Mulching rates

[yellowdogsvc]

We have guys running for $75.00 an hour.... That's right, not a miss print... How they survive is beyond me.

That's just insane.. recent article on cost of ownership means they are working for free and have started the death spiral towards going out of business. There are guys who think it's okay to take anything as long as they get paid... Running in the red for too long means failure. There is no way around it. Money in versus money out.

 

[redprospector]

We have guys running for $75.00 an hour.... That's right, not a miss print... How they survive is beyond me.

I don't see how they can survive for long at that rate.
On my fecon, the "tools" will last about 500 hours if I'm real careful. That's a little over $6 an hour cost.
Rubber tracks, a necessary evil. On my Bobcat I'd be doing really good to get 1000 hours from a pair in the rocks I run in. So I figure 750 hours and hope for the best. Aftermarket tracks are a little better than $2500 for mine, so figure another $3.50 an hour (a lot more if you are running ASV/Terex tracks).
I'm burning about $80 in fuel a day right now. But fuel prices change so fast it's hard to figure, but right now it's about $10 bucks an hour.
Maintenance and repair, you better stick back another $10 an hour. So we're at $29.50 an hour just to turn the key on, and we haven't even thought about.......
Then there's insurance. I use a figure of $2.50 an hour
Replacement cost for the machine. I use a figure of $25 an hour.
Replacement cost for the head. I use $16 an hour.
We're at $73 an hour just to own this rig now.
I kinda like to figure a couple of bucks an hour to stick in my pocket so I can buy beans, and keep the lights on.
I know there are some things I left out, but this is the basics.

Andy

 

[Carykong]

there is plenty of work out there if ya do it for free

 

[ALittleDirtWontHurt]

$200-225/hr here

 

[PLMLLC]

I am looking at getting into a mulcher to broaden my service offerings. I have broken down most of the costs. The thing I am curious about is rubber tracks vs steel tracks. I drove a 2013 CAT 299D XHP today with steel tracks 400hrs. The CAT sales guy was telling me its the only way to go with mulching. "the tracks are constantly going to come off!" The XHP with steel tracks and head new is going to be in the neighborhood of 140k. I liked it but wasn't sold on it. I actually liked the Bobcat 770 I drove the other day better. What is everyones experience steel vs. rubber? Its a whole lot of rubber tracks to go to the steel ones and I just don't see the rubber ones blowing off all the time. Is the XHP worth the extra 20-25k?

 

[redprospector]

I am looking at getting into a mulcher to broaden my service offerings. I have broken down most of the costs. The thing I am curious about is rubber tracks vs steel tracks. I drove a 2013 CAT 299D XHP today with steel tracks 400hrs. The CAT sales guy was telling me its the only way to go with mulching. "the tracks are constantly going to come off!" The XHP with steel tracks and head new is going to be in the neighborhood of 140k. I liked it but wasn't sold on it. I actually liked the Bobcat 770 I drove the other day better. What is everyones experience steel vs. rubber? Its a whole lot of rubber tracks to go to the steel ones and I just don't see the rubber ones blowing off all the time. Is the XHP worth the extra 20-25k?

There are pro's & con's to rubber and steel tracks. In my opinion, if you're going to use the machine as a dedicated carrier for a mulching head, then you should look at something that is designed as a dedicated carrier (maybe a Fecon FTX 100 or something bigger). If you're going to be using the machine for multiple tasks then a CTL may be your best choice.
I have a Fecon FTX 90 that is my "go to" machine for mulching. I've got single grouser track shoes on it for traction. I have a Bobcat T320 with rubber tracks for a back up mulcher, and anything else I need to do with it.

 

[Marek]

I am looking at getting into a mulcher to broaden my service offerings. I have broken down most of the costs. The thing I am curious about is rubber tracks vs steel tracks. I drove a 2013 CAT 299D XHP today with steel tracks 400hrs. The CAT sales guy was telling me its the only way to go with mulching. "the tracks are constantly going to come off!" The XHP with steel tracks and head new is going to be in the neighborhood of 140k. I liked it but wasn't sold on it. I actually liked the Bobcat 770 I drove the other day better. What is everyones experience steel vs. rubber? Its a whole lot of rubber tracks to go to the steel ones and I just don't see the rubber ones blowing off all the time. Is the XHP worth the extra 20-25k?

We have several hundred hrs on a 299d with rubber tracks mulching. Once you put on the triple flange idlers and the tracks spacer then there are zero troubles to date. For us steel wasn't an option, we are often running down a paved trail or paved road to gain access to parts of the row that we do. The 299 d has been a great machine to date. I personally like the versatility of a ctl but we also focus on smaller jobs. If we did all larger clearing jobs then I would look at a dedicated machine

 

[PLMLLC]

Thank you. I am not ready to step into a fully dedicated mulching machine. As Marek said I like the versatility of a CTL. I have a project that should come close to paying for a CTL that will require the use of some other attachments so I don't want to get locked in a dedicated machine. If the business takes off then I would look a dedicated one. With the steel tracks I would agree with Marek as well. It seems there are some measures that can be taken to help prevent thrown tracks and it also limits the versatility of a CTL. If it was dedicated to mulching I would be good with it but its not. Marek.... Is the 299D worth the extra money? CAT and Bobcat dealers seem to both be good and in the same town. 30 minutes away. Is the product actually worth the extra money? Haven't heard complaints about the 770 and it actually felt more comfortable than the 299 with better sight lines. Thanks

 

[redprospector]

Thank you. I am not ready to step into a fully dedicated mulching machine. As Marek said I like the versatility of a CTL. I have a project that should come close to paying for a CTL that will require the use of some other attachments so I don't want to get locked in a dedicated machine. If the business takes off then I would look a dedicated one. With the steel tracks I would agree with Marek as well. It seems there are some measures that can be taken to help prevent thrown tracks and it also limits the versatility of a CTL. If it was dedicated to mulching I would be good with it but its not. Marek.... Is the 299D worth the extra money? CAT and Bobcat dealers seem to both be good and in the same town. 30 minutes away. Is the product actually worth the extra money? Haven't heard complaints about the 770 and it actually felt more comfortable than the 299 with better sight lines. Thanks

If It were me, and I was going to use it for multiple tasks, I'd go with rubber tracks.
As far as if the 299D is worth the extra money. Well, I think that's a personal decision.
I will say that if the 770 felt more comfortable, you might want to really consider that because hopefully you'll be spending a lot of hours sitting in whatever you choose.
My best advice is choose the brand that has a GOOD servicing dealer. You can have the best, most expensive, state of the art machine known to mankind. But if your dealer sucks....so does your machine.

 

[PLMLLC]

That is part of the debate.... the service from the CAT dealer will be awesome no doubt about it. The Bobcat dealer has 2 locations that are equal distance from me. The small one seems decent. I am going to check out the main location next week to see what its like. I am just not sure if the service difference is worth the $20k. I did like the Bobcat better. It was brand new. The CAT I drove at the local dealer was a 2013 repo. Full forestry kit with steel tracks and 400 hrs. They wanted $97k plus the mulching head. I am good friends with a family that owns an out of state CAT dealer and they were $126 for the 2014 299D XHP with mulching head, forestry kit, HD bucket and rubber tracks. $20k difference. Unless the main Bobcat dealership sucks I think I am going with the 770 and staying with the rubber tracks.