Where can I find independent mobile mechanics working for themselves on weekends? For example mechanics working for Bobcat during the week and wanting to make money in weekends doing repairs
There's typically mobile equipment independent guys in most areas, they usually work during the week, unless you want to pay doubletime or overtime rates. Or you could just pay the dealer to send someone..... But most dealer techs don't want to work weekends for a multitude of reasons: They work on broken down crap equipment all week, why would they want to do it on the weekend? You want to do your day to day job, all weekend too? Maybe they don't want to work for someone, who doesn't have the money for the dealer rate? Or because they don't want to buy their own service truck ($60,000)/ shop ($250,000)/ workmans comp. insurance / and general liability insurance ($10,000) and a $10,000 laptop for a part time job? Maybe they don't like working for homeowners that don't understand the cost of parts and understand that things break and sometimes it costs a lot of $ to fix it? And maybe despise the DIY guy that doesn't want to pay until next month for the parts? Or never? Maybe go park across the street from the dealer with a cardboard sign "will exchange small amounts of cash for labor" Sorry man, its been a hot week and I'm tired and pumped for my own weekend. Hope you find someone. Or post up your problems here, get yourself a set of tools and some manuals, and we can have fun walking you through some work. You're never too young to learn a new skill set....
Nobody else wants to step up for the new fella, so I’ll take one for the good of the order. I’ll fix up that ol’e Bobcat for you on the weekend. You’ve come to the right place. We have the skill and we have the tools and we know how to chat. If you are looking for a Forum, the HEF is where it’s at. On the HEF is where topics never end. From Bobcats to trucks, theres always a new trend. Allow me to take you on a trip. To a place very unique. Where heavy equipment enthusiasts come together and conversations peak. Hang out on the HEF, where opinions are the norm. From Truck Shop to Skyking1, they’ve got it going on.
Welcome to the Forums TY! Glad to have you.
There's independent mechanics in pretty much any area, I was one for many years in my area. But for a Bobcat specific mechanic, I can't say this for certainty, but unless they have changed recently, Bobcat has always kept their shop proprietary, and wouldn't surprise me if they have their wrench benders agree to a non-compete clause. My point, pretty much any experienced independent can take care of your Bobcat, but you may find with certain issues you still have to call Bobcat for a repair.
I know myself I would never invest 6 figures into a truck/tooling/insurance just to work an extra 10 or 15 hours a week. I can easily put in those hours as OT and avoid the financial and mental stress.
OP tell us a little more about what you need. Do you have 1 Bobcat on a farm or several pieces of heavy equipment.
There is a local, ex-dealer Bobcat guy that left the dealership and opened up a rental/repair shop specializing in Bobcat. He’s been doing pretty good, except working himself to death.
Most dealers, like the one I work for, have strict prohibitions on moonlighting.
I purchased a used Cat 307 from NC Machinery in 97. I was working field service at the time, at their long-defunct Ketchikan branch. I was just going to use it for developing my chunk of land on POW. MOD EDIT threatened to terminate me for doing side work. I even paid the Tukwila branch to install the thumb on it for me because I was working 80 weeks. Didn’t have time to do it myself. That rubbed me the wrong way. I left shortly after that and started my teaching career. I vowed to never work for a Harrnish Group company, again.
I own a heavy equipment repair business both field and shop and have a hydraulic shop also. We repair a **** ton of bobcats. People call for weekend work all the time and I schedule them for Monday first thing. Fix the machine then the complaining about the bill starts. Makes me wish I would have went out on Sunday and gave them that rate so they would have something to complain about.