islandmini
Member
Hey guys i know there is a bunch of new company start up forums on here but i have a couple questions that havent been fully answered. first off in the last 2 months ive finally found some used and new equipment to get the company off and running. 1) 2 ton Tessy i call her she's a 2003 gmc c5500 single axle dump truck in really good condition she can hold 4 yards in the dump box its a smaller box but she can get into really tight spots witch is nice (2wheeldrive) 2) i bought a 2021 double A triple axle dump trailer with a 10 ton scissor style ram 16'x7' box good for around 7 yards of soil 5 yards of gravel type thing 3) a 2019 Cat 305E2 with 239hrs on it came with a 42" 24" buckets and a post hole auger and ive just got a 14" bucket made for doing trenches for electrical cables and piping. ive managed to pay off the truck trailer and owe roughly $82,000 still i have a full time job thats shift work and been doing this on my days off with the idea that in a couple years to do it full time and leave my current job behind. Ive got now 295 hrs on my machine and im getting better with operating the Cat as i am new to heavy equipment but i am fairly mechanically inclined and i understand the maintenance and operations of the machines ive purchased. currently my biggest issue right now that i am facing is my rate that ive been charging out. For small hauls ive been charging 65-85$ per delivery if its under 5 yards ive been doing $65 and if i need my trailer 5-9 yards im charging 85$ witch i dont think i am too far off on pricing ? As for the Cat ive been all over the place started with 65$ and fuel per hour witch is way to cheap but with little experience i felt bad for charging more and then with hours of practice on my acreage ive bumped it up to 75$ per hour and fuel and now im getting fairly comfortable with the machine i put in an electrical pole and service in the other day and it went well (currently an Electrician ) maybe someone on here has some advice on fastening the pole to the bucket a little easier so it doesnt have potential to swing and hit any hydraulic lines on the stick ? i am pretty much just seeing what everyone thinks about a new guy on the block charging so cheap compared to a more experienced guy in the same machine im getting better and better every day i step in that machine so im wondering if i should move my rates up some more ? and what do guys charge their friends for smaller jobs that only take half a day in the machine and the rest is just hauling away brush or sod type thing whats a good hourly rate for the dump truck to be charging per hour ? thanks for your time i apologize for the drawn out message here. Also are tooth style auger bits good in medium rocky soil or does a guy need the rock style auger head ?