What Should I Charge??

Anonymous Poster · Apr 2, 2003

I am going to do some work with my Kubota B2910 this summer. I have gotten a call from a man that said he needed a lot of work done. From what I have heard the man has had a blatter transplant and cannot do work himself. He also works 12 hour days about an hour away from here. He doesn't have much time to do the work himself. The work ranged from cutting wood and hauling back to york raking his yard and cleaning up. We are suppose to meet on Saturday and discuss a price for the machine work. What is a price that I should be looking for? From what I hear some of the work is pretty hard. Any ideas would be great.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 2, 2003

When the village hires a backhoe FEL to dig up and repair water main breaks the usual rate, we only have 2 or 3 available contractors, is $150- $200 for the equipment to be delivered plus $40 per hour for the machine operator plus $10-$20 per hour for laborer. So an 10 hour day= $200+$400+$200=$800. The second day would be $600 as the equipment is already there. This is for unplanned emergency work, planned work may be less or by the job and not hourly.
I consider this to be very skilled use of a backhoe. An operator can really make a mess around water mains. The predicament yuor neighbor is in shold not change the value of your time or skill needed to do the work. I know that raking is not as hard as digging but moving tree limbs does require skill and caution. Hope this sheds some light on your situation.

cowboydoc · Apr 2, 2003

It all depends on your area. The places I've been you would probably get $20-50/ hour for your tractor work. This is actual machine hours, not the hours you are there. For general labor, albeit hard work, if a guy was making $10-12/hour he'd be darn happy.

Also remember if you are doing work for hire you better have insurance. You are personally and financially liable for anything that happens.

tc35dforme · Apr 2, 2003

There's a few ways to look at this...

First, you need to determine what's it gonna cost you to do the work ( fuel, maintenence, damage potential, lost time ) ???

Next, what's the potential for unknown costs ( damage to his property etc. )

Then, Do you feel you need to make money on this project ??

If you do, be careful that you don't open yourself up to liability. In general, if you are not in business ( not earning money ) you are probably covered under your general homeowners policy in the event you crush the guys garage. If you are earning money, you're in business and you need a business policy. BE CAREFUL.

Maybe the guy would be willing to buy you an attachment as compensation ?? I'd avoid the cash / check payment whenever possible.

Just a thought.

SORRY TO STEP ON YOU COWBOYDOC...I DONT TYPE THAT FAST !!

rancar · Apr 2, 2003

$40-50/hr!!!!! for the tractor work.

rdln · Apr 2, 2003

If you dont know him very well and you dont know your capabilities, I wouldnt charge by the hour but more by the job.

Set it up as many seperate jobs, to limit your risk, dont bunch everything together in one bill.

if he needs 5 face cord of wood cut and stacked, just concentrate on getting that done, bill him and if he pays in a timely manner, set up your next job.

You are the labor bank and he needs to establish a credit history IMO.

please fill out you profile.

frank_f15 · Apr 2, 2003

you really need to deterime the cost to u in tractor wear and tear, plus your time and the type of work to be done.also keep in mind that once u are working for compensation u need to have more and better insurance. better to think of these things BEFORE u do any work. my $.02

Anonymous Poster · Apr 2, 2003

( Also remember if you are doing work for hire you better have insurance. You are personally and financially liable for anything that happens. )

We own a construction business. We have insurance on the tractor, bobcat, backhoe, loader, and tractor and trailer. I am very well covered with insurance.

Gary_in_Indiana · Apr 2, 2003

I get a skilled operator and a Cat D6 dozer for $50/hour. The delivery charged is waived if I order up a load of stone for the drive or parking area at the same time ("The dump truck's coming out, anyway"). While I think that's a great deal, I still think it might give you some guide to work with.

JohnMiller3 · Apr 2, 2003

…What is a price that I should be looking for? From what I hear some of the work is pretty hard…

We own a construction business…

Maybe, there is something here I missed…? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

How do you charge people in your construction company…?

bmac · Apr 2, 2003

I had the same question. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

KENSFM · Apr 2, 2003

Same here??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

cowboydoc · Apr 2, 2003

Make it unanimous, LOL!

Anonymous Poster · Apr 2, 2003

We don't normally do stuff this small. We charge for doing work with a Caterpillar 963C or a Case 590 Super M. This is a baby compared to what kind of work we do with that. I get about $75 an hour with that. That is a lot bigger machinery than a B series tractor. This is much smaller and does work a little slower. I was just asking what you thought for a tractor.

cstocks · Apr 2, 2003

I do not know what tractor work goes for in my area but a D3 dozer and operator goes for $50 and a D5 goes for $65. If I were to charge for my compact tractor services I would probably ask $35... maybe $40, depending on the difficulty of the job. Five years ago I paid a neighbor $100 to bush hog three acres which had not been mowed in a couple of years but was flat pasture with no snags or gotcha's. He said that was an average price for that type of tractor work.

ScottAR · Apr 2, 2003

In my area (semi-rural Arkansas), general tractor work falls into the $25-$35 an hour range with a 1hr. minimum. Full size backhoes are in the $45-$55 range with a minimum of usually 2hrs.

Turfman · Apr 3, 2003

Tractor work here is $40.00 per hour for local people, where I can drive the tractor, not have to trailer it. Trailer it up and it's $45-50 per hour 4-hour minimum (includes operator). Labor rate is $35.00 per hour without the tractor, i.e., sprinkler repair, landscaping, etc. Being small and part-time my overhead costs (vehicle, fuel, supply runs, paperwork time, tax prep, cell phone, licenses and the always needed insurance) is about $13-15 per hour.

Example: Today I did two small jobs that took 2 1/2 hours job time. Had half hour on the phone with an insurance audit, half hour at the bank and 45 minute run for sprinkler parts. Tonight 30 minutes paying bills and catching up the books. All these are times I can't bill for, so they go into my overhead. Have to divide it all up and add it into my hourly rate. If I did all that on the customer’s clock, I could afford to work for $20 per hour.

rancar · Apr 3, 2003

"...I get a skilled operator and a Cat D6 dozer for $50/hour..."

Last fall I rented a dozer and operator to clear out some hedgerows on the property. Dozer cost me $535 for a one day Saturday rental. Dozer was dropped off Friday Noon and picked up Monday morning. Aforementioned cost included transportation and insurance. My operator ran the dozer for 20 hours over this weekend for 20 hours. Operator billing was $16/hr or $320. Total cost was $915 which included additional cost for 60 gal. of diesal for a total cost breakdown of $45.75/hr.

...Bob

Will_C · Apr 3, 2003

$50.00 an hour for a D6 is the bargain of the century!!! I would put a pond in tomorrow at that price. My brother charges $60.00 an hour for a Case 550, and he has all the work he can handle. Even in this relatively economically weak area, a D6 is between $100 and $125 an hour!
Will

Gary_in_Indiana · Apr 4, 2003

I thought it was a pretty good deal even without anything to which to compare it. I'd considered renting a D4 myself and priced that out for the one day, Fri. PM to Mon. AM rate. Even with a deal on the rental rate (because I have some truck engine work at the same Cat dealer) the cost was going to be within $100-$200 of what I'd spend hiring it done based on their estimate of how long it would take. When I factored in that I'd doing the operating myself on the rental it was a no-brainer. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Assuming I could accomplish the same quality of work in even double the number of hours with the smaller machine (which I seriously doubt... and not because of the machine /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ), I'd be running that thing about all weekend putting my labor at something under $10/hour at best. Of course, out of that I'd have to buy my diesel fuel, too. While it's certainly up for debate, I just like to at least believe that I'm worth more than that. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif The fact I'd be learning to operate a D4 immediately next to my barn on all four sides just might have been a consideration, too. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif