How much to charge for rototilling?

michigandon · Mar 22, 2006

I'm contemplating the acquisition of a YM1510 from LMTC that happens to include a rear-mounted tiller. Not having a garden or any other use for the tiller itself, I though that maybe I could put an ad on the board down at the hardware store and recoup at least a tiny fraction of my new investment that way.

I was thinking ~$45/hour. Too much? Not enough? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thanks,
Don

slowrev · Mar 22, 2006

Depends on where you are at. Around here a small garden taking about 1 hr is around $45.

Ben

HGM · Mar 22, 2006

I've heard before that to charge more than $40hr for a compact tractor was high.. However, having a tiller myself and knowing what it can do, allong with what can happen to it, combined with fuel prices, I dont think thats too much at all.. As a matter of fact, personally I would look at the $60 range, but I might not get much work.. I've thought about it myself, though never hired out my tractor(and myself).. Maybe you can call the local rental place and see what they charge, you can then add your labor and mileage to that amount...

Hope this helps a bit, I'm interested in what the other guys think as well...

2nstonge · Mar 22, 2006

I tilled about 30 gardens last year, mostly on the small side (25x50). It was my first year doing it. I charged between $35-50 for the small ones, depended on how far away they were, access to the garden, if it had been tilled before, etc. Once I had my system down I usually could get in & out in less than an hour - including unloading/loading time. Virgin ground was double the rate & double the time or more.

This year due to fuel and insurance increases my base rate will be $75. I'd rather do a few less plots than work for free. I found that customers who had rented tillers in the past were thrilled to spend a few more bucks and just have me do it; no driving to the rental place, no beating themselves up for the day on the back of tiller, no hassles.

Good luck! -Norm

rdln · Mar 22, 2006

Assuming you have investment in truck and trailer, $75/hr with minimum charg o $75 if you can schedule multiple gardens in a row I would give discount.

RobertN · Mar 22, 2006

In this area, that would be WAY high for light tractor work.

For a while we were working our landscape company alongside an in-laws concrete company. I could put my Kubota CUT or a Bobcat S185 on a jobsite, with various toolsets. We ran $35/hour for the Kubota, $65/hr for the Bobcat. The Dump truck was extra, at $65/hr. Owner/operators are running about $85-95/hr for a Case 580K backhoe service.

I always set a 3 hour minimum. It just is not worth the effort and fuel to load the tractor, go to a job site for an hour, reload ect. IF there were a couple of jobs right next to each other, I would work out a deal.

RobertN · Mar 22, 2006

One other thought... Make sure you're licensed and insured. $1M in liability is a good place to start...

scott_vt · Mar 22, 2006

Norm,
There must be a lot of money down in Bennington /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
My neighbor tilled a small garden a few years ago with his 30hp JD and charged $20, and the guy was upset he charged him so much /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Im sayin to myself, any cheaper and you would be doin it for free /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

scotty

RonR · Mar 22, 2006

Today, charging $20 for a project to me is worse than free---it's costing him $$$ to be a nice guy.

I do friends/neighbor's jobs for free or dinner. But I don't make a practice of doing free jobs.

I have $20K worth of equipment, and the interest on the equipment, taxes, fuel, and oh yeah MY TIME, amounts to more than $20/hr.

As a newbie, I have underestimated my costs in most of the jobs I've done. Now that I'm gettin' more serious about this, I won't do a job without a minimum and I will make money on 95% of my jobs, or I will get out.

People that balk at my estimates are free to buy their own equipment and learn how to run it (which is worth something) or rent it themselves. I don't need practice losing money...........

ron

2nstonge · Mar 22, 2006

(
There must be a lot of money down in Bennington )

You just have to know which rocks to look under, Scotty! $20 barely covers fuel & a burger for lunch - ouch! - hope he didn't rush back and do it the next year.

Around here lots of guys with big equipment tripping over each other for excavating & other 'cool' jobs but no one wants the small PITA stuff. The landscapers don't want it because it's not the bread & butter weekly customer or a 5 figure total landscape makeover. I get leads from both ends of these groups. My JD dealer gets a few calls about rentals, he sends those people my way too as there are zero tractor rentals within 40 miles of us.

For tilling, I focus on the immediate area and will put together 5-6 jobs for a day in the same part of town. Good money & I'm not driving a half hour between plots. No discount unless I'm driving my tractor next door, the minute it goes on the trailer you pay the full price.

I also do gravel drive repairs, trenching, drainage, landscape prep...typically 1/2 to full day homeowner projects; another 'under-served' market. Last summer I had tractor work 1-2 days a week (most weeks) with no advertising.

Last year was the learning curve, this year it's a business.

"BackYard Tractor Works - Small enough for backyard projects, big enough to get them done".

-Norm

Farmwithjunk · Mar 22, 2006

I'll do a few gardens each spring. Plow or till, or even both sometimes. I've made up my set of "rules" that MUST be followed.

1. If it involves the trailer, add $50 before it leaves the driveway.

2. "locals" where I can drive the tractor start at $50. That covers about 1/2 acre of tilling. Time goes up, price goes with it.

3. Don't try to "compete" with the guy down the lane that's content to "break even" by doing it for $20. You won't get rich plowing gardens, but you deserve to make a few pesos for the time and investment. In the end "break even" doesn't come close to breaking even.

4. Get insurance, then plan on doing enough work to cover that cost just to be Mr. "Break Even".. Once you get involved, you have to go for it.

5. When someone picks their garden spot, it MUST be on top of a shallow buried granite field. Tiller tines and slip clutches are expensive when bought in bulk.

I charge more for bush hogging. GArden plowing has it's market ceiling price. Peole just stop putting out gardens when they can't afford one.

I actually make more plowing gardens than tilling. It seems that everyone has a tiller nowdays.

In the end, there is no set price for my service. I charge what the job is worth to me. If it's too high for someone, they're entirely welcome to get someone ELSE to do it.

michigandon · Mar 22, 2006

( One other thought... Make sure you're licensed and insured. $1M in liability is a good place to start... )

If I gotta go through that hassle and expense just for 1-2 months out of the year...FORGET IT!!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

rdln · Mar 22, 2006

no reason to get mean about it. My liability is covered under landscaping rider on my farm policy as long as receipts are under 20k/year or something like that and equipment doesnt stay on job overnight its about $100/year.

its not worth the risk w/o insurance

michigandon · Mar 23, 2006

Steve, I don't have a farm. $100 per year would be worth it for "CYA coverage" if I could get it for that. I just don't wish to plunk down a small fortune when I'm not even sure the phones gonna ring.

ToadHill · Mar 23, 2006

In our area landscapers insurance starts at about $550 per year.

michigandon · Mar 23, 2006

( In our area landscapers insurance starts at about $550 per year. )

Starts at $550 per year?? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I don't see myself bringing in enough to even cover HALF of that!

Todays parade has been cancelled due to rain. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

DDT · Mar 23, 2006

I live in a small town about 4500 folks. I charge $20 min charge. It usally takes 10 min or less. I can till 1 acre per hour. I always figured $1 per HP per hour (clock not meter) I figure $1 per mintite the first hour and $50 per hour after that. But I do a lot of gardens to. People hear would not get it done if it were any higher.

MadDog · Mar 23, 2006

Boy, I wish I could get landscapers' liability insurance for $500. I carry "inland marine" insurance to protect against loss/damage to my equipment when off premises. (I do not charge my neighbors for snowblowing, tilling, etc. although that involves using my equipment off premises and my homeowners only covers my equipment on my property).

The cost of the equipment coverage (for my $38k of equipment) is $250/yr. My broker said that liability coverage would have been about $1,000. I'm not about to pay that for doing favors for people; instead, I just ask them to sign a release/indemnification agreement with respect to any claims for personal injury or property damage arising out of my doing work on their property.

If I could get liability coverage at a reasonable price and folks beyond my immediate neighborhood wanted help, I'd consider charging for it, but not without insurance.

RobertN · Mar 23, 2006

It really is expensive to do this kinda stuff and cover all the bases. All it would take is bumping one house, shed, ect. Or, hitting a power line, cable, phone that is buried shallow. It happens too often.

It is really a bummer, because there is lots of small work out there. But between insurance and license requirements, it is not worth it to do it.

When we did lawn/garden maint, we carried insurance, which was expensive. I know of people who were out mowing, ran over something unseen, and did thousands of dollars damage to the car and house that got hit by the resulting flying object.