What is a fair price for disking 15 acres?

[Lt CHEG]

What's your point? I considered having a disc run over my place since I've just cleared it. I have instead raked it and got it to a place where it's fine for now.

I had a guy needing about 90 mins of Dozer work done. All he had budgeted was $200. At that point it's not worth it to me to load the 20k lb dozer and do it. Take out mileage and depreciation and wherever else you want. There is a balance. I'm to covered up to handle a job that would take me away from a larger project. If I was sitting around the house with nothing going on, I might do it because its positive cash flow coming in.

Everyone is different but 1k to do the job in question is rediculous. Justify it all you want but that's high for where I am at. I would actually be offended at that. My day rate is $850 and its a lot bigger machine than most are running and the abuse it is subjected to is much higher. If it was a friend, I'd drag it out to the job for that.

Brett

Obviously operating costs are very different in your area than where I am at if $1000 to $1150 for a solid 10 hour day's worth of work is offensive. Around here for someone doing the work on the books you could probably expect to pay $200 per hour for dozer work. I stand by my numbers for where I am at. I could probably reduce those numbers if I was willing to own older equipment, not have an air conditioned cab, etc. but I know what I want and I'm not willing to sacrifice the luxuries of newer equipment with most creature comforts. If people aren't willing to accept that then I'll be happy to let my tractor sit and be utilized only for my property needs and nobody else's.

 

[paulharvey]

In my area, north florida, $65-75 gets a full sized (85 hp) skid steer or tracked skid, and you can get bush hogging as low as $35-45 per hour. Now, a new or nearly new 75 hp cabbed tractor and 8 ft impliments can make money at $35-45, but operating costs aren't as high as some people think. Depriciation is roughly 100% over 6000 hrs, repairs and maintance should roughly equal purchase over machine life. So, $50,000/6000= ~$7.25/hr + 2.5 gal/hr x $4/gal=$10/hr in fuel. So lets say $17.25, round it to $20 per hour for some cash for impliments, cutting edges, ect. Now, if yiu highered an employee to operate it, you would pay him what, $12? $15? Certainly not more than $15 to operate anything short of a grader, so as owner, I want double, so $30 per hour for me, brings us to $50/hr.
insurance... Lets say your polices =$1000/mnth divide that by 10 (in case you don't work 20 days per mnth) means you need another $100 per day. If you make $75/per hour with a 4 hr min, yiu made $120 profit for the day minus hauling. If you have a 6 hr min, or one way travel paid and 4 hr min, you do good. Longer, multi day jobs will cost less, cause only one mobilization.

Transportation: you figure a plain drw diesel pick up w/o dvd, leather, ect is $50,000 and if you trade in every 200,000 miles, that's $0.25 per mile, 8 mpg (I would usse that, don't know what your loaded milage is) x $4.00/gal =$0.50 per mile fuel. Tires, oil changes ect will be no more than $100/mnth, trailer is $6500, and will last forever, but $100 per mnth put away for it anyways... I think $0.85 to $1.00 per mile in trucking. Now, depending on how you bill it, if its one way, charge them $2.00 per mile, and max $30/hr for the trip there, after all is said and done you will be making $45 per hour profit for your actual operating hours, which is well over anything an operator will make working for anyone else. I think if you work at least 3 days per week, you will do just fine.



Edit: I noticed I did Not add the maintance number back in so my $20.00 per hour shiuld really be $27.25 per hour you need to pay your machine, so that's still $27.25 for equipment, $30 for you, and the other ~$17.75/hr covers the fact that you aren't working 40+ hrs per week, every week.

What I've always heard is that if you don't get under cut by some 25-33% of the time, and you winning nearly 100% of the jobs you bid, then its time to up your price. Its the sign of a good rate when your losing some jobs. If uour winning everything, and no onea trying to beat your price down, I woild up my price $5-15 per hour.

 

[paulharvey]

And using by numbers above, he's still making some money if he's got to drop to $65 or even $50 for the winter, just trying to stay busy. I sure would avoid it if possible, but I would rather profit $20 per hour than sit at home, still paying bills.

I shouldnt need to say, but I will... make Sure your putting that $27.25 some where as "reserves for replacement" and the trucking money aa well, or in 5 years you'll be wondering how to replace a worn out truck and tractor. Repairs wont happen every day, or even that often hopefully, but ut wint feel soo bad when you get a piece of rebar in a tire and you have $5000 in your repair account.