shakin
Gold Member
just read a post on price per hole with a phd. and was thinking how do you guys price tilling just got me a tiller and will probably start doing some travel will be limited to say 15 miles.
tilling
- Thread starter shakin
- Start date
foggy1111
Elite Member
So....I read this post about what to charge....and it got me thinking. NOT that I am going into the custom business.....I got better ways to lose money.
But, heres the way I think you should look at it: (Note: all the numbers used are just that...numbers....actual results will vary)
Plan / Question: Use tractor and tiller to custom till for about 20 hours per year. How much to charge?
1. Depreciation: For figuring lets say you have a $10,000 tractor and tiller combination that will last for another 10 years. Cost per year is $1,000. Lets say you want to get half of that cost back so $500 per year (or $25. per hour here)
2. Maintenance: Lets say over the ten years your going to buy some grease and a new set of tiller blades and do annual oil changes....but you are lucky and no major breakdowns...only routine maintenance costs.
Total cost over 10 years is $1000. Cost per year is $100. Again...half of that cost is $50. (or $2.50 per hour here)
3. Travel and micl costs. - Maybe should keep this seperate....but dont forget to add for it.
4. Fuel: Figure 1.5 gals per hour @ $3 / gal = $4.50 hour
5. Labor: Lets say I hope to earn $25 per hour
Adding it up: $57.50 per hour (using these highly suspicious numbers) plus travel costs to the job site.
I think that price shown would be pretty cheap....CHARGE ENOUGH.
But, heres the way I think you should look at it: (Note: all the numbers used are just that...numbers....actual results will vary)
Plan / Question: Use tractor and tiller to custom till for about 20 hours per year. How much to charge?
1. Depreciation: For figuring lets say you have a $10,000 tractor and tiller combination that will last for another 10 years. Cost per year is $1,000. Lets say you want to get half of that cost back so $500 per year (or $25. per hour here)
2. Maintenance: Lets say over the ten years your going to buy some grease and a new set of tiller blades and do annual oil changes....but you are lucky and no major breakdowns...only routine maintenance costs.
Total cost over 10 years is $1000. Cost per year is $100. Again...half of that cost is $50. (or $2.50 per hour here)
3. Travel and micl costs. - Maybe should keep this seperate....but dont forget to add for it.
4. Fuel: Figure 1.5 gals per hour @ $3 / gal = $4.50 hour
5. Labor: Lets say I hope to earn $25 per hour
Adding it up: $57.50 per hour (using these highly suspicious numbers) plus travel costs to the job site.
I think that price shown would be pretty cheap....CHARGE ENOUGH.
spruce Deere
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2009
- Messages
- 1,079
- Location
- Northmost Idaho
- Tractor
- John Deere 790 with loader LS xr3140h also with loader plus a cab
I prefer to do bids. For my 790, hourly I am right at $56.00/hr JUST the Tractor and me, no implement. Thats counting Twenty miles from shop. $12/hr more for farther transport. In the $60 to $65 range depending on implement used. Two hour minimum fee. Get at least 1,000,000 liability insurance. Make it worth it or not do it. For neighbors and friends, what goes around, comes around.
You gotta do it buy the job,that means you gotta go look at it and talk to the guy who wants his garden tilled and give him a price.
I just tilled my garden,its been a garden for 30 years or more,no surprises,etc,it took me three hours and went over half of it three times[its about 1/2 acre probably less] but a real big garden. So,thats about how long it would take to do large gardens that have been gardens for years,[I got a ck30 and 5 ft tiller by the way,don't know what you got].
I would think 50 dollars an hour would be cheap,to do this[you got to get there and get back],so 200 dollars sounds fair to me to till my garden.
Now,the reason you need to go look at it first,if its never been a garden,don't think I would want to till it at any price,[except for my land,for me I mean].
And you gotta consider how easy it is to turn around and get to etc.
So,guess if I was going to do it,would limit my tilling to previous garden sites,and charge 200 plus for big ones and maybe 150 for small ones.
I just tilled my garden,its been a garden for 30 years or more,no surprises,etc,it took me three hours and went over half of it three times[its about 1/2 acre probably less] but a real big garden. So,thats about how long it would take to do large gardens that have been gardens for years,[I got a ck30 and 5 ft tiller by the way,don't know what you got].
I would think 50 dollars an hour would be cheap,to do this[you got to get there and get back],so 200 dollars sounds fair to me to till my garden.
Now,the reason you need to go look at it first,if its never been a garden,don't think I would want to till it at any price,[except for my land,for me I mean].
And you gotta consider how easy it is to turn around and get to etc.
So,guess if I was going to do it,would limit my tilling to previous garden sites,and charge 200 plus for big ones and maybe 150 for small ones.
I think to get a FAIR price you probably need to figure how much you want/need for a day's pay, and figure 1/2 day as about 60% of that.
With travel, meet 'n greet, unload, set up, check for steel Tee posts, wire tomato frames and other last season's junk, till, re-load it up, get thanks, get paid and get outta there...
can you actually DO more than a couple of garden plots in a day ?
Fuel for anything much under about 50 HP is probably trivial, compared to what you want for YOU.
Someone said there was a tractor going rate per horse power hour in his area e.g. 35 HP tractor at $1.15 per HP hour = $40.25. At the time I assumed that was for in field time, but hauling a bigger tractor around costs more per mile too, so maybe that could also be figured per HP mile.
I think it was FWJ who gave this rule of thumb;
Speed in MPH x width in inches / 100 = acres per hour.
Just remember this is for your actual MOVING and WORKING time, which is likely to be very short for back yard garden plots.
With travel, meet 'n greet, unload, set up, check for steel Tee posts, wire tomato frames and other last season's junk, till, re-load it up, get thanks, get paid and get outta there...
can you actually DO more than a couple of garden plots in a day ?
Fuel for anything much under about 50 HP is probably trivial, compared to what you want for YOU.
Someone said there was a tractor going rate per horse power hour in his area e.g. 35 HP tractor at $1.15 per HP hour = $40.25. At the time I assumed that was for in field time, but hauling a bigger tractor around costs more per mile too, so maybe that could also be figured per HP mile.
I think it was FWJ who gave this rule of thumb;
Speed in MPH x width in inches / 100 = acres per hour.
Just remember this is for your actual MOVING and WORKING time, which is likely to be very short for back yard garden plots.
ampsucker
Platinum Member
i do it by the job. charge buttholes more, good clients and neighbors less.
you'll never make a living doing it. just pick up a little pocket change and help make a payment or two.
don't try to get rich or even cover your yearly costs at it unless you are going into business full time.
just have fun, drink a few beers with people and enjoy life in the seat....
amp
you'll never make a living doing it. just pick up a little pocket change and help make a payment or two.
don't try to get rich or even cover your yearly costs at it unless you are going into business full time.
just have fun, drink a few beers with people and enjoy life in the seat....
amp
all good stuff keep it coming, now for my next question. i'm running a 28hp montana and here we go a tiller i'm not supposed to run. i am trying out a 68" delmorino from the owner to see it i can use it. according to specs i'm not supposed to be able to run it. the lender ran it on a 31 hp bota that actually only has 1 1/2 more pto hp than me. and he spun it with no problems. now i did a worse case scenario last night and i broke new ground through sod and it never lugged the motor once. i buried the tiller i didn't just tickle the surface. also i watched the shaft to see if anything else might be happening and that never seemed to slow at all. barring all thing i am buying this on monday for less than halfof what they sell for around here. the tines look fine. does anyone see any foreseeable problems? please keep it real as i know by all of the charts that i should'nt be using this. but if i dosen't give me any problems, why not?
amp this is wxactly why i want to do it. and i'm keeping my cost's down by buying good in shape used equipment. to have fun, have an excuse for more seat time, and more importantly have a reason for owning a tractor after i'm done or appear to be done working around the house. hard to justify for 25 hours of snow removal a year.
ampsucker
Platinum Member
i'm running a 54" howse on a bx with 17 pto hp. it works ok if you don't go too fast or too deep the first pass. i usually run about 2200 tractor rpm.
soil type has a HUGH effect. around here we don't have ANY rocks. zero. the ground is like 95% clay. that presents it's own challenges, but i can easily pull the tiller through unbroken soil if i go slow. it makes a nice seed bed.
if you have a lot of rocks or want to go fast, get a smaller one. if you can finesse the machine and pay attention, you should be fine.
also, i have a slip clutch on the shaft. adjusting this correctly is VERY important. i also go very slow when transporting this 750 lb tiller because it is pushing the limits of my 3pt. as long as you don't go bouncing over a field at top speed or running steep grades sideways, you should be fine.
amp
soil type has a HUGH effect. around here we don't have ANY rocks. zero. the ground is like 95% clay. that presents it's own challenges, but i can easily pull the tiller through unbroken soil if i go slow. it makes a nice seed bed.
if you have a lot of rocks or want to go fast, get a smaller one. if you can finesse the machine and pay attention, you should be fine.
also, i have a slip clutch on the shaft. adjusting this correctly is VERY important. i also go very slow when transporting this 750 lb tiller because it is pushing the limits of my 3pt. as long as you don't go bouncing over a field at top speed or running steep grades sideways, you should be fine.
amp
i found today that if i run @2500 to get the 540 pto speed even in low range 1sr gear it still is pretty fast and i tried different things like stepping on the brake did that once and then thought about it and didn't like it. then i would step in on the clutch there is a lot of movement before the pto stops and the tractor has long stopped going foward at that time. next i adjusted engine speed and i know that slows the tiller but it also slows the tractor and i think that is my best choice.