Hourly Rate for Bobcat T-870 and forestry cutter.

I purchased a new 2011 T-870 about a month ago. I have owned and operated a 773 for a couple of years at around 50 an hour. With this new machine I can do 2 or 3 times the amount of work in an hour so should my rates reflect that? $100.00 to $125.00 an hour? Also Ive heard some people in my area charge $300 to $400 an hour for the forestry cutter. I in no way want to over charge people Im just looking for a good number thats not over the top.
Thanks to all who can help.

I know on the west coast we get $155-165 per hour for a buncher. Said machine being a timbco 445,tigercat 870,ect.

Thank you for the reply Hallback! Im not sure what a buncher is. Does it mulch?

BIGcatT870 said:

Thank you for the reply Hallback! Im not sure what a buncher is. Does it mulch?

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No, It cuts trees. Just like the "Cutter" you see on swamp loggers only taller and more for steep ground.

Forestry Cutter.............

Here in northwest California it runs a minimum of $150 an hour. some are charging close to $200.........Don't be afraid to charge for your services, you are providing a real service to your customers. Upkeep on your machine is expensive and breakdowns will occur.


What kind of cutter did your get with it? Is it belt or hydraulic driven? Got any pictures of your new girl?

Redwood Climber said:

Here in northwest California it runs a minimum of $150 an hour. some are charging close to $200.........Don't be afraid to charge for your services, you are providing a real service to your customers. Upkeep on your machine is expensive and breakdowns will occur.


What kind of cutter did your get with it? Is it belt or hydraulic driven? Got any pictures of your new girl?

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I hate to sound dumb but im not sure if it has a belt or not. I will get the spec sheet out and let ya know all the details. Im also going to put some pics up a little later. I have about 100 hours on the machine now but only about 4 hours on the cutter. I live in Alabama close to all the recent tornado damage so the majority of my jobs at the moment are cleanup with grapples and bucket. Im looking forward to doing some mulching and getting away from all of this nasty debris removal.

My smallest mulcher, the ASV 4810 with custom built grinder head, charges out at $175 per hour. I don't use it much because it is not as efficient as my other mulchers.

I won't run my FTX140FM for less than $250 per hour and the hoe with the custom built head brings $265 per hour. These machines burn a lot of fuel and cost an extreme amount to maintain due to the abuse that they dish out and incur. Just a set of rails for the FTX was right at $4k because they are a specialty size, not including labor, bolts or other incidentals. I did manage to get 1100 hours out of the rails before they started de-railing consistently.

I usually charge by the job instead of hourly. Customers relax this way and they know what they have to pay up front. If you learn to bid it right, you should always make more than your hourly target.

I agree with treemuncher, try to bid by the job, when you tell people $xxx per hr, they get scarced. You will learn how much you can do in any hour and you will find out in most cases you will make more money by the job. I always charged a flat mob/demob rate, to pay for the truck and trailer. I didnt add this in the job amount, I would say like $1500 plus $100 for transportation, it just sounds better than $1600
Keep the head out of the dirt, I would tell the customer, just below ground level only
repairs and maintenance are very costly
In my area 100hp mulchers charge $125-$150 area
Find out what other people are charging in your area and set your rates accordingly, dont work for nothing
Get a website

I bought an ASV100 with a Fecon head for doing TSI. Can anyone advise me on technique in the woods using this rig? Cutting up to 8" stuff. Don't need to mulch it.

Bigcatt870, generically speaking!! Take monthly payments (60 months) for all new equipment, double that (this will keep up with roi and devaluation and lof), divide by 176 hrs, this will give machine cost, (this is comparable to rental rates) add fuel, add overhead at least 10% (as a mechanic i use 20% for every 8 hours i bill it takes me 2 to run my business), what wage do you want? Add that, add mobe to job, the return mobe should be billed to the next job. If this application causes extreme wear i.e. Bits, tracks, teeth, you must figure that out and add that to the job, now this is cost!!!! (you haven't made any money yet) add 30% for risk and return........again this is generic, to get true cost is only something that has actually happened, otherwise its an educated guess, like magic 8 ball stuff........................theironoracle

Hi I am just trying to find a feller buncher for rent and hoping someone can help me!?! I've called so many places. My husband owns a logging co and his cutter burnt itself unusable over night anyone have any advice?