Rototilling price per hour

[fatjay]

Had a guy ask me to till his garden. I was thinking $200/hr, 1hr minimum, time starts when i start my tractor. My tractor 14hp with a 48" tiller, so it's not fast. Am I selling myself short? Or asking to much.

 

[scootr]

It sounds a little high to me. I guess it depends upon how long it will take you. A big garden tilled for $200 may be okay but if it takes 2 hrs, that may be too much. I charged my neighbors $75 hr to mow. When I raised it to $100 I lost half of them. And that's okay ~ I was doing it for fun as much as fuel money.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

Gotta be a troll post.

Get as much as you can.

 

[dodge man]

That sounds pretty high to me. I once sort of figured out how much my tractor costs me an hour to run. I tried to figure everything in. Initial cost, residual value, maintenance, fuel etc. but not any insurance. I have a 5 year old JD 2025r and figure $15 to $20 an hour. That’s break even. I don’t own a tiller but even figuring that in I’m well under $30 an hour. So figuring your tractor shouldn’t be any higher per hour that’s paying you $170 an hour for your wages and profit on your machine.

 

[zzvyb6]

What does it cost to rent a tiller of any size, then how long to do the whole area, given the width of the machine.
I was asked to till a back lawn a few years ago in prep for lawn seeding. It was the day before the Super Bowl.

Yes I found his buried cable TV... Ooops. He had to cancel his party.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

One hour min at $200 seems steep for most small gardens. Heck, it may be a couple passes and 15 minutes of work. I’d probably look into the minimum being a stopping fee, to load, travel unload etc… and that minimum also cover say the first 30 minutes. Then have an hourly fee above that. This way a single pass garden is worth your time, but there is also enough value in it for the customer. I have a tiller and tractor mainly to till 1-2 acres annually, several times… when I was quoted the cost to till it, it was about $200/hr. So that’s fair… but making $200 the minimum won’t be a value to most simple gardeners. And, then maybe it’s also not worth your time to travel there.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

If it's a good friend/good neighbor go do it for free and build on that relationship if on the other hand it's someone that you don't know or know that well you can't hardly work for free and only you can decide what your time and equipment are worth.

 

[JCoastie]

with a more capable tractor, think 35-40hp not 14hp, I'd think $100/hr with 2hr min (for travel/haul) would be fair. If you are close and aren't hauling, flat $100hr no min. With 14hp, I'm thinking $50-$75/hr

 

[2manyrocks]

How hard and rocky is the guy's garden? Some places you could break a tine or two trying to till it.

 

[Fallon]

I have a 40hp cabbed machine & pile of attachments with a truck & trailer to haul it all. Along with all the proper commercial insurance. I generally quote jobs at $100-125/hr. 2 hour minimum. Some regulars fer billed by the hour. Most people get a fixed price quote. Make sure to include transport time in your quotes. It's my side hustle so pays for tools & toys. I'd have to advertise a lot more to make a living with it.

Make sure you have the proper liability insurance before doing anything for hire.

 

[bmaverick]

With my disk harrow, it's $50 for a 24x280sqft garden. Takes about 15mins to get it all really nice.

 

[bigtiller]

Give it a shot, advertise all you can and wait for the phone to ring. It might work in your neighborhood. I did it for 25 years in my little town but for a lot less than $200.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

way to high around my parts.

if a not "need it done right at this moment" type of customer it would be closer to $50 - 65/hr and the client would have a few people to choose from to make the work.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Your little tractor much be gold plated to charge that much... lol

I charge a heck of a lot less than that for my farm tractor and a 6' wide tiller!

SR

 

[BlueKnife]

Or asking to much.

This one. I can't think of anything a 14 HP machine can do that's worth $200/hr. Certainly not rototilling.

 

[bmaverick]

This one. I can't think of anything a 14 HP machine can do that's worth $200/hr. Certainly not rototilling.

Maybe his 14Hp machine drinks too much fuel.

Mine is diesel and sips fuel very carefully. Can run the entire day on 2.5 gallons.

 

[fatjay]

Thanks for the insight. It's a 1/8 acre garden, so it's not just the back yard. It's rocky and not previously tilled or gardened.

 

[2manyrocks]

I'd think about plowing it first to break up the soil and to find out what the rock situation really is before using a tiller. Breaking in new area that hasn't been plowed at all would be a tough job for a 14hp machine.

 

[newbury]

But you leave out factors such as travel, time, distance, insurance, etc.
If you swing by next door with your tractor with the equipment already hooked up before or after you do your own lot then the $200 is highway robbery.
The price by bmaverick is for about 1/8th an acre.

 

[BlueKnife]

Thanks for the insight. It's a 1/8 acre garden, so it's not just the back yard. It's rocky and not previously tilled or gardened.

That may change things some. If you're spending a bunch of time picking rocks, beating up your machine, etc. I would question if your machine is really built for such conditions.