skid steer work

[Fieldman12]

I have been getting allot of people I know interested in wanting to give me some work. Some of the people of course want to see if you will do the work for way less since they know me and some just dont really care about getting it cheaper which is the ones Im after. I have been thinking about charging $150.00 to bring the machine out and set it on the driveway. Then once the machine is there charge about $60.00 an hour with a minimum of two hours work. Down the road I may increase that to a three or fourr hour minimum. Does this all sound decent to you all? So this figure up to about to $270.00 for a minimum job. Now there is allot of houses all around our farms that I can just drive the skid steer across the land to. Since I have no road travel I was thinking of charging $75.00 an hour with a two hour minimum. My question is $150.00 is really not that much money. Should I be charging more than this? I dont want to rape people but I want close to the going rate. I know it's different in every area. There is not too many parts on these machine that can be replaced for $150.00..

[Dirty Water]

Do you even have a skid?

[SinjonAssociates]

I believe he does..

"I have a 250 Series II and a friend that has a 322 CTL. They are good machines. As far as seeing around the bucket I don't see how you will have a problem doing that. We have the low profile buckets (construction) that lets you see the entire edge of the bucket. If you have a high back bucket than you may have some issues and usually the edge of these buckets is not very long. I think you would have a problem seeing past this bucket with any brand of skid steer but I have heard the Cats setup a little higher. As far as the glass that could be a problem but I bet it would be a problem no matter if it was in or out. Like Dozerman21 said it is easier to clean the glass on the outside but that does not make it less hard to break. I do think they like fuel though. I know many people with Deeres in the area with the 200 series and the 300 series and they all seem to be happy. Only know just the one with the CTL."

[Fieldman12]

Yes, I have a 250 Series II Deere that I bought to use on me and my families five farms. If it never makes a dime off the farms it will pay for itself.

[Fieldman12]

One thing that will come in handy for me is my family use to own a gravel hauling business so I kinda know a little bit about how much rock is needed to do jobs and what it cost to haul. I will probably by another dump truck eventually.

[Fieldman12]

The machine to me is just another type of insurance in case my job fails and I need the extra money.

[Fieldman12]

Only thing that is keeping me from doing any work right now is I have some work to do to the trailer yet and I should be ready to go. I have a few jobs on the farms I need to get done first. I have a waterway I need to fix up and later cut a base for gravel in the new barn my dad wants to build later this summer

[zz4guy]

Around here most excavation companies want $65/hr. One of them didn't even quote a minumum other than $65. But he wasn't far from my house. But it doesn't look like you'd get away with hundreds of dollars minimum charge.

The $65/hr was for a 8000lbs 100hp machine with an operator running it. So there's no way you could just drop your skid off and strait up charge $65. You'd at least have to be doing the work.

[02powerstroke]

No one in there right mind will pay $150 just to have a skid droped in there yard. I would go with an hour min charge.

[dozerman21]

I have been getting allot of people I know interested in wanting to give me some work. Some of the people of course want to see if you will do the work for way less since they know me and some just dont really care about getting it cheaper which is the ones Im after. I have been thinking about charging $150.00 to bring the machine out and set it on the driveway. Then once the machine is there charge about $60.00 an hour with a minimum of two hours work. Down the road I may increase that to a three or fourr hour minimum. Does this all sound decent to you all? So this figure up to about to $270.00 for a minimum job. Now there is allot of houses all around our farms that I can just drive the skid steer across the land to. Since I have no road travel I was thinking of charging $75.00 an hour with a two hour minimum. My question is $150.00 is really not that much money. Should I be charging more than this? I dont want to rape people but I want close to the going rate. I know it's different in every area. There is not too many parts on these machine that can be replaced for $150.00..


You might deter some people with a $150 travel time charge. Around here, most guys that have a skid your size charge about $60 per hour on average. If you're fairly close to home, a 2 hour minimum is fair. If you have to go far away, maybe make it a 3 hour minimum. I would figure how much travel time it will take you to get to the job and back, including booming down and clean-up. I'd use the hourly charge for the skid and tack that extra time onto the bill. I don't think most people will want to pay $150 for a transport fee on a machine that could be pulled with a pickup, unless it's far away.

These prices are fair if you're looking for more work. If you don't NEED the jobs, and you're just trying to land the better paying work, then increase your rates. I prefer to big by the job, unless there are variables that require the hourly rates.

[Fieldman12]

Well, according to a few guys I know they charge to bring it out and then charge by the hour. Accrding to one it is not worth any less than $350 for him to do a job. They base this on if you rent a machine for a day you have to go pick it up and all that. Granted you use the machine all day but you have to do the work and have a vehicle to tow the machine and trailer. To me it's not worth any less for me to leave under $200.00 For houses that I can just cross the field and get there I can see less but not a bunch. I mean you have to consider you have at least $15,000.00 in a truck, couple in trailer and at least $15,000.00 in a machine. Im gonna pick and choose my jobs. If it wont make any it will set because I have allot going on. We have got over $50.00 an hour just for a tractor and bushhog before which I do sometimes. I get people wanting allot of gardens in the spring.

[Fieldman12]

It's like about a month ago. I had a guy across the street come over and want me to dig a whole for is dog that died. At the time I had not received my teeth for my bucket so turned it down. Im betting though I doubt he would have wanted to pay $60.00 to burry his dog let alone $120.00. I mean I felt bad for him but around here there is allot of people wanting something for nothing. I would have probably just did the job or free for him since it was his dog but that is just one of the crazy types of jobs you get into. One of my buddies told me a gouy paid him $350.00 just to come out and lift a tree out of the back of his pickup and set it on the ground so it could be transplanted. I thought that was allot. Not trying to sound mean but if they dont have the money Im not interested in the work. You can work for nothing real quick if you dont watch out.

[bobbyg18]

fieldman,

i started my part time biz last year...my rate was $50/hour for my skid...my min was $250 (4 hours)...i will be tweaking them a bit this year and ive added a dump truck...

i hear what your saying about the rental market...you have to price accordingly to compete with the price and costs of rentals...around here you can rent a skid for $200/day but you need a truck to tow and a trailer, if you get it delivered the daily rate is about $300 for 8 hours...

[Fieldman12]

Thats how it is here. It cost allot to rent and most dont have the truck to tow it. Me since I farm some I had all the equipment already. I mean my truck odd to be worth something if I use it. Im paying insurance on truck and trailer,tags on both, fuel, oil changes,tires,wear and tear, plus my dad needs some work so he is gonna help which will cost a little. When I have some experience I will bid on the job but for now since I dont know exactly how long a job will take I am just going to tell them its $270.00 for the first two hours and anything over $60.00 an hour.

[Fieldman12]

I always think of more to say. LOL Anyway, if I could find someone to bring there skid out for $60.00 and no minimum I would sell mine and tell them to have at it. I could never get any bigger at $60.00 bucks or even $120.00. Im use to expensive stuff since I have lived around trucks and tractors all my life. I guess I figure also health insurance expenses also and what newer machines cost down the road along with a higher cost truck if I got bigger. The list goes on and on of the expense related to these machines. You have at least a couple hundred just in chains and binders, dont forget about a fuel tank, tools, and a tool box. The reason I did add the travel charge because in the past on here,heavyequipmentforum, and friends have strongly advised it. If I get just two jobs a month starting out Im happy. It's part time. If I have to charge a little less or charge by the job to make it look better than I will do so. If I had no minimum or even like a two hour minimum which I will have. I would have allot of time rapped up in travel and chaining down.

[Fieldman12]

I have done some landscape work in the past with my tractors. Most of the jobs in my area with home owners from what I have saw would not take over a couple hours to do. You can move allot of dirt with a mid sized machine on a quarter acre lot especially if your just filling in trences, fixing driveways or a small pad for something. Now if your doing allot of digging its gonna take some time.I would like allot of my business to be ag related because I believe the pay would be better and allot of it would be in open areas with not as many things to work around. Im really shooting for down the road a 4 hour minumum or just a flat fee per job. One thing that has kinda worried me though is if I charge lets say a four hour minimum and it ony takes a half hour I know there is people that are going to try to argue and get out of it or come up with stuff you really dont want to do that you had no idea they wanted done that may be rough on your machine. My family had a gravel hauling business and you would not believe the things people would try to get you into. For instance I just drove my pickup across the dirt, its not muddy. Well your pickup only ways around five thousand pounds not thirty thousand minimum and up. I can only imagine some of the things people will want done. I hear stories from friends all the time. People would want you to take your trucks on areas where limbs are rubbing your doors, want you to back somewhere to unload in a mud whole and then want to push ya out. We got real quick to where we would dump only on blacktop, gravel, or an area we felt was stable. People will let you tear up your equipment if ya let them.

[dozerman21]

Fieldman12- You're pretty much argueing with yourself. Charge what you need to charge. I think you misread my post. A travel time is ALWAYS figured into the price. I'd charge a minumum of 1 hour at the skid steer rate. So basically, there would be a 3 hour minimum for each job. If the travel time there and back is longer than one hour, charge accordingly.


For someone who buys a skid looking for pay-by-the-hour jobs, and NEEDS the work, they will have trouble landing jobs that pay $70+ per hour for a mid-size skid steer, AND pay a $150 transport charge. I'm not saying that isn't what it should pay, trust me, I'm well aware of all the extra costs of travel time and maintenence. I pull 4X that weight to every job I go to. If you don't NEED the work, then yeah, charge what you feel is necessary. Like you said earlier, with all the rental places around, and guys who own a skid, the homeowner/contractor is more likely to find a lower rate from someone who is more desperate for the work.

[02powerstroke]

Its $265 a day deliverd for a CAT skidsteer or $355 for a CTL But what people dont understand around hear is that just cause you can afford to rent it dosent mean you know how two use it.

[Fieldman12]

I think you misunderstood what I was saying dozerman21 on what I was charging. I am charging $150.00 to deliver the machine and then ($60.00) per hour for a minimum of $270.00 total. Where the $75.00 an hour came in was for the people that I could just drive the skid steer across our land and into there yard. I would not be charging them the $150.00 delivery fee is what Im saying. The only thin though I personally did not feel that it was just worth it to me for just $60.00 an hour for a minumum of the two hours is what Im saying. Not trying to argue or anything.

[02powerstroke]

Feildman12 what kinda of skidsteer are you runing??

[Fieldman12]

Deere 250 Series II with a 72" bucket

[cddva]

My guess is many of the homeowner's who may consider renting versus paying someone with the equipment/operator skills don't have a real appreciation of what attachments may be needed to do the job right and get the best results. Start adding various attachment cost's to the rental agreement combined with the added skills of using those attachments to the fullest and the rental isn't the great deal it first appeared to be.

If it's a very small straight forward job most folks here probably aren't interested in it anyway, right?!

I had a call this Jan. from a guy I did work for last Fall. He was asking about moving some downed trees into the woods at his Father's place. They are a good hour away by Interstate. I haven't heard from him since I told him it would be a $200 min charge.

My thinking this year is to get a little more selective about the jobs I take. I've worked "cheap" the past two years to just get some experience. Now that I have a better appreciation of my cost's to do business, I can appreciate the wisdom of folks here who say you can be working for free or worse if you don't charge accordingly.

[dozerman21]

I think you misunderstood what I was saying dozerman21 on what I was charging. I am charging $150.00 to deliver the machine and then ($60.00) per hour for a minimum of $270.00 total. Where the $75.00 an hour came in was for the people that I could just drive the skid steer across our land and into there yard. I would not be charging them the $150.00 delivery fee is what Im saying. The only thin though I personally did not feel that it was just worth it to me for just $60.00 an hour for a minumum of the two hours is what Im saying. Not trying to argue or anything.



I gotcha Fieldman12, the only problem you might run into is with a flat delivery charge of $150, you might miss out on an easy job that could take an hour or less (if the job is close to you). You can cash in on some of those little jobs, but most people won't want to pay $270 for 1-2 hours of work. I would be willing to flex the transport charge on certain jobs, but I'm not at all trying to tell you what to charge. People not in the business don't see all the costs that go beyond the machines. If you can get what you want, more power to ya!:drinkup: