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Dozer work per hour.........

FurakawaMatt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Messages
169
Location
Arkansas
What would be average hourly rate for a CAT D5G XL here in the north Texas area?
The problem of trying to get an average rate for a particular area is knowing what your competition is charging and what you need to profit by offering your services. It is possible in a given area to not be able to pay for selling your dozers time if the competition can undercut your costs to beneath profitability.

So when setting rates you need to pay for the Operator, Transportation of equipment, Routine maintenance (and possible major repair), and eventual replacement of your equipment. That is why average rate for a area can be a killer. Those who get more work or have amortized equipment or save by having expertise in maintenance/repair can set a lower rate. Not to mention those that desperate for work or unable to make good business decisions.

Even if you are offering the dozing as a side line however, you should attempt to get enough per hour. This helps everyone in the business.
 

TxD5Garrow

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
12
Location
Texas
So is the hourly rate only cover the operator? I guess you have to add transportation, fuel and maintenance into that too but where? I'm somewhat lost on how to make bids too, how do you go about making a proper bid? On a house pad or maybe fence clearing.
 

swampman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
57
Location
MS
My dozer uses about +/-10 gal of fuel per hour, and at $2.50/gal that comes to $25/hr. I operate it as a sideline, so I get $25/hr. Give my dad (owner) $25/hr for maintenance. That's how I come to $75/hr. I'm sure there is a more technical way to calculate amortization, depreciation, etc., but that's the easy way. And, I'm all about doing things the easy way..........

Oh yea, 4 hour minimum to cover transportation. Or tack on $400 for hauling over 30 miles.
 

ontrac

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
89
Location
Oklahoma
I will throw my 2 cents at this, First a dollar per hp works pretty good. But I take my cost of operation plus a profit. I have basic costs, I break down to the hour. Fuel for dozer and truck, tags for truck, tires and repairs for truck, insurance, dozer maintenace, then a repair fund for the stuff that breaks and normal wear, Plus a sinking fund for equipment replacement, Profit is figured by my investment, a return on my money invested, I pay my operator me or otherwise. I get a 100 per hr if fuel does not get over 3 bucks a gallon. it costs me 75 per hr to operate it and I do all my own repairs and keep my overall operation cost low. If I cut my rate I short change myself down the line and if I do that I just as soon sell it all now before it wears out and I am broke too.
 

TXGeoSolarPro

Active Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
40
Location
Texas
What would be average hourly rate for a CAT D5G XL here in the north Texas area?

FWIW, we operate a JD450H for geo site prep/cleanup and budget $90/hr. In the beginning (1985) I used to figure operating costs and my time. When it came time for major maint/catastrophic failures, it really hurt. Figure your total costs including a reserve for tracks, engine OH and routine maintenance, your operator time including the tax burden and then make sure you ADD some profit.
 

daman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
237
Location
Bad Axe,MI
Occupation
Agriculture,Truck Driver,Mechanic
Rollover, that's pretty good coin for a D8 , if the area will bear it more power to you. Could'nt get that here. :) DP
I agree he'd be packing in his business around here charging that kind of money.

to the op your right around perfect..
 

JASON M

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
106
Location
Louisiana
Occupation
Const company owner
What I do is simply use rental rates from any national vendor; you can use any dealership's #'s, then add petroleums. Believe me, they've already done the math and it works............ or they wouldn't be as large as they are. But I only use those rates for dozers in average working conditions.

Then there are the conditions. If the dozer is expected to do stumping and clearing, the price just went up 100% the rental rate to account for more arduous "wear & tear" and panel damage.

If the dozer is working in granular sand, price goes up 50% above std rental rate to account for undercarriage wear.

For example, I'd command $100/ hr for a D8 dozer working in average conditons (clay materials on flat ground) I'd bill $150/ hr for a D8 working in sand. And I'd try to get $160/ hr for a D8 working in clearing.

I find these costs to be real.
 

JASON M

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
106
Location
Louisiana
Occupation
Const company owner
Typo............ I meant $200/hr for a D8 working in heavy clearing. (BTW, I'd double the rental rate on a hyd excavator in clearing also...... just real tough on everything)
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
9
Location
essex uk
Occupation
plant hire contractor
2 years ago was getting £350 per 8 hr day for cat 943 now lucky to get £250 all gone wrong . dg
 

Dirtdozer

Active Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
35
Location
Greenwood, sc
Occupation
commercial and residential Grading Contractor
Man told me there is no since being tired and hungry. You can stay at home and just be hungry
 

Mike Mc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
158
Location
Bakersfield, Ca
Occupation
Oilfields
When times are slow you have to work cheap to keep your employees semi busy. If I didn't work cheap then all my hands would quit. When thing picked back up I would be in a worse predicament not having a capable hand to catch the job :beatsme
 

ngv1515

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
10
Location
NOVA
how much you think i should charge per hour on a D6H around Maryland or Virginia?
 

ahren's dozer

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
2
Location
wichitafalls texas
Hello there! I've been reading everyone's comments on the hourly rates for certain equipment. I own a bulldozer business since 1996 and have the same problem with operators charging too cheap in our area. They charge by the acreage and not by the hour. That would not be too bad if they charge a reasonable rate per acre, but most of them charge between $100 to $200 an acre making it tough for us to compete with. Conservation would only pay $200 an acre no matter the landscape. One problem I notice in my area is that the government runs these guys making them buy newer dozers every time they accept a job. Seems like they like to see us stay in debt for the rest of our life. I have received phone calls just like you all requesting my hourly rates and they throw fits saying they could get someone cheaper. I just kindly say you better go get them and thank you for calling Ahren's Dozer Service. It makes them mad, but heck they had the guts to say that to us. I charge $100 an hour for my D6D dozer which I thought was reasonable. I place bids on jobs and charge depending on what the customer wants done. I always tell my customer up front what they will be expecting in their bill, and usually they don't like my price and cry about it. They try to lowball me, but I cannot work for free. I am the same as you all and know that I need to provide for my family as well as maintain my business expenses. We have a dozer operator who charges $75 an hour for a D6 MXL in our area which affects the rest of us. He is definitely working for peanuts. I worked with one man who charged fairly low in his dozer business and learned he is out of the business after running it for 20 years. He literally does not have anything left from his dozer business. I wished all of us dozer operators would charge the same rate and be on the same page. We could all earn a decent living without breaking ourselves. I'm glad to hear from you all who have the same feelings as myself. Hopefully we can all work together to help improve this.
 
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