What Should I Charge??

[bmac]

I had the same question. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[KENSFM]

Same here??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

Make it unanimous, LOL!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

We don't normally do stuff this small. We charge for doing work with a Caterpillar 963C or a Case 590 Super M. This is a baby compared to what kind of work we do with that. I get about $75 an hour with that. That is a lot bigger machinery than a B series tractor. This is much smaller and does work a little slower. I was just asking what you thought for a tractor.

 

[cstocks]

I do not know what tractor work goes for in my area but a D3 dozer and operator goes for $50 and a D5 goes for $65. If I were to charge for my compact tractor services I would probably ask $35... maybe $40, depending on the difficulty of the job. Five years ago I paid a neighbor $100 to bush hog three acres which had not been mowed in a couple of years but was flat pasture with no snags or gotcha's. He said that was an average price for that type of tractor work.

 

[ScottAR]

In my area (semi-rural Arkansas), general tractor work falls into the $25-$35 an hour range with a 1hr. minimum. Full size backhoes are in the $45-$55 range with a minimum of usually 2hrs.

 

[Turfman]

Tractor work here is $40.00 per hour for local people, where I can drive the tractor, not have to trailer it. Trailer it up and it's $45-50 per hour 4-hour minimum (includes operator). Labor rate is $35.00 per hour without the tractor, i.e., sprinkler repair, landscaping, etc. Being small and part-time my overhead costs (vehicle, fuel, supply runs, paperwork time, tax prep, cell phone, licenses and the always needed insurance) is about $13-15 per hour.

Example: Today I did two small jobs that took 2 1/2 hours job time. Had half hour on the phone with an insurance audit, half hour at the bank and 45 minute run for sprinkler parts. Tonight 30 minutes paying bills and catching up the books. All these are times I can't bill for, so they go into my overhead. Have to divide it all up and add it into my hourly rate. If I did all that on the customer’s clock, I could afford to work for $20 per hour.

 

[rancar]

<font color="blue">"...I get a skilled operator and a Cat D6 dozer for $50/hour..."</font>

Last fall I rented a dozer and operator to clear out some hedgerows on the property. Dozer cost me $535 for a one day Saturday rental. Dozer was dropped off Friday Noon and picked up Monday morning. Aforementioned cost included transportation and insurance. My operator ran the dozer for 20 hours over this weekend for 20 hours. Operator billing was $16/hr or $320. Total cost was $915 which included additional cost for 60 gal. of diesal for a total cost breakdown of $45.75/hr.

...Bob

 

[Will_C]

$50.00 an hour for a D6 is the bargain of the century!!! I would put a pond in tomorrow at that price. My brother charges $60.00 an hour for a Case 550, and he has all the work he can handle. Even in this relatively economically weak area, a D6 is between $100 and $125 an hour!
Will

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I thought it was a pretty good deal even without anything to which to compare it. I'd considered renting a D4 myself and priced that out for the one day, Fri. PM to Mon. AM rate. Even with a deal on the rental rate (because I have some truck engine work at the same Cat dealer) the cost was going to be within $100-$200 of what I'd spend hiring it done based on their estimate of how long it would take. When I factored in that I'd doing the operating myself on the rental it was a no-brainer. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Assuming I could accomplish the same quality of work in even double the number of hours with the smaller machine (which I seriously doubt... and not because of the machine /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ), I'd be running that thing about all weekend putting my labor at something under $10/hour at best. Of course, out of that I'd have to buy my diesel fuel, too. While it's certainly up for debate, I just like to at least believe that I'm worth more than that. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif The fact I'd be learning to operate a D4 immediately next to my barn on all four sides just might have been a consideration, too. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif