Rototilling price per hour

[4570Man]

If you can get that more power to you but such a small machine with an operator is worth about $50-75 an hour.

 

[bigtiller]

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's about 5400 sf. or about 70 X 70.
With 14 hp and 48" tiller, never been tilled, and rocks....That will give you something to do for a while.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That's about 5400 sf. or about 70 X 70.
With 14 hp and 48" tiller, never been tilled, and rocks....That will give you something to do for a while.

Amen. Virgin ground with 14 hp will be tough

 

[fatjay]

That's about 5400 sf. or about 70 X 70.
With 14 hp and 48" tiller, never been tilled, and rocks....That will give you something to do for a while.

Yes, i did my new driveway with it. It took 2 passes to get to full depth. Maybe an hour for 150'.

https://imgur.com/HYvFcMb

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

So, about 1500sq ft took an hour? No sod? Sod will make it much more difficult if it’s there.

For comparison, I can turn over 1200 sq feet in 3 minutes per pass in clay. Charging by the hour with a small machine, would have to be VERY reasonable… because another guy could turn it in 15 minutes, five times.

Maybe a minimum stop fee, that covers the first 1000sq feet. Then a surcharge for additional sq feet. Billing per sq foot would be more fair in general, and perhaps a surcharge for virgin ground vs tilled etc.

 

[2manyrocks]

IDK, the issue to me is potentially damaging fajay's equipment for $200. If it were already broken ground, maybe that's a different story and a different price.

 

[Yander]

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's a big garden/field. I wouldn't want to do it for less than $200. I really don't know how long that would take on my 25hp with 5' tiller. Probably at least an hour maybe longer, to hit it both directions. Yeah, I would want at least $200 for that.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

1/8 acre is 4x what you say took you one hour on your driveway build. If you billed $200/hr...

So $800 to till 1/8 acre? I've been quoted $800 for two passes on ONE ACRE on virgin ground.

I could till 1/8 acre, 4x in about an hour. $200 an hour would be fine at that pace of work. Not at 1/4 that pace.

 

[fatjay]

1/8 acre is 4x what you say took you one hour on your driveway build. If you billed $200/hr...

So $800 to till 1/8 acre? I've been quoted $800 for two passes on ONE ACRE on virgin ground.

I could till 1/8 acre, 4x in about an hour. $200 an hour would be fine at that pace of work. Not at 1/4 that pace.

I was specifically asked what I would do it for, with my machine. I'm not putting in a bid. I'm not buying a new machine that could do it in 1/4 of the time. I'm not worried about my time, it's wear and tear hours on the machine is where I came up with the figure.

 

[JJT]

Nobody around me wants to pay for tilling by the hour. They expect to pay the same fee for an established garden and a virgin plot. If you could get $100/garden plot I think you'd be doing well. I cannot get that with a much larger setup.