How much to charge for shredding?

[srsu99]

So I started doing a little custom mowing again. I am sure this has been discussed here before but.......

1. I have liabilty ins. 1 mil, I know why so much? Its just a rider on my general builders liabilty policy

2. Comercial vehicle and trailer ins 1 mil

3. All new equipment, truck, trailer, tractor, same old operator though lol

4. Roughly 15 years experience, mainly shredding my own and leased property. Gotta take care of the neighbors too.

5. Tn 75 tractor 4 wd shuttleshift, JD 4455 EROPS cab, powershift, 7' and 10' and 15' foldup shredders note these are notbrand new but in good shape (sheded)

What do you charge if you meet these criteria?

I know there are some members here that do this for a living, none in my area though so I wont be taking any work from ya.

Ps. this is just something for me to do in spare time, not a main income source i hope.

 

[JoeinTX]

These discussions have gone on into infinitum on this board. Charge whatever you feel comfortable with.

With an 8n, 5' shredder, and 5' box bladed I'd never quote less than $50/hour and a two-hour hard minimum. Otherwise, it's not worth firing up my rig. Part-time, not for a living, and for kicks...........I no longer do it but that was my tag for any custom work. If they balk........move along and don't bat any eyes.

Your set-up........me, I'd ask for no less $125/hr for the 15' and only marginally less for your other cutters.

Hey, cuttin' ain't easy........

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Of course, if your local market is (as an example) $100 an hour, why charge only $90? But Why charge $101? And what's wrong with $99 so long as that makes you a profit? You want as much as the market will bear, but not so much you aren't competitive. And competitive doesn't always mean as much as the next guy. It's a price that will get you work.

From the information gathered here on TBN, we've seen prices ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous for "per acre rates".

Another question that needs asking, how large or small of a job will you be doing? "Per acre" for 1 or 2 acres won't relate to "per acre" for 100 acres cuts. I do larger tracts. I've got a couple I do as favors that are in the neighborhood of 5 acres. Beyond those, most of mine seem to fall in two ranges. 25 to 50 or 100 to 250. I charge hourly with a few contracted at flat rates. Those flat rate jobs are based on estimated hours. Travel time is figured in at same rate as mowing. Bigger jobs work out to less per acre with less travel expense per acre.

I use 4 tractors/mowers currently. 40hp/6', 47hp/6', 60hp/7', and 95hp/15'. As a generality, the hourly rates equate to roughly $1.50 per hour per hp.

If I was mowing 1 or 2 acre tracts, no way I could charge those rates. Too low. But my prices usually end up being in the upper 1/3rd of bids on most work I try to get. With a couple clients that provide me with a constant flow of business, I don't bid with the expectation of getting most of the jobs we bid.

Other areas of the country don't always seem to relate to here in rural Kentucky. I have been comparing my rates to those of a mowing contractor in rural Georgia here of late. We are almost identical in pricing per acre and per job. Location apparently has a great deal to do with prices.

A few years of mowing will wear out even the best of equipment. "Profit" must include making a decent wage, PLUS pocketing enough to eventually replace your equipment. Discounting work just to get business is cutting your own throat. Find your niche. Establish an acceptable rate. THEN STICK WITH IT.

In the end, it's a balancing act between pricing low enough to get the business vs. high enough to make a fair profit. Bush hogging isn't brain surgery. Lots of competition. Some uninsured, unlicensed, not paying taxes, ect. We can't compete with them. That's why I stay away from smaller jobs. That seems to be a haven for the guys with an old tractor, a ratty mower, a beat up pick up truck and an old car trailer, and who'll mow for pocket change.

 

[srsu99]

Thanks for the input, I guess |I left a few things out of my post. I did about 150 acres for a neighbor @ $15 per acre. Made about 65 per hr. It was grazed all summer and only chopping the tops off broomweed. Used little fuel and fields are smooth, no junk. Felt that was a fair price. He has a JD tractor and could do it himself but only a small shredder.Bythe time he would have finished on one end would have needed to reshred other side. Yesterday I did a littlework @ 70 per hr plus 75 to move over there (about 8 miles from home) Probally could have roaded it but there is a busy hwy 70mph, (suggested) kinda dangerous. Safer on a trailer. This waswith 75 hp machine and 10' foldup shredder. I dont know if I can get much more than $70 for 10' cut. I would rather not use 4455JD much for custom stuff as I have to haul it with our 18 wheeler and this gets expensive when you on get 5 mpg. Plus most of the places around here have alot of trees and I really dont like buying windshields. Most of the jobs here so far seem to be 20 -50 acres. There is only one other person here that is insured that I know of and he does custom hay and sprigging, not much time for mowing, though he does some, told me he get $50 an hr, with 4 hr min. I trust him to be honest with me, as I buy about $10k hay a year from him. For that price I'll stay home and have a beer and bother the wifey! Anyone else doing mowing, what do you charge.

 

[srsu99]

Oh yeah, custom people...... Do you have a contract you have people sign? Do you charge for tires cut on junk laying around... damage to machinery..... or just eat the costs and hope for the best. My day work is always larger job $20k ++, always have things in writing, i.e. I dont work for free! Should I apply my daily logic to mowing also?

 

[LoneCowboy]

People get $15 an acre here but they are using batwings and doing 7+ acres an hour (100+/hour or so) and that seems fair. I can't go that fast (7 acres an hour) and so my price point is higher than that and I don't compete over 60 acres (because I can't, I can't touch that $15/acre, but they can't either for 20 acres, they aren't getting involved) I think yours is too.
I think you basically just worked for free.
Having a TN75, you used about 3 gallons of gas for the one hour, that's $9, you drove over there and drove back, you paid part of your insurance, and you paid part of your monthly nut on your tractor and shredder (or what it will cost to replace them, because it will), plus you paid for some percentage of the repairs and of course, your advertising and insurance.
I think you made about $10 an hour before taxes.
People get $65 an hour for a 30hp tractor with a 5' shredder, i bet that's true (50 to 75) about everywhere. For a 75hp tractor you should be making more than that.
BTW, concrete, rocks, dirt piles, ditches out of nowhere, other crap, dead horses, etc, it's all part of the business. NO WHINING about stuff in the field, that's why you get paid the big bucks (or should) to mow fields, nobody has any idea what's out there.
I probably hit 2 to 5 concrete chunks a day, and I grind the blades down every few weeks. It's not a finish mower.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Oh yeah, custom people...... Do you have a contract you have people sign? Do you charge for tires cut on junk laying around... damage to machinery..... or just eat the costs and hope for the best. ?

if its a really big job, I might have people sign a proposal, but I'm a handshake guy, i tell you the price (and I don't work by the hour usually) and people agree and we go to work. Worked so far, I'm sure sooner or later, someone will burn me, but it's not worth the effort.

Junk laying around is YOUR problem. i ask people to identify stuff they know about, most people know, many do not (re-po's, foreclosures, industrial lots, etc) and that's why you have to see them and go around.
If I can't see it, and you didn't warn me about it and I run over it, I'm not paying to replace it. (i destroyed a water meter housing the other day not set to grade) If it's obvious (fencepost), or you showed it to me, well, that's my fault and I fix it.
That's the business, I'm paying you mow it, how you do it and what it costs you is your problem, that's why $65 an hour for a 40,000 tractor doesn't work.

 

[srsu99]

Thanks Lonecowboy for the insight, will have to take that all into consideration right soon. Thought I was workingto cheap. But, have had many calls and only done a few jobs, and I know I can sell mysef well. I have about ayear backlog on my daily work, this isjust a little sideline, do something different, kind of thing. But.........we all have to make a little otherwise why do it. Most people that call and ask prices cant believe $70 an hr and a mobilization charge on top of that too. To some I say look tractor cost like 40k and truck (06 1 ton 4x4 diesel)another 40k, trailer (26' dual tandem)7k, shredder 7k, this is what I gotta have for this work! There reply well so and sowith his (gotta laugh) 8n with 5' shredder (no ins.)only gets $40 hr. Well you better call him then. Oh yeah how long did it take him and what did it look likewhen he finished. Ok I've vented now. We're getting like $100 per hr for 6d dozer and $150 for 200lc excavator and no one ever questions that. Why all of a sudden should Igo mow for free?