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John Deere 700j hourly rate

MattR

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Dec 25, 2010
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245
Location
Michigan
Just bought a 700j dozer. Real nice machine. It's a 2006 which to me is like a rocket ship in advancement compared to what I own. What is a basic hourly rate for a machine like this? I have had lots of older big cats and small cats. I currently have a 550 G I charge 130 for per hour. And a d6c which I charge between 130 and 150 per hour. Where would the 700j fall in to be fair for both the customer and myself? Thank you
 

Welder Dave

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Oct 11, 2014
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I'd say a little more than the D6C maybe $165 to $175/hr. I'm sure it gets around quicker and would guess it has a much more versatile 6 way blade.
 

MattR

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Dec 25, 2010
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Michigan
Thank you for the reply. Yes it's a much more productive machine than the d6c
 

Mcrafty1

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Oct 12, 2019
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441
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Central Maine
Occupation
Earth work
Hourly rates are subjective in my opinion, there's many way to look at it.
If you have steady work say 40 to 50 hrs. a week 45 weeks a year you can get by for somewhat less an hr. than if the machine is going to work say 40 or 50 hrs. a month in good times less in poor times. I charge $200.00 an hour for my D6 when it works, I don't have steady work. I try not to hire on by the hour, I'd much rather quote a job for a fixed price. Having the tractor is just another tool in the drawer it gives me more versatility to do a wider range of jobs. Just another way of looking at it.
 

MattR

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Michigan
No doubt. There's a few ways of looking at it. I'm thinking for my region in upper Michigan and the amount of work we have for it. I'm going to try to shoot for about 150 per hr. Maybe 165. Thanks for everyone's input. I'm always interested in hearing more
 

John C.

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Call a local dealer and ask for their rates. Most charge by the day, week and month. Break down your rates from that. What no one has mentioned though is what is included in those rates How do you account for the operator and fuel? What about mobilization? If it is just you running the machine, how do you account for your time? Is it machine rental plus operator? What about liability insurance?
 

Welder Dave

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I'd guess the rates include fuel and operator like is common in N. America. Transport may or may not be extra depending on how long at the job. A clause for unforseen obstacles may be part of the contract too. If the 700J is more productive than the old D6 you should charge a little more on hourly jobs.
A few years back hired an 850J and got a good deal at $150/hr. Reg. rate was $170. No charge for transport if more than 8 hours (basically 1 day). Guy did a good job except when he had his father in law come to help him with finishing using a smaller Case 850K(I think). He was a good operator, his FIL not so much. Annoyed me when his FIL butted into the conversation regarding payment and the time it was taking. The job took many month's to finally complete so the good deal on the rate was kind of a wash. Total job was about 25K and shouldn't have taken over 6 month's to complete. I think if the guy took the job he should have been committed to it, not a week here then a week off then a couple days and another week or 2 off. He should have been upfront if he was basically trying to run a farm mostly by himself at the same time. There were times he said he would be there and never showed up, no call no nothing. What really irked me was his FIL saying he has to wait to get work done on the farm. Well you're not exactly a customer paying 25K to hire a contractor because you want something completed in a timely manner. The FIL caused a lot of extra work for us because he took out too much material that we had to haul multiple loads to fill back up. He was even told not to remove more but did anyway. I wouldn't have hired his FIL. I hired him.
 
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John C.

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Again, you are talking from the wrong end of your body. Rental machines in the US, that I have been associated with, never include the operator, fuel, maintenance or mobilization. Contractors will look to the rental markets as a way of testing their limits and then adjusting for all those factors.
 

Welder Dave

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Really a D6C for $150/hr. less fuel, operator and insurance, etc. Nobodies going to pay well over $200/hr. for D6C. Before you get on your high horse maybe see what the OP's $150/hr. includes.
I took it he was a contractor and they charge all inclusive. He owns the machine, he wasn't renting it. I'd say his rates are likely comparable with other contractors in the area. He might not even know what machines rent for or care. He probaly has an idea what his competition charges though. If he gets a price he's comfortable with and can keep his machine working is all that matters. Rental isn't in the equation with a lot of contractors. That's why they own most of their machines and only rent when it makes more sense. If contractors could rent machines and make the same money or more without the headaches of owing, they'd surely be doing that.
 
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Mquinista

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Europe
Hy gents , from my planet... a couple of things... just for sake of comparison
If we were to pay 165USD equivalent for a D6 size machine, i´m pretty shure a D6C wouldn´t last the job. 165 goes for R´s N´s and newer models wich are much more productive. Basically if one has a job for deep digging ripping and pushing one shall search a contractor for complete job, the cheapest way.
Very often if one has a 50k job equivalent, one has time and knowledge, buying a "D6" type machine used but not too used able to run for lets say 300 hrs... one end up with a lot of money left... this type of machines do tend to keep their value. and u don´t need to WOT all day long, fuel cost ends up being the manager.
Hiring by hour here is only limited to small day jobs... wich pretty often could be done by other cheap equipment. of course prices are on the 100USD.
If costumer insist in hiring by hour for deep jobs , they run the THR back and talk the all day getting the experience our fella welder dave had.
regards from europe
 

Mcrafty1

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Oct 12, 2019
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441
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Central Maine
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Earth work
If there's one thing I've learned about dozers it's if they're moving they are costing you money. How much you are willing to spend to do that is subjective, I offered my prospective on the subject because that seemed to be what the op was looking for.
 

Welder Dave

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We didn't have a choice but by the hour for the work we wanted and additional work was added. We were mostly happy with the work. We weren't happy about the excessive time it took to complete it. We actually saved a lot of time and money because I had a dump truck to haul material instead of pushing it. Work involved clearing about 8 acres of bush, stripping topsoil down to clay for a 1/4 mile oval track, digging 2 pits to bury bush(and cover), using the clay to build up the oval track and spreading the clay relatively flat on the oval. A 200 series excavator loaded the clay directly into the dump truck is where having the truck really paid off. Over 60 loads of clay hauled. Have had the gravel pit help with a grader(no cost), the county for a few hours at a very reasonable $100/hr. and later the operating engineers head grader instructor brought a brand new Cat 140 down for a couple days to put a slope on the track. Didn't have enough clay to do the full 65ft. width of the track. Now with cars being more interested in the track we are banking the corners more so I've been digging and hauling probably another 50 loads of clay from another part of the property. I only have a 1yd. track loader with a backhoe. It's not too bad just digging a stock pile and loading the truck but the initial work for the track would have taken way too long with such a small machine. I had a full time job at the time so couldn't commit to spending weekdays on the oval track. I have more time now being on disability but basically the same time as covid hit I was diagnosed with a type of bone marrow cancer and spent a lot of time in hospital and still recovering from a stem cell transplant where they basically take the good stem cells out of your blood, freeze them, fill your veins with strong chemo drugs and a couple weeks later thaw your stem cells and put them back in. It has a good success rate but a long recovery. The cancer caused 10 compression fractures in my vertebrae and I had 2 vertebroplasty procedures to basically glue my back together with bone cement. Happy to report the cancer has been in full remission for several month's. I still have a lot of fatigue and aching bones but way better than a year ago. Some members on here have been instrumental in helping keep my spirits up and I'm sure contributed to my recovery. I am forever grateful to them.
 

Welder Dave

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Messages
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Hy gents , from my planet... a couple of things... just for sake of comparison
If we were to pay 165USD equivalent for a D6 size machine, i´m pretty shure a D6C wouldn´t last the job. 165 goes for R´s N´s and newer models wich are much more productive. Basically if one has a job for deep digging ripping and pushing one shall search a contractor for complete job, the cheapest way.
Very often if one has a 50k job equivalent, one has time and knowledge, buying a "D6" type machine used but not too used able to run for lets say 300 hrs... one end up with a lot of money left... this type of machines do tend to keep their value. and u don´t need to WOT all day long, fuel cost ends up being the manager.
Hiring by hour here is only limited to small day jobs... wich pretty often could be done by other cheap equipment. of course prices are on the 100USD.
If costumer insist in hiring by hour for deep jobs , they run the THR back and talk the all day getting the experience our fella welder dave had.
regards from europe
Contractor rates vary by the region. What might seem high may not be depending where it is or how experienced the operator is. A 25+ year operator might charge 20% more but do a much better job in a lot less time so the cost is about the same or less. Some contractors get all their work from repeat customers and word of mouth. Customers are willing to wait for them because they do exceptional work in a timely fashion. Experience counts.
 
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Tinkerer

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May 21, 2009
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The shore of the illinois river USA
I don't understand why rental rates are any concern for Matt.
He owns the machine (a very nice one), and knows what his costs are from his previous experience.
I think it is simply how much profit per hour is what he is willing to end up with.
Any customer can either take the rate or or turn it down.
Any owner should charge a decent rate for himself and, that in turn is being fair to any customer. IMHO.
 

MattR

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Dec 25, 2010
Messages
245
Location
Michigan
Just came across this old thread that apparently I started. Forgot about it. Sorry. Like I said, in a perfect world I would always do it by the job. But sometimes it's a strictly buy the hour prospect. I appreciate everyone's objective opinions
 

Krackerjack9

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Dec 3, 2007
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working at Camp Anaconda,Iraq
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working in Iraq right now
I have a little Komatsu D20 40hp I was charging $55-65hr and I had plenty of work most of the time im booked 3 months out. but i have not been well recieved by other larger dozer operators, telling me im to low and taking business from them well been hearing this for the last 6yrs now. So now I got a guy with a D6 and he was charging $110hr now he is down to $80hr with a 16hr minimum, I havnt notice any loss of work, but most of the time i only due jobs that are 1 to 3 days sometimes longer. or if its to much i tell them their better off getting a bigger dozer expeciallly for ponds. I given the D6 guy 30 jobs over the 2yrs ... with all the illegals crossing property down here in south texas theres plenty of work to blade over camps that illegals have set up on US281 and US 59 not far off the roads.
 

MattR

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Joined
Dec 25, 2010
Messages
245
Location
Michigan
I have a little Komatsu D20 40hp I was charging $55-65hr and I had plenty of work most of the time im booked 3 months out. but i have not been well recieved by other larger dozer operators, telling me im to low and taking business from them well been hearing this for the last 6yrs now. So now I got a guy with a D6 and he was charging $110hr now he is down to $80hr with a 16hr minimum, I havnt notice any loss of work, but most of the time i only due jobs that are 1 to 3 days sometimes longer. or if its to much i tell them their better off getting a bigger dozer expeciallly for ponds. I given the D6 guy 30 jobs over the 2yrs ... with all the illegals crossing property down here in south texas theres plenty of work to blade over camps that illegals have set up on US281 and US 59 not far off the roads.
Sorry for your situation there. It's unreal the road we are going down. That administration is ruining our country. And the sad part is that it's what they want.

Thank you for the reply
 
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