The Life of a Custom Mowing contractor

[Hay Dude]

Just had a 5 year field mowing customer ask me for a price to cut long low limbs off of about 20 huge pine trees, cut a bunch of angry brush, run it all through the chipper, and use the chips to make a thin layer of bedding under the pine trees on their 15 acre farm.

Here’s the 2 areas of trees I’m talking about

All low limbs cut up to 10’ off ground, all saplings and brush cut to the ground and all chips saved as bedding under the trees. There’s some other small areas of weed wacking and clearing, too but this is about 80% of the work.
There’s several years of debris, stickers, trash, saplings, etc to clean out of both beds. Pretty decent size mess. I figure me an my helper will need 3 days to do it all.

I already know I probably won’t get the job.

Why?

1. Old couple out of touch with prices.
2. “Neighborhood high school kids” used to do all their odd jobs & yard work for $5-$10 bucks/hr.

 

[BackRoad]

Do you put a "Quote good for 60 days" clause in your bids?

As Plan B, could you plow with a tractor until you found the right truck if you get the HOA contract, even though not desirable?

 

[Hay Dude]

Do you put a "Quote good for 60 days" clause in your bids?

I only do 21 days

As Plan B, could you plow with a tractor until you found the right truck if you get the HOA contract, even though not desirable?

Yes. Might even do that until the end of plowing season, then buy plow truck summer of 2026 when they’re cheaper.

Of course all predicated on me getting the contract…..still waiting on the answer.

However, if I do get it and use tractor, they may decide not to bring me back. Bunch of old people who get angered easily by equipment noise.

 

[LouNY]

I've heard people bitching about the noise of the plow blade scraping on the road, then they repeat if it's not plowed summer clean.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Haydude, out of curiosity, why did you pick 21 days. Personally, I hate waiting for replies, so I would make it 7 days maximum.

 

[Hay Dude]

Haydude, out of curiosity, why did you pick 21 days. Personally, I hate waiting for replies, so I would make it 7 days maximum.

HOA’s usually take longer to reply since it may involve calling board members to a meeting.
I used to do 30 days, backed up to 21. Might do 15 for homeowners.

 

[rontaki]

I only do 21 days

Yes. Might even do that until the end of plowing season, then buy plow truck summer of 2026 when they’re cheaper.

Of course all predicated on me getting the contract…..still waiting on the answer.

However, if I do get it and use tractor, they may decide not to bring me back. Bunch of old people who get angered easily by equipment noise.

Cinch the deal - tell them you'll fix the "Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful" sign for no extra charge!

 

[Molalla1]

Just had a 5 year field mowing customer ask me for a price to cut long low limbs off of about 20 huge pine trees, cut a bunch of angry brush, run it all through the chipper, and use the chips to make a thin layer of bedding under the pine trees on their 15 acre farm.

Here’s the 2 areas of trees I’m talking about
View attachment 4417891

View attachment 4417892

All low limbs cut up to 10’ off ground, all saplings and brush cut to the ground and all chips saved as bedding under the trees. There’s some other small areas of weed wacking and clearing, too but this is about 80% of the work.
There’s several years of debris, stickers, trash, saplings, etc to clean out of both beds. Pretty decent size mess. I figure me an my helper will need 3 days to do it all.

I already know I probably won’t get the job.

Why?

1. Old couple out of touch with prices.
2. “Neighborhood high school kids” used to do all their odd jobs & yard work for $5-$10 bucks/hr.

Hope they carry an umbrella policy in case one of the youngsters get hurt.

 

[civilian]

HD, does that HOA include doing the driveways? An HOA here had the roads and drives snow plowed by a contractor that use back blades on drives and blowers on the front of the tractors. Backed in dropped both and started out the drive. When out far enough, they picked both up and then backed in and cleaned bladed snow with the blower. Not sure what they used on the roads. Only maybe a mile or two of roads though. Not sure of how many employees the contractor used on this HOA. Jon

 

[Hay Dude]

HD, does that HOA include doing the driveways? An HOA here had the roads and drives snow plowed by a contractor that use back blades on drives and blowers on the front of the tractors. Backed in dropped both and started out the drive. When out far enough, they picked both up and then backed in and cleaned bladed snow with the blower. Not sure what they used on the roads. Only maybe a mile or two of roads though. Not sure of how many employees the contractor used on this HOA. Jon

No, just main roads.
Looks like my snowplowing bid for a big HOA finished 2nd lowest and they took the lowest bid.

 

[anomad]

No, just main roads.
Looks like my snowplowing bid for a big HOA finished 2nd lowest and they took the lowest bid.

If you think hiring a professional is expensive, hire an amateur and see...

 

[Hay Dude]

Been real busy getting final loads of hay trucked out of fields. My daughter left me this note this morning.

I took this photo while loading up the trailer (on the right).
Off in the distance across the river, East Penn Railroad is heading southwest on the RR tracks.

Tough to see with the woods. Can you see it?

Back to the stack to get 2 more

Now at the hay yard getting unloaded. Their loaders are huge and dwarf the bales, easily unloading a truck in minutes.

You can see the mountain of loose hay in the background waiting to go into processing.
Either somebody likes my hay bales…..or maybe they like me? lol

 

[RjCorazza]

That's a whole lot of loose hay! How does it get processed and used?

 

[Hay Dude]

That's a whole lot of loose hay! How does it get processed and used?

It’s kind of difficult to explain, but I am part of the beginning of the process. All incoming bales are unloaded and immediately have the strings or net wrap removed. Large square Bales are broken up by a big front end loader and pushed up onto a huge pile. Round bales are sawed in half with a giant saw blade mounted on a skid loader.

The loose hay is then mixed with straw. Then that blend is put into 1000’ long rows where lime, chicken litter, straw, topsoil and water are put on the tops of the rows. The long rows break down into a rich black fluffy bedding soil that looks sort of like peat moss.
It is then trucked to mushroom farmers who use the special soil to grow mushrooms.

 

[pmsmechanic]

That note would warm just about any Dad's heart.

 

[Hay Dude]

Using the 20’ 10K trailer to haul 3 of my shorter bales behind the tractor.
I’m still using a set of portable old school auxilliary flashers.
I can’t seem to find a 7 pin tractor to 7 pin truck adapter with more than 12” of cord, so I can plug my trailer into the tractor plug.

 

[LHF2019]

Using the 20’ 10K trailer to haul 3 bales behind the tractor.
I’m still using a set of portable old school auxilliary flashers.
I can’t seem to find a 7 pin tractor to 7 pin truck adapter with more than 12” of cord, so I can plug my trailer into the tractor plug.

Probably have to build that yourself to get the length.

 

[Hay Dude]

Probably have to build that yourself to get the length.

And yet every other conceivable combination of plugs exist with long cords between them.

 

[LouNY]

A couple of the farms tractors actually had a EU pin out. They didn't work right with all the implements.

 

[anomad]

And yet every other conceivable combination of plugs exist with long cords between them.

If you can buy the right short adapter, splicing in longer wiring to your desired length is pretty easy to do. You know, while you are sitting around with nothing to do - LOL!