How to Snowplow a Parking Lot
Winter is here, which means that heavy snows have likely piled up in every driveway and parking lot you come across. If you own a lot, then you’re likely preparing to plow away all that snow, but this can be a challenge, given the reduced traction and high risk of slipping around. You also don’t want to do a shoddy job and have someone get their car stuck.
Nova International, with locations in Windsor and Aylesford, Nova Scotia, and Salisbury, New Brunswick, is proud to be your Atlantic Canada snowplow dealer. Read on to learn how to properly and efficiently snowplow a parking lot to save yourself time and energy while getting great results!
Evaluate The Situation
First, it pays to know what the lot is like in terms of its layout before the snow hits. If you’re contracted to attend to a lot, try to visit it in advance of a heavy snow so you can take some notes. You’ll want to know where signage, curbs, traffic islands, speed bumps, fire hydrants, bushes, trees and other obstacles are so that you can avoid them or plan a way to work around them so you can do the job well without getting your snowplow stuck somewhere.
Get To Work As Soon As Snow Falls
Waiting for all the snow in a storm system to fall is a bad move, because it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to plow several feet of snow compared to a few inches of it. Try to stay on top of snowfall by plowing once there’s some ground cover, then try to plow regularly as it continues to fall. If you own a particularly hefty truck and plow, then you may be able to get away with waiting longer before you start clearing the lot.
Plow In A Pattern
To start plowing, get yourself close to your building with your plow raised up, then drop the blade down and hit reverse to start dragging snow away. Make sure you give yourself some space to return to this area from another angle later on. Clear the snow in a back-and-forth pattern, pushing snow into a designated pile. If your plow is very wide, you won’t have to make as many passes, but it may be harder to finagle into small spaces. Once you’ve cleared away the bulk of the snow on flat areas, you can start working around landscaping and curbs. If there are any spots you just can’t access or clear, then you’ll need to put the plow away and get to shoveling.
Push Snow Away From Businesses
Back-drag the snow as much as you can rather than trying to plow it towards a building. You can easily build up too much momentum and go sailing through a door or storefront if you lose traction. Try to keep mounds piled up away from the sides of buildings and make sure that you aren’t blocking any entrances or piling up snow on a sidewalk by accident. Again, if you have to, you can always address smaller amounts of snow with a shovel and some rock salt. Try to place snow piles on grass or in the corners of your lot so that they’re as out of the way as possible.
We hope these tips help you to keep your storefront and parking lot all cleared this winter. Searching for a new snowplow? Visit one of our dealerships in the cities of Windsor or Aylesford, Nova Scotia, or Salisbury, New Brunswick, to take a look at our full stock of new and used snowplows for sale. Nova International proudly serves all of Atlantic Canada, including the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
