Hello - I need some snowplowing advice

Hello- I'm from Northern WI. I just found this site and it has a lot of good info! Here's my deal. I live on a single lane private road about a mile long. In the winter there are 10 full time homeowners here. The guy we had doing our snowplowing can no longer do - due to health reasons. So being that I am a carpentry contractor and typically have very little winter work why not plow our road. The vehicle I will be using is a 97 f250 with 83,000 miles. It is very clean and mechanically sound and it has a 460 in it. It has a 2007 8'6" ultra mount on it. I actually just bought this truck and I'm picking it up today. I think I got a good deal on it a 4200.00 bucks. I was thinking about putting a ultra mount kit on my other truck a 1 ton dodge dually diesel - that way I have a back up if needed. After speaking with a few of the larger lawn companies around here - I landed some commercial lots to plow if I want them. So now I'm thinking about setting up my dually to plow with and put my son in 1 truck and me in the other. So just how bad is a dually long box , crew cab going to be for plowing if its really only used for parking lots with a vee plow on it. Now for my plowing experience - I haven't plowed since I was a kid 20 years ago. Thanks in advance for all input - Todd

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Welcome to our forum! My first question would be, is your plow going to be at least as wide as your dually truck? Beyond that, it's not a truck that is normally used because of it's length and width, but if that is what you have to work with, that is what you have to work with and you can experiment with it. If you find you don't like using it, I am sure you can find another beater truck somewhere to use instead of the dually. What kind of things will you be doing to promote your plowing business?

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Hey Steve -

I have been looking at either a 9'6" western MVP ultra mount or a 9'2" boss plow. I agree wholly with the large issue of my dodge. Problem is I have owned it free and clear from day one, I know its been well taken care of, maintenance is always taken care of and there are no know mechanical issues. I really never even thought about getting rid of it - until now. But with values being as low as they are - I would take a beating. So that raises the question of take my truck at a clean trade in value of 24k put a 5k plow on it and run it. Or purchase a new/newer F250 and the same plow. A new one 33k, a used one??? So numbers wise they are not too far off. But coming cash out of pocket and no heated leather seats, etc.

As far as marketing goes - I have a meeting next week to sit down and go over these commercial accounts. If I end up going this way I would have as much work as I could handle with 2 trucks and a couple of part time snow blowers. So after the meeting I will decide to either start knocking on doors and pick up residential work or take the commercial work. In our area there is a niche that needs to be filled. No one offers a door to door service for plowing . Well that is except for me.

Let me know if you know anyone that needs a very clean 1 ton dodge quad cab diesel laramie with all options and barely broken in at 85k.

Thanks - Todd

[The Cleaning Doctor]

Trucks take a beating with a plow on them. I would save that truck from the beating by getting and older truck. Paint jobs are cheap compared to the cost of a new truck. 2nd option is to get a tractor set up for clearing snow. This option will last a lot longer than any other option.