Anyone sell their tractor services?

[winesalot]

If this in the wrong area moderators please move it....



My day job is rotating 12 hour shift work so I have 3 or 4 day weekends every week. We have had a significant delay in building our home and winery so now I have all that time off and nothing to do with it. I have been thinking about ways to make some extra cash and was leaning towards utilizing my CDL and doing some on call driving for a local asphalt and concrete company. Then it hit me....why not use that beautiful L4701, front end loader, flail mower, grading scraper, and 13 foot sprayer to make some dollars. I have the truck and trailer to move it around. It's a side job that I could completely control my schedule.



Any advice? Rates? Charge by the job or the hour? Any body on this site doing this?

***Edit*** Looked up Washington law regarding sparing commercially and I think I’ll pass. I have held professional spray licenses while working for government agencies but I am not interested in the liability of spraying commercially.

 

[Lucky314]

My day job is rotating 12 hour shift work so I have 3 or 4 day weekends every week. We have had a significant delay in building our home and winery so now I have all that time off and nothing to do with it. I have been thinking about ways to make some extra cash and was leaning towards utilizing my CDL and doing some on call driving for a local asphalt and concrete company. Then it hit me....why not use that beautiful L4701, front end loader, flail mower, grading scraper, and 13 foot sprayer to make some dollars. I have the truck and trailer to move it around. It's a side job that I could completely control my schedule.



Any advice? Rates? Charge by the job or the hour? Any body on this site doing this?

Following...very interested in this info myself


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[Kurtee]

I do mowing, tilling and other yard work. The first thing to check is your liability insurance to be sure you are covered in the event of a mishap. The one thing that caught my eye is the sprayer. In MN we need special license and insurance to get the chemical applicator license. I don't bother to mess with spraying. It might be more cost effective to drive the truck and not wear out your equipment. My liability policy with inland marine costs close to $2,000 per year. This is a basically a minimum based on revenue generated. Only trying to make you aware.

 

[russell.still.5]

It’s according to what other people are doing in your area. There are a lot of people out there with small tractors these days and most have the same idea as you. That means the market is flooded and some of them are doing work for $25/hr. I wouldn’t bother cranking my tractor up for that. You have to account for wear and tear on your truck, trailer, tractor ,equipment, and the price of fuel. If your not getting $1/hr/hp your losing money IMO. I would charge by the hour or acre and give the customer my best guess as how long it was going to take to complete the job. I would also have a minimum charge so when someone charges for a 30 minute job you still make some money.


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[winesalot]

It’s according to what other people are doing in your area. There are a lot of people out there with small tractors these days and most have the same idea as you. That means the market is flooded and some of them are doing work for $25/hr. I wouldn’t bother cranking my tractor up for that. You have to account for wear and tear on your truck, trailer, tractor ,equipment, and the price of fuel. If your not getting $1/hr/hp your losing money IMO. I would charge by the hour or acre and give the customer my best guess as how long it was going to take to complete the job. I would also have a minimum charge so when someone charges for a 30 minute job you still make some money.


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I like the $/hr/hp. Never heard of that. I sent an email to another guy on CL advertising and he said he charges $85?an hour. Another add says $75/hr for the first hour and $65 after that.


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[winesalot]

I do mowing, tilling and other yard work. The first thing to check is your liability insurance to be sure you are covered in the event of a mishap. The one thing that caught my eye is the sprayer. In MN we need special license and insurance to get the chemical applicator license. I don't bother to mess with spraying. It might be more cost effective to drive the truck and not wear out your equipment. My liability policy with inland marine costs close to $2,000 per year. This is a basically a minimum based on revenue generated. Only trying to make you aware.

I edited my original post to reflect the sprayer. I have held a commercial license before and am comfortable with spraying but there is a liability insurance requirement in WA which means I would probably have to make this a legit business if I sprayed. I’m thinking I’d rather keep this as a cash only endeavor.


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[Lil Foot]

Never sold any tractor work, but I've done a lot of bartering.

Neighbor had a BMX track for a backyard, with 4' holes & 4' mounds. and I leveled & compacted it for two things- the experience, (I was pretty green then) and all of the excess fill material. (about 3 tons of dirt/gravel/decomposed granite, which I then used in my driveway project)

I have dug tree planting holes in exchange for watering my fruit trees when I couldn't be there, and dug some pier foundation holes in exchange for some more driveway material & some home cooked meals when I'm playing mountain bachelor.

I dug several holes to locate a neighbor's leach lines, in exchange for a set of very high-end casters for a shop cart I was building.

 

[dirtydeed]

used to have a part time landscaping business (we worked weekends) and did a lot of "smaller" 1-2 day jobs that many other commercial businesses would pass on. It was just my wife and I, but sometimes i got additional help when doing large tree planting jobs.

We made a killing. Did lots of plantings, beds, stone, mulch etc. paid for all my equipment in the first year (meaning first spring summer). You have to be in the right area though. It's pretty simple, set up an LLC and get insurance. The rest is up to you...For pricing, simply double the cost of materials to get you started...you can refine from there. It got to the point where we were quite selective of the jobs we wanted to do, and the ones we turned down.

 

[Beaudeane]

I had a DOT cop tell me that here in Ga if I haul even a lawn mower on a big trailer to do mowing for pay I’d fall under their jurisdiction because it would be used as interstate or intrastate commerce. Said I would need to display dot numbers on the side of my f250 in that situation. May wanna check locally on that. It was something I hadn’t even thought of beforehand. It takes hi dollar insurance to meet their requirements also & I didn’t see the profit potential with that in the equation. I think way different rules if I had a f150 instead. All based on GVWR & if for hire to do the job that the job didn’t didn’t require a commodity to be hauled for pay either. I’ve been a truck driver 26 years & had my own operating authority part of that time is why I researched it. Didn’t want any dings on my cdl for trying to make a go of a lawn mowing business. May not be any problem in your area. Could always tell them your going to use your tractor at a friend or family’s place just as help if that ever came up. I don’t see that it’s any of their biz what u do with a tractor to make a few bucks but just cover your rear if u get in a situation where u need to. I wouldn’t have any signs on my truck or trailer if I did give it a go in my area

 

[goldenpsp]

I'm kinda with Lil Foot on this one. I don't like getting into monetary transactions with my neighbors. It just isn't my style. But I'm happy to take barter deals or gifts for my service. I help my neighbors mostly because I just find it fun.

 

[Daren Todd]

I work for food Especially baked goods

 

[nickelplated5s]

I had a DOT cop tell me that here in Ga if I haul even a lawn mower on a big trailer to do mowing for pay I’d fall under their jurisdiction because it would be used as interstate or intrastate commerce.

I had a Stater tell me letting my dogs into my fenced pasture was "harassing" wildlife. While there might be technical reasons for both situations no real Officer or Judge would waste any time.

 

[AKguy09]

I had a Stater tell me letting my dogs into my fenced pasture was "harassing" wildlife. While there might be technical reasons for both situations no real Officer or Judge would waste any time.

New laws for "hauling" definately took effect this year, and are potential impacts on Ranchers, Farmers, Rodeo and weekend racers.

 

[Flienlow]

I just bought a new dump trailer to move my hoe and and BX. So far, I have done a couple of side jobs and only 1 for someone I didn't know. I made $100/hr and got $200 to load my stuff up and dig out a few tree roots. I am also doing another job soon for $65/hr with my small hoe cleaning up a 2 acre parcel. I am "giving" that job away to gain experience working for others. I am not sure if care to hassle with this, but figured I would give it a shot so I can see if it would be something I care to purse.

So far lessons learned.

NEVER TRUST someone about what is in their ground. - Thankfully I insisted the tree root guy call dial before you dig. he was sure there was nothing in the tree root path and when I showed up there was red paint all over the place. In the end, I cautiously dug up the shallow roots, and left him more than satisfied.

 

[D2Cat]

For those who don't know, calling "dig safe" (or whoever it is) for locates is just part of the solution to avoiding underground utilities. Once those marks are on the ground you are required to hand dig various distances to clear the utility before you are clear of any liability with your machine. Many require a 24" hand dug right-of-way on each side of a marked line. However, some utilities require more. Some gas service companies will require a 6' hand dig area.

You violate these rules and you'll soon be out of business!!

 

[Eldubya]

I do the odd little job for my neighbours (yes, that's the way we spell it in Canada!) a trench here, snow clearing, moving logs there, but never for cash. We barter haircuts, wild game, firewood, you name it. All part of being a part of a neighbourhood.
If I had more time, I would definitely hire myself and the little orange beast out, but that's a few years away.

 

[Beaudeane]

I had a Stater tell me letting my dogs into my fenced pasture was "harassing" wildlife. While there might be technical reasons for both situations no real Officer or Judge would waste any time.

Because it’s revenue & the dept of transportation or MCCD (motor carrier compliance division) of the state patrol enforces those laws only. Yeah it’s chicken $hit way to do things in most people’s eyes but it’s their job & some of em take their job seriously. Too seriously. That same dot cop I quoted earlier said he loves pulling over the mower guys. The mower guys don’t have a clue usually. Most don’t even have a medical card to show in a pickup trk that all of a sudden becomes a commercial vehicle because it’s being used in ICC (interstate commerce commission) regulated operations, on public roads. I don’t think it should be but guys get tickets for it every day in Ga. I wouldn’t know this if I hadn’t wasted 26 years (2.7 million miles) of my life driving a big truck & asking questions when I wonder about what might put my cdl in jeopardy.just tell em ur moving ur Equiptment to work for free for a friend & u will probably be ok. If u tell u are moving it to do a job u are in violation of having no dot/icc number, no medical card, etc. call or visit a local weigh station or port of entry if out west & ask if u doubt this. Some of the guys there wanna educate as much as write tickets.

 

[Redlands]

Guys calling dig safe or whatever the locate service is in your area does not solve all of your locate issues. They only locate the lines of companies that subscribe to them or hire them. I got into a issue years ago when I hit a cable tv line going into a housing addition. Had my dig locate done and everything. The cable tv company did not use dig safe and had to be called directly for locates. No signs in right of way so as to know to notify them and the fact that I hit their line outside of the right of way saved my butt. (How they could not stay inside a 20 foot wide right of way has to be interesting)
So all ways look around for signs or anything that might give you a clue of other lines in the area. Your dig locate will list the companies that the locate has been done for. It’s also a good example of why having insurance that covers digging is a good idea.

 

[D2Cat]

Redlands, you make a good point about not all utilities are mapped by the locate companies. Here the locate companies will tell you when you call who they will locate, and then give you the names, if any, you need to call separately. And some utilities are only located to the meter and not to the residence or structure. Example, rural water from the meter to structures or propane from tank to structure are the home owner's responsibility.

When digging in dirt, especially with a machine, the operator needs a special awareness of where utilities are.

When digging around fiber optic lines, usually the representative of that utility will be there watching the dig. When the line is found and cleaned around they take a picture of evidence and will usually go on as you continue the trench.

 

[sdk1968]

man in my area... the LEO's & DOT are hell on anyone with a trailer/equip doing "for hire" work.

you either have to be under the table or doing it for barter/trade.

If you are gonna under the table it? DONT PUT IT ON THE INTERNET.

all that aside?

most tractor work falls into just a few category's...

mowing/raking/bailing (pasture work)

ground clearing (hogging)

ditch/trench/holes (backhoe style)


in my area the pasture work is just about always drive the tractor to it stuff & done on trade/barter deals..

hoggin work is done by the job. (usually figured by how many acres per hour they can cut)

backhoe work by the foot/job. ($100 minimum to show up & then $1 per foot deep & long)


dont know if id ever sell my services just cause of all the liability crap...
got neighbors all over me wanting me to do stumps & chip up their brush piles now they have seen my stuff in action at my place..

BUT: i was off work & hungry? would have to consider it.