Earning money with a 4' bucket?

[stan33]

There are some big projects going to start around here next year....a new airport and runway and a couple of large resorts one with a golf course.
Plus there may be smaller jobs around here as I know I have paid for a bobcat and driver in the past more than once.

I've looked into the state red tape and there is none for fel work. There is a 3 day course which is government recognised and I have seen adverts for jobs, where this ticket is asked for.
Also there is insurance and I would probably need a car trailer to move the tractor for more distant jobs.

But is there a need on construction sites for sub-contractors with smaller loaders? Would I need a backhoe and again would the size be of use?
This is a remote location with limited machinery available locally and bringing them in is very expensive.
Typically a machine plus driver (any machine from bobcat to JCB backhoe) including fuel and travel is around $110 per hour here ( a bit less in USD)

I didn't buy the tractor as a money venture but I am thinking there might be work to be had with it.
Do people agree or are there things I am not seeing here?

 

[CalG]

You will need to present your capabilities to the contractors that win the jobs.

Most have their own equipment and price the transportation into the bid.

Most big jobs leave a lot of "margin" for new equipment for the contractor. They don't often need some "maverick" operator unless you can provide a unique service as a subcontractor.

 

[stan33]

You will need to present your capabilities to the contractors that win the jobs.

Most have their own equipment and price the transportation into the bid.

Most big jobs leave a lot of "margin" for new equipment for the contractor. They don't often need some "maverick" operator unless you can provide a unique service as a subcontractor.

I guess as you didn't mention it, that the loader might be useful on a construction site.
There is a push from the local government to try to get the contractors to use locals wherever possible, to help stimulate the local economy (some of this is government funded).
Plus the fewer people the contractors have to bring in, the lower their accommodation costs, which means hotels.

 

[turnkey4099]

I guess as you didn't mention it, that the loader might be useful on a construction site.
There is a push from the local government to try to get the contractors to use locals wherever possible, to help stimulate the local economy (some of this is government funded).
Plus the fewer people the contractors have to bring in, the lower their accommodation costs, which means hotels.

I agree with CalG. It is unlikely that they will hire some guy unknown in the industry with a FEL on a consumer grade tractor (yes I am assuming that). You might be able to get a toe in the door and gradually build up a reputation and turn it into a going business. It'll take several years and many jobs though.

Harry K
Harry K

 

[Ed of all trades]

A lot depends on need and a lot depends on you. How good are you with a loader. Even if you get the job, if you are just an average Joe with a small tractor and front end loader you won't stay there long. I watch people here who think they can run a loader or hoe and all they do is make a mess. Can you keep a level grade? Can you level out a pile of dirt-gravel quickly and well? In other words you will have to be an operator not just a guy who can drive a tractor and run his loader up and down. Not trying to be hard but I don't want you to buy a trailer so you can get work and find you can't get it because you are not able to do it. Ed

 

[wcampbell47]

Tractordata.com lists the MF240 as a 46 hp tractor and the FEL is listed at 60 inches wide. Am I missing something? I started with a 21 hp Kubota with a 48" bucket. My niche is local residents who can't find anyone to spread a load of dirt or crushed limestone to repair a driveway. I graduated to a 32 hp with 54" bucket as my projects became larger as I established myself. A 48" tiller for garden plots and a 60" grader blade (not a box blade) are my main tools. I did a few jobs with an auger but the smaller hp tractors do not seem to have the torque in the PTO to perform satisfactorily in the clay where I live. I traded the 32 hp with 1200 hours on it for a 39 hp and one frame size larger. Still doing work for local residents. I bid on a commercial project where the local county commissioner wanted to use local help. The contractor said I was twice as high as other bids. However he eventually used his own equipment. Two Cat backhoes, a large Cat wheel loader and at times 8 laborers. Three drivers and five guys with shovels on the ground. There is no way I was twice as high as his costs. He had over a million dollars in equipment whereas my partner and I had about 100K between us. Lesson learned. Do a good job, bid at a fair price and be easy to get along with. By the way I charge $60 an hour (US) for me and my equipment. $75 an hour when I have someone on the ground with a shovel and rake. I am not getting rich, however I have not had to go to an ATM in several years as many clients pay in cash. Check with the local, small contractors and talk to them about landscaping after construction is done. I have pulled the trigger on a three point backhoe to do some trenching with. You will want at least a 20 foot trailer. Any thing shorter and stuff will hang over the back end. After landscaping around a pad I generally advise the owner to lay sod to keep the dirt from washing away. I usually get that job as well. I go to the sod farm and buy in the field. I have a flat deck low boy car hauler 10,000 gvw which allows the fork lift to set the pallet of grass right on the trailer and makes for easy unloading as well. If you want to make some cash just get started. Another good implement is a three point brush cutter. Lots of people want their over grown property mowed. My niche is in the smaller projects. Leave airports to the the big boys (IMHO).

 

[wcampbell47]

A lot depends on need and a lot depends on you. How good are you with a loader. Even if you get the job, if you are just an average Joe with a small tractor and front end loader you won't stay there long. I watch people here who think they can run a loader or hoe and all they do is make a mess. Can you keep a level grade? Can you level out a pile of dirt-gravel quickly and well? In other words you will have to be an operator not just a guy who can drive a tractor and run his loader up and down. Not trying to be hard but I don't want you to buy a trailer so you can get work and find you can't get it because you are not able to do it. Ed

Agree with Ed. You will have to have a degree of skill. Lots of difference between "level" and just knocking down a pile of dirt. In my area if your tractor is not 4WD with an FEL you are just peeing in the wind. 2WD front end loaders just don't cut it.

 

[stan33]

Tractordata.com lists the MF240 as a 46 hp tractor and the FEL is listed at 60 inches wide. Am I missing something?

The loader was built by a Massey dealer in another part of this state. They did this quite often in the 70's/80's. It's probably stronger than the Massey loader but the bucket is a bit narrower but probably a bit taller. Thanks for all the tips...good idea about the slasher....folks round here get fined if their grass is too long in the paddocks due to bush fire risk in the summer.

 

[LD1]

I agree with most of the others here. You will find more work doing residential. Brush mowing, grading drives, mulching, digging post holes, etc. Might require some new implements.

Large construction sites with proper equipment aint gonna want someone someone there with a SCUT spending all day doing something they can do in 15min.

Perhaps after they are done with heavy equip there "might" be a need for small equipment spreading seed, or towing a trailer with straw and blower, mulching, etc. But that would be about it IMO

 

[stan33]

My niche is local residents

In your experience, what are the pitfalls in doing this kind of work? ie jobs/customers/situations to avoid and typical problems encountered.

 

[wcampbell47]

In your experience, what are the pitfalls in doing this kind of work? ie jobs/customers/situations to avoid and typical problems encountered.

Over the course of the years I have discovered there are people you want to work for and those you don't. It will not take long to discover for your self. Examples - those that think you are too pricey, those that want something for nothing, those that keep "adding on" to the original project without due compensation. And those that are just plain too picky. That doesn't mean you do a slip shod job, just that you can never get things done to their satisfaction. Go look at the project before you commit. Ask about obstacles that might be present. You can't see a two foot high obstacle in four foot tall grass. Run with your front end loader down low to protect your tractor and shredder when mowing a field the first time. Learn that you don't have to take a job just because you have been asked. You might refuse because it is too dangerous for you or your equipment (mowing on a slope or near water). There is a project I am probably not going to do because the neighbor is a trouble maker. Same project the utility district is quick to lay blame if a water pipe breaks and you are near the break. Stay away from known or suspected alcoholics. Don't take on more than you can do unless you have backup or a partner willing to step in to help. My best uncontested sources of revenue are local contractors that like my work. I will put them at the top of the list when they call. Don't take a job for cheap just to have work. You will regret it from the moment you unload the tractor. Stay away from "bitchy" women. If they hate their husband or men in general they will not like you and think that you owe them. I live in what is a fishing village that is becoming more of a 2nd home resort area. The old timers are stingy but the new comers seem to be better "heeled" and are willing to pay for services. Don't try to get rich in one afternoon. Do good work!! Even if some think you are pricey they know you do good work and will pay. Most of this is just good common sense. You will have a few missed steps, but just take your licks, learn and move on to the next adventure. Cheers!

 

[stan33]

Thanks wcampbell47...sounds like good advice. And I enjoyed the read too.

 

[Texas Dawg]

I have never done any of this kind of work for pay (just helping myself, friends, and family) BUT I have been in business dealing with the public for >30 years. As Wcampbell47 said, there are some jobs that just are not worth taking at ANY price. After a while, you develop a little inner voice that says "WALK AWAY" when you hear that voice listen. The times I have ignored that, I have regretted it. Sometimes peace of mind is worth just as much as money in the bank.

 

[Leejohn]

I went on utube and watched a total of 5 hours of people doing loader work with there tractors. You know what I could only find 2 guys that new how to use there loaders good. I can't understand why a guy gets a new tractor then right away makes a utube showing how he can do loader work. I would say about 80% didn't even have the paint off the bucket. Go make a utube of you doing loader work, then set back and watch it. Better yet post it and there well be a few guys that can watch 2 mins and tell you more what jobs you should be looking for.

 

[stan33]

You know what I could only find 2 guys that new how to use there loaders good.

Can you let me know what were the things you thought people were doing right that was good and what they were doing wrong?

 

[wcampbell47]

Can you let me know what were the things you thought people were doing right that was good and what they were doing wrong?

I have not watched the videos but here are a couple of thoughts. Speed driving into a pile of loose material does not always equal a full bucket. There is a skill in getting a full bucket of material without ramming into the pile. Approach the material with the bucket at a slight downward angle as if digging, ease into the material curling the bucket up slowly as you go forward. Lift the bucket at the same time. Now you are not going to get the hang of it the first time. Practice makes perfect. This is where HST comes in handy (or be really good with the clutch) and your hydraulics will let you curl and lift at the same time. When leveling learn to back drag. On my Kubota's with the bucket curled all the way back in the carry position and fully down on the ground there is just enough downward pressure to not just float over the high spots and maintain steering on the front wheels. I prefer a land plane to a box blade or grader. Recently I have been distributing my delivered material to the area to be leveled in small piles (a bucket load). Once I have all the material placed I lower the land plane and back into the piles. A bucket load of material helps my front wheels have more traction. Several back and forth passes and some back dragging will have the material nice and smooth.

 

[bigtiller]

I think if a contractor had the kind of work you are looking for, he would give a shovel to the new guy and not worry about any damage from your equipment.

 

[stan33]

I think if a contractor had the kind of work you are looking for, he would give a shovel to the new guy and not worry about any damage from your equipment.

If a man could do anything near the same amount of work with a shovel as he could with a tractor, Massey Ferguson would have gone out of business years ago.

 

[stan33]

Large construction sites with proper equipment aint gonna want someone someone there with a SCUT spending all day doing something they can do in 15min.

The MF240 isn't a SCUT.

 

[Sprinklerman]

What I have learned over the years is bid jobs , dont go out and do work with a tractor. If someone needs a yard graded , you bid the seed and straw also . Bidding by the hour , if fine when there are too many variables , bid bidding the job , especially when your good on a machine makes the money. Put EVERYTHING in writing , cover yourself . Smaller jobs are the best , if someone does stiff you , it stings .The BIG jobs sound good but if you get stiffed it really hurts . Have attachments that save YOU time , thats to your benefit , not the customers .