Build-It-Yourself Attachments KITS??? interested?

[Pa Pa Jack]

If you ever offer your Landscape Rake 2.0 in a kit, I would be extremely interested in buying one and evaluating it.

 

[yelbike]

Sign me up for a land plane. I agree with 50% price reduction. If its not cheap enough, i may as well pick up an assembled one.

 

[HeavyHitch]

Ted, how would you handle the insurance...say someone buys a kit welds it themselves, ends up getting hurt because a weld broke or it wasn't assembled correctly. I would think your insurance would frown on that. I know ours did when we thought of offering kit hitches.

 

[patanke]

Ted, how would you handle the insurance...say someone buys a kit welds it themselves, ends up getting hurt because a weld broke or it wasn't assembled correctly. I would think your insurance would frown on that. I know ours did when we thought of offering kit hitches.

If you worry about every potential lawsuit no one would start any business. The best thing to do is mitigate your risks. Being that your selling an unassembled kit your already in a fairly safe position.

Don't take it from me, talk to a lawyer but my bet is that since you have no control of the assembly or welding it would be hard to sue when the weld breaks, simple wording in the instructions and on the selling website that your kits are designed to be assembled by experienced welders mitigate your risk even further.

You are just selling cut steel parts, if you provided a faulty material or had a fundamentally faulty design I could see potential liability problems, but material certificates are standard in the industry, transferring the responsibility to the supplier and steel maker, and the cost of an pe's stamp on a drawing of your design for something like a blade should be under a grand transferring the design liability. (one time expense) Finally i would also basically steal (but in your own lawyer approved language) the warnings, warning labels, and operating instructions from JD, land pride, and other implement manufactures, as their theirs most likely have been designed for and tested by historical legal actions. These 4 actions should make any insurance agent and your lawyer happy.

I wouldn't offer any warranty (other than for material or cutting issues) because you have no control of the assembly, welding or use.... Besides selling replacement or piecemeal parts a a higher margin then the complete kit will be a nice profit center.

I'm in the process of a startup in a much worse field for liability issues, (firearm receivers requiring gunsmith fitting) and have basically learned after many (expensive) meetings that anyone can sue for anything all a business owner is mitigate the personal risk by incorporating and dotting your "I"s and crossing your "T"s

One other thought... don't let any one assemble and sell your kits under "your company name" with out becoming an "additional insured" on their policy. If they want to make a business of assembling and selling implements from your kit have them sell them as their own (ie joe smith brand) not as your brand unless they add you to their policy.

Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps..

 

[Agent Blue]

Part of the therapy in building your own attachments is the hunt for parts. Shipping steel isn't exactly cheap either. If a person is capable of welding he probably has a torch and bandsaw. In most cases coupled with a ruler this starts the adventure. I have machine shops several miles away if I ever need their services .... but at their rates I can figure it out on my own.
You don't sound 100% sure of your venture. All you can do is advertise on cheap ( free ) forums, pick out a couple simple attachments and see what the reaction is. Remember.... many want, few step up with the cash.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

People keep throwing out the 50% savings number. I think this is an unrealistik number. A kit that has an assembly time of 3 hrs should not save you as much as a kit that has an 8 hr assembly time. A land plane takes a lot more welding than a rear blade so the savings should be greater on the land plane.
Bill

 

[Runner]

I'd focus on stuff not available any other way.

Example...a quick attach plate which allows various attachments such as:
hay spikes
boom extension to hay spike
pallet fork
chain hooks on above
receiver hitch for trailer ball or whatever.
also, set up plate so it also fits 3pt hitch and allows hay spike, boom, pallet fork, chain hooks, receiver hitch use there as well.

I generally agree with this. If I want a box blade, I'd rather just go buy one assembled, why reinvent the wheel?

I would also add this suggestion: Why not just put the individual parts for all of your attachments out there for sale? People are resourceful enough to know what they need to build all kinds of things without it being in a kit. For instance, someone might have a good use for the "A-Frame" part of a box blade, without needing an entire box blade. Another example would be parts to make quick-attach connections such as the John Deere pins and hooks.

 

[Attono]

I've been looking at land planes, 3 pt backhoes, and 3 pt boom mowers. The land plane I could probably swing without too much problem, but based on the amount of use it'd get versus cost, it just isn't worth it. The backhoe and boom mower would get some use and I would love to have one, but the prices are prohibitive. If I could get a kit and weld/bolt it up myself, then it would be a good sale. I agree with the others, I think there is definitely a market. Legal issues should be a simple matter of having the customer acknowledge limited liability when they purchase.

Do it! It's a market waiting to be tapped.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Its a very interesting idea. It does expose your company to more complaints (people tend to not blame there work, but the work of others).

As an option, or an idea, I would identify steel suppliers on the left coast who you could do a deal with. Send your cad files and have the cut and ship. Reduce the cost of shipping for us over here.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I think it would be great and the savings in reduced shipping would be as great as the lower cost so it could be a double win. Sign me up for your kit for adding fel quick attach to the 3pt!

 

[Renze]

Although i'm from Europe and shipping cost rules me out as a potential customer, for me the reason to make my own stuff is that the scrap i have around, is cheaper than new steel these days.
Another reason is that i want beefy stuff: when buying pre cut, sandblasted parts, i could weld as many reinforcements as i want.

You could sell pre cut dumptrailer hinge kits, latches, tabs for disk pillow block bearings, pins and bushings, etcetera, and let people weld their own frame with scrap they have.
Mostly those are the pieces i torch off of scrapped equipment to save for future projects.

 

[srs]

Great idea! I too am interested, of course the cheaper the cost the better for me. Would love to see some grapple kits for the smaller compact tractors. Good luck with your decision Ted.

 

[Weiner]

Ted,

I'm in! I like to build rather than buy when possible.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A lot of folks talking about bolt together kits. IMHO that would cost more than a completed welded assembly since the supplier would have to weld on all the bolt attachment points or make the pieces larger to allow bolting and incorporate a design change to allow it, JUST not feasible for money savings.

 

[/pine]

What I have been unable to find are (stand alone) basic 3 point hitch ('A') frames...

IMO...this would be a big help for those that build their own attachments...especially unique or specialty (specific use) tools/attachments...

 

[rautry]

This is a great idea! The kits would be nice for folks like me that just don't have easy access to the metal or the equipment to cut and bend all the necessary pieces, but we can weld and paint. I also like the idea to buy just the components such as the "A" frames, or other pieces we might need to repair or modify existing implements..........go for it.

 

[PapaPerk]

I think it is a very interesting concept, BUT, IMO, it would have to be AT LEAST 50% off, and posibally more to entice me.

Lets look at your new scrape blade for starters. At a price of ~$1200 finished, if you offered it as a build-it-yourself, the average person would have a good day in fitment and welding. Another day in preping and painting. And then another day in final assembly.

And then theres the issue of warranty. I didnt see any kind of warranty listed for your rear blade and dont know if you offer one, but I suspect that you'd stand behind your product as well as any if a weld broke or something bent as long as it wasnt pulled behind a 200hp 4x4 tractor. You certainly arent going to do this with a customer assembled blade.

So all of that in consideration, a 25% discount.........only saving $300, no thanks. Go ahead and do the welding and painting. I'd have to be at the $500-$600 range or less to even consider such a proposition.

But thats just me. Others may be different.

Agreed... discount would need to be 50% or more! It's still time consuming jigging and welding up everything. Not to mention painting... :confused2:

 

[JD230511]

I should have put this in my first post but I didn't. I have been wanting a land plane.

Keep us informed. Seems this topic is getting a few interests.

 

[Bee950]

I would be interested as I have a good welder and more time than money. Be sure to make the kits so they can be used on a Bobcat. Making them as kits would give you the flexibility of buying them with either a bobcat mount, or a 3point hitch.

 

[DAY]

An interesting topic! Ted, I waste way too much time, watching you and Peanut!

I suspect, however, that the market maybe too limited for this to be profitable. (The last few dozen posters all seem to have different tools and skill levels.)
The legal issue is also an issue.

Slightly off-topic; I contacted the Ratchet Rake folks, and asked about a Poor Man's version that would bolt onto my back blade. The answer I got surprised me: Patent infringement!