Snow plowing tips and where to buy accessories 

I am a business school professor. This is a really good video to show business students how to think about setting up a business in terms of finding what's important, understanding what the customers want, understanding how to set things up to minimize risks (i.e, to put the most breakdown-prone driveways last in the day), etc. I'll see if I can use this as an example in class!

Your enthusiasm is infectious I have been in business for 25 years and watching your vids make me feel young again because I was just like you

oh my god this is the best video..... you say look look at this grass field i have problems here... THEN YOU SHOW IT IN SNOW... i just kept getting more and more amazed at how much work you put into this video.... that is impressive.. thank you sir for your dedication

Wow. If only our country had a million more of this type of young man. He has the common sense, thrift and work ethic of a bygone generation. Well done sir.

i learned more in your 45 minute video than i did in 9 years of schooling, thank you

Andrew, your parents did a fine job. They should be proud.

Messing up gravel? Don't plow slush. Cheapest 3/4 ton truck you can get, fewest options, room under the hood, easier to work on, show and tell for the lights, tool-box time, wenches (I never call a tow truck, that cuts into your profit), you can back into stuff, clothes, I like the spikes, a $2400 lift... great business plan, Andrew.

Andrew, we live in a time where most young men coming up don't know how to change a tire on their own car. They call AAA to do it. You give a lot of us old guys hope that there are still some younger guys (I don't know your age but you look young) that like to do all their own stuff and just figure out how things work. Thank God for youtube. I wish it had been around when I was young. Kids have the world at their finger tips literally. Thanks for taking the time to make all the great videos to show young guys they can still be real men in a feminist world and tackle almost anything if they will just go for it. I love this video. It was very informative, as are all your videos. I plowed snow in Winter Park Colorado for years where the average yearly snowfall is between 300-400 inches. I plowed mostly commercial, paved areas and used a tractor to push and pile snow when it got to much for the pickup. Probably a lot easier than a lot of the stuff you plow. I wanted to add a couple things to what you said, I hope you don't mind. One of the best things I added to my old plow truck (97 f 250 diesel, 7'6" western plow) was a back up camera. It has kept me from banging into a lot of stuff. Also an old snow mobile track cut in two thrown under tires can help get unstuck in some situations. Also a good idea to carry several buckets of sand and gravel for weight or to throw down when stuck. I recently had to move back to the Denver area to help with my aging father. I picked up a plow route from a local landscape company. It works out good for me because I don't have to go out and find plow jobs or worry about bidding or billing. This may be a good way for young guys to get started plowing. In the city, in areas that get snow, landscape companies usually spend winters plowing. They are always looking for guys to drive trucks, at least here they are. They will usually pay 25+ an hour to drive their truck, or if you have your own truck, they pay 75+ an hr. Works good because you can work your job during the day and make some extra cash at night since usually commercial stuff gets plowed at night. Maybe a guy could drive a company plow for a while and save to get his own truck. Any way, just a few thoughts. Keep up the great work and videos. You are fun to watch and listen too. I like your unique style of getting things done.

I live in England, half an inch of snow and the whole crummy lot stops. Just watching your videos restores my faith in human nature. Well done for Mr. Camarata's common sense.

Just watched this video, went on craigslist, found a Toro Powerlite, called the guy up and now one is in my garage. Thanks for the recommendation Andrew. Can't wait to use it in a month or so.

I started a snow plowing business here in Florida and everyone laughed at me. I have not had to work a day since, who's laughing now?

Your videos keep getting better. It is obvious that you spend a lot of time planning out these videos and editing them. I think I agree with pretty much everything that you said in your video. You are 100% correct about using a tow strap versus a chain. A stretchable tow strap Works 10 times better than a chain when trying to pull a vehicle out with another truck. A chain beats the crap out of both vehicles whereas a strap provides a much gentler pull that spreads the pulling force over a longer period of time. You can get more of a running start because the strap stretches up to 20% in length. Anyone involved in plowing should follow all of your tips and tricks at a minimum.

I love the idea of using old style hi low switch for aux lighting

"Average truck bumpers are made of tin foil"....LOL! true tho

Ice On a Hill... Ever use a rake? I do. When the temps are right (above 32° now / below 32° later) I rake the ice/snow/slush. It freezes. It's like 1 grit sand paper or rock solid corduroy after that. I moved from upstate NY to WV a few years back and my drive on a hill I couldn't even walk up or down sometimes it's so smooth and icy. After raking it (and a a freeze) I can. I have also, depending on the temputure, thrown chunks of snow on my icy driveway and watered it. After it all froze again it was like 1 grit sand paper. Great traction. Almost no slipping. No need for chains on my van also. A rake and a weather app. Try it. You might never slip again.

Not sure when I will ever need these tips as I live in South Texas, and all we know about snow is that it comes in paper cup with some colored syrup on top. But it never hurts to learn something new.

Great video! These last few vids where you share things like this is priceless, a LOT of people are learning from them I bet! Keep 'em coming!

Thank you Andrew for one of the most interesting channels on you tube. Yor Vids are so easy and pleasurable to watch and very informative.

This short video has a ton on good tips for living in snow country! This guy is real deal. Thank you.

Thank you Andrew, for sharing your hard work (being the camera man) and great work on your videos!! You're an amazing guy!

Andrew all this recommendations you give us it seems like you been alive for 100 years and now it's time to school us. Love it , thanks man.

So informative! I have no intentions of starting a snowplowing business, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. You're a natural teacher, Andrew!

Definitely one of my favorite channels. Plain, honest, to the point. No nonsense hard working man, I can watch his work for hours.

WOW Andrew *you are ONE SMART COOKIE* furthermore you give your customers a lot more value than I would expect.

I bought a similar Toro snowblower (CCR2450) 10+ years ago and it is amazing. It has went through a few paddles and one belt but it always starts on the first pull. Great little snowblower. Really enjoy your videos and wish more people had your work ethic.

Love the modifications you made to the plow. Also, those lights are wonderful, especially if you are plowing because it's always dark when you go out because you do it before people have to get to work.

@17:55 that's the cutest Winch-Inspector ever!

Best most informative snowplow video yet I have seen. There is a reason I have subscribed to your channel. Very honest portrayal of your work. Nice drone footage too.

Very good work ethic Andrew, not afraid to go the extra mile, customers appreciate this.

Andrew I have been involved with Snow all my 74 years as Operated all kinds of Snow equipment as I'm up in Canada and I must say you hit every nail on the head , great video and you are a fine young man with all your inventive ideas that work and work well, enjoy you tremendously, keep up the great work and be safe, love your dogs as I'm a lab dog guy !

You have the natural-born ability to explain very well what you do and don't do. And showing how having a well-defined process for repeatable tasks saves time and money and makes you a success. Love it.

Andrew, love your content. Very down to earth and humble person. Best of luck to you this year...keep on going and getting :)

Very informative video, Andrew. I bought a used Dodge Ramcharger with a Western plow on it in the Fall of 2001 so I could plow snow during winter layoff from driving concrete mixer. But then I got another job driving semi and was too busy doing that to mess with plowing snow, and so I never did get a plowing business going and ended up selling the truck and plow. I would of probably never made it in plowing anyway. But you really got it down to a science. Great video!

Hey Andrew, I really enjoyed this video. It's like a course in snow plowing dos and don'ts .. excellent job !! I've been doing my own personal plowing for about 10 years and have done just about everything wrong that can be done wrong!! Gotten stuck a few times too, but that was in a 2010 Colorado where the front drive shaft CV joints would fail. They were the ball bearing type and made of cheese!! My little 4 cylinder '94 Toyota 4x4 pickup before that, with the same blade, would plow circles around it and never get stuck. I used it for 5-6 years without a problem. It had a proper double-cardon splined front drive shaft that never so much as grumbled. I currently have a 2018 F-150 with the factory Plow Prep pkg and a Meyer Wingman plow (junk). It's a good truck but for work like you do an older heavy duty model would be far better. Many thanks for the time and thought you put into this video. I'll be looking out for more. Cheers and best of luck!

Great demo and instructional! Especially the ice traction grippers. Ice is unforgiving. Self sufficiency is paramount to success in so many if not every way. Thanks AC!

Never been to America but a lot of your videos make me think of one of my favorite songs I heard when I was a child that made me day dream about beautiful country roads in America "Take me home, Country roads" by John Denver...

Love the way you have that winch setup for multiple uses. Genius

Really love how you skip ahead in time a few months to see the stuff under snow to make your point. I don't know how you keep all your in-progress videos straight and organized to accomplish that. It must be a hassle, but as a viewer I appreciate it because it makes for effective editing. 👍

Andy Once again spot ON !!!!!!!!!!!!! love the story. Just a few things Or just FYI. TORO THATS RIGHT TORO. MAKE A NEW SNOWBLOWER. ONE OF THE BEST SMALL SNOW BLOWER. 4 cycle come with electric start. For old guys Like me . With a bad shoulder. Nice and lite 21" wide 12"" high. Had it for two years. Great machine. Here in northern CT. Throw snow great. Did well in the last wet frozen rained on snow. Also with the rubber blades gets up the packed snow up TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEFORE THAT had snapper 2 cycle great machine . But they don't make them anymore. The steel that hold the rubber blades you can't get anymore. Once you bend the steel rack that hold the rubber blade's It bends easier. Every time you hit something to make the steel rack bend. Some where along the line pick up a few milk boxes. For your chains and all the rest of your things in your tool box. YOUR wasting time digging for things. LOVE THE HIGH AND LOW SWITCH FOR THE LIGHT'S !!!!!!!!!!! ONCE AGAIN YOU LITTLE SHIT PULLED ONE OFF. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you get time. Pick a color you like start painting shovel handle's. and hand tools ..... Like the fact that your Using a good size CHAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I when so far. As to paint the end of my chain's,,,,,,,,, 3 chain links are my short chains. 5. Links on the chain's are my longer chains same color always red or yellow laid them down somewhere in the snow or on the ground. Late in the afternoon or in the dirty. YOU CAN ALWAYS SEE THEM I Started painting my tools!!!!!!!!! when I got in too with a friend....... of mine over a brand in flat shovel. I know it was mine. JUST LEAVE YOU WITH ONE. For your drill...... Why don't you put a INVERTER IN THE TRUCK TO HANDLE. THE HAMMER DRILL. PS LOVE THE. WINCH DEAL NICE. SET UP. SIDE LIGHTS. YOU ALSO FORGOT A GOOD JUMP BOX IN THE TRUCK WILL GET YOU OUT OF TROUBLE. TAKE CARE. JUNKMANDO.

My favorite parts were the ice shoes and truck stuck clips! Great video. So honest all the time. Nicely done

Excellent compilation. The lighting and visibility are major factors since daylight is so short in winter.

Excellent tips and very nice cinematography. I thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Also I thank you for so much effort you've put into this vlog. Keep up the good work.

Hey great video! I've been plowing with my own truck for 2 seasons now but I have 4 seasons of experience as I plowed for a housing authority too. I also like to keep extra parts, tools and recovery equipment in my truck. I don't skimp on the maintenance either as my truck is older. I have a 2008 Ford Super Duty F-250. It works fine for me just like your Ram 2500 does for you I'm sure. Keep posting buddy!

Your videos make me want to go out and buy a plow and plow some snow, i have never seen more than 1" fall in my 60 years where we live just in the Christmas movies. you have been blessed with a gift keep running with it GB.

All this free professional tips and tricks... Your the man Andrew. Thanks for sharing

Andrew you are a character, you always put a smile on my face.

Andrew really good information for the starter. I concur with your opinion. Breaking down in a storm you need to be plowing and not waiting for parts. Plowing is pay day.

Hi Andrew I really enjoy your matter of fact informative videos. I saw your problem using a nail in the frozen ground and from experience I got the idea that a suitably ground radial aircraft engine pushrod would do the job as they're almost impossible to bend. Keep up the great work.

I love using Wrangler Duractrac tires. They are really really nice for Plowing. Lean in a ditch by accident and pulls me right out. Love the videos man

Dude, you really knocked this video out of the park. Solid advise. Good job Andrew.

Hard working, a lot of common sense, smart, and makes great videos to boot. Thanks for sharing

I used to have one of those toro powerlites. It worked very well! Threw the snow far - even the heavy stuff!

You planned out this video very good !! I learned so much about plowing ...Great job.

Andrew, I hope these companies have sent you something. Your truthfulness regarding these items makes me and probably a lot of other people want to purchase them.

CAMERON FOR A YOUNG FELLOW YOU CONSTANTLY AMAZE ME, THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES AND PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND SAFE

Great Job Andrew. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into there videos.

Awesome as usual! I love watching these videos. I hope these help so many people from your experience!

Andrew is right about the Toro, great snowblower, I own one and as the paddle wears out you can loosen the screws and adjust the paddle down- no snow left behind.

Totally agree with you that a straight blade is the way to go. I plowed for years and had friends with V-Plows. They were at a minimum 2x the money and always seemed to be a maintenance problem. I found that the Northern Tool wings made all the difference in the world for me. The make the blade wider but it was the containment that helped. They cut my lot time down to a 1/3 of what it was before. Rear locking/limited slip was also important for it getting stuck

Very nice video The wench information is spot on The 4x4 shifter is very true My ford had the vacuum lines rot off the hubs The whole video is seasons of experience Thanks for the great film!

I try to watch all your videos but somehow i missed this one when it came out. i am glad i found it. many many useful tips. Thank you for sharing your insights.

I admire your professionalism, doing a proper efficient job and learning and improving everytime. Although i live in a place without hardly any snow, i loved watching this one. Great shots with the drone. And nice last seasons illustrations of where you got stuck and locations shown with and without snow.

Great video! The editing and showing the seasonal differences is great. Keep up the great content. Cheers

lol you are a trip sometimes, love your little one liners. This answered tons of questions though, thanks for all these videos Andrew!

Another Muck boot fan! I will never get rid of mine. They're durable, they keep you dry, they're warm, and best of all, they're light! They don't weigh 10 lbs. I have my normal pair for hunting/normal outside stuff and I have my CSA Arctic Pro pair for winter work as well

Very good and informative video. You've pretty much covered everything in this one... though I don't plow for a business, I still have to take care of where I live and because I live on a hill with turns in the driveway, I use a six foot snow blower on the back of my JD 990 tractor. Two passes and my driveway is open. That would take too long if I had to travel to other people's homes to plow them out, though. But for me, it's the only way to move snow. I don't have to worry about banks building up as I'm throwing the snow thirty feet away.

Very comprehensive. Never would be snow plowing but the video was extremely interesting.

Andrew, excellent video, you covered all bases on preparing for snow plowing . Thanks.

Very good tutorial Andrew, you covered everything well, It probably has been 55 years since I plowed snow, only one thing you missed, though, is when you have the chance to get the snow pushed back from the plowed path edge as far as possible when you can. Many times when it thaws then refreezes the plowed edge is a wall of ice that can break or beat the hell out of your equipment or cause the truck to fly off the path. I enjoyed watching!

Great information. You made many good points from your experience. After it snows everything looks different. Tip: After you drill the hole, put in the marker, then pour water in (won't need much in that tiny hole) and it will freeze in place and be solid. When it thaws you can pull them out again. Cheers

You are amazing Andrew. Thank you for your videos. So inspiring and educational.

I've had the same Toro snowblower as you since the late 90s and I got it for free and the thing still works amazing and I've beat the piss right out of it I've had to fix a few things but it always works. And it is so light and it has plenty of power for how small it is.

I enjoy watching your videos and impressed with your work. Thanks for posting the videos.

Great video. You covered alot of topics. If I was going to start plowing, this video would definitely help prepare me. Thanks for the videos.

Great video Andrew, I have no plans to start plowing snow but I just watched your whole video. Now I know why I have no plans to plow snow, tuff gig.

Believe it or not a lot of people go with your advice keep up the good work you're young but you know what you're talking about thank you.

I live in Sunny San Diego and I just watch this on snow plowing I learned things I didn't even know that I didn't even know and I just love your videos thank you and I appreciate it keep up the good work

This was a good video full of tips and tricks on plowing, thanks for making it AC. One caution for drilling (great idea) or even when hammering pilot holes for driveway markers is to look around and try to determine if there are any underground services nearby. I know you're going that deep but you wouldn't want to hit a sprinkler line or low voltage cable for driveway lights or who knows what else might have been buried along the side of a driveway. Using a cordless hammer drill would work too especially on long drives where you might not have AC power close by.

Great video Andrew. Very thorough and professionally presented.

Super helpful video. Thanks for explanation in detail. You are a self sufficient/self contained man. God Bless

I gotta give you a lot of credit, I’ve spent 30 years running heavy equipment in Washington state and I know how much work it is and running a business on top of it.

Great tip on the high/low switch for your top lights ! 👍

I have plowed three seasons and enjoy it as long as I don’t have to shovel sidewalks. There is money to be made, but is very hit or miss in Missouri. I have a Meyer but it needs to be rebuilt right now. We had 1” of snow each year last two years, and none so far 2018-2019. Thanks for the video Andrew, I enjoyed it.

That was a very informative and just plain fun video to watch! Thanks for doing these bud.

Almost a year late, but oh well. I thought I'd seen all your videos. Got here from your current video. The genius of the the power drill rivals the car stereo installation with the chainsaw. The same thinking outside the box but in a much more subtle way. Can't beat the stereo though. I laugh every time I see that truck's dash. Love the vids Andrew. Keep 'em comin'. Cheers from B.C.

Your work ethic and knowledge is really inspiring

I admire your professionalism, you do the right effective work

Super informative video. Ive always considered getting into residential plowing, but for now i stick with my dump truck and a DOT contract.

Toro makes a snowblower just like that the powerclear! I have one and it is great! I agree it is better than the big ones! Good video!

Another cool ass video.Its very cool how you take the time to explain everything.You got a very nice place up there,hope you have another video coming out soon.

Awesome and very informative video. Where I live my snowbanks are always 20+ inches deep. My 10HP 2 stage snow blower struggles, so forget about that single stage Toro. But, it seems to work well in your area.

Super handy to throw a few bags of ice melt in the bed for weight. Great for getting off ice. And customers willing to pay a premium for walkway deicing. Great video Andrew!

42min and 43 secounds of no bull shit, 100% great tips and insights.

I have to admit; I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started your video. However, I tip my hat to you. You're using what you can to make a buck and have been very creative. Nice job! Keep up the excellent work, and thanks for all the info in this video. Stay safe out there.

From the title I wasn't expecting too much but I think this was one of your best videos!

One of the best video on snowplow on RU-vid! Tanks!

This was a great video! Thanks for the time and effort it took to make it.

Omg walking on ice must watch - very informative and impressive review of all 👍

~~~~~ Making The Winch on the double receiver is very clever Andrew! ~~~~~~ All great tips!....Thanks

i love the way you plow BC most of the people i know go about 5 mph because they don't want to hurt their brand new truck but i like how you get through it fast and never get stuck