Considering side work with a grapple

[heck thomas]

I've read a lot of forums on tbn about hiring out for bush hogging, plowing, etc. But I have bought a Mahindra 1538 with a root grapple, not a big machine, but perfect for moving downed trees, brush piles and so on.
Anybody have any experience or advice on hiring out the grapple? Pricing as opposed to mowing work, potential problems, whatever comes to mind will be appreciated.

 

[DieselBound]

In most cases mowing only requires mowing.

Dealing with things requiring grappling one has to keep in mind that there will be times when one is not able to grab, pick up and dispatch the object. Chainsaws and such might come in to play. And when one has one's body closer to the action increased safety elements need to be deployed, and this ought to command a higher job price; sometimes, however, one might not be able to fully account for something, things might be slightly buried. There's also the fact that dealing with stuff that would require grappling tends to have all sorts of poky things, things that like to take revenge on your tractor.

Doesn't take much to break a CUT trying to do this kind of work. This ran me over $700 (labor, mine, not included):

 

[Industrial Toys]

An Ag loader was designed to clean up manure and move hay. It's not a construction machine.

Often people want other people to do tasks that are tricky, hazardous or hard on equipment.

 

[DieselBound]

Most certainly true in a professional sense. Odd, occasional construction-like work CAN be performed, though with a high degree of caution (and vastly reduced speed).: I'd agree that the manufacturers need to better support the use of "U" in Compact Utility Tractors or look to back off of it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

AND, if I was the customer and have to pay an operator regardless of machine, why would I want to opt for "vastly reduced speed", when I can pay an operator to run a large excavator and make short work of the job? Big difference possibly being float charges.

 

[DieselBound]

If, I suppose, the cost differential were great then the customer might be focusing only on cost (time less important).

There's a fair bit of relativity in all this. Industrial machines can do a lot more and do so quicker, and are less prone to breaking down, but when they break it's a lot more painful.

Professional work really should be performed with professional grade equipment.

 

[Industrial Toys]

This is the last guy I hired to deal with a very stony, boney and stumpy area destined for cut lawn. Note the massive claw and skeleton bucket! And a regular one up front. All kind of comes at no extra charge!

I have a lot of industrial equipment, not construction equipment and am not going to beat the heck out of it.

 

[DieselBound]

If that's on a job you contracted and it bills back, then all is good.

For my personal use I'd shy away from a machine that large as it would draw a lot of attention! (unfortunately, more attention drawn isn't like at some entertainment event whereby the person drawing the attention gets money- with this kind of attention it's usually the "entertainer" then had to shell out more and more money [permits etc.]) Might be another thing for the OP to consider, and that's the possibility of undertaking a job that isn't permitted.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It was just a personal job. But I consider the outlay in money to be money well spent. Better than a vacation for instance, have something to show for it. And the job is well done, quickly and saving my equipment. There were no permits required in a situation like this. Plus, it is a lot of fun to work with stuff like that.

 

[DieselBound]

Had to smile on your comment. I too feel more enjoyment on improving my property than taking a vacation: every day when I'm on my property feels like a vacation! (some days are a better vacation than others, but in general...)

 

[heck thomas]

All great advice. Thanks for the responses.
I'm thinking my niche market is going to be small jobs, you cut it, I'll pile it for you to burn. I can build a brush pile in an hour that would take days to do by hand.
Most operators in my area won't even look at anything that takes less than a full day or two. Just not worth loading equipment.
But y'all are absolutely right, bigger equipment gets it done faster, and I'm not interested in clearing five acre fields. This machine will push out three or four inch trees, as long as they're still standing so you can push on the trunk five or six feet up, but it's useless for most stumps. Plus that's really time consuming, so bad for my equipment as well as the customer.
Thanks again.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sorry, didn't mean to get off topic. But it is what you might have to compete against. I bought a grapple because I had tons of brush left over from a Pine thinning operation. In the end, between material being too long for getting out between remaining trees, stumps (many hidden by brush) and difficult terrain, the job was somewhat of a failure. Sometimes things just don't go the way we imagine.

 

[/pine]

If you have insurance...leave your business card with all the local general contractors, landscape contractors, tree services etc., etc...not all are big companies with a fleet of equipment...

 

[heck thomas]

I bought mine because I had three acres of pasture grown up in swamp maples and poplar trees two or three inches thick. Plus a ton of dead trees my horses killed. So far, clearing the brush has been a roaring success.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think that a guys success in such endeavors often gets down to character and disposition more than other technical factors.

 

[crashz]

I started doing my side business this year and found that, like IT just said, it depends on your character more than anything. I try to be honest and give my best estimate on what I can do and how long it will take. I then charge by the hour. In most cases, my scope changes during work, as the customer says "Hey while you're here...". I haven't had one complaint. I have, however, referred at least half of my potential clients to contractor that could do a better, safer, or cheaper job. And at some points this summer I had to give a few clients the choice to move on because I was booked so far out in the season.

The point is, you can use this as a tool to market if you want. But there is a down side. You will break stuff. One of my first mowing jobs took out a PTO shaft. The whole day's pay went to that repair. I'm as careful as I can possibly be and still get the work done, but I have probably a few days of work to get the mower and tractor back to 100% this winter.

If you do go this route, I would have a spare front tire and rim with you on the jobs. I can see the cut saplings possibly taking out a tire or two.

 

[TractorGuy]

I have a guy in my area that charges $50 per hour for anything he has an attachment for. He has two different tractors and multiple attachments. I used his services for grapple only work for a day and was more than happy to have him break my large piles I had into smaller more dirt free piles. He said he would also cut stuff up with the chainsaw if needed but I didn't need that. Many will probably say he works too cheap but I expect he stays busy.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had a 12 ton zoom boom. On the way to my first paying job, I blew a hose. Ended up using a 3ph crane jib on a 40hp tractor to pull out a lightning hit submersible pump instead of the thirty or whatever foot the zoom boom would have afforded.

 

[ddbackhoe]

If you have insurance...leave your business card with all the local general contractors, landscape contractors, tree services etc., etc...not all are big companies with a fleet of equipment...

No insurance can be another fiasco waiting to happen. What happens when you drive over and/or damage something on the customers property? Pull out an improperly installed cable or pipe? What could happen if someone turns you over to the local authority (county, state, whatever) for operating without a license? Pretty pessimistic, but most people can't be trusted to go by a handshake deal anymore. Everyone watches Judge Judy or similar and wants to sue for everything **** thing.

We recently sold a flip and the buyer accused us of improperly repairing the septic, claimed he saw the action via google satellite. He wanted the whole septic system torn out and replaced to his satisfaction or he would sue. My stance was he had two choices since a permit was pulled and cleared by the health dept. Buyer could close the original deal and later sue the health dept. or lose his deposit and walk away. He opted to just close the deal.

 

[heck thomas]

I have a guy in my area that charges $50 per hour for anything he has an attachment for. He has two different tractors and multiple attachments. I used his services for grapple only work for a day and was more than happy to have him break my large piles I had into smaller more dirt free piles. He said he would also cut stuff up with the chainsaw if needed but I didn't need that. Many will probably say he works too cheap but I expect he stays busy.

It's amazing what these things can do with a brush pile, ain't it?