Machine rate info

[drystack]

Hello
Would anybody care to share the methods or formulas that you used to determine the rate that you charge for your equipment? This applies for equipment as well as trucks. the reason I ask is that I was shocked to learn recently that the rates we have been receiveing for out mini X and track loader were inline with or higher than the rates large excavation companies were billing.

Thanks
Matt

 

[digger242j]

the reason I ask is that I was shocked to learn recently that the rates we have been receiveing for out mini X and track loader were inline with or higher than the rates large excavation companies were billing.

I'm curious--What were you aiming for, to be higher, or lower? Is being in line with the larger players a good thing or a bad thing?

It's conceivable that they didn't get to be larger companies without having a good handle on their operating costs, related to what price the market will bear.

Oh, BTW, welcome to HEF!

 

[drystack]

Thanks!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the machines would command the rate they do while costing 1/4 the cost in most scenarios. The biggest issue I have is whether I truly do have a good handle on the machine's operating costs. This situation is what I am lookong to improve.

 

[Cat420]

ConstructionEquipment.com had a good article on this a while back. Here is a link to the page.Click Here At the bottom of the page click the link that says, "click here to calculate owning and operating costs." Then just substitute your own numbers to find out what the machine costs you between owning and operating expenses. This at least gives you a good idea of the actual costs of your machine for figuring out what to charge.

 

[Kevin]

This thread brings to mind a question I have asked on other sites. If a guy uses a 10,000 lb excavator and a 7yd truck to do small jobs such as dig ditches, driveway repairs, and landscape work what percentage of hours worked can be charged for? What is the weekly average of chargeable time that I could use for a business plan? How much time is spent hauling the rig from job to job, doing repairs, greasing machine, doing estimates, fueling up equipment, pulling out a stuck truck, repairing equipment, time lost from bad weather and so on. I know there are a lot of variables here but there must be someone out there that has some data to base an answer on. Thanks.

Kevin

 

[coopers]

Well when we pick up our 121-3 kubota excavators from customers it takes us about half an hour to check the machine in. It's a 9500lbs machine btw. But when we get it in we wash it and make it shiny again (which most contractors don't do because it's not a big deal to them, but we have to please the customer with our nice looking equipment), clean out the tracks and if they're really caked that takes a while, then do the necessary check over...belts, radiator, hyd. oil, engine oil, air filter, lights and gauges work, no cracks in tracks or anywhere on the hoe etc. etc. Then you have the 200-hour service, which takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Then you have the 1000-hour service, which I'm not too sure how long it takes but I know it takes a while because that is where you empty EVERYTHING.

Everything else you can't really put a number or any kind of figure on it because everyone is different and there are different circumstances in everything. It takes me 5 minutes to chain a machine down, but it may take longer for someone else. Driving to and from jobsites is something you'll have to figure out. If you know your area well, you'll know what time of day traffic is the worst and what routes to take to go around it, what routes to take for unexpected motor vehicle accidents etc. How long it takes you to fix a broken hyd. thumb is something you know, we don’t know how fast and/or knowledgeable you are in this area. How long it takes the manufacturer to fix is dependant on many things.


We had the ROPS for a Kubota 121-3 bent and it took over a month to have it fixed. Because we had to wait for a brand new ROPS to be built in Japan and sent over. They don’t just have replacements sitting around. They come straight from the factory. So, there are a lot of things that can’t be pinned down because only you know your area well enough to base some common sense judgments.