Brush hogging

[Degolyerent]

Nice cutter for a nice price. I am a little late to the thread, But I dont think you will have any issues pulling it. I run a heavy 6' cutter with only 29HP PTO. And yea, in tall thick grass you have to go slow. But there are many times I can run 7MPH or so across a field and still get a good cut. My next gear would be 13mph road gear. So can possibly go any faster. In cases like that, you will be glad you had the extra width. You can always go slower, or take a smaller bite, but can only go so fast and only so big of a bite if you bought too small.

As to pricing. There are several ways and each has their own method that works.

1. By the acre
2. By the hour
3. By the job.

I always price by the job. Partly cause I dont like trying to figure out an exact acreage. And then what if there is a dispute? What if the property owner claims it is less? etc. I also dont like doing by the hour. Because not only do you have to cover the time on the job, but you have to cover travel too. Which pushes my hourly rate to 60 or 70 per hour. And customers dont like hearing that because they think it is absurd to pay that much not understanding what all is involved. Not to mention competing with others that charge $40 per hour. Obviously the $35/40 per hour sounds better than my ~$60, but not when that guy is running an old 2n with 4' hog. I can likely do the job cheaper even at a higher hourly rate. Same can be said for a guy with a 15' batwing wanting 125/hr.

So at the end of the day, I estimate the acreage and condition, which gives me an idea of how long it will take me. Add in my drive time so I know a total time I will be invested into this job, and then quote a flat price. ITs easy. X number of dollars to cut the lot Y. No complaints of how fast I go or how slow. No complaints about absurd hourly rates, or questioning what an acre is. Its just $X to mow lot Y. Take it or leave it.

That is the same way I like to do it, by the job. I stay away from by the hour or acre.

 

[KenB2920]

Nice cutter for a nice price. I am a little late to the thread, But I dont think you will have any issues pulling it. I run a heavy 6' cutter with only 29HP PTO. And yea, in tall thick grass you have to go slow. But there are many times I can run 7MPH or so across a field and still get a good cut. My next gear would be 13mph road gear. So can possibly go any faster. In cases like that, you will be glad you had the extra width. You can always go slower, or take a smaller bite, but can only go so fast and only so big of a bite if you bought too small.

As to pricing. There are several ways and each has their own method that works.

1. By the acre
2. By the hour
3. By the job.

I always price by the job. Partly cause I dont like trying to figure out an exact acreage. And then what if there is a dispute? What if the property owner claims it is less? etc. I also dont like doing by the hour. Because not only do you have to cover the time on the job, but you have to cover travel too. Which pushes my hourly rate to 60 or 70 per hour. And customers dont like hearing that because they think it is absurd to pay that much not understanding what all is involved. Not to mention competing with others that charge $40 per hour. Obviously the $35/40 per hour sounds better than my ~$60, but not when that guy is running an old 2n with 4' hog. I can likely do the job cheaper even at a higher hourly rate. Same can be said for a guy with a 15' batwing wanting 125/hr.

So at the end of the day, I estimate the acreage and condition, which gives me an idea of how long it will take me. Add in my drive time so I know a total time I will be invested into this job, and then quote a flat price. ITs easy. X number of dollars to cut the lot Y. No complaints of how fast I go or how slow. No complaints about absurd hourly rates, or questioning what an acre is. Its just $X to mow lot Y. Take it or leave it.

That is the same way I like to do it, by the job. I stay away from by the hour or acre.

I agree with this logic.

I always have my rough quess of time / per hour . per job. As we know, machines cost money, fuel travel, loading, straps etc.

You need to take things into consideration such as terrain, debris, obstacles and how long since its been last cut. If I have to drive an hour to a job vs 10 minutes, that comes into play as well. A nice clear field you can go faster because you can see more as well. If there are ruts, holes old tires or the "F" word (FENCING) laying around it will go up.

What speed do you guys brush hog at?

a 72'' deck at 2 mph at 80% cut for overlap turning etc is 1.16 acres per hour. a 5 acre job is 4.3 hours
a 72" deck at 3 mph at 80% cut ..................................1.74 acres per hour a 5 acre.........2.8 hours
a 72' deck at 7 mph at 80% cut ..................................4.08 acres per hour a 5 acre ........1.2 hours

every job is different and I like advise from guys as well. I dont want to cut myself short as equipment is expensive. I also dont want to price myself out of a job. I guess you can play both sides of the fence.

To break it down. Approx $75 per acre seems like a fair price to me depending on the above circumstances. I go up from there. I start to add when it comes to travel time, terrain, debris, obstacles etc. Also, when does the customer want it done? If its an immediate thing and I have to juggle my schedule or can they wait a week or two when things fall into place. :-0

 

[KenB2920]

Nice cutter for a nice price. I am a little late to the thread, But I dont think you will have any issues pulling it. I run a heavy 6' cutter with only 29HP PTO. And yea, in tall thick grass you have to go slow. But there are many times I can run 7MPH or so across a field and still get a good cut. My next gear would be 13mph road gear. So can possibly go any faster. In cases like that, you will be glad you had the extra width. You can always go slower, or take a smaller bite, but can only go so fast and only so big of a bite if you bought too small.

As to pricing. There are several ways and each has their own method that works.

1. By the acre
2. By the hour
3. By the job.

I always price by the job. Partly cause I dont like trying to figure out an exact acreage. And then what if there is a dispute? What if the property owner claims it is less? etc. I also dont like doing by the hour. Because not only do you have to cover the time on the job, but you have to cover travel too. Which pushes my hourly rate to 60 or 70 per hour. And customers dont like hearing that because they think it is absurd to pay that much not understanding what all is involved. Not to mention competing with others that charge $40 per hour. Obviously the $35/40 per hour sounds better than my ~$60, but not when that guy is running an old 2n with 4' hog. I can likely do the job cheaper even at a higher hourly rate. Same can be said for a guy with a 15' batwing wanting 125/hr.

So at the end of the day, I estimate the acreage and condition, which gives me an idea of how long it will take me. Add in my drive time so I know a total time I will be invested into this job, and then quote a flat price. ITs easy. X number of dollars to cut the lot Y. No complaints of how fast I go or how slow. No complaints about absurd hourly rates, or questioning what an acre is. Its just $X to mow lot Y. Take it or leave it.

That is the same way I like to do it, by the job. I stay away from by the hour or acre.

I agree with this logic.

I always have my rough quess of time / per hour . per job. As we know, machines cost money, fuel travel, loading, straps etc.

You need to take things into consideration such as terrain, debris, obstacles and how long since its been last cut. If I have to drive an hour to a job vs 10 minutes, that comes into play as well. A nice clear field you can go faster because you can see more as well. If there are ruts, holes old tires or the "F" word (FENCING) laying around it will go up.

What speed do you guys brush hog at?

a 72'' deck at 2 mph at 80% cut for overlap turning etc is 1.16 acres per hour. a 5 acre job is 4.3 hours
a 72" deck at 3 mph at 80% cut ..................................1.74 acres per hour a 5 acre.........2.8 hours
a 72' deck at 7 mph at 80% cut ..................................4.08 acres per hour a 5 acre ........1.2 hours

every job is different and I like advise from guys as well. I dont want to cut myself short as equipment is expensive. I also dont want to price myself out of a job. I guess you can play both sides of the fence.

To break it down. Approx $75 per acre seems like a fair price to me depending on the above circumstances. I go up from there. I start to add when it comes to travel time, terrain, debris, obstacles etc. Also, when does the customer want it done? If its an immediate thing and I have to juggle my schedule or can they wait a week or two when things fall into place. :-0

 

[9973720wb19]

BUT - those of you with a CUT and lots of HP, like my 4720 at 66HP - I don't think the theory applies. I purchased an 84" nice Woods Heavy Duty duel wheels (it was cool!) BM and had to return it to the dealer because it lifted the front wheels off the ground - yes...loaded the front with suitcase weights all I had to do was lean on the mower deck while it was up and front wheel came right up...a real OH ****! exchanged it for a 72 center wheel Med. Duty, and it works fine now.

 

[GManBart]

Well, I bought the Bush Hog SQ84. I went and looked at a Woods on the way to look at the Bush Hog(also saw 2 other SQ84s One Brand NEW and one pretty beat up)

The SQs are much shorter being a twin spindle 6' vs 9' All the guy did with the one I bough was mow his fields 3 times a year so it is in pretty nice shape. I needed up paying $1500

I would love to find the same cutter for that price!