brand loyalty and hours

[tnmtn]

this really isn't a poll but at the same time sort of is. it seems some have strong opinions on diffrent brands on this site. i am curious what annual hours and brand machine everyone is running or loyal to. wondering if there are any correlations between hours used, thread count and brand loyalty.

my self Bobcat B300, 400 hours annually
Toro Dingo, 300 hours annually
annual thread posts 150

good luck

[RockSet N' Grade]

Wow........tough math class problem for me. I will leave that up to Junior to do a correlation or run on that or maybe that would be an episode for NUM3ERS and we could get the residual check..... :) Interesting question though.....

[Scag48]

Awesome. I don't know if I fit into this, but I am Cat biased for some things.

Cat - 500 hours last year, D6RXW, D8L, D8R, 320BL, 257BII, 924G, 312CL, 12G, D6H, 416E, 420D, 436B, 216. I do not care for Cat backhoes, let's get that clear.
Deere - 50 hours last year, 310E, 310J, 744H, 892ELC,
Komatsu - 200 hours last year, PC200-6LC, PC400-6/7LC, WA200-5, WA380-5
Case - 40 hours last year, 580SL, 580M, 580SM

Leica Rugby, grade rod, and the occasional Trimble GPS rover plus a good ol' pine handle, 250 hours last year. :laugh:

[Junior M]

Wow........tough math class problem for me. I will leave that up to Junior to do a correlation or run on that or maybe that would be an episode for NUM3ERS and we could get the residual check..... :) Interesting question though.....
You really want me to attempt to add? ;)

And I have no clue how many hours I've got, I think I've got around 50 or 60 on a Bobcat T190, 10 on a Case 420CT, another 6 or so on a 430D CAT backhoe, and probably 30 or 40 on a little Kubota tractor at work.. I am not even goin to guess how many I've got on mini excavators.. ;) I know I have got have upwards of 200 on all of the different brands..

[Dirtman2007]

we have 7 pieces of equipment and 6 different brand names. We buy whatever is a good deal and still a good machine. as far as hours... I have no idea. No telling how many 1000's of hours I've spent in a excavator over the last 10 years.

[Dirt Digger2]

lets see....we have 8 different brands?...i had to count the keys on my ring...so really no brand loyalty for me

as far as hours?....who knows...figure 8-10 hour days, 5 or 6 days a week when I worked over the summer for 5 months....but some days i drove truck

so if you count hours behind the controls of some form of big diesel i would say around 1,000-1,200 hours a year on construction equipment...not counting farm equipment

[Junior M]

Oh, you wanted brand loyalty, oops.. I'll operate any brand, really dont care, we've got CAT, Kubota, New Holland, John Deere, at work and then I/we use Bobcat, really no preference, other than I prefer Bobcat mini excavators..

[RockSet N' Grade]

I like Scag's logged time on the "pine handle"........Happy to say, the last couple years all I have seen are left handed shovels and they don't fit my grip so good any more.......I just hope when winter finally breaks here I get to constructively contribute to this thread with lots of billable hours on everything that burns diesel!

[Scag48]

I like Scag's logged time on the "pine handle"........Happy to say, the last couple years all I have seen are left handed shovels and they don't fit my grip so good any more.......I just hope when winter finally breaks here I get to constructively contribute to this thread with lots of billable hours on everything that burns diesel!

Haha, a lefty shovel don't work for ya? I don't mind running shovel, if it keeps me working and the boss happy, get 'er done.

To add to my post which I kinda left out, Cat only has be my the balls on dozers over D6 size. Anything up from that, Deere cannot hold a candle, don't care what anyone says. Komatsu's big dozers are producers I hear, talked to a guy on my crew last year that ran a brand new 155 when they had it but they go rid of it, started falling apart I guess and I've heard that alot about Komatsu's big dozers. Tough to beat a Cat dozer D6 size and larger. Deere finish dozers are damn good dozers though, tough to beat. Deere loaders hands down, Cat second, Komatsu third. Backhoes Case first, Deere second, Cat third. Excavators I like Cat the best, I really don't have anything bad to say about them, but Komatsu and Deere/Hitachi is all I have real experience with outside Cat and like them all. Each has their own strong points, at least in the sizes I've run. I think Cat is getting their ass handed to them in 60 ton and larger hoes, at least out here. Komatsu is cleaning up, Hitachi not far behind.

[crab]

Deere 1000,lbx 750,dingo 250,dingos really just a power wheel barrow though.:laugh:

[t190]

umm lets see
Hyundai; 500 --210lc-3 hoes and log loader
Deere: 100-- 748g3 skidder, 270d excavator, 160c excavator, 2054,2554 log loader. 200 logger processor. 50D excavator 844J loader, 75c, 450 dozer
Cat: 100 --966c, D7g, 322c Log Loader, 321clcr, 277b, 272c, 303,303.5ccr d6c, D8r, d6h
Bobcat: 5 -- 331, 753
Case: 25-- 580b, 580m, 580l
komatsu:60 --27
kobelco: 50 --45sk
Not bad for a 17 year old kid in school!:drinkup:
O and add a about 100 hours in Gm pickups and 0 for downtime in them!
haha might have to subtract a few hours for downtime in most brands!

[Dirt Digger2]

what do you guys write this stuff down in a journal after you turn the key off?...haha i have a hard enough time checking the hour meter to service the thing

[Junior M]

what do you guys write this stuff down in a journal after you turn the key off?...haha i have a hard enough time checking the hour meter to service the thing
:laugh: I totally guessed on mine, I remember the T190 cause we dont rent one to often, and most times I get 10hours or so on it. The excavators were total guess's, I have no idear on them, I am probably way off, I am almost sure I've got more than that..

[Dirtman2007]

what do you guys write this stuff down in a journal after you turn the key off?...haha i have a hard enough time checking the hour meter to service the thing

I hear you on that, I have a little book I keep all the hours I work each week in so I know how many to get paid for. well sometimes you get side tracked after work a day or two and forget to write them down. So 3 days later your trying to figure out how many hours you worked and how many hours you were on each machine if the job was by the hour. I just work it out to my advantage if I can't remember:laugh: But as far as keeping track of how many hours I've spent on all the machine, why even clutter my mind:laugh:

[bobcat_ron]

500 hours on the Cat dozer and excavators, 250 if I am lucky on the skid steers, 100 on the mini stuff.

And my post count is rising every day like my Caterpillar boner.

[crab]

you're cat needs Viagra Ron!

[minimax]

I run all deere gear and log between 1800 and 2200 hrs per year on 4 machines.I Post 153.333333333 time per year.
minimax

[Dirt Digger2]

chris i see you are copying me with the Volvo in the lower part of you sig. haha...

thats part of the reason i fill my hours out everyday...i can't remember everything, especially if i am at 3 or 4 jobsites in a couple days

[Dirtman2007]

chris i see you are copying me with the Volvo in the lower part of you sig. haha...

thats part of the reason i fill my hours out everyday...i can't remember everything, especially if i am at 3 or 4 jobsites in a couple days

haha mine looks better.

j/k

I was trying to change my profile pic to that but it would not let me do it so I added to my sig. I was trying to put a small pic of all of our machines across the bottom but my mild case of ADD kicked in and I got sidetracked lol

[ksss]

I put about 1200 hours on a skid steer split between two machine.

600 on the TK excavator and about 400 on the 9020B.

Obviously CASE and TK is my preference.

[Scag48]

what do you guys write this stuff down in a journal after you turn the key off?...haha i have a hard enough time checking the hour meter to service the thing

Yeah, I do. I just went over it. Every shift I write down what machine I ran (model, company number, etc.), the hours on it, how many hours I worked for the day, how much fuel I burned, the weather, bunch of stuff. Keep it in the glovebox of my car, do it every night.

[bobcatuser]

My Bobcat 334 is the most used machine I have, it averages 900 hours per year. I do about 600-700 hours in skid steers (my new T320 is getting more hours than the S185 ever did). Rentals make up about 250-300 hours, mostly running a Komatsu PC 60, Bobcat 442 and Zaxis 200. Average 250 hour per year just moving machines/attachments with my truck and trailer! My personal preference for owning and renting is Bobcat equipment, I’ll run any equipment that can make money.

[CAT powered]

CAT: 15 hours or so this year - 236B skid (I use it around the yard mostly. It's not a money-maker It's only got 400 some-odd hours, but I guess Ron's does too)

Deere: 800 give or take 100 over the past year - 490E excavator, rented CT332

McCloskey: approx 500 over the past year - 512R trommel screen

Dresser: Not me personally for all of them, but approx. 1,400 over the past year - 530 loaders, TD7 dozer, TD25 dozer I had a TD25 running 40 hours a week for a while so that really racked things up quick.

The McCloskey time was all at the same time as either Dresser or Deere time since it needs one or the other to feed it.

Keep in mind that these hours are all approximated since half my hour meters are broken. Plus this is 2 guys full time and 3 part-time.

I'd tell you how many miles I've put on my MACKs this year, but the odometers are broken on them. I can tell you it's a fair bit since when the screen is running the triaxle is running. A dump trailer is running with it as well at times.

[ford550]

Deere is my preference.

Deere (35d) mini ex. - 225 hrs/yr
Deere (was 250 now 325) skid - 244 hrs/yr
Cat (267B soon to be Deere CT322) MTL - 200 hrs/yr

[tnmtn]

i originally asked these questions because i thought the more hours put on equipment the more we would get used to a certain brand. by the answers it seems the opposite is true. the 2 on here that seem to put the most hours on machines don't seem to have any brand loyalties outside of a good deal for a good machine. this makes sense as a bussiness decision. as well as buying from the dealer with the best support. interesting answers,
thanks.

[Junior M]

i originally asked these questions because i thought the more hours put on equipment the more we would get used to a certain brand. by the answers it seems the opposite is true. the 2 on here that seem to put the most hours on machines don't seem to have any brand loyalties outside of a good deal for a good machine. this makes sense as a bussiness decision. as well as buying from the dealer with the best support. interesting answers,
thanks.
Well, not for me, as I have the most hours on Bobcat mini excavators and prefer them over other brands, although I do like IHI mini's but I hardly have any hours on those...

[tnmtn]

junior,
i was refering to most hours operating during a year. not sure you spend the most time in an excavator of all that replied.
good luck,

[Junior M]

junior,
i was refering to most hours operating during a year. not sure you spend the most time in an excavator of all that replied.
good luck,
I never said I did, but out of the hours I've spent this year on excavators, its been mostly on Bobcats, and I prefer Bobcat...

[CAT powered]

Not to be offensive here, Junior, but you don't really know how good Bobcat machines may or may not be in the long run.

You don't see them except when you rent them. You don't have the same machine year after year seeing the weak links in the machine and fixing them when they break.

I forgot to include a few things on my previous list:

HAMM: 3 hours. 84" Pad-foot compactor. Very nice when it worked. Very disappointing when we couldn't keep it running with only 12 hours on the clock. It was a rental POS.

IR: 84" Pad-foot compactor. Lots louder than the HAMM, but it ran like a champ with 1,000 + hours on the clock.

Forgot to include a Deere 624J and 544J loader at the same site as the IR/Hamm machines. The owner there likes to rent machines and hire me to run them. He seems to think it's cheaper, but in reality I'm making more money off him doing that than I ever do with my equipment there. I can bill out within 30 bucks an hour of what I can get with a machine for just myself as an operator. Plus I fill those machines up using my transfer tank, but the land owner's fuel so even if I show up on their site with 0 gallons of fuel I will leave with up to 100 gallons of fuel.

[Junior M]

Not to be offensive here, Junior, but you don't really know how good Bobcat machines may or may not be in the long run.

You don't see them except when you rent them. You don't have the same machine year after year seeing the weak links in the machine and fixing them when they break.

I forgot to include a few things on my previous list:

HAMM: 3 hours. 84" Pad-foot compactor. Very nice when it worked. Very disappointing when we couldn't keep it running with only 12 hours on the clock. It was a rental POS.

IR: 84" Pad-foot compactor. Lots louder than the HAMM, but it ran like a champ with 1,000 + hours on the clock.

Forgot to include a Deere 624J and 544J loader at the same site as the IR/Hamm machines. The owner there likes to rent machines and hire me to run them. He seems to think it's cheaper, but in reality I'm making more money off him doing that than I ever do with my equipment there. I can bill out within 30 bucks an hour of what I can get with a machine for just myself as an operator. Plus I fill those machines up using my transfer tank, but the land owner's fuel so even if I show up on their site with 0 gallons of fuel I will leave with up to 100 gallons of fuel.
I am not taking offense, in these new machines I dont know the weak points and the strong points of the machine, but Dads history with Bobcat mini excavators is great, he never had a problem out of them. Thats what I am goin off of.. Between the 2 I believe he had 7 or 8,000 hours on the two 331's he had and they never let him down, they didnt do much other than digging and lifting transformers and pipe racks, but they were still put through the day to day abuse a machine gets and they were put in some real tough positions...

[ksss]

Nice Avatar Jr.:laugh:

You could at least break open your piggy bank and buy one don't you think?

[Junior M]

Nice Avatar Jr.:laugh:

You could at least break open your piggy bank and buy one don't you think?
I figured you'd get a good laugh out of that, thats why I got it..! :laugh:

Money is runnin short in these here parts, aint got much money to spend on anything anymore, but my old boss (the one that I quit last summer due to certain circumstances) called wanting me to work for him, so I guess I'll go work for him again.. :wall :cry:

[Votum Gardens LLC]

I really try not to let brand loyalty get in the way of making business decisions. That being said, yes I will look for products from the OEM's I have in my sig before demoing or renting equipment. As for hours I usually put between 800 to 1200 hrs a year on each of the tractors, about 350 on the Toolcat and MT55's, and about 40 on the 763. For dozers around 20 and that's usually Case when we rent. Same goes with fullsize backhoes and payloaders. Mini-ex are all brands with a total of around 150 for the year.

[AWJ Services]

If I put as many Hours on my equipment as some of you guys I would be rich by now.:)

[CAT powered]

I figured you'd get a good laugh out of that, thats why I got it..! :laugh:

Money is runnin short in these here parts, aint got much money to spend on anything anymore, but my old boss (the one that I quit last summer due to certain circumstances) called wanting me to work for him, so I guess I'll go work for him again.. :wall :cry:

Ever heard the expression "shooting yourself in the foot" Junior?

[YellowDogSVC]

If I put as many Hours on my equipment as some of you guys I would be rich by now.:)

that's the problem. We don't get rich because we have to buy machines when the ones we put hours on wear out!

[ksss]

that's the problem. We don't get rich because we have to buy machines when the ones we put hours on wear out!

It would be nice if the hours were proportional to money made, but it doesn't seem to be that way. The more hours it seems the more logistical weight you have to drag along. There is likely an optimal number that allows you to run light with fewer hours and make more money. It also depends on what kind of work you do. As others have told me who run large operations, bigger or more is not necessarily better.

[AWJ Services]

If you take my hours put on equipment and the money they made I would average 200 an hour maybe more.
I just refuse to run my machines to death for 60 dollars an hour true machine time.
My skid is 3 years old and has 550 hours on it.
I let them sit rather than work for a payment.

Say you put 7 hours a day 5 days a week and worked 48 weeks out of the year.

Base that on 80 dollars an hour.
Thats 1680 hours a year.
Thats a little over 134,000 dollars.
3 years you have 5000 hours on your machine.
Take the cost of the machine 50k, operating cost, truck, fuel, business expenses , taxes, retirement , health insurance etc and let me know how it works out.
Not counting the wear and tear on your body running a skid 1680 hours a year?

[Junior M]

Ever heard the expression "shooting yourself in the foot" Junior?
whatcha gettin at?

[stuvecorp]

If you take my hours put on equipment and the money they made I would average 200 an hour maybe more.
I just refuse to run my machines to death for 60 dollars an hour true machine time.
My skid is 3 years old and has 550 hours on it.
I let them sit rather than work for a payment.

Say you put 7 hours a day 5 days a week and worked 48 weeks out of the year.

Base that on 80 dollars an hour.
Thats 1680 hours a year.
Thats a little over 134,000 dollars.
3 years you have 5000 hours on your machine.
Take the cost of the machine 50k, operating cost, truck, fuel, business expenses , taxes, retirement , health insurance etc and let me know how it works out.
Not counting the wear and tear on your body running a skid 1680 hours a year?

Up here we are more likely to have 30-35 weeks of season if you wouldn't count the winter, so would be more like 1000 hours a year. If you only did machine work that would be 80,000 per year, is that that attractive?

In my best year I put on 450 hours on the 440, 200 hours on the Polaris and 160 hours on the 721. Last year was not worth talking about.

[CAT powered]

Let's see, Junior.

You worked for the guy last year. He was nothing but an arse then.

What makes you think he's going to be any better now? At least tell him you "lost" his CAT key when you quit this time.

[Junior M]

Let's see, Junior.

You worked for the guy last year. He was nothing but an arse then.

What makes you think he's going to be any better now? At least tell him you "lost" his CAT key when you quit this time.
Ah, okay, I think (I hope and pray to) that it will be different because there were some major changes in just about everything, but who knows, its not official, I havent even started yet, so I've still got time to back out.. Another thing, I go by the shop every day on the way to school, and lately I've noticed there are numerous days a week there arent any trucks there, so I am thinking he doesnt have near the work that he is trying to say he has..

[Bleed Green]

Maybe they are already at work, or would they not be gone that early? Wouldn't think they would want extra employees if they did not need them with the economy the way it is.

[Junior M]

Maybe they are already at work, or would they not be gone that early? Wouldn't think they would want extra employees if they did not need them with the economy the way it is.
No, they wouldnt be gone that early, they are SUPPOSE to be at the shop by 7 every morning, and they get there work order and load the trucks and all that, so I still would've caught them if they were leaving because I go by at 7:20/7:25..

But what I was talking about was no personal trucks, should've said that, the guys personal trucks arent there, even the owners truck isnt there. there have been a couple mornings that I've caught him leaving, so thats why I am guessin they dont have all that much work.. Another hint is the backhoe, mini ex and skid are all settin there...