STOP being so CHEAP!!!

[jmbobcat2]

I am getting tired of guys running their Skid steers and excavators at such a low rate. There are a few guys around here who are running their Bobcats for $45/hr. and sometimes lower!! It is like just decide they want to operate a skid steer for a living instead of working at McDonalds or wherever the hell they came from - they haven’t a clue what the hell they are doing - doing horrible work and in the end give us all a bad name. Then on top of all that, when we go to give a price to a potential customer because of word of mouth they assume everybody's hourly rate is or should be $45/hr. If your going to be an Operator Please work for someone else for a while - get some training first Before you go **** up a yard and make people think skid steers can't do good clean work efficiently!! And charge AT LEAST $90/hr. when you do go out on your own so you don't ruin it for the rest of us!!

reason--language

[miacharger]

Does anyone actually charge 45 an hour for skid steer work? The cheapest I have seen is 60 an hour, and nothing less. What kind of work can be done with a skid steer that's horrible, poor grading? Do they knock down buildings and fences? People will charge what they want, you cant change that but like a hammer and chisel one can destroy something or sculpt a work of art. Customers should look at the jobs someone does before judging their price. As for working for someone else who would hire someone to run a skid loader? When I wanted to learn the loader I looked all around and could not find anyone hiring just for operating a skid steer. had to go and get one myself, and ended up building my house with it.

[murray83]

it depends on your area.if you think yours is bad here's mine

IF i bought a backhoe today.... to be competitive i'd have to charge about $45-50 an hour,single axle dump goes about $40/hr,tandems go for $50 and an excavator around a 200 size go for around $80-95/hr.

there will always be a cut throat in the excavating buisness you gotta take it in stride $45 fer my backhoe is no problem to me as long as its working every day 10 hours a day i'll be fine thats why i've been weighing my options to buy or not to buy due to everyone wanting to out bid each other,i'd only make $2250/week with a backhoe around here then add insurance,fuel,repairs,operator (which i'd have to run myself to even pan out on paper) and my profit... i'd love 10% but that won't happen.

average basement excavation here is around 2 grand for around a 1000-1500sq ft home.

[Scag48]

A 200 size excavator for $90 an hour?! Are they NUTS?! We charge $110 for a 12 ton excavator.

[murray83]

u think thats cheap?

gas today is going for $109.9/L.. diesel is $115.9/L i think? so that $90/hr 200 size excavator if i remember right has a 300 Litre fuel tank so $345 to fill the tank i normally don't time the length a tank lasts cuz they fill them up every morning say a fill every what? 2 days thats $700/week in fuel out of $4500 a week that it could make... IF it works that 10 hours a day 5 days a week i want it too.

add insurance,any repairs that need done,grease,hydraulic fluid and an operator which to save face has to be myself...say pay myself $14/hr and anything else is just profit....estimates are free around here so no way to charge there i'd have to do all bookwork myself on weekends on my time off i wouldn't be making much.

gotta love my market area and its only gonna get worse.