What do Y'all charge ?

[crashz]

I charge $65 an hour (held my price for years) for my old customers, but am moving on to quoting per job for new folks. Hay Dude is right, rarely does hourly work well for everyone. It worked Ok at first, but as I got more proficient at each property, it took much less time and therefore less money per job.

 

[shooterdon]

Years ago I helped a couple of neighbors with plowing over several years. It got totally out of hand with more people asking for help, and becoming almost demanding. I was forced to start charging a seasonal rate.

No good deed goes unpunished

 

[Paystar]

Wow, seeing some of these rates makes me believe I live in the wrong country for sure. I could barley make $70 per hour with a $220,000 dump truck, LOL

To my surprise though, I have made $60/hour a couple times rebuilding water front retaining walls for locals with my little Kubota. I didn't ask that, but they insisted because they liked the fact I could get in over their manicured lawns without making a mess.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I don't do ANY off property work with my tractor or any of my equipment. I'm RETIRED - don't want the hassle - don't want the extra insurance. Besides - as we all know - implement costs are just out of sight.

Couple years ago - plowed snow off my neighbors driveway - for free. He complained - didn't like the way I did it. I hope he likes paying $300 to $400 for getting it plowed by a commercial fellow now.

I would have offered to put it back.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I've been doing side jobs for several years and even added another tractor recently. I do carry insurance for my tractor side work, but was just curious how others charge for your area. I know some charge by the job or acre, but even that is based on an hourly rate. Being in the Ft. Worth area, I'm at $75/hr. from the time I get to the job site 'till I load up. If you do side jobs with your tractor, what's the going rate for your area?

I was at $80 an acre for mowing pastures, corrals and road ditches with my 6' rotary mower. I did have a $100 minimum, in case a guy just had a vacant lot that needed weeds knocked down. Held that price for a couple years. I also had a 50 mile maximum travel distance that I would take. Last year I was out of commission for the entire mowing season (medical, not mechanical reasons) and I thought I would have to raise my price to $100 an acre last year. I was dragging my feet about raising prices, but I think this year I'll have to do it.

However, when I quote a job to a customer, I give them the flat rate price of the job. I don't say the words ..."X dollars per acre" to the customer. But if he tells me he has a 10 acre pasture I would just tell him that would be $800.

This year I think I'll be at $100 per acre, and I'll probably set my minimum per job at $150.

 

[rockinbbar]

I would have offered to put it back.

Let a neighbor go fishing in my private pond for catfish. He probably took home 30 pounds of catfish.

Saw him a few weeks later and asked him how the catfish were... He went into how horrible they tasted because they didn't taste fishy enough for him, and the meat was so tender it would fall off the bone.

Reckon because I fed the fish very high dollar fish farm food, and kept the pond circulated and fresh?

Next time he can go catch his fish in the local sewer for all I care.

 

[RjCorazza]

We have a neighbor who allows the neighborhood to fish his pond on a "kiss and release" basis. My daughter has caught some nice sized largemouth bass there over the years.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

We have a neighbor who allows the neighborhood to fish his pond on a "kiss and release" basis. My daughter has caught some nice sized largemouth bass there over the years.

Do you have to kiss the fish, or kiss the neighbor?

Send pics of neighbor...

 

[Williy]

I don't do side jobs but I helped my neighbor move some gravel
and he gave me $280 for a little over an hour. I just stay at home
and do my own work like today neighbor went to town for breakfast
then I came home and did the laundry. I have enough things to do
at home sure don't need extra work to do for fussy people

willy

 

[RadarTech]

A few years ago a neighbor told me about how a local contractor wanted $2200 for gravel and grading.. I told them I’d help..leveled with the tractor.. maybe 1 hr from leaving the shop to back in the shop.. took 4 loads on the dump trailer… about 14 TONS.. and spread it and smoothed it with the tractor.. another hour..
gravel at that time cost me $13.50 a ton for crush and run.. 19 for 3/4 minus fines(not wash stone just double screened) cost of materials and fuel was less than $350..
quarry is only 5 miles away.. so a round trip is like 30 min or so. Total time 4-5 hours.. I handed them my weight tickets. And they handed me $800

I have been told said contractor has since closed his doors.. he had a tandem axle truck.. so it would have been a single trip.. he had a tractor for small things I think it was a 50-60HP kubota. I remember seeing him driving the tandem pulling the tractor on a trailer.

I could not understand that pricing.
Even if he used 18 tons of 3/4 minus.. and charged $150 delivery…so $500…
Spend no more than 4 hours dropping tractor, grading, going to get gravel,and then loading and leaving could not see more than $900 for gravel and then $100 an hour for tractor work.

So back to your question.. look around and see what the market will bear around you… and compare your costs to the market.. make sure you have some profit but don’t gouge. You will be fine..

My example contractor didn’t understand and that’s likely why he is no longer in business…

I actually bought some equipment to do stuff myself because of people like that guy…
Latest purchase was a new 59hp cabbed tractor.