Bush Hogging 8 acres - pricing?

[Hay Dude]

60” cut you should be able to cut 4-5 acres per hour.

Thats some fast cutting.

 

[4570Man]

60” cut you should be able to cut 4-5 acres per hour.

More like half that amount.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

60” cut you should be able to cut 4-5 acres per hour.

NO way!

SR

 

[WM75Guy]

60” cut you should be able to cut 4-5 acres per hour.

That's mowing pretty fast. I have watched people do that, but they were much younger, on level ground, and usually did it standing up.

This is close to what I get, an acre every 40-45 minutes. Any faster and my back gives me grief.

 

[DK35vince]

I'm lucky to do half that with a 72" brush hog.

Same here

 

[LD1]

If you're looking to do you friend a favor, the $750 is probably pretty fair, notwithstanding the market.

HOWEVER

A couple other guys have given the most important thought: DON'T go without commercial insurance!
Not that you need another way to estimate it but, one friend who would rent out his equipment charged $1/$1000 of purchace price for the machine--that was 20 years ago--so figure double or triple that now; that would make between $60 and $90/hour for the machine alone. Add to that what your labor is worth worth, then add the actual cost of moving the machine.

That $1/$1000 still holds true today.

You don't inflate the $1/1000.....because that's already accounted for with the inflation of the purchase price.

Basically you are looking to pay off the machine (less any services and repairs) in 1000hrs.


20 years ago a $20k piece of equip would rent for $20/hr.....or $160/day.

Same piece of equipment now cost $40k so tents for $40/hr or $320/day.


You don't double dip on inflation. If you bumped it to $3/1000.....you'd now be renting that $40k equipment for $120/hr or $960/day. So the cost to purchase doubled but you charge 6x....don't work. No body is gonna spend $1000/day for a $40k mini ex or mini skid loader, etc. But $300 is just about right

 

[LD1]

I would never take this into account.

1) As a side hustle, you will not do enough to cut into their business/profit unless they are way over charging

2) Profesionals should be much more efficient than you and have lower average overhead (unless you are doing ill-advised things like doing paid work with personal insurance).

3) The only time to adjust your prices based on competitors is when you are trying to undercut them to get jobs. Otherwise, price what you need to cover cost, make a profit and secure the number of jobs you wish to do.

People doing a side hustle often don't account for overhead. So it's not exactly accurate to say a business is more efficient and lower average overhead.

Because if s business wasn't in business, they would have zero overhead. So ANY overhead they have is an expense that eats at margins.

Most side-hustle people have those expenses already. They already own the equipment for personal use. So simply trying to use it to make some income in the side....overhead doesn't play a part. Because if they quit their side hustle....their expenses remain the same. So any work they do is all profit. Sure, ifs fun to factor in the overhead .

My mowing business.....even though not a side hustle and I do figure my overhead.....if I quit the business.....I'd still own every. Truck, trailer, tractor, mower, etc.

 

[LD1]

Meh, not sure about that. Sometimes in the very beginning on first couple jobs, it’s not so bad if you under sell a little.
Nothing like a little ”on the job training”.
Just don’t make a habit out of it.

Yup. You might bid a few too low and wish you didn't....but it ain't like your loosing money.

Tractor maintenance and fuel, etc is probably gonna be under $100 for the OPs job. So if you bid over that... You ain't "loosing" money......you just ain't making as much as you want

 

[Hay Dude]

Bet there’s quite a few TBN’ers who have a lot of equipment, purchased originally for hobby, and end up making a business out of it. Then it becomes a tax write off. Then you’re in the wonderful world of “self employment”.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yup. You might bid a few too low and wish you didn't....but it ain't like your loosing money.

Tractor maintenance and fuel, etc is probably gonna be under $100 for the OPs job. So if you bid over that... You ain't "loosing" money......you just ain't making as much as you want

100%.
There’s a prevailing mentality out there of starting out with new equipment and expecting to make a big profit in year 1. You have to make sacrifices in the beginning to build up some cash reserves for profit & future growth.
I started out with well-used junk, still pretty much have used good equipment and get along just fine. My wife wonders why I don’t take a higher salary and instead put the money back into the business. I tell her “I’m planting seeds for a better future”.

You can always tell an exclusively hay farmer from an exclusively row crop farmer by the tractors they have. A row cropper will have newer leased Fendt’s or Deere’s. A hay farmer will have older Case-IH, MF, etc worth about 1/5th the row croppers stuff