Your question is pretty generic.
Yeah, it is. Its an interesting topic. I'd like to hear a wide range of views.
What rate? Well, are you asking about a 613 paddlewheel, a 657 push pull, a Cat and can, a tractor and pull pan or 2 or 3, or another of the 2 dozen types in between? It is probably somewhere between $100 and $500 per hour
I agree there is a wide range. Lots to talk about here.
Does a TS14 charge out at the same rate a 627 does ? How much should a TS24 charge out at ?
How does one rate the pull pans ? Assuming a 4-500HP tractor and 2 14-18 yard pans. Same as a 627 ? They produce just as much on short hauls or in wet conditions ? Less or more ?
Anyone have a rule of thumb ?
What does it cost to run them? Well, first see above, then add what the conditions are. Are you stripping topsoil, or are 3 D-10's pushing open bowls through shot rock?
Comments on all those conditions would be interesting. I think the most typical is moving dry clay a mile or so in a subdivision type setting.
What do people allow per hour or per yard moved for things like engines, transmissions, tires, cutting edges, general maintenance, etc ? How do they handle fuel price changes ?
2 or 3 machines rather than one? Well, what are you doing? A small site doing finish grade might need 1 613 for finish grade, or a million yard subdivision may require 20 or more to be effecient.
I was thinking more of the self loading part of things. 2 scrapers load better than 1 self loaded.
Now the first question, How profitable are scrapers? Well, that part is entirely up to you. You control what the rate is that you work for, by bidding or setting hourly rates, You control the operating costs by the quality of the maintenance, you can chose the conditions. Don't like rock, don't move any, or charge enough to cover the repairs.
Of course its up to the owner to run them or not. But what the scrapers will command depends on competition in the local market. As we've seen in other threads, the backhoe segment has a lot of owner operators that are looking at a backhoe was a job replacement situation. They don't seem to make a lot of money over and above what they were if they were an operator. Do you find scrapers to be like that or does their rate reflect a higher profit motive ?
One thing I will say about scrapers is this. If you do not have a history of working around them to know the ins and outs, you will almost certainly lose money with them, unless you are very lucky.
So in your mind the profit margin is slim unless you have a lot of experience with them and can outperform other contractors ?
Care to share some of your numbers and experience ?
I have seen similar scrapers, working on similar jobs, have one fleet run steady, and cost around $50 per hr in repair costs
Per scraper operating hour ?
while the other fleet run haphazardly, not get near as much production, and run arount $150 per hour, because of a lack of knowledge, leading to poor maintenance, poor operating procedures, and pretty soon some beat up scrapers.
Specifically, what was the first fleet doing that the second one wasn't ?
I'm seeing numbers like 627s getting $250/hour. They will burn 25 gallons per hour x $3 a gallon = $75 an hour for fuel. The operator will cost $25/hour. That leaves $150/hour for everything else, including profit.
The depreciation on a newer 627 seems to be really high. On the other hand, used 627s abound for $50-$100K, but their repair costs will be higher and they might not charge out at the same rate.
So what do people allocate for depreciation, maintenance, repairs and profit when running a scraper ? If not done correctly, that $150/hour will get eaten very fast !
