$ per hour

[nobull1]

It is what the market will allow. In Europe, Canada the US it varies drastically. If you want to see a difference in price go look at the snow plow sites. Some people get $10.00 per driveway and some get $75.00 for the same thing. In the end we all have to decide if we get enough money for what we are doing, if not find something else to do.

I must say though I am surprised at how little is charged in Europe and how you stay in business. A drive motor is about $4000.00 here in Canada and if comparable in Europe it would take 6-8 weeks of working every day to pay for it after taking out fixed costs over there at your rates.

 

[strott]

VolvoBl - I will join you on 80.00 an hour!!!!

We are not joking about the rates of £20.00 an hour (net) for a mini ex, as previously mentioned there are hire companies knocking out machines very cheaply which is where the problem begins e.g. a 5 ton kubota mini excavator for £350.00 a week

Over on ebay there are blokes offering 1.5ton mini excavators with a driver for £150.00 per day!!!!

I am lucky if I can get £215.00 a day (net) for a 1.5 ton mini excavator and 1 ton hi tip 4wheel drive dumper.

 

[Shifty]

Lots of operators are in this boat with their competition. Some guys will work for little or nothing. and customers and GCs will seek them out to drive down the market price. Guys like that always @##$^% me off. Don't these guys have any self-respect or pride in themselves? Don't they feel they worth a fair rate? or pay their employee a fair and livable wage? Prime contractors have no respect for these guys,But they will use them over a operator who does whats right, just to save a few bucks. Every season there a new guy putting out their shingle trying to undercut everyone. Working their butt off below market rate trying to make it. The ones that do make it hurt the rest of us and once they start in a low rate rut they usually stay there.
What kill me is the people see a guy going thru town with a skid or a excavator on a trailer workin for himself and they think he is making good money. Looks are deceiving! They don't see all the support tooling and equipment plus licenses and insurances that goes with running a business. All they see that machine, machines are the cheap part I know guys that have more money in attachments that the machine.
So if So and SO can go into business so can I and he finds a cheap machine and we have a new contractor on the block.
He will work a few jobs cheap to get his name out there then raise his rate??? YEA RIGHT!!!

 

[volvobl]

VolvoBl - I will join you on 80.00 an hour!!!!

We are not joking about the rates of £20.00 an hour (net) for a mini ex, as previously mentioned there are hire companies knocking out machines very cheaply which is where the problem begins e.g. a 5 ton kubota mini excavator for £350.00 a week

Over on ebay there are blokes offering 1.5ton mini excavators with a driver for £150.00 per day!!!!

I am lucky if I can get £215.00 a day (net) for a 1.5 ton mini excavator and 1 ton hi tip 4wheel drive dumper.

yes thanks for that naw if evryone in europe will do the same we would be on a winning sreak i hired a 1.5 ton volvo for as long term hire once and i was having that + trailer for £135 a week i thought il have a wreck of a machine but it was 6mnths old and 300 hrs on the clock if i wanted a breaker with it it was £20 extra a week that was with speedy hire noone could compare with that but youd expect 150-170 a week any way.
I do think that something drastic will happen soon there is too much of us struggling to live but we do still just get on with it theres no saving money it goes to cover everything.

 

[Anto Modded]

I wreckon the owner driver will survive as he has the lowest cost. In my area 5 guys went bang, they all had new jeeps, machines, tractors etc. I feel sorry for them but good second hand gear well looked after can do the same job and cuts cost's. As for hire companies over here, they are going bang too, ive seen some machines with under 400hrs in bits. I seen a guy cutting the teeth off a bucket on the machine with an angle grinder and the sparks hitting the glass on the cab and the paint work. No respect what so ever. It may seem strange but i reckon the person that owns his machine (be it nnear new or secondhand) has less cost and has the better chance of sticking it out. Our kx41 has 1300 hrs, why would i buy a newer machine when it does good work and is paid for (its 2002) never heard anyone ask the age of it. As long as it does the job people are happy. Sorry for the rant

 

[volvobl]

totally agree with you i have a 2001 volvo ec35 6500 hrs on it i bought it in 2004 with 1250 hrs on it ive replaced bushes on the bucket within 8 years im not in a hurry to change it as ive looked after it if theres a scratch on the arm il paint it just to keep it in trim i never been asked even on sites haw old the machine is they see that the machine speaks for itself take a look

 

[nobull1]

Volvobl
Very nice looking gear. I am a firm believer that it doesn't have to be new, it should just look like new. My customers pick up on the fact our equipment (trailer, truck, excavator, tractor and Bobcat all look like they are quite new even tho they are getting old. Clean, painted and no leak gear makes the customer think you care. If you care about your equipment you will probably care about the job as well.

Volvobl
I bet you get at least "some" jobs because your machines looks good compared to the guy with the oil leak running down the driveway.

 

[Hendrik]

Nothing wrong with S/H gear as long as it is reliable.
Also a few scratches and nicks are inevitable in earthmoving, particularly in tight access situations.
In general customers are happy as long as you turn up on time and do a good job.

 

[volvobl]

turn on site with good clean machines does show that you care and then customer knows you care about the work you do most of my customers do have me cos the way i am good machines clean job tidy work when they want something else doing you d be the first one there one builder i do all his groundworks for hes used me since the day i started out over 8 years and a few farmers they wont get no 1 else and theyll wait for me. Its kinda good when youve got a good reputation. The only thing is evryone wants you at the same time

 

[strott]

Yeah I find that - a customer will want you to do a job within the next 2-3 weeks max and you say you can't because I am lucky enough to be busy at that time so you don't get the job. Come 4 weeks later you're sitting on your behind waiting for the next job!! (there is only so many times you can polish a mini digger and dumper!!)

Very, very frustrating.

VolvoBl - that excavator is in stunning condition, a credit to you, it looks brand new and you could pass it off as new - as Volvo have only just brought out a new model to replace that model of machine so you could say you bought it new in mid 2009 (just don't let them see the serial number plate!!!!)

As far as s/h plant goes if you can find a good one then you're onto a winner but most small minis (3/4ton - 3 ton) are all ex hire machines and as mentioned earlier are not looked after let alone driven nicely, If you want to turn up with a clean machine you would usually need to spend a quite bit of money to get it looking good so you were happy with the image it was purveying and then you just have to hope that it is mechanically sound - luckily these minis are pretty bullet proof!!

The major advantage of a new machine is the warranty and efficiency improvements gained from the faster cycle times plus reduced fuel consumption (although very very minimal on these small machines)

 

[volvobl]

i had to buy the volvo ec55b new though it took me a year to try find a clean one i must have gone to see around twenty of them very popular size so i stumbled upon a 2007 demonstrator with 100 hrs on the clock sum idiot had before me it wasnt bad but few nasty scratches here and there so i said well its close enough there was only £500 difference towards a brand new 1 so i just said just bring the new 1 up and end of story really very pleased with em all really and i bought the 07 bl71 with 750 hrs on it one careful owner who had to sell due to health probs

 

[strott]

How do you transport your machines around? Can you pass that cost on to your customer?

Happy new year to you and all other users on the forum.

 

[volvobl]

happy new year everyone. This is haw i move the 3.5 ton around cos its its ileagal behind the pick up 90% of the time when il be doing a small day job il have to take the waste with me so the truck can bring the load aswell of the machine home the ec55b i put that on a tipping trailer and a 100hp tractor to carry it mostly on agriwork though. Yes i charge a moving fee on the 3.5ton it depends haw far your going though.

 

[strott]

Nice 6 wheeler grab lorry you've got there - saves relying on someone else for waste removal e.t.c!!

Have you got a yard or a storage unit then?

I charge a 'commuting charge' which covers the cost of the fuel used for the van to travel to and from the site each day e.g do a 25 mile round trip, I charge £5.00

 

[tootalltimmy]

I am surprised at how low the rates are in the UK. The 3 axle gravel truck I was driving was $92.50/hr. A 13.5 tonne excavator was $115/hr, more with specialty attachments. A lowbed to move equipment was $130/hr.

 

[strott]

So who makes the money out of these higher charges?? e.g an owner operator gets what left after costs are removed and money is set aside for new equipment e.t.c

But what about the employees of the bigger companies are they paid well for their time in the seat or is all the profit going to the owner/stakeholders of the business?

 

[volvobl]

thats the old truck ive a newer one naw but i lost my regular hire due to the recession we have a 30 acre small holding here in mid wales where in the back a bit of land it was no use so i dug all the top soil out sold all the topsoil and carried some good surplus in and stone to finish a bit of a yard the machines are never home so that is still on going but i have a little place where i can wash the machines and a bit of a building to do serviceing. I think over the u.s theyre operators only on about the same money nearly as we are with our own machines its crazy haw the market works its almost enough to make you sick the most money ive earnt an hour with my truck was £55 an hour and that was on emergency work like utillities and working through the night. I wish i was on 90 + an hour for it.

I bet you guys in the states if your making the money youve got some tax to pay.

 

[special tool]

thats the old truck ive a newer one naw but i lost my regular hire due to the recession we have a 30 acre small holding here in mid wales where in the back a bit of land it was no use so i dug all the top soil out sold all the topsoil and carried some good surplus in and stone to finish a bit of a yard the machines are never home so that is still on going but i have a little place where i can wash the machines and a bit of a building to do serviceing. I think over the u.s theyre operators only on about the same money nearly as we are with our own machines its crazy haw the market works its almost enough to make you sick the most money ive earnt an hour with my truck was £55 an hour and that was on emergency work like utillities and working through the night. I wish i was on 90 + an hour for it.

I bet you guys in the states if your making the money youve got some tax to pay.

Well, we don't pay taxes like you guys do, that's for sure.
55 pounds/hour is actually reasonable for that truck.
I still don't get the price you charge for a 12,000 pound shovel though.

 

[volvobl]

well im actually a little happier knowing if you guys were out 5 day a week you make a bit of money every week. I no its not plain sailing but dam lot better than we get in the uk. The recession has hit everyone all over the world big firms closing down builders ive known for years going bust owing a lot of money to people including me. I lost my regular hire on the utilities which i had a team digging + 2 grab tippers on hire and still doing residential work on a Friday afternoon one phone call ended something really special id been on the utilities since i left school.
Head up high downsize a little keep soldering on the thing is i still consider myself a very lucky person i no ive and we all got a little debt to pay off but ive been very busy work wise im out all week and it pays the bills im only on residential for naw but im sure the agriwork will kick off soon and il get to go back on the utility as soon as it picks up again. I wish the very best to the guys out there struggling on and keep fighting we will get through this .

Has the work picked up in the u.s naw or is it still slow did it affect you guys to?

 

[strott]

thats the old truck ive a newer one naw but i lost my regular hire due to the recession we have a 30 acre small holding here in mid wales where in the back a bit of land it was no use so i dug all the top soil out sold all the topsoil and carried some good surplus in and stone to finish a bit of a yard the machines are never home so that is still on going but i have a little place where i can wash the machines and a bit of a building to do serviceing. I think over the u.s theyre operators only on about the same money nearly as we are with our own machines its crazy haw the market works its almost enough to make you sick the most money ive earnt an hour with my truck was £55 an hour and that was on emergency work like utillities and working through the night. I wish i was on 90 + an hour for it.

I bet you guys in the states if your making the money youve got some tax to pay.

sounds like an ideal setup, nice one. I have to rent an old barn from a farmer to store my stuff - problem is no water or electricity and another cost

If your machines are never home then are the ones that your not driving out on self drive hire then?