've got a little BX2360 Kubota and it is very handy in the winter as well as the summer. It is a lot slower, blade for the little snows and a blower for the bigger ones. Both front mount. Thing is I have always felt that a tractor is more suited for pushing and pulling than a truck. The person behind the wheel is 90% of your profit. Thank you and have a great new year.
Hi Nick The big one for me is the tractor will get in tighter places then a truck, no real snow banks like a truck, we run both, if everything was closer it would be all equipment, great video.
no contest those tractors are SLICK!!! make all the what about this, and what about that, arguments you want, the tractor wins. don't argue with such a great tool. you wouldn't argue that an arctic sectional is better than an inverted blower for an apartment parking lot. this is just as clear a winner. right tool for the job.
Advantage for a truck: size of properties you can do. A truck with both front and back blades will be way quicker on commercial lots. Yes if you get a front blade or a loader attachment you can do parking lots but for what you are talking about the truck has a wider use. Plus the money isn't in residential it is in commercial lots. For what average cost in my area is for a double driveway I need 75+ driveways to equal out to a medium sized commercial lot that I can get done in 1/3 of the time of 75 driveways
No, it's not. Operator insurance when applied correctly is more expensive than commercial vehicle insurance in the states. The reason is at least around here they ask specifically if the jobsite is public or if its closed off from public access. Snow removal is public and has a higher rate. Commercial vehicle for me at least has always been a flat rear round rate.
You have a great biz model but the snag is mother nature. You leave snow on the surface due to your skid plates and during rain or freezing rain, your surface becomes compacted and frozen. Every visit after that (provided it doesn't melt in between) just adds an extra layer of potential ice build up. You are winning with a price point on your biz model but customers don't like the ice left behind. Salt is okay to use. It usually dissipates with the thawing. I think you need to see if Cyclone can add an adapter or bracket to your blowers and allow a tailgate spreader to be attached under the chute. A basket or tray mounted to the front of the tractor to carry bagged salt is an option for supply or 1 service truck that runs around loading your machines. You may need to adjust your service prices to match customer concerns and complaints. People don't mind paying extra to be satisfied. JMO
I don't think many would like salt on their residential, suburban driveways. A benefit to blowers over plows, is that the driveway gets cleared, while more of the beauty of winter is preserved. While perhaps technically efficient, and acceptable for many commercial accounts; I doubt salting, then later blowing the resulting slush all over people's yards, will prove a selling point for most residential customers. I doubt the salt will benefit grass, and whatever else people have in their yards, after the snow melts, as well.
Paul Norman I agree Paul, the ice can cause an issue, Especially when we have a thaw and then refreeze. Things become a sheet of ice. However Normally salt is unnecessary. We have been doing it for those who request it. Although anybody that suggests the job is incomplete because it’s not down to bare pavement has an unrealistic expectation and has not read the terms and conditions used by us or pretty much every other residential deneigement co. Plow trucks may have a slightly better scrape using steal blades but have a far greater risk of scrapes and property damage.
Dude, where do you operate, Texas?? I think Tennessee get more snow than that....lol. I’m in Michigan, and the banks along my driveway we’re taller than my F550. I’m looking to fab up a Fair MFG snow blower to the front of my tractor. Those things are monsters!!!
Not yet, we got about 6 inches of warm wet snow last weekend and had to deal with all of that. Now we have a forecast for an inch of rain starting tomorrow, and there is at least 3 feet of snow on the ground and almost every storm drain is frozen over. We have been out in the Kubota's opening storm drains by scraping the ice off of them with the buckets. Crazy year, 38 inches of snow in Feb and now its raining?
Nick Since your up there I would love to see a comparison of the front Cotech with a rear blower setup to the cyclone setup. The idea of a 13’ pass and just blow that away is possibly worth the thought. But no one down here runs the Cotech styled blades
It looks like a flexible set up, although raises the cost of equipment per tractor quite a bit. I would be interested as the blade would clear the driveway better in warm or icy conditions. Plus, having the flexibility of a rear mounted snow blower would be nice in some situations. I would also like a 200hp tractor with a big Metal Pless Blade just for fun. All it takes is a lot of money and a blend of equipment in a fleet.
I would think those wing plows would break more frequently than other plows, they are so wide. And, in deep snow or a longer driveway would spill over the top. That said, there are quite a few areas where they are pretty popular, but I have yet to see one up close so that is my limited opinion.
It it all dependant on your operator and manufacturer of the plow. The expanding blades you typically will break shear pins is anything. The company I plowing for used to have 2 16ft back blades but we made them 8ft blades last year because we couldn't find operators who could plow without breaking stuff. As for spill off over the top, the main problem with back blades is they are usually built so they throw the snow forward and under your truck. So in deep snow you have to watch how much you are pulling because it will lift the back of the truck off the ground. But in deep snow you don't pull a long driveway with just the back blade you use both blades
if you have 400 to 500 homes the trucks are perfect you get 5trucks at 100 houses each truck and your fine less payment then a tractor and u could use 12 months a year
Great vid! I second the insurance comment. The nice advantage we have here Nick is the barrier to entry. Most people will never take the risk to buy a tractor. That leaves all the gravy for us.
Green Appeal Property Care agreed!
Totally agree with the risk taken. I pulled the trigger on a 4066r with weights, tires, inverted cyclone and 8 foot arctic sectional. I plan to do at least one commercial account with a large amount of steep docks that never get cleaned out properly and its always a stacking account so being able to blow into the stack piles will be nice. We can then service the three nearby neighborhoods and the condo complex.
Tristan Wolff love it! What dealer did you go through? A few guys have had a hard time ordering cyclones in the states.
Agree! The price to get in this keeps so many people on the other side of the fence. Then the other factor is their preconceived notions and perceptions. That keeps a lot on the other side as well.
Looking to pick up another whole setup for the next season. Can’t wait for it to arrive
We sold our pick up and went to a tractor. I will never go back to a truck for snow removal. Great video.
I don't do near as much as you do but I've got a little BX2360 Kubota and it is very handy in the winter as well as the summer. It is a lot slower, blade for the little snows and a blower for the bigger ones. Both front mount. Thing is I have always felt that a tractor is more suited for pushing and pulling than a truck. The person behind the wheel is 90% of your profit. Thank you and have a great new year.
Hi Nick
The big one for me is the tractor will get in tighter places then a truck, no real snow banks like a truck, we run both, if everything was closer it would be all equipment, great video.
Seems like they would be a lot of things a tractor could do during the summer. Do some farming, move some dirt, etc
You guys are doing driveways as long as my living room. In a long driveway with lake effect snow a blower is the only way to go.
no contest those tractors are SLICK!!! make all the what about this, and what about that, arguments you want, the tractor wins. don't argue with such a great tool. you wouldn't argue that an arctic sectional is better than an inverted blower for an apartment parking lot. this is just as clear a winner. right tool for the job.
nocoolname32 100%
Advantage for a truck: size of properties you can do. A truck with both front and back blades will be way quicker on commercial lots. Yes if you get a front blade or a loader attachment you can do parking lots but for what you are talking about the truck has a wider use. Plus the money isn't in residential it is in commercial lots. For what average cost in my area is for a double driveway I need 75+ driveways to equal out to a medium sized commercial lot that I can get done in 1/3 of the time of 75 driveways
Forgot one, its easier to insure a driver in a tractor than a truck.
No, it's not. Operator insurance when applied correctly is more expensive than commercial vehicle insurance in the states. The reason is at least around here they ask specifically if the jobsite is public or if its closed off from public access. Snow removal is public and has a higher rate. Commercial vehicle for me at least has always been a flat rear round rate.
I guess in my case, its far easier to insure someone in the tractor than say a loader...
You have a great biz model but the snag is mother nature. You leave snow on the surface due to your skid plates and during rain or freezing rain, your surface becomes compacted and frozen. Every visit after that (provided it doesn't melt in between) just adds an extra layer of potential ice build up. You are winning with a price point on your biz model but customers don't like the ice left behind. Salt is okay to use. It usually dissipates with the thawing. I think you need to see if Cyclone can add an adapter or bracket to your blowers and allow a tailgate spreader to be attached under the chute. A basket or tray mounted to the front of the tractor to carry bagged salt is an option for supply or 1 service truck that runs around loading your machines. You may need to adjust your service prices to match customer concerns and complaints. People don't mind paying extra to be satisfied. JMO
I don't think many would like salt on their residential, suburban driveways. A benefit to blowers over plows, is that the driveway gets cleared, while more of the beauty of winter is preserved. While perhaps technically efficient, and acceptable for many commercial accounts; I doubt salting, then later blowing the resulting slush all over people's yards, will prove a selling point for most residential customers. I doubt the salt will benefit grass, and whatever else people have in their yards, after the snow melts, as well.
Paul Norman I agree Paul, the ice can cause an issue, Especially when we have a thaw and then refreeze. Things become a sheet of ice. However Normally salt is unnecessary. We have been doing it for those who request it. Although anybody that suggests the job is incomplete because it’s not down to bare pavement has an unrealistic expectation and has not read the terms and conditions used by us or pretty much every other residential deneigement co. Plow trucks may have a slightly better scrape using steal blades but have a far greater risk of scrapes and property damage.
Dude, where do you operate, Texas?? I think Tennessee get more snow than that....lol. I’m in Michigan, and the banks along my driveway we’re taller than my F550. I’m looking to fab up a Fair MFG snow blower to the front of my tractor. Those things are monsters!!!
Having run snowblowers for years you have the right idea there. Not having those banks of snow blowing in deeper with wind.
Been blowing snow for years and not having that pile of snow is the reason.
Nick, have you ever run one of those expanding or hydraulic reversible Cotech blades up front on your tractor?
Aspenwoodpm Aspenwood not extendable, first setup was a vote he puller though. Next comparison video? Hey did you ever talk to Jim btw?
Not yet, we got about 6 inches of warm wet snow last weekend and had to deal with all of that. Now we have a forecast for an inch of rain starting tomorrow, and there is at least 3 feet of snow on the ground and almost every storm drain is frozen over. We have been out in the Kubota's opening storm drains by scraping the ice off of them with the buckets. Crazy year, 38 inches of snow in Feb and now its raining?
Nick
Since your up there I would love to see a comparison of the front Cotech with a rear blower setup to the cyclone setup.
The idea of a 13’ pass and just blow that away is possibly worth the thought. But no one down here runs the Cotech styled blades
PRCS 315-SNO-BLOW Great idea. working on it right now lol.
It looks like a flexible set up, although raises the cost of equipment per tractor quite a bit. I would be interested as the blade would clear the driveway better in warm or icy conditions. Plus, having the flexibility of a rear mounted snow blower would be nice in some situations. I would also like a 200hp tractor with a big Metal Pless Blade just for fun. All it takes is a lot of money and a blend of equipment in a fleet.
blower looks fun,
I would think those wing plows would break more frequently than other plows, they are so wide. And, in deep snow or a longer driveway would spill over the top. That said, there are quite a few areas where they are pretty popular, but I have yet to see one up close so that is my limited opinion.
It it all dependant on your operator and manufacturer of the plow.
The expanding blades you typically will break shear pins is anything. The company I plowing for used to have 2 16ft back blades but we made them 8ft blades last year because we couldn't find operators who could plow without breaking stuff.
As for spill off over the top, the main problem with back blades is they are usually built so they throw the snow forward and under your truck. So in deep snow you have to watch how much you are pulling because it will lift the back of the truck off the ground. But in deep snow you don't pull a long driveway with just the back blade you use both blades
Great review.
Tractors are more fun to drive! And I'd say the tractor is more fuel efficient, 350 hp vs 50-90 hp for the same job.
A 90hp tractor can do so much work compared to a pickup it’s hard to even calculate
if you have 400 to 500 homes the trucks are perfect you get 5trucks at 100 houses each truck and your fine less payment then a tractor and u could use 12 months a year
R.Fabbro 100 driveways per truck ? Your ignorance is laughable
Inverted blower would be sweet if I had a tractor to put it on and density of accounts.
Interesting discussion if you have the money go tractor otherwise practicality takes over.
Good point. You definitely need a certain volume of customers to justify it.
tractors are only good if you have 1000homes and more
R.Fabbro lol tractors are not only good for 1000 homes. I have 110 homes with inverted and I made over 50k this winter. One man operation.
Yeah you can only do up to 130-150 if you have really dense routes. 1000 homes would be 6-10 operators and a ton of money coming in :)