Pictures from a skid steer mowing contractor

[Lineman North Florida]

Been working on a couple of mulching projects this week, found a few surprises in the vines but all in all a pretty good and productive week with some happy customers, hope everyone is having a good week, God bless. Charlie.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Been working on a 19 acre site that was loaded with junk and I found it everywhere I went, so I stopped mulching and put the grapple on and started dragging junk out of the woods, the owner is going to get a dumpster and I will go back and put it all in the dumpster as well as pickup a pile of bottles and cinder blocks. I will try to remember to get some finished pictures in a couple of weeks.

 

[yanmars]

That hidden stuff can be hard on equipment

 

[Lineman North Florida]

That hidden stuff can be hard on equipment

I used to cringe everytime I hit something now I just start looking a little harder to try and avoid it, I am usually pretty good at spotting stuff before I get into it but this site had an over abundance of hidden problems, but it's part of the cost of being in this business. I am amazed how tough skidsteer's and mulchers and forestry mowers really are.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

19 acres seems to be a really big job for this sort of work.

Hopefully none of the 'junk' you find is hazardous waste.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

19 acres seems to be a really big job for this sort of work.

Hopefully none of the 'junk' you find is hazardous waste.

Maybe I should have clarified, I'm not mulching and forestry mowing the whole thing, just parts of it, the owner has split it into 6 three + acre parcels and is going to try to sell it, so he want's the front part to look good and some access trails cut into the others.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

More mulching with the drum mulcher, the vines on this place were terrible.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Today's work, ground 15 stumps and did some mulching for another customer right next to the stump grinding job, all the stumps were pretty easy grinding and the mulching went smooth as well, zero wire, steel or rocks, it was a good day, the lord blessed me.

 

[wcampbell47]

I usually mow overgrown lots here along the Texas coast. They are usually 50 by 105 and populated with "salt grass". I charge $125 per lot for truly overgrown lots. I use a 75hp ASV with a new Top Cat chinese built mower. So far the mower has performed well.

Yesterday I started mowing a 12 acre lot with just grass, not of the "salt grass type". This is my first acreage mowing job with the skid steer. I mowed 3.17 acres (according to Google Earth) in 3 hours. The 75hp ASV consumed 2.1 gallons per hour as calculated by the on board computer.

I was not sure what to charge. I agreed to mow for the same amount as the previous contractor that used a skid steer. So far I think I will be coming close to my normal charge rate of $125 per hour.

The 75hp HD is performing well, not overheating and powering through the taller grass well. The Top Cat mower is performing well however on occasion I need to reverse to dislodge clippings that have accumulated. I performed the before use maintenance as recommended by AgPro. So far no issues with the mower. Hope this helps if you own or want a skid steer to do some pasture mowing. I have cut brush with the mower with no issues.

Sorry no pictures as of yet.

 

[paulsharvey]

Today, for work, we where GPS pinning hundreds, maybe thousands of dead, hanging, leaning trees, still from the hurricane that came up through Cedar Key, 2 years ago. We were talking about it, and what gets flagged vs what doesnt, and anything 6" diameter at 4 ft above ground didnt get flagged or down and dead. I told the guy I was with, "they probably plan on mulching every thing 6" or less, and the dead laying.

 

[anomad]

I usually mow overgrown lots here along the Texas coast. They are usually 50 by 105 and populated with "salt grass". I charge $125 per lot for truly overgrown lots. I use a 75hp ASV with a new Top Cat chinese built mower. So far the mower has performed well.

Yesterday I started mowing a 12 acre lot with just grass, not of the "salt grass type". This is my first acreage mowing job with the skid steer. I mowed 3.17 acres (according to Google Earth) in 3 hours. The 75hp ASV consumed 2.1 gallons per hour as calculated by the on board computer.

I was not sure what to charge. I agreed to mow for the same amount as the previous contractor that used a skid steer. So far I think I will be coming close to my normal charge rate of $125 per hour.

The 75hp HD is performing well, not overheating and powering through the taller grass well. The Top Cat mower is performing well however on occasion I need to reverse to dislodge clippings that have accumulated. I performed the before use maintenance as recommended by AgPro. So far no issues with the mower. Hope this helps if you own or want a skid steer to do some pasture mowing. I have cut brush with the mower with no issues.

Sorry no pictures as of yet.

Do you charge your hourly rate for hauling in addition to mowing?

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Today, for work, we where GPS pinning hundreds, maybe thousands of dead, hanging, leaning trees, still from the hurricane that came up through Cedar Key, 2 years ago. We were talking about it, and what gets flagged vs what doesnt, and anything 6" diameter at 4 ft above ground didnt get flagged or down and dead. I told the guy I was with, "they probably plan on mulching every thing 6" or less, and the dead laying.

That is a good possibility, that would probably be a sweet contract to get.

 

[number two]

Geez-you guys are doing outside work,and our snow is starting to melt,creating ice rinks!
And snow on the way later in the week.
Good Luck!

 

[Molalla1]

Geez-you guys are doing outside work,and our snow is starting to melt,creating ice rinks!
And snow on the way later in the week.
Good Luck!

62* here today, supposed to get a little rain tomorrow.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Geez-you guys are doing outside work,and our snow is starting to melt,creating ice rinks!
And snow on the way later in the week.
Good Luck!

It made it up to 90 degrees here this past week, but down here you never count out a late frost until after Easter.

 

[paulsharvey]

Geez-you guys are doing outside work,and our snow is starting to melt,creating ice rinks!
And snow on the way later in the week.
Good Luck!

We normally uncover and start cleaning the pole around 4/1. Way too cold for me, but the kids... they will swim in 65 degree water...

 

[4570Man]

It’s been in the upper 70s here and dried up enough I finish graded a yard yesterday. It looks like this week is going to be pretty wet.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

It’s been in the upper 70s here and dried up enough I finish graded a yard yesterday. It looks like this week is going to be pretty wet. View attachment 5200189

Looks good, but it looks like you finish graded a couple of yards, we are in an awful drought here and could use some of that rain that ya'll are getting.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Back at forestry mowing yesterday, I can't seem to get away from bamboo no matter where I go. Hope everyone is having a good week, God bless.

 

[Hay Dude]

I usually mow overgrown lots here along the Texas coast. They are usually 50 by 105 and populated with "salt grass". I charge $125 per lot for truly overgrown lots. I use a 75hp ASV with a new Top Cat chinese built mower. So far the mower has performed well.

Yesterday I started mowing a 12 acre lot with just grass, not of the "salt grass type". This is my first acreage mowing job with the skid steer. I mowed 3.17 acres (according to Google Earth) in 3 hours. The 75hp ASV consumed 2.1 gallons per hour as calculated by the on board computer.

I was not sure what to charge. I agreed to mow for the same amount as the previous contractor that used a skid steer. So far I think I will be coming close to my normal charge rate of $125 per hour.

The 75hp HD is performing well, not overheating and powering through the taller grass well. The Top Cat mower is performing well however on occasion I need to reverse to dislodge clippings that have accumulated. I performed the before use maintenance as recommended by AgPro. So far no issues with the mower. Hope this helps if you own or want a skid steer to do some pasture mowing. I have cut brush with the mower with no issues.

Sorry no pictures as of yet.

I would advise to stop charging by the hour and charge by the job. Once you start charging by the hour, customers will shop your price around. Then it becomes “a race to the bottom”.
If you just give them an overall price, they can’t really shop you around because they don’t know how many hours it’ll take (and neither do other bidders). Also, when you come back to do it again, if you raise your prices, you’ll be questioned “why are you $10 per hour more now”?
I started out charging by the hour and quickly learned this can work against you. Once you bid the entire job, the customer knows exactly what it will cost, and you don’t have to reveal to them how much you charge by the hour.
I do much better this way.