$ per hour

[amxgerry]

little excavators etc 100 bux an hour or more??? u.s. yet maybe??? do you guys charge travel time as well?

up here i get 55 canadian per hour for 30 size 6500 lb with swing boom, hydraulic thumb etc

55.00 canadian for 863 bobcat

hoping to get 65.00 for the 45 size 10.000 lb excavator i just got.

so i was really wondering what other guys in other areas get , and how do ya price jobs?

for example if i tow a machine with my 3 ton dump, and then use truck on job, i still charge 55.00 per hr, as long as i only run 1 at a time.. might even supply the bobcat as well if a few day job!
i seldom charge travel time as most people dont want to pay it.

sounds like thats to cheap maybe, but maybe thats why i stay pretty busy.

regards gerry

 

[CascadeScaper]

Wow, we get $75 an hour U.S. for a skid steer and $85 an hour for a 7,300 pound mini excavator. We usually charge one hour for load/unload, all of our driving is within reasonable distance, no more than 20 minutes of actual drive time.

 

[smalltime]

We also charge travel time, those dump trucks like fuel too much not to. When you factor in the cost of the tires on the truck & the trailer, plus your time involved in replacing those tires, maintaining the truck, cleaning the truck, & the insurance, taxes, etc. on the truck & trailer, I think you HAVE to charge something for travel, even if it is a reduced rate. If your customers give you any negative feedback from it, just explain to them all of your costs. I have even gone so far as to tell some guys "if you want to let me use your truck to tow the machine, then I will gladly not charge travel time". It is amazing how many people will pay for travel when faced with that option.

 

[bobcatuser]

This is average in Vancouver BC

Skid steer with general purpose bucket and operator $65-$75 HR. plus $100 move charge.

Compact excavator (6,000-10,000 LB.) $70-$80 HR. plus $100 - $125 for a move charge.

If you are running the equipment by yourself it is better to price the job as a contract or unit pricing. When you are charge by the hour that’s all you will ever make. Look for work other contractors won't do, maybe you have the right machine for the job and can make a profit.

I built a city walking trail this summer 350' long with road base surfacing. Total construction took four 12 HR. days with 2 trucks hauling and a Bobcat 334 clearing and spreading material.

For this project the city had only 1 other company willing to bid, they were 25% over my bid. After completing the job and reviewing expenses my Bobcat 334 was earning $ 312.00 HR. If the city were to hire me at the "average hourly rate contractors chagre" I would be making $75 HR.

 

[Nac]

I charge 500 a day for my John Deere 250II the same for my Komatsu Pc45. 1 day min. no travel charge was planning on going to 550 in 2006.

 

[CascadeScaper]

That's another thing, set minimums. We will not drive anywhere for less than 4 hours of work and if it turns out to be less than 4 hours they get charged for the 4 hours.

 

[cat320]

Well I get a min like 4 hours this time will include me leaving the shop and getting back unless its far away then I will charge for transport and start the time then. But some times your better off to give a lump sum price with those extra provitions for hitting a water table or ledge . or any other unhiden problems.

 

[CascadeScaper]

Lump sums really are the way to go, but you have to set a base price for your services so you can at least know what your costs are first, then throw a little bit in for provisions. I know I've been on a couple jobs where I hit rock and I'm glad I threw in an extra hour of provision on a small job.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Contractors here with 10-11,000lb minis charge 65-70 per hour which will get higher if the price of fuel stays the way it is. The contractors rates are pretty close to the same nobody is undercutting each other as there is enough work to go around.

It all depends on the job on how you want to charge it out if its a easy cut and dry job then bid it. If its a tough job where your running into unseen problems its got to be by the hour. You can end up loosing money where the customer says oh I want that done I want this done and your doing a bunch of extra work for no money.

If the job is only 1-2 hours most definatly charge a extra fee most contractors will tell the customer if I'am in the area I can do the job as they are so busy doing jobs where the machine is on a site from a full day to a week.

One thing about 10,000lb sized machines is they are easy to move the best way to move them is on a rolloff truck. Walk the machine into the bin strap it in pull the box onto the truck go to the next job. Most contractors here have tandem axle tilt trailers as the common sized machine here for landsclearing is 160 Deere/Hitachi.

If you have to have a truck tractor and lowbed a 200 sized machine like a 690 Deere to the site most definatly a move in charge is in order as the low bed is a separate contractor. The lowbed guy is around 120 dollars per hour so the customer has to pay that.

Is your economy moving as good as it is here on the South Coast right now things are busy its slow because of the holiday season but there is lots of building work going on.

 

[haF.AST]

$$$ per hour

I just got 2 jobs for my Komatsu PC-09 (2100lb excavator) both at $100 per hour trenching for an electrician. I usually get $50 per hour for travel(GMC 3500 w/16" trailer). I get $50 an hour for my New Holland LS120 skid loader(1850lbs)

 

[atgreene]

I charge $100 per hour for my Takeuchi 135 with all four buckets/attachments or $750 per day.

I also charge $75 to move the equipment.

The truck (8 yard) gets $60 per hour regardless of on-site or on-road.

Compactor is $40 (plate compactor).

I started out at $75 per hour and quickly realized that with the clean-up bucket and other attachments and the fact that I've been running excavators since I was 17 (18 years) that I could do an amazing ammount of work in a short time. Nobody says anything about $100 per hour and if their a good customer (I have a list of about 150 that I work for) I give them an extra hour or cut them some slack by not chrging for moving.

It's all what the market will bear.

 

[John Banks]

The truck (8 yard) gets $60 per hour regardless of on-site or on-road.

This is what I get for my single axle 10 yard 33kgvw Freightliner. I've talked to a couple of other guys in the area with same size truck and it's where they're at. I know what my costs are and where I need to be. Obviously I want to get as much as possible without pricing myself out of the market. I sell myself on service and reliability.

 

[atgreene]

I've recently been hiring a friend of mine for small trucking and some on site work. He has a Chevy 3500 HD with a 14' flatbed dump. With sideboards he can haul 4-5 yards (freighted). We've agreed on $45 per hour, sound fair? What do 1 ton dumps get, and have the prices jumped with fuel increases this spring?

 

[Dwan Hall]

Eq. delivery $150
TB070 $150/hr.
975 bobcat w/atchments $150/hr
Pelican street sweeper $150/hr
Elgin aircub $150/hr
labor $50/hr
hand power tools, (drill,saw,etc.) $25/hr.
large power tools, (compactor, trencher, steem cleaner etc. $45/hr
3 yd dump truck (roll off beds) $75/hr
10 Yd dump truck $100/hr

all work 4 hr minimum.
All materials are marked up 33% before resale.

I am to busy to work any cheaper.

 

[jmac]

Dawn I love those numbers!! I wish we could get that here is central New York. Very competitive and about 200 excavators in the phone book. The going rate is about $100 per hour for finish dozer the same for 60-120 excavator and $75 for mini and skid steers. Dump truck $65 for single and $75for tri axle. MOB is around $150 each way. I try and quote the job not the hour and try work towards getting it done faster. We have to quote about 10 jobs to get 2-3 of them. Always someone cheaper. All this holds true for residential. Commercial is whole different story. Site work is much better IMO and takes months instead of days. Bigger money, longer to get paid but can help your year allot. I would rather do 100k job for 2-3 months than chase around 20 $5000 jobs any day. The GC's you work for can kill you, I know this the hard way. Any of you other guys in the same boat? How many of you do site work compared to residential?

 

[Coastal]

I prefer residential, I have a good network of builders now, and basically just go where they tell me, I bill them, no questions, they pay within a week. Its a very simple system, and I dont have any large outstanding invoices.

I charge $90 per hour for my Kubota KX161

$80 per hour for my bobcat T300

I add on an hour for delivery, and im just about to figure out what to charge for my new to me Kubota U35!

 

[kamerad47]

That's great I hope you get paid in a week . Because that's the # 1 problem I have in this biz is getting paid$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These guys are all trying to get you to do more fore less & then hold on to the $$$ for 60-90 days!!!!!!!!

 

[jmac]

Some times getting the all mighty dolor is the trick for sure. Every site work job we have done for a GC has a wonderful thing called a residual at the end of the job and they hold back 10% for final payment. I still have one from last August for a job that the paving contractor screwed up and I still have not been paid. The GC's here don't pay until they get paid. Finding the correct mix of residential and commercial is the key IMO. Jobs you get paid when done and bigger jobs to keep everything moving. I made a big investment and need the cash flow.
When I started out I thought all I needed was a skid and a pick up. Found out that in my world that was not enough to compete. Not enough small work to go around and most of the landscapers had what I had. But now I find myself in middle. Have a dozer, small ex and large ex, skid steer, dump truck, 70" single drum roller, attachments, and bunch of other stuff so bigger than the landscaper with a skid steer but by no means the size much larger guys with fleets of equipment. Sorry for the rant but I must not be the only guy feeling growing pains. I think there is a saying that the guy in middle gets squeezed!! Stay very small or try and get big. If I was in a booming economy part like done south or out west I bet a guy with a skid and pick up could make a nice living. Hum, I could move, naw my wife would get pissed. Tell me what the rest of you guys do? Is the bulk of your work done with a skid and mini ex? Is it residential? How do you chase that much work around to keep busy everyday with out commercial work? You would have to do a lot of job quoting. Does the moving equipment eat up profit and time if move every week? Are some of you guys part time and how many are full time owner operator?

I would appreciate some incite in how the rest of the world does things. Thanks

 

[Jeff D.]

I haven't had any issues with getting paid(as of yet)but I only work for one general contractor,and the jobs I pick up independantly aren't alot.I'm definately a "part timer" in any one field,in as much as I do several very different types of work,and sum of the parts makes the whole.

Time wise,for payments:
Trucking:as soon as I return signed BOL's for the loads.Once weekly,DD within 1-2hrs of receiving.
Dirt hauling:when the load is dumped,if multiple,upon delivery of last load.
Skid steer/backhoe:
private party,upon job completion I get the check before I leave.
For the general,2 weeks the longest (so far)
Plowing:Monthly(I keep track of the times plowed,and drop a bill to them.Usually I'm paid at the next plowing,or by mail.)

My jobs are usually smaller jobs,and rarely are they more than a day in length.The job diversity seems to benifit me,in that one type of work picks up when another is slow.There are times when one area will cause me to have to scale back in another area,and the juggling of jobs can be very hard.I've upset some people when I just can't be there when they need me.(This usually happens in the trucking area)The homeowners have been the most understanding in this regard,but the biggest pain to work for.(for me atleast)They're the ones that want extra work for free the most,and can't understand why equipment cost so much to run.

Another area that I try very hard is keeping my overhead down.I'm not a big fan of making payments,although it's a necessity.This has caused me to own older equipment(except for my semi)and pay cash for purchasing anything I buy.I also TRY and do as much maintanance as I can myself,but some things are just to big.By having everything paid for(except my house and semi),there's little money going out when I'm not working.My bank account balance has some real highs(holiday season) and lows(late winter/spring)so I try and make sure I've built it up before the lean time arrives.

I'de always been a OTR trucker(O/O),so doing this other stuff is fairly new to me,business wise.Time will tell if I'm doing it right,or even if I know what the @%&$ I'm talking about.But you did ask,so.....

 

[Lance Carbuncle]

I have a PC35 that I bought just for my own use on my property. I have become pretty good on it, though I have nobody to compare myself with I have a couple thousand hours on compact excavators over the last few years. I am self employed in another field, and have never though of actually putting my equipment to work, but it would be a nice change of pace to work with my machine a few days a month. In addition to the PC35, I have a rubber tracked off road dumper, and am soon to have a little D21 Dozer or CTL.

My question is...... since I have no clue.... so please don't flame me for souding stupid, I don't want to break any laws or go out and undercut you people who do this for a living........ Do you need a contractors license to work a machine on a residential job such as pulling stumps or grading someoe's private roads? can you work FOR a contractor without any license? I am in California.

Lance