Grading Hourly tractor rate

[rusty hinge]

How much do I charge per hour for my 50 hp Kubota tractor, utility model for doing small grading jobs. I have a front end loader and a blade on the back. I am experienced operator and have been in excavation all my life , so I know how to be as efficient as possible on a smaller piece of equipment I am just trying to get idea how much per hour I should charge. Some one please give me idea.

 

[Coyote machine]

What are other guys in your area charging? Are you going to have liability insurance in case you do property damage?
Check around with the local area garden centers, landscapers, tractor dealers for going rate.....

 

[Piston]

What did you charge as an excavation contractor? That would be a good start.

It's hard for us to come up with a number for you, well, it's easy, but it's hard for it to be accurate

Since your from Utah, I'm going to assume your soil is pretty sandy, and easy to grade. I don't get bother to put my tractor on the trailer if I'm not going to make at least $400, and that wouldn't be a full day's work either. I try to average around $100 per hour, but I typically charge by the job (which some are against) and wind up ahead. On my last job, if I charged by the hour, I would have only made $1k dollars. Since I charged by the job, I made 2500, and I there were two higher bids than me.

Don't underbid jobs. Don't undercut your competition. Provide a good service, don't leave until the customer is happy, and be sure to spell out the charges in advance, so there are no surprises.

To me, it's more important to make the customer happy, than it is to get a few good paying jobs. Almost all my jobs are from word of mouth, people being happy with my service, that's most important above all.

 

[Pete Judd]

I am retired, and Only do Brush hogging and Tilling jobs for people I know. I charge 65 bucks an Hr, from the time I leave my driveway, until I leave their property. With a lot of slack favoring the customer. Covers the fuel for both the truck and tractor, and maybe a few beers after the job. Not looking to make a profit from it. And doing this has gotten Stacks of produce and canned jars of all kinds of things showing up on the front porch.

 

[jenkinsph]

I am retired, and Only do Brush hogging and Tilling jobs for people I know. I charge 65 bucks an Hr, from the time I leave my driveway, until I leave their property. With a lot of slack favoring the customer. Covers the fuel for both the truck and tractor, and maybe a few beers after the job. Not looking to make a profit from it. And doing this has gotten Stacks of produce and canned jars of all kinds of things showing up on the front porch.

A steer tied to the front porch would be very nice too. Thicken that thin gravy of yours.

 

[arlen4720]

A steer tied to the front porch would be very nice too. Thicken that thin gravy of yours.

have you seen the price of beef lately? It would be more likely to find a bar of gold bullion on your porch:laughing:

 

[Hiltz]

What did you charge as an excavation contractor? That would be a good start.

It's hard for us to come up with a number for you, well, it's easy, but it's hard for it to be accurate

Since your from Utah, I'm going to assume your soil is pretty sandy, and easy to grade. I don't get bother to put my tractor on the trailer if I'm not going to make at least $400, and that wouldn't be a full day's work either. I try to average around $100 per hour, but I typically charge by the job (which some are against) and wind up ahead. On my last job, if I charged by the hour, I would have only made $1k dollars. Since I charged by the job, I made 2500, and I there were two higher bids than me.

Don't underbid jobs. Don't undercut your competition. Provide a good service, don't leave until the customer is happy, and be sure to spell out the charges in advance, so there are no surprises.

To me, it's more important to make the customer happy, than it is to get a few good paying jobs. Almost all my jobs are from word of mouth, people being happy with my service, that's most important above all.

Piston your a wise man. A lot of people buy a tractor and think they will charge a really small amount for their service and maybe make the payments on their tractor or maybe do it for beer money. I see it on craigslist all the time. I also see on craigslist after maybe 1 or 2 summers they don't advertise anymore. They come to realize that the wear and tear on the tractor, towing truck, trailer, the cost of gas, repairs on equiptment, their time, on and on , it simply is not worth the trouble. Charge a fair amount that both you and the customer are happy with. My old boss use to say that he " was not going to screw the customer but he was also not going to screw himself".

 

[Fallon]

The most important thing as others have said is calculate your costs. Fuel maintenance, depreciation, insurance, transport, lube. After that adding the cost for your time you have your minimum cost.

There is no point in doing work & taking a loss, unless your doing work for friends/family or something.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

Been there done that I try to be fair to customer but we have to remember the investment we have it seems like a job that you think is an hour turns in to two plus the time it takes to change equip and load unload. This is not considering wear and tear replacement cost etc.
location dictates cost but think about a service man ac plumber etc. when they are called they have a flat charge just for showing up and nobody seems to mind. A workman is worth his wages especially when he drives 20 plus miles with truck and trailer and 20 to 30 thousand dollars worth of equip. A wise man told me one time if you get every job you bid on then your to cheap. Don't short change yourself Good Bidding