What to charge for tilling

[Mosey]

I've been asked if I would till a garden for someone. I don't have a trailer, so it would be about a 2 mile one way drive on the road. The garden is about 40' x 60' and has been tilled once already. He said he might decide to make it a bigger, maybe twice as big, so that would require tilling the sod (hard clay). I have a KingKutter 5' tiller that I would do the job with. I have no idea what a reasonable fee is for this type of job. Any ideas?

 

[tawilson]

With travel time it sounds like around a 3 hour job. I'd say $120.

 

[Laminarman]

Depends on how much you like playing with your toy. If I had the time I'd do it for free just to get seat time.

 

[Mosey]

OK, so far the average would be ($120 + $0) / 2 = $60. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I asked the guy to let me know what he is willing to pay, so we'll see what he comes back with.

 

[RonR]

I'm always leary of asking what someone would pay, as some would say "here's $5, thanks for doing it for me."

Few people know what you have invested in the tractor, tiller, trailer, INSURANCE, taxes, diesel, and time.

I'm running a side biz doing work with mine, and I figure at $45 an hour, I'm barely makin' any $$$ for my time. I don't charge more than that though, as it would limit what work I'd get.

So far, people haven't balked at that price. If they have a neighbor that will do it for free, I encourage them to do that. I mean I would take free over paying too!

My two cents.....


Ron

 

[JoshJ]

i thought $45 bucks an hour was pretty good myself. Heck if you did that 40 hours a week, you could clear 90 grand in a year. I dont think its a bad chunk of change. Granted you do have wear and tear on your machine, and i dont know how much you make your regular job, so maybe your time is worth more.

 

[KiotiJohn]

What work I've done for others is at $45/hour with double that for the first hour for load time. It's sufficient and I could buy extra tractors and still have some profit. Backhoe work is $55/hour. John

 

[DannyD]

Mosey,


Where is this, we could hook up and till it together, I have a 4 footer, that would nine feet at a time, do it in 45% less time and have a ball doing it...........plus no doubt some very interesting pics of our tractors tied up in a ball of mess for TBN.

Around here 45 an hour is a bargain. 2 miles on your country roads would be tough on tires I would think. You may also get lots of other folks wanting work done while going there.

I am going to get my new trailer this week from Shewmaker, 18' X 6'3", dual axles, with brakes and a brake away. I will be putting new tires on it.

 

[GRUMPA]

You eastern folks get off lucky. Before I got my tractor, work for anything with a tractor in this state STARTS at $60hr. Everyone here charges that. And theres a 4hr min.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have no idea what a reasonable fee is for this type of job )</font>

I guess you've realized from the other posts that it depends on whether you're doing it as a business or as a favor for a neighbor. My own garden was about 82' x 103' and I tilled it regularly with a 40" tiller. A neighbor on the adjoining property had a garden just a little smaller and I frequently tilled his and never charged him anything both because he was a good friend and because he had big tractors, and other equipment, that I knew I could use anytime I wanted to. At different times, I tilled gardens for 3 other neighbors for $25 an hour. I wouldn't say I made money, but I liked doing it and don't figure I lost anything.

 

[fractal]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( i thought $45 bucks an hour was pretty good myself. Heck if you did that 40 hours a week, you could clear 90 grand in a year. )</font>
45/hr including machine is pretty cheap. 50/hr seems to be the going rate for backhoe operators around these parts with a 2-4 hour minimum. A buck a mile travel is also pretty typical.

I don't charge for good friends. I would insult one of us if I did. I can't afford to do the work for others. I don't have the insurance or licenses for it. Plus the paperwork would drive me nuts.

 

[Bowhunter]

Hmmm, I wonder if I show this thread to my wife if she'll let me upgrade tractors and equipment faster. "Just think of the money I could make Honey, the tractor would pay for itself." /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yeah I didn't think so either. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Jackrabbit_Slim]

I base my quotes on a rate of $48.00 (CDN) an hour, two hour minimum, plus a dollar a mile travel. I've prorated my regular tractor service (fluids & filters) on an hourly rate and included that with my fuel, which I calculate on an hourly basis as part of my cost analysis.

Fencing jobs are still calculated at that base rate, but I add an extra $15.00 an hour in for hired labour. At my age, I like to have a strapping young man along to wrestle those rolls of 6 foot deer wire around for me. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My insurance (including truck and trailer) is $3,400 a year and I wouldn't want to turn a wheel without it. I'm carrying $1,000,000 liability and thinking about doubling that.

Realistically, I don't expect to actually be on the machine more than 40 hours in a 60 hour week. The rest of my time gets eaten up looking at, and quoting jobs and all the other running around that needs to get done.

I never quote by the hour. I always give a quote on the finished job with a time/materials maximum with an "extenuating circumstances" clause.

Slim