Snow Plow For Skid Steers – Using The KISS Principle

Skid Steer Snow Plows

Snow plowing is always going to be a necessity as our country, cities, and towns continue to grow. Those contractors that do what they do best, and do it repeatedly, will usually outperform and out maneuver the competition. KISS is a well known acronym for “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. While this statement may seem derogatory, it holds a lot of truth. Especially when it comes to snow plowing and snow removal operations. Plowing with equipment such as skid steers, wheel loaders and tractors helps contractors manage their fleets more efficiently with fewer repairs, and the production rate of these machines is far greater than any pickup truck.

What if my sites are spread apart and it doesn’t make sense to trailer a skid steer to each one?

While most contractors strive to service a certain radius that keeps them and their ‘base’ within close proximity of their service area, there are times when you have to go outside of this area to get business. There are many benefits to keeping a close proximity of sites, but let’s not focus on that at this moment. Let’s just say that in order to lock down this customer, you need to service sites that are too far apart to road your equipment to.

Let’s take a Walgreens, for instance. This multi-location chain of drugstores often signs to the lowest bidder, and wants that one person to handle multiple locations within a given city or state. Other than hiring sub-contractors to do the ones out of your ‘reach’, you would have to put someone behind the windshield, and hope that traffic doesn’t affect their ability to reach each location in time. This is already sounding like a nightmare. Then, if there are any significant amount of sidewalks, you will have to rely on that operator / crew to maintain that as well! This scenario is probably the hardest one to answer, and there are many other factors that could play into the decision. However, instinct tells me that if you always try to do what’s right for the customer, do what you know well, and repeat, you will succeed.

With that in mind, maybe it’s not right that your snow removal operation is spread out over miles of travel. At the very least, try to get some other contracts within the same area so that you can service those along the way. This way you are serving more clients, rather than driving around in traffic. This ‘Walgreens’ scenario is undoubtedly the most controversial topic, and there is no denying that there are many different ways to service these contracts. The questions you should ask yourself are:

– Am I really doing what’s best for my customer?
– Can I provide a good level of service to this customer if we get heavy snowfall?
– Can I build my business on this model that I’m choosing (will I be able to repeatedly use this formula to gain more contracts, hire more people, and make more money)?

Special Highlights On Skid Steer Plowing Efficiencies

If you are considering a skid steer snow plow to perform your plowing operations, you have a few attachment options to consider. First, and most obvious, is a snow or dirt bucket. Your skid steer probably already has one, and this doesn’t usually break. However, this is the least efficient way to move snow from a parking lot.

Next option might be a snow pusher. Also known as a containment ‘plow’. These fixed snow pushers can contain large amounts of snow, but only in a forward direction. Also, as they inevitably fill up, they will start to spill from both sides causing unwanted windrows everywhere.

The next attachment that you may want to consider is a skid steer snow plowing attachment. Usually this consists of a curved moldboard, a hydraulic angle feature, and a safety trip mechanism. The skid steer snow plow is the most versatile of all of these attachments. It can pull, push, or plow.

Finally, the most efficient and versatile of all of these attachments is a system that combines the best features of the snow pusher, and snow plow, into one attachment. This attachment was invented and created by KAGE Innovation, and is called the KAGE System. This System allows you to outmaneuver any truck when it comes to these Walgreen parking lots. You might even find yourself hopping up on the sidewalks, eliminating any need to get out and shovel! Check out our SnowFire for skid steers, or our SnowStorm for wheel loaders.