Hiring out equipment questions

[MikeB64]

Just got my new Massey Ferguson C2410TLB delivered. Here's my question....

Looking for ideas on how to market my tractor and services...

I plan to offer

Trenching and installation of conduit for electricians/utilities
Spreading of loam - bark mulch - gravel - hardpack, etc
Rototiling
General backhoe/loader work

I am planning to get a york rake and perhaps a blade in the very near future. I'm doing some calculations as far as expenses, etc. I am in New Hampshire and toying with charging about $50 and hour. If I do a job to say spread bark mulch, I'll charge by the hour......unless somebody can give me other ideas. Am I charging enough? The last thing that I want to do is to hurt any market that there might be.

Does anybody have any type of relationship with folks that sell landscape materials? I was wondering if it might be a good idea to approach a few companines that sell landscape materials to offer my services, and pay them say a perentage of my proceeds.

Open for any constructive comments or suggestions. I will add that I WILL be properly insured!

Thanks!

 

[kebo]

There have been quite a few posts about this before. The one common thing that always pops up is have you considered the liability aspect of working as a contractor?? Insurance?? Just something to think about along with all the other aspects of hiring out your tractor....

 

[CurlyDave]

In my area, and I recognize it is one the other side of the country, the guys with the big backhoes (80-100 hp) usually charge $80-100 per hour. Usually they tow the tractor out there on the back of their dump truck, and the use of the truck is included in the rate if you need it, but you only get one operator.

Most of that charge is for the operator's labor, only a small portion is machine costs.

With your smaller machine you may be limited to $50/hour as the most the market will bear. Whether this can be profitable depends on your situation. If you are doing it for extra cash it might be fine. The guys with the bigger machines are making a living at it, and have to make up for a lot of time they aren't working. If you are just doing it as a sideline, that may be a viable business.

I am willing to bet that if I needed a guy with a 100 hp machine for two solid months I could get him to work for less than $80-100.

 

[MarkV]

Mike welcome to the forum. Besides the insurance you need to check and see if you are required to have a contractors license in your area. Speaking of insurance, I sure hope that when you tell them you plan on backhoe work the rates are better in your area than mine. When I looked into it, a number of years ago, the amount of time I had and the size jobs I could do with a smaller tractor just didn't add up after seeing the cost of insurance that let me dig.

MarkV

 

[GreenWannabe]

Mike welcome to the forum. Besides the insurance you need to check and see if you are required to have a contractors license in your area. Speaking of insurance, I sure hope that when you tell them you plan on backhoe work the rates are better in your area than mine. When I looked into it, a number of years ago, the amount of time I had and the size jobs I could do with a smaller tractor just didn't add up after seeing the cost of insurance that let me dig.

MarkV

What Mark said. And you don't even want to find out how many hundred thousand you can be out if you hit a telco fiber optic cable (f'r instance) without being insured, or without calling before you dig.

 

[RickB]

Check out how much the insurance for the backhoe by itself is. Liability coverage for sub-grade work "here" is prohibitive.

 

[gibby123]

If you are set up as a business it will not be to hard to find meaningful work for the machine, if that is why you purchased it . If you bought it for your own property, I would recomend keeping it local and for what you intended it for. Yes the questions of insurance have been asked and all of the liabilities need to be addressed but when we look deeper into the the little issues like how much will it cost to replace a hydraulic line if one breaks on a job site or say you pick up a nail or roll a tire off a rim !!! are these expences that have been thought of for smaller jobs . It won't take long to eat up $50 or $60 bucks in the hour that you might have made , if you need to repair something.
In my landscape company we use dump trailers, people often want to rent them from me for cleaning up after construction/roofing jobs, etc. The cost to replace 1 tire, because of a nail,will set me back about $200 bucks and lots of time.The cost to hire a bumpster is about $250. With the travel to and from, and tipping fees at the recycling plant it doesen't leave much room for profit.
I guess what I mean to be saying is that lots of thought should have gone into this before any purchases were made. Also remember to stick to what the machine and attachments were make for, don't over do it!!!
Where I live , we charge $60 an hour plus travel time if it is greater than 50 km away

 

[john_bud]

Don't forget that some home owners will be real picky about any oil drips, etc. YOU need to have a lawyer write up the contract the customers will sign. You need the insurance, the license, etc. And you most especially need to make sure the diggers hot line (or what ever you have there) is ALWAYS called by you. NEVER trust the customer, you will be screwed!

Well that was the bad part. The good part is that a small machine may get you small jobs that others don't want to take. Be cheerful, confident, always prompt to appointments and never prevaricate. You can work your way up with honesty and hard work. PM "EddieWalker" to see how it can be done.

 

[MikeB64]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I want to be sure that everybody know where I am coming from.....This was/is not a shoot from the hip idea. I have given this plenty of thought.

I do have/have done done the following:

composed a business plan
established a busines bank account
have registered the name of my business with the state
applied for a federal tax ID number
researched insurance
have the proper vehicle/trailer
have over 25 years in the towing & recover industry, so I understand the value in using the corrrect size, type, working load limits of chains, continous loops, shackles and so fourth
experience in the utility industry, putting in conduit, pulling wire for power, cable TV, data & telephone, knowing the National Electric code, proper depths for conduit to be buried at, etc.

What I DON'T have is all the answers! There are awesome folks here that have tons of experiences. So, that was the intent of my inquiry.

I can't believe that anybody would do any type of work uninsured, and not call Dig Safe first, but, it's done all the time. I won't take that chance, have too much to lose!

I hope this does not come across as arrogant, that's not it all, I just wanted to let folks know that I have done my homework.

Thanks!

 

[MarkV]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I want to be sure that everybody know where I am coming from.....This was/is not a shoot from the hip idea. I have given this plenty of thought.

I do have/have done done the following:

composed a business plan
established a busines bank account
have registered the name of my business with the state
applied for a federal tax ID number
researched insurance
have the proper vehicle/trailer
have over 25 years in the towing & recover industry, so I understand the value in using the corrrect size, type, working load limits of chains, continous loops, shackles and so fourth
experience in the utility industry, putting in conduit, pulling wire for power, cable TV, data & telephone, knowing the National Electric code, proper depths for conduit to be buried at, etc.

What I DON'T have is all the answers! There are awesome folks here that have tons of experiences. So, that was the intent of my inquiry.

I can't believe that anybody would do any type of work uninsured, and not call Dig Safe first, but, it's done all the time. I won't take that chance, have too much to lose!

I hope this does not come across as arrogant, that's not it all, I just wanted to let folks know that I have done my homework.

Thanks!

Good for you Mike. It sounds like you have good plan in the works. Hope you didn't feel anyone was talking down to you here. We have seen a lot of people get a new tractor with the idea of side jobs paying for it but they have no idea what it takes to run a small business. Obviously you do so we will look forward to updates as you get it going.

MarkV