route management and salt prices

[caddy0291]

I was just wondering what you guys are using for route layouts such as a program that will lay your route out in the shortest route possible,also I bought 20 bags of salt this weekend for driveways and paid 9.53 a bag at lowes and my local hardware store if any of you guys might know of a cheaper place to get salt please let me know.

[Hedgemaster]

Lawn care business tips

I haven't priced supplies anywhere else yet, but my local hardware store has the following prices: 50lb Rock Salt $9.00 50lb "Ice Melt" (potassium/sodium mix) $21.00 50lb Calcium Chloride $23.00 Their prices are usually a few dollars higher than big box. I may stop at HD and Lowes to get prices tomorrow. Anyone have a "formula" for add-on salt pricing? Obviously it depends on the amount you need to use, but it seems to me that by the time you add on for "salt", people start to balk about the price. This ain't the 50's anymore and everyone wants the "good stuff" but they don't even want to pay the "rock salt" price.

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by caddy0291

I was just wondering what you guys are using for route layouts such as a program that will lay your route out in the shortest route possible,also I bought 20 bags of salt this weekend for driveways and paid 9.53 a bag at lowes and my local hardware store if any of you guys might know of a cheaper place to get salt please let me know.

That's pretty expensive for salt, try looking in front of grocery stores they often have pallets out (weird I know). Cheapest salt around. You shouldn't be spending more than $6.

As for creating routes, it's all headaches. There is no easy way, try THIS.

It's better than most map sites.

For keeping things organized, I use OpenOffice.

I'll eventually upload my set up on OpenOffice, maybe it'll be of use to you!

[TiedemanLLC]

I will comment on the salt prices...is that rock salt? You guys are paying way too much for that. I get mine at my local grain elevator, and these are per bag price, not pallet price at $4.95 a bag. There is even a local family & farm store here that are $4.65 a bag. The only reason that I don't purchase the $4.65 bags is because they let it sit outside.

[mark123]

Gopher's Matrix for tracking snow removal jobs.

You can look at your matrix and put it in order as you drive but if you have your routing set properly in Gopher, as you should, then it's in order already.

Salt is half the price of snow blowing. $20 snow blow would mean $30 for blow and salt.

[bruces]

I get salt at the quarry down the road ,they load a pick-up or small trailer as heavy as you want for $36.00 .Its not in bags so you need to figure out your storage solution ahead of time .I can get salt sand for the same price as well [actually anything they have as its their minimum price ]