Sponsorship and Introduction
00:00:02
Speaker
This No Jobs podcast episode is brought to you by Top Gun Backblades.
00:00:08
Speaker
Are you ready for the best damn ride of your life? Give me a hell, give me a yell. Stand up right now and give me a hell.
00:00:24
Speaker
Get ready to go. She ain't moving slow. She's taking control. Pushing the pedal through the floor. I'm begging for more. You better.
00:00:40
Speaker
Here we go. Snow Jobs Nation. We are back again bringing you episode 147. 147 of the Snow Jobs Podcast main show powered by Top Gun Backblades. As always, you know who I am. I'm talking the juice box guy.
00:00:53
Speaker
And you know who's with me. I'm one of the baddest motherfuckers of all time. One of the best singers. One of the best looking motherfuckers you've ever seen. Hold my drink, bitch. snow god, Rick James, Jeremy Lindstrom. You know who he is. What's up, buddy? Steve-O, what's happening, buddy? What's happening? How we
Unique Recording Experience
00:01:11
Speaker
doing? We're making snow history tonight. Snow history tonight. We are out plowing the Glacier Boys tonight. Nobody has ever done this before. I don't care what anybody says. Nobody has ever recorded a podcast with guys in loaders actively pushing before. Yeah. Yeah.
00:01:29
Speaker
That's all we do. We're able to do it. You know how we're able to do it? Well, we hope we can do it. Well, they're all pushing Arctic. So Arctic's are so quiet. Oh, you know you don't hear any chattering going on. No moving parts squeaking and squealing. it's ah It's pretty easy. But yeah, we're doing it. We're doing it live from the loaders tonight with the Glacier Boys.
00:01:47
Speaker
It's going to be ah hopefully a lot of fun. Hopefully we don't have any problems because we've never attempted this before. Yeah. We're under the gun like always. Under the gun like always. We shit. Yeah, we are shit out of options, people. Everywhere we know and everybody we talk to a normal course of action from this podcast has gotten snow either yesterday, today, tomorrow.
00:02:13
Speaker
So everybody's busy. We've had a couple cancellations, and we are shit out of options. So this is throwing one down. we're just throwing one down right now.
00:02:24
Speaker
This is it. You know, I mean, you know, we had the, we had a couple cancellations, so we're letting this fly. We're going to see how it goes and see if all you guys like it. If you do, we may do more of these. And if you don't like it, tough shit.
00:02:36
Speaker
yeah know There's nothing we can do about this shit.
Guests: The Glacier Boys
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Speaker
there is nothing we can do about this shit But, ah yeah, to help us do this tonight, we got some crowd favorites back. If you listen to the Glacier shows before, you got helicopter Ben Dixon.
00:02:52
Speaker
You got snow boss Aaron Hawks. And you got a newcomer here. you Yeah. yeah First time, right? First time, Rick? Oh, yeah. Yep. First time, Jared.
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Speaker
Jared crash McCollum is with us tonight. So he's, he's joining us live from the loader. I see him bouncing around on the air ride seat there. It's, uh, it's going to be hopefully a lot of fun. And, uh, yeah, we're just going to kick the ball around, see what these guys are up to out there. They're pushing a little surprise snow for Fargo.
00:03:21
Speaker
Yeah. It was supposed to be some flurries today and it's flurried. Flurry is supposed to be done at like 10 o'clock and then noon then one and two and then three and then and it flurried to probably like an hour ago. So we've, we don't have a lot, but enough for us to scratch. So that's what we're doing. So we got to, got to clean her off and let the Salter boys salt.
00:03:40
Speaker
So that's what we're doing. There you go. There you go. Well, I mean, Double time. Do I get double time for this? Do I get double time? Yeah. Yes. yeah it workss If it works, if it works, we'll do double time.
00:03:53
Speaker
Oh, man. Yeah. It's been a day, man. We're getting ready for our snow. You know, we got the Nick pick of the week for us. ah He's saying Tuesday we're pushing. So we're running out of time to to get the last few things done.
00:04:09
Speaker
So a lot of snow all over the place, though. Chicago's getting hammered. All the Arctic boys are going crazy. They're getting it done. I see a lot of pushing with Razorbacks and stuff and some loaders getting after it. I think Indiana, Illinois. Yeah, there's a lot of snow out there right now. It's been an active week, that's for sure. Yeah, it has.
00:04:31
Speaker
It's been good. It's good. and good i Did Wisconsin get a lot? I think Wisconsin got some more, too. I know they're pushing in the cities right now, too. Minneapolis, Mankato's getting some. Yeah, yeah everybody's getting And Iowa, i saw saw Josh from Perth.
00:04:45
Speaker
from Prairie was out there pushing. Yeah, everybody seems to be getting a little peace. So there's hopefully, and it's supposedly going over to the East Coast. And I'm ah i actually, once I get done pushing tonight, I'm getting on a plane to go Dulles, DC to talk to Top Dog and hope maybe they might get a shot out there and help him out. so
Travel Plans and Commercial Break
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Speaker
Top dog, Todd. I'm actually wearing his Houston snow team sweatshirt right now. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm kind of ah excited about that. I'm sure I'll be a little tired. But he said maybe we can even go to the football game tomorrow night we or Sunday night. Sunday night. This will be on Monday. It'll be Sunday night. We'll see if that happens.
00:05:21
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see. We'll see how much of a top dog he is. So you said Nick nailed it last, the other day because this is your second time pushing this week, but he nailed the first one. Yeah. Nick got that one done. The lock of the week, Nick hammered it. I got to give him credit for that. You know, and the nurse practitioner might become a doctor here shortly. So.
00:05:41
Speaker
ah ah Yeah, he nailed that one. and it it seems like I think ah Joe from Nordic said he's on with this one, too. He is keeping score this year.
00:05:51
Speaker
So he says he he says so far there they're on with that one. They got in Minnesota, too. So very cool. But yeah, i mean, why don't we get this going? We'll we'll hit top gun and we'll come back to a quick week review and get into it with the boys. All right.
00:06:06
Speaker
All right. Here we go. Gentlemen, let me tell you about the best kept secret in the snow game. Top Gun backblades. Our all-American blade is the largest and strongest pickup truck plow on planet Earth. We're talking about a 16 to 20 foot wide blade that makes other snow plows look like toys.
00:06:20
Speaker
This is what peak efficiency feels like. Now you can do more with less. We're currently offering the fly high edition plows with exclusive perks in honor of our late founder, Jason Yonkers. Quantities are extremely limited.
00:06:31
Speaker
ask about our new skid steer attachment. Get your order started at topgunblades.com or check us out on Instagram and YouTube at Top Gun Blades. Welcome to Team Top Gun. All gang, we're back. So quick week review. Last week, we dropped two episodes for all the guys that want more weekly episodes. they That was your Thanksgiving present.
00:06:49
Speaker
All right, we dropped the Monday's episode, the main show episode about the effects lowballers are having on our industry. And we didn't even get into talking about the national property management companies. We were just talking about local market contractors and and what they're doing out there. We had a ton of positive feedback on that one. a lot of guys liked it. um You know, it seems like we're all experiencing, you know, out there here and there, sometimes a lot more frequently, unfortunately, depending on where you are. and Hopefully some of the guys we're talking about have a better understanding of ah of what they're doing how detrimental to the industry it is.
00:07:24
Speaker
What else? We also dropped our winter weather spectacular with the weather pros. they We had Rob and Nick, as we said. That's always a lot of fun for us to do. We like going after them. They come back at us. it's ah We have a good time, a lot of laughs, and lot of good information from them.
00:07:40
Speaker
Definitely. so And as as we said, Nick nailed his Nick pick of the week for you. Yeah, what's he going to do this week? We got to probably get him on now once a week and see if we can get him catch him, huh? Catch him not hitting Yeah. Yeah, right. yeah Well, you're only as good as your last forecast. So ah we'll see what he can do. Hopefully his luck holds. I want to see what what he calls for Tuesday and see if he's right with that. Because, you know, i've I've seen everything, dude. I've seen everything from two to four all the way up to ten.
00:08:11
Speaker
10 10 plus like we're gonna see when the the short range models come into view tonight and they start throwing out their maps and predictions we'll see how close they are here's what we can do here's here's what we can do on that we can record ah like on something on instagram and then we can play down our story so we can lock them down for there you go we can do that yeah we can definitely do that do an instagram live get them on We can do that. ah Keep hitting the like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever drop review the show. um Wherever you listen, keep doing reviews. We love it. It gives us a lot of good information.
00:08:50
Speaker
have helps us take the next steps that you guys want us to take. And we'll keep bringing it to you if you keep telling us what you want. What else do we got? We got Snow Jobs
Merchandise and Equipment Highlights
00:09:00
Speaker
Nation store stocked and ready with new items. You got the tumbler set, right? Yeah, got the tumblers going. They're...
00:09:07
Speaker
A couple guys have bought them already, so that's that's going good. So, yeah, it'll be – I like them. I did have a question. Are you able to buy them individually or they come as a set? No, I got them individually and as a set. so on Okay, cool. steve i'm getting thats I figured i some guys might want a set, so I put them as a set, and I put them as singles as well. so Love it. did you get your ah Did you get your shipping bags and stickers? Just got them this morning. I saw they were out. There we go. so So you should be good for a while. Should be good a while. Hopefully not. Cool.
00:09:40
Speaker
Anything else? That's all I got, buddy. That's all I got. All right. all right. Well, let's hear from our partners. We'll get back and we'll get into it with the boys live from the loaders. Hey, guys. Steve here.
00:09:52
Speaker
We're always looking for ways to save on labor and increase safety for our people. Last year, I purchased a game-changing snowblower from my company that does just that. It's called the MuskOx. It's a patented backdrag feature and design lets us get right up to our HOA garage doors and tight spots, clean them all right down to the pavement without scratching.
00:10:11
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This beast can also scrape hard pack going forward if you need it to. It's truly a dual-threat blower. Give MuskOx a call. Their staff are extremely knowledgeable and have been amazing with us. MuskOx, snowblowers that backdrag.
00:10:25
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00:10:55
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This winter gained traction with Yeti Software, the all-in-one platform built by snow contractors for snow contractors. Yeti makes managing your business simple with dispatching, scheduling, billing, reporting, and subcontractor management all in one easy place.
00:11:08
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From snow and ice to year-round work like lawn and exterior maintenance, Yeti helps you run smarter, faster, and more efficiently. Stop juggling apps and spreadsheets. Join hundreds of contractors already running on Yeti.
00:11:20
Speaker
Visit yetisoftware.com and use promo code SJ25 for two months free. Guys, if you've followed the show lately, you've heard us mention the Plowrite snow stakes. Well, now that I've tried them, I have to say I'm a huge fan. Installing traditional snow stakes is time-consuming, expensive, and if you're using fiberglass, just downright dangerous due to the splinters.
00:11:37
Speaker
That's where the Plowrite marking stake system comes in. Their patented installation tool can install up to 450 stakes per hour. The stakes are made of hollow polypropylene, which will not crack, break, or splinter.
00:11:47
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00:12:01
Speaker
Be sure to use the promo code SNOWJOBS at checkout to save 10% off your order. All right, gang, we are back. We are back with the Glacier Boys. They're all in their loaders. They're doing it.
00:12:13
Speaker
They're getting it done. So let's let's welcome them in, the Glacier crew. We got Ben, Snowboss, Jared, and Jeremy, as you know. They're all out there in Fargo right now getting it done. They got some snow. Boys, how are we?
00:12:28
Speaker
ah Doing good. Awesome. Awesome. Doing good. Yep, audio show, so don't be afraid to just speak right up. Yeah. All right.
00:12:40
Speaker
Can I say something? Sure. You can say whatever you want. Just really appreciate how much you focused on that we were the last one. You checked with everyone else, but we managed to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
00:12:56
Speaker
Awesome. You know what? Saturday night is the last Saturday and Sunday are the last ah times of the week. You want to try something. You're not sure if it's going to work. I'm still not sure this is going to work. Like, let's hope your cell service is better than your dial up internet out there because one drop call and we're screwed here. How are you boys doing? it What time did you go out?
00:13:24
Speaker
I sent some guys out at 3 o'clock today. Okay, and it's 9.30 p.m. there now? Yep. You guys have been going a while? Scraping that quarter inch, getting it off, getting it out? You're not wrong there. Yeah, you're not wrong. Are going to haul? I don't think we'll haul this one. Some of us were out at 3. Some guys had Thanksgiving, so they didn't make your end.
00:13:49
Speaker
Snowblast had to wait for his pie, and then he got out of it. Yeah. That's important. You don't sit through the main course of Thanksgiving not to get the pie at the end. Did he come back, or he didn't come back yet?
00:14:03
Speaker
ah No. No. What the heck? He doesn't love us anymore. I'm getting little too nervous. too good for I'm getting little nervous he's enjoying this not pushing snow thing. So you let the dog off the leash too far, they start to wander, you know? Yep, true. Every once in while, you have to bring them back. Get them back in reality. Oh, you guys are killing me.
00:14:33
Speaker
master be able to pull those strings see yeah work ah Oh, God. So how's
Snow Plowing Challenges and Stories
00:14:44
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it going out there? Is there any problems or this one's pretty straightforward?
00:14:53
Speaker
Straightforward, except for when I got back to Costco. Dan decided he was going to use my plow, so I had to chase him down to get my plow back. Did you leave it somewhere? I leave it at Costco, so I went down towards his route, and he was up here, and i came in, and my plow was gone, so I had to chase him around the parking lot to get the damn thing back. All right, so plow stealing is a thing. So we're going to have a stern talking. Yeah, we're going to have a stern talk when we get done. Oh, you're going to learn your place, Ben, huh?
00:15:32
Speaker
ah So how much... might feet Yeah. It just really hurt my feelings. It took my plow and it didn't leave it back. Sensitive. So how much snow do you guys actually have? Like less than a half inch or...
00:15:53
Speaker
Oh, really? yes it's real yeah Fire brine wouldn't have taken care of this? a it wasn't dust It wasn't being heated. man. I have heard.
00:16:04
Speaker
I have heard it works better if you heat it.
00:16:13
Speaker
i have heard it works better if you heat it
00:16:21
Speaker
well that is true I mean, it's not as angry. Definitely not as angry. Oh, So how many ah how many pucks have been broken tonight? I only broke a couple the other night. That was heavy, wet stuff.
00:16:38
Speaker
think it was only two. What did you end up getting? What was the total, 3.6? True weather said 5.8. of true weather it's at five point eight Is that for the Amazon? The rest of Fargo got 3.6? I don't know.
00:16:53
Speaker
hey It's certified weather, baby. How can they be two inches off? That's north of town. They got the Colorado low out there. That's a new term. It's different climate out there. like that.
00:17:10
Speaker
Different climate. I was very surprised to find out we only broke two pucks. That was snow. Yeah. I think that's what they call concrete. Yeah, was it that heavy?
00:17:23
Speaker
It was wet. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was not very nice. you are You drive over it, you were screwed. Yeah. It was not coming back up.
00:17:34
Speaker
are Really? was part of the concrete. Yeah. Yeah, it was so warm. was so warm the days before that when that snow fell, it kind of everything was so warm. It started melting right away, and then we and it cooled down so fast, so it just Oh, gotcha.
00:17:49
Speaker
I gotcha. Terrible traction. The the most molecular structure the snow,
00:18:01
Speaker
oh man yeah So twice this week you guys have been out. Twice? is that And hauling. You hauled once. Yep, you definitely hauled once. So is that like half of your ah half of your plowings from last year already?
00:18:19
Speaker
It's a quarter. It's a quarter. There's probably a quarter of it. so ah Let me ask you a question. Would you guys rather be out multiple times a week every week, or would you rather have them ah spaced out?
00:18:35
Speaker
Depends. i I think it's... ah At what point do the wives start getting pissed? Before the first snowfall. Maybe. When Jeremy but jee sends his text about who's coming back that year and like his special ringtone goes off, you gotta be fucking kidding me. Yeah, about then, I would say.
00:18:59
Speaker
a Yeah, the women don't like me. That's fine. I'm used to it It's all right. there No, but, like, do you guys get into a groove if you've got to go out, like, two, three times? Because mostly every time you guys plow, you've got to spend another night hauling, right?
00:19:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah. So it's always going to be a two-night deal. So if you get two of those a week, you're actually year out four nights. It's usually a three-night deal because it's usually if we're pushing one night, the next night we're doing a cleanup, then the following night we start hauling. So it's usually three-nighter deal for us. Yeah.
00:19:34
Speaker
So you don't, when you push, you don't clean it up completely and be done with it? Well, you know. Or you got the wind. You got the wind. Yeah, you got the wind. You all the cars and stuff, moving stuff, so you just go back the next night and just do a complete detail, you know? Yep.
00:19:48
Speaker
So that's kind of what mean. I guess what I kind of look at is, like, more about how much snow we're getting. If you go out two nights a week for a dusting, it gets a little old. i mean, you give us a good three, four-inch snowfall where you get some snow pushed.
00:20:05
Speaker
that's what That's just more enjoyable. you know Nice to get a bigger snowfall just to challenge you a little more. are youre As great as we are, you just to keep that new challenge coming. If I do say so myself. you know And honestly, like i was it three years ago we got all that snow? Touching tips. here Was it three years ago?
00:20:28
Speaker
Three years ago was that real snowfall? Yep. We were going out like every Monday and then like Tuesday we were doing a clean up and then Wednesday we're hauling, like, it just became that routine, which made a lot easier.
00:20:40
Speaker
Like, last two years when it's like every every second week, it's hard to keep people motivated. Right. You know? One thing, though, when we had those big days, or you know, those day after day after day, positis really join i mean took a lot of the crew. The positis kicks in? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man.
00:21:03
Speaker
You know, just getting that rep, you know, it becomes just a weekly routine, so you just, yeah you know, it just makes it easier to get out than do it so and do it, What's the biggest storm you guys have pushed out there as far as inches?
00:21:19
Speaker
I'd say three years ago, wouldn't it have been? that One that was supposed to be like two inches and... and Yeah. It turned into like 11, wasn't it? But...
00:21:31
Speaker
I remember, was it four years ago, we had a 14-incher. We were running 12-hour shifts. Jeremy didn't have enough guys for that. That was a three-day of actively pushing. Jeremy didn't have enough guys? I'm shocked.
00:21:45
Speaker
Oh, all right. I thought you said he didn't. So that we ran 12-hour shifts. Oh, I got you. so Yeah, that's only happened like two or three times where I've had enough guys to do that. Whoa, but you got to run a 12-hour shift?
00:22:03
Speaker
What the hell? I ran all the time. You got paid? So did you. Fuck off. That's that 13th Avenue crew just part at it all the time. ye Yeah, no.
00:22:19
Speaker
It's actually tough because you're like you're giving up your loader. You know, like, yeah, yeah. you You guys did not want to leave. They did not want to leave. You go to a hotel. They got us a hotel. And you go to sleep. And you're like, I want to be out there pushing. You know, I don't want to be here. like five i remember i remember what Jeremy said. he goes, I got a guy coming to take your loader. And make sure you tell him not to mess your loader up. swear.
00:22:48
Speaker
OK. Don't fuck your loader up. So I got to tell Did he fuck it up? All right. No. Nope. Well, I was in pristine that your first time swearing, Ben? You're really hesitant. No. I'm proud of you if it was. You're a big boy, Ben. You can do that. Hey.
00:23:05
Speaker
Hey. We implemented a swear jar for the boys now. So we're trying to cut the language. Oh, at home. At home. Yes, at home. No, not here. Not here. I was going to say, that's got to be a pretty big jug of Glacier.
00:23:21
Speaker
55-gallon drum. I'm guessing your one-year-old doesn't contribute too often, does he, man? No, he doesn't. Give him a couple months. No, no. Yeah.
00:23:33
Speaker
What else you got? You got anything on the horizon after this one? ah Next weekend, they're talking something. A couple shots, little nothing big, couple small shots next week. And think next weekend, as true weather was saying, inch or two, we'll see. so Oh, I'll have to wait and see. It's definitely a very active pattern, though, in the Midwest. can't talk, man. It's too late. Midwest right now. I mean, you look at the Arctic.
00:24:03
Speaker
They they but were in a snow drought for two straight years, and they're going I think they've gotten more snow with these first two storms than they did all last year. Yeah. They're saying eight inches today.
00:24:16
Speaker
And then what did they get last week or the other day? I thought they got one of the biggest is they predicted, but I thought they still had two to four last week or something. that i heard I mean, I think they've pushed over a foot now, and it's still November.
00:24:31
Speaker
Yeah. So that's a great start. What about you, Steve? What's the biggest no-fall you've pushed? 30, 31. Shit. That was it. That I can't remember.
00:24:43
Speaker
that was it yep that was de that i remember no That was it. That was it. That just a small one. That was it. I think that one Christmas here years back was 23 or something. 20. You know, that was when these guys are in diapers, probably.
00:25:01
Speaker
I would assume that's when people start to sweat. they get ah They start to panic a little bit. Oh, we didn't have this equipment. we you know Nobody had the equipment that we have now. you know those That was what made all the difference because you could not do that with a truck. that was ah that was the Thank God I had the the couple skids. i think I think at that time we we had two skids and the loader, and thank goodness for that. And that was the first time I ever got to use the ah the snowblower that we we had bought for the skid steer.
00:25:33
Speaker
so uh came in handy on a couple things doing rescues and stuff but yeah that was only about seven years ago maybe so yeah when those nor'easters come in man they're uh they're legit sometimes they get they get enough moisture and they just sit on you and dump for hours and hours two three inches an hour it's uh it's pretty wild but Yeah, that's the that's the biggest one I can remember. I think we've had more. I think we had 36, but i don't I think it was before I actually had the business. I think at that point I was just like riding around for somebody else.
00:26:11
Speaker
Okay. so I don't really remember it all that much. I can't even imagine 30. That one? I'm pretty sure we were going to people's apartments and like getting them to work. yeah like yeah yeah I mean, that's 14 inches. Imagine just 30. But we got the wind, Snowboss. They don't have that. It's over. I mean, but yeah, you're talking like it was 30 inches over 30 hours, 28 hours, whatever it took to come down. So it wasn't like you got 30 inches in five hours and you were just inundated. You had time to keep you know making passes, pads. Same shit, different day. It's just more left to right repeat.
00:26:54
Speaker
That's basically, I mean, we should do that t-shirt, Jeremy. Left, right, repeat. Yep. I could go in a lot of different directions. Absolutely. ah But yeah, that's ah that's about the biggest one I remember. And that was, unfortunately, for the little Snow Raider, that was, it was just too much to win row with a little straight blade sidewalk machine. Yeah. That was it. You can only go so high with the windrows. The 36-inch sidewalks are narrow to begin with. I think by the end of that storm, they were like 12 inches.
00:27:29
Speaker
so You had to walk one foot in front of the other down the sidewalk until we got the snowblowers on it. hu And then i if I remember correctly, the guy that was on the Snow Raider, he was so proud of himself. Like, he just started pushing straight ahead. And he's like, this thing this thing has so much power. Like, look at what it's able to do. Yeah, that's great. And he was so proud of himself that he got the whole sidewalk opened up along Main Street just in time for the state truck to come with the wing going down and just put all. I mean, it was so much snow back on there. He's like, that's it. I'm done. He's throwing snowballs at the state truck.
00:28:10
Speaker
me You know those guys are keeping score. Like, they see a guy out there busting his ass to clear the sidewalk, and you know they speed up and go closer to the curb with the wing. Oh, yeah. You got to grind that edge, man. Absolutely.
00:28:24
Speaker
You know they're doing it. You got clean the curb line. would. Oh, man. I remember we were behind a plow truck one day. and I won't say what municipality or ah or if it was state or local, but we're we're behind this DOT truck.
00:28:40
Speaker
And this guy was plowing with a wing down probably about 30 miles an hour. And it was heavy, wet, slushy snow. And there was this little cottage set back only 15 feet from the road.
00:28:54
Speaker
im No bullshit. He put that wing stream over the top of the house, hit the roof. you Most of it went over the house. like it It was the most incredible thing to watch. like He's not slowing down. He's got he's full send.
00:29:07
Speaker
He's going. and I thought he was going to put all the snow right through the windows of the cottage. Wow. Yep. Oh, man. So are your sidewalk guys out? Have they been out the whole time?
00:29:21
Speaker
Yeah, they've been out most of the think they might have pulled a pin because of the flurries, going come back early in the morning. Yeah. um sweep it up i know i know putz pulled all his crew just because it was kept flaring he was wasn't going anywhere and tomorrow's gonna be sunday obviously this will be aired monday but tomorrow will sunday so they can you know they can catch her up tomorrow no big deal so gotcha not a it's kind of pointless to keep making rounds with sidewalk machines for you know for no reason yep are any of you guys running the new case machines you guys have
00:29:56
Speaker
Yeah, we got three of them out here. yep no none but None of these guys have them. Oh, no, none of those guys. yep Gotcha. no They're all in their own personal monogram loaders? Yep. yeah With their names painted on the cab door?
00:30:09
Speaker
Names painted, slippers in there, monograms. like isn out That's a good point, Steve. Jeremy promised us one day we're going to get a good portrait of ourselves on each loader, but I haven't seen that happen. apparentlyre he did Yeah, that'd be cool, like a fathead. Yeah, I definitely said I would do that, but remember with that remember how you got that? If you didn't miss a storm ever?
00:30:34
Speaker
Jackie's out. Yeah, Jackie's out. I don't think I missed one last year. yeah he said ever. Ever? Ever. oh last last year Did you miss one? yeah I don't know, Jared. I have to go back my books. I think I missed a haul.
00:30:52
Speaker
Well, I remember that one time where I had to call you 500 times to wake your ass up. Yeah. I used to have to get Aaron come over and shake you to wake you up your house. Yeah, but I've gotten much better. I thought you just dropped plows on their lawn.
00:31:06
Speaker
I live too far away. oh i I was hoping it would come. I needed my driveway done, but it just never showed up If you never woke up. How do you know I was just not ignoring you? It'll bring a while. It'll bring a while. Did Otis actually come in...
00:31:27
Speaker
i wo you I woke up right before. He was pulling in the driveway as I was leaving. okay. guy that doesn't even fall for me anymore, I woke his ass up to go wake him up. That's great.
00:31:39
Speaker
and And that guy, I had had to go get him back in the day. I'd walk into his house. And he sleeps naked. And he sleeps naked. So there's always that factor. Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:54
Speaker
I was nervous going into that one. Yeah. Yeah. So, boys, what what is your favorite what's your favorite thing about plowing, pushing snow?
Crew Camaraderie and Operations
00:32:06
Speaker
I was going to say the phone call definitely keeps it going yep would you going. Yeah. Would you be still into it and doing it if you were in a smaller outfit where maybe you were on your own and no phone call? Oof.
00:32:23
Speaker
be tough. yeah Yeah, it would be. It'd be harder, yeah. Real tough. mean, if we were smaller and it was just like our our group, you know, it wouldn't be so bad, but obviously somebody would have to get the sidewalk machine.
00:32:36
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I do think we all still, I think everyone enjoys the art of pushing snow, you could say. you know, I think you wouldn't do it just for the phone call. Like, you can talk to anyone any time of the year. You don't have to stay up all night just to talk to them on the phone. lay it I think there's everyone enjoys the art of it to a certain extent. there the the the Yeah, the joy of it.
00:33:04
Speaker
Do you guys all talk throughout the year are you guys winter friends? ah Most of us. Jeremy's seasonal. Jeremy's for yeah but jeremy seasonal.
00:33:17
Speaker
No. I think for the most part, yeah. We eat.
00:33:21
Speaker
It's when I when I'm in the shop and it's pretty tough, you know, it's hard when you're doing your main job to yeah always be on the phone call. But for say most of the part, everyone, I would say, talks to each other at some point throughout the summer, a couple times a month or something. So very cool. guys But because they're still friends. We might not act like you, but we are friends. I like to believe. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man.
00:33:48
Speaker
oh Because honestly, these guys told me they weren't my friends, I would not have a very long list after that. My list of friends outside of snow, not very long. so Right? Yeah, it gets like that. Yeah, you know.
00:34:05
Speaker
I'm just being honest. you know we're Keep this podcast real. so Yep. wait No, it definitely gets like that. it's ah you know It's kind of...
00:34:16
Speaker
Kind of like if you've experienced it, you know, and like you you try and explain it to people who have never done it, like never been up for 30 hours, never, you know, been out there battling, having things break on you. They they just they don't. I mean, they think they get it, but they if they've never done it, it's tough to really explain the frustration, the exhaustion.
00:34:41
Speaker
and Car. an and that it's a heard I heard a crunch. Did you get it? did I heard a crunch. That sounds like a Monday's problem.
00:34:58
Speaker
Oh, my. Too funny. I can't believe it. We're we're making this work. Live from the loaders another call with Glacier Snow Management in Fargo. I know I'm not. I'm definitely not important.
00:35:13
Speaker
Tell them not to call you. You're not that important. These guys, come on. You're telling me your crew doesn't know how to scrape a quarter inch without having to bother you every 10 seconds?
00:35:26
Speaker
I don't know. You can about imagine what what they got. They need cart corrals. They need the carts put back.
00:35:35
Speaker
ah I can't believe Jackie is missing two stories in one week. It just doesn't feel right. It doesn't. We need him. He's probably done. Checks the box.
00:35:52
Speaker
checks the box checks the but So we meet the Jackson box.
00:36:05
Speaker
Oh, my good Lord. guys are too worried. Let's hit some commercials. We'll come back. We'll keep talking to these guys. Gentlemen, let me tell you about the best kept secret in the snow game, Top Gun Backblades.
00:36:20
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:36:48
Speaker
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00:37:00
Speaker
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00:37:15
Speaker
Check out YetiSoftware.com and use promo code SJ25 for two months free. So, guys, we're back. I got a question for you guys. Did you guys see the lineup for Storm Chasing Season 2?
00:37:30
Speaker
any any episodes Any episodes you guys are excited to see? Yeah. Talk to you. The glacier part, duh. Top dog is definitely, yeah, that should be that should be pretty cool, especially if we can get some good stuff at the airports.
00:37:48
Speaker
That could be cool. Yeah, definitely. it'll be pretty Any other episodes you guys are looking forward to? Both Canadian episodes, right?
00:37:58
Speaker
Crickets. You heard it there, folks. Crickets. You picked the wrong guy to ask. Did that go the way you thought it was going to go? Nope. You guys are too funny.
00:38:18
Speaker
I'm actually excited. I want to see that Bruce company yeah in Wisconsin. Just that that story that really yeah that really spoke to me. I don't know if it was... It it was probably because they handed it down. you know They let one of the long-time employees buy it, which I thought was really freaking cool.
00:38:36
Speaker
preach Preach, brother. and their commercial Yeah, their their video was hysterical. video was awesome It was so funny. yeah They put some work into that. And And they got Artic Steven the deal?
00:38:50
Speaker
He's everywhere, dude. hu He is overexposed. He came down and pushed with us for our first push. He covered Jackie's ass that first storm.
00:39:03
Speaker
Where is he tonight? He's pushing in Mankato. or Oh, they're they're getting that much? Yeah. yeah thank What are they getting there? thought they had like four that he said so far when I talked to him earlier. Wow.
00:39:17
Speaker
Yep. shit they're gonna top last year's total before december too yeah good for them yeah good for them i got a steve i got a question for you what do you got what's kind of a what kind of like turnover rate do you see in like your business that like for you always have the same operators come back every year yeah my guys are all the same it's uh yeah we don't maybe one guy will switch out but generally it's the same guys in the same machines running the same routes at least the last four or five years it has been um the sidewalk guys even our sidewalk kids the ninjas there they they keep adding people but they don't lose people so it's like
00:40:04
Speaker
They're getting done quicker and quicker to the point now where I'm trying to figure out, all right, I got to find ways to get these guys more hours because they're just flying through the stuff. And you don't want it to be – you don't want these guys to come out at 3 in the morning for four hours. You got to get them more time than that to make it worth their time.
00:40:24
Speaker
Did you say sidewalk ninjas? Oh, dude, they're phenomenal. Yeah. Yeah. yeah do not good can't see ours either true story that's funny as hell our guys are great they really are it's like uh i remember the first storm i call i forget who i called in the machine and i'm like hey uh how are they making out he goes They're freaking done. And I'm looking at my looking at my watch, and I'm like, there's zero chance they're done with that whole complex. Like, go through and check their work, make sure. And he's like, dude, I already did. He goes, they're done. They just they freaking moved.
00:41:08
Speaker
They were moving. I'm like, holy shit. And ever since then, it was like ninja. We called them the ninjas because they just you don't see them. And then, boom, they're gone and everything's done. It's like sidewalk elves, if you want, if you like that better than ninjas. We don't see ours and they're gone, too. No, but ours, the work is done. ours, the work is done.
00:41:29
Speaker
yeah ours the work is done yeah No, they're very good. they ah the the The couple guys that run them, they they run a tight ship, and the guys they bring in we give them free reign to bring new guys on board. and just they know the They know the expectation. They know the level of service that we do, and and they don't accept anything less. And if the guy don't work out, then the guy's gone. they I don't have to say a word.
00:41:54
Speaker
So they run a pretty tight crew. it's it's It makes my life really easy. Are those ah firefighters as well? The sidewalk guys are not. they're They're actually a group of... Honestly, they're a group of friends. They're younger guys. They're in their like they're between 18 and 22, and they all knew each other. like We brought on two guys, and those two guys have since brought on like six guys each. you know and it's ah They got a pool of 15 guys now that they can choose from for for a storm. and They know where they got to be at what time. They're they're getting...
00:42:28
Speaker
You know, when the call goes out, all right, let's go in at 3.30, and boom, they're they're in at 3.30. They're loading the trucks with what they need for whatever storm, and we don't micromanage them. If they want single-stage blowers, they use that. If they want backpack blowers, if it's powder, they go with that. and they just They get it done. It it takes a lot off off my shoulders and and the other couple guys to to not have to worry about the sidewalks, and and especially in the big complexes that it's getting done getting done right. That's great.
00:43:00
Speaker
Yeah. Yep. But yeah, my operators are the same guys. Like we'll switch out if somebody's stuck in a firehouse or or didn't get off in time. ah You know, we'll switch out. Somebody will cover it. But it's our route doesn't really change much because we keep the same properties year after year. And I try not to I try not to add more than one property a year.
00:43:22
Speaker
I just want to make sure that, like, okay, this we're going to add this site. It's in our wheelhouse. It's right in the middle of everything else we do. But I want to make sure I take the one season to make sure we can get it done without our level of service on every other property suffering.
00:43:38
Speaker
they Is that like one of the check boxes? You gotta, they gotta be a firefighter or you open to all kind of? No, if I could find, if I could find reliable dudes that had say five days off a week, you know, that would, that would, I would be open to it Retire guys. It's just, it's just easier. Cause I know them and I know their schedules and,
00:44:03
Speaker
you know it's it's It's easier to do them. and you know it's ah It's a family in inside another family. so it's juy that's ah Is there a bunch of homeless people in New York? They seem pretty available.
00:44:14
Speaker
yeah but I bet they're available seven days a week if you really ask them. You can find them. i don't I don't go that far south. I live well north of that. Snowbox,
00:44:30
Speaker
do you need a loader? Lowes on here. Yeah. I'm guessing we'll congregate there. Oh, you're going to Walmart?
00:44:41
Speaker
Going to Walmart. yeah All right. Let's get it play-by-play. What cool shit are you seeing at Walmart at 10 o'clock at night on a Saturday night?
Humorous Snow Plowing Moments
00:44:51
Speaker
Oh. Some of these you just got to experience in person. yeah this show This show just got more interesting. We're going to Walmart at 10 o'clock on Saturday night. Oh, yeah. ah Mogadisha. Oh, what man. It was hall night that somebody was laying in the road, wasn't it?
00:45:11
Speaker
Yep. They were laying in the road? yeah Yeah, I was doing the Instagram live. We're hauling. And next thing you see someone laying in the middle of road. like, oh, fuck. I had to go over there.
00:45:21
Speaker
i was like, one of our trucks going to run him over. So correct so I go over there, grab this woman, pick her up. She's hammered.
00:45:33
Speaker
Get her to the side of the road. And she's like, oh, my boyfriend's over there. I'm like, all right, keep walking. i was like, I don't need this shit tonight. yeah don't need a I don't need a police car. Don't lay down in front of the LaRue.
00:45:46
Speaker
He's okay. It's not slow production. Yeah. We got shit for you. We got shit for you. Yeah. Well, I didn't want the trucks to No, he's getting her out of the way of the trucks. Yeah.
00:45:59
Speaker
You know of those trucks that ran around. her Oh, yeah. Oh, for sure. Oh, what happens in Fargo? Crazy. it's Yeah.
00:46:10
Speaker
The new little Chicago. um Oh, I heard one yet. That's good one. That's a good one.
00:46:22
Speaker
Oh, you guys are too funny. Yeah, you a little Chicago. Yeah, that's good.
00:46:30
Speaker
No, we're just plugging away. It should be down here in a couple hours or less. and When did Assault guys come out? They're out. They're out now?
00:46:42
Speaker
All right. no no brine though granular they're dropping uh a couple of brine trucks are all right cool get it angry yep yep i'm sure keep fargo angry that'd be another good shirt another we gotta start making these shirts yeah where's where's uh where's andy broughton uh he's got his own shit going on. He he was short a bunch of guys tonight, too. stop I thought about trying to get him on, but i figured it would be hard enough to have me on here. did he anyone Was he able to plow with the Razorback the other night?
00:47:22
Speaker
Yeah, he definitely is plowing with it. Loves it. I think he needs that weight kit, just like like kee said or like you said. yeah Oh, yeah. mine ah Mine gets there Monday. Definitely plowing.
00:47:33
Speaker
Oh, you got it? Yeah, just in time for snow. Uh-huh. Lucky dog. i don't know. Not when you see the price tag.
00:47:44
Speaker
It's definitely, I'll tell you though. Did they throw did they throw your sign in with it? i know I doubt, yeah, no, actually that'd be my luck. Throw the fragile neon sign in with the 600 pound counterweight. I'm sure it'll get here good. No, it's as soon as I saw it, I'm like, hey, you know what? Maybe I'll just throw a couple hundred pounds in the bed and blah, blah. As soon as I saw the plow go up in the air, I'm like, yeah, no, we need a counterweight kit on this.
00:48:11
Speaker
And it's it's super slick the way they designed it. That this is just It goes right right in the right in the receiver, and it kind of goes underneath the truck almost. like It's almost like a reverse weight kit. So it's ah it's right on the, um basically right over the rear axle that you're you'll have the weight. So, it's yeah, it's it's pretty slick the way they designed it.
00:48:37
Speaker
who i'm I'm new to it. Who designed it? Arctic. Arctic? Okay. Okay. Yep. Yep. Yeah, they've they've kind of thought of everything with this plow. I was messing around with it today.
00:48:50
Speaker
The active down pressure is pretty cool. Once you enable that, it's ah it's pretty slick. the The headlights are brighter than shit. um but I bet that down pressure works really good on no snow, right?
00:49:04
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It works great on it. Listen, you got to prime the blacktop for snow so you scrape off that top layer, you know the top tenth of an inch. yeah yeah Wear off that paint on the cutting edge first. yeah You got to score it. You know you got to score the blacktop. We'll be pre-treating Monday night and pushing Tuesday morning. I think they said first inch by 8 eight am m We'll see how it goes.
00:49:36
Speaker
Is that a lock? Well, I don't think anything's a lock with this. it's But, ah yeah, they're all seeming all the models seem to agree that we're going to be plowing. so I've seen anywhere from 2 to 4 all the way up to 8 to 10, so we'll see.
00:49:53
Speaker
They should be coming out with models actually pretty shortly.
00:49:59
Speaker
Where's the sign-up sheet so we can fly out to you guys? Yeah. You want to come push in our Easter? Yeah. We're around, you know. while we boy yeah. rob where you're never going to come to us Rob said we're getting ah Dude.
00:50:18
Speaker
I don't think you heard that. Yeah, I heard it. I heard it. I've heard it every fucking time from you because I have a spare day to be hopping on a plane and going to fucking Fargo.
00:50:31
Speaker
I've got zero time, dude. I'm sure there's vacation days. You had a spare day to take an impromptu trip here the other day. start Dude, that was not Believe me, I did not have that time But that was the only way I could get that That was my only window to get that plow Built and on the truck So I had no choice That was six hours of time I did not have to waste Ben, did you hear that? sounded like an excuse
00:51:01
Speaker
iron I heard It's a reason a reason Yeah, reason, to excuse Whichever word you want to use, I guess There are no excuses. I found that at 10 o'clock at night. I had to drive three hours into Pennsylvania to get what I needed. Three hours back, I made it happen.
00:51:22
Speaker
You always like that. we'll just see how We'll just see how busy we are next time you need a fallback crew the podcast. so are you you You guys are famous now. yeah like i mean Are you signing autographs and stuff? Has anybody at Walmart stopped you? but No, boss.
00:51:42
Speaker
ah no one showed their tis to me yet. once you reach that status, then I'll be okay with that. Oh man. There wasn't one guy though that did there.
00:51:57
Speaker
no We gotta, we gotta have a different show, Jeremy. We gotta do like snow jobs after dark, because this is ah definitely definitely a different episode when they were live in the loader. They're sitting at home. yeah The only thing missing is Snow Boss' Hawaiian shirt. Yeah, that's what you were going to say.
00:52:18
Speaker
I don't know why he's not wearing it, honestly. You should be plowing in a Hawaiian shirt. Yeah, I haven't done that. I need to do that still. so Definitely. that's That's one thing I need to make happen. so You guys are too funny. Holy shit.
00:52:32
Speaker
All right, what else you got, boys? Anything else?
00:52:37
Speaker
No, I think I'm ready for winter, more it. try to yeah well try to break the last two years cycle. Yeah. let's a more s snowll What did Rob say, Jeremy? I don't even remember. What did Rob say for you guys? benefit but you I mean, he said better last year and it wasn't really. But yeah, that's what they said last year too, but we'll see.
00:52:56
Speaker
But no, we should really record one of these on a hauling night. That's when it's Yeah, you guys have already been up for 40 hours. yeah yeah We got to do a glacier hauling night party. or Get a couple more guys on here for that. We'll we'll definitely do that. No jobs after dark. hen I'm telling you, we'll do it. that would Nobody calls. I don't get the calls. It's pretty unhinged. I'm trying very hard not to completely lose my shit on all three you right now, but you're not making it easy. Hauling knife would be a little more wild. Yeah, that could get pretty wild. yeah
00:53:40
Speaker
Yeah, oh we can get Bruce on here. Where where is Bruce? oh where is bruce and he's ah He's gone too. he' He's another Thanksgiving in Minneapolis. I'm sure he's who he's probably plowing there for somebody.
00:53:52
Speaker
Wasn't helow he plowing? He made the first storm, didn't he? Yeah, yeah he was yeah he was here. yeahp okay. But he left. he like We finished, and he left like three hours later to drive. Isn't Minneapolis only like four hours away? Yeah. yeah yeah And he couldn't make it back for the flurries? No. no he's nice Wow. he fell yeah You never know about him. He could have had a state photo shoot photo shoot going on. yeah he's He's plowing, but for a different kind of content. Video session. Yeah.
00:54:26
Speaker
You guys are too funny. Oh, my God. there's hey Nothing is sacred in the in the loaders. Nobody's ever fallen this page yet, either. Are we sure it exists?
00:54:42
Speaker
Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. How do we know if nobody's ever seen it? That's like Bigfoot. I don't think I want to see it. so ill be good yeah i get Not if you're referring to it as Bigfoot. I am not that interested there. Tom's a great guy, oh but I'm not sure I want him on my computer We're pretty close-knit. We're pretty close at work. We like him, but not that much. We're close-knit group of guys here, but we're not that close.
00:55:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's close like invite us to your wedding and stuff not yeah not only but yeah yeah here's it yeah yeah i'm not gonna pay your mortgage for you yeah yeah you guys are funny all right boys anything else huh don't know i don't want to tempt fate we've only had one uh only had one booting so far this This could be an easy cut to make this one episode out of these two segments.
Closing Remarks and Safety Reminder
00:55:52
Speaker
know. I think we'll let you go and get back to it. What do you think, Jeremy? Yeah, I think so, because I've got return a bunch of calls here. There we go. I don't want to know why you're not happy.
00:56:03
Speaker
yeah I appreciate it. these guys are secretaryaries jeremy You Thanks for joining, boys. We all know how I feel about my career. They're the best in the business, and like we'll have them on again. and yeah this Hopefully this works out.
00:56:18
Speaker
We can do it some ah more often. Absolutely. I'm sure we'll get feedback whether people like it or don't like it. If they don't like who cares? It's our show. do you Like it, don't like it, offended, i really don't care. Do you guys get any hate mail yet?
00:56:35
Speaker
No. and big No hate mail yet? No. um no Have we got? I don't know. I think Jeremy got one. Jeremy got one. Not hate mail. sail It wasn't hate mail, though. it was like critiquing. Like, who the fuck are you? Like, you've never done this shit. like Are you fucking kidding me?
00:56:57
Speaker
I don't know. Until you get a stalker, are you really that famous? Yeah. yeah True. He's probably the guy that makes the firebrand. Anyway. Jeremy's got stalkers. Yeah.
00:57:08
Speaker
He's got stalkers. Yeah. I wish. right, boys. Well, listen, you guys are the best. Thanks so much for coming on while you're actually in the loaders out there doing it. And don't know any best of luck for hauling the quarter inch tomorrow night. Don't let it get away from it <unk> We'll enjoy it. All right. All right. Well, then we'll cut it there so we don't tempt fate any longer. That'll do it. We'll wrap episode 147 of the Snowjaws podcast main show.
00:57:38
Speaker
As always, want to thank Glacier. Want to thank Jeremy and his crew today. These guys are great. They're hysterical. It is definitely, it's more raw when they're in the loaders and they've been pushing for a couple hours. They get into the, ah they get into the habit of being on the the chat and anything goes. So, It's ah it's a good time.
00:57:58
Speaker
But that is it, guys. Everybody, if you're getting snow out there this week, which a lot of us are, everybody be safe. Get it done. All right. Have a great week.