Lets discuss the costs involved with lesser used equipment. For my business this would be a larger excavator (80-130 size), vibratory pad foot compactor, larger dozer, etc. These are things that I really could use, but maybe not justify owning, at least not right now. Something like the excavator may see 200hrs/yr, a compactor less than 100hrs. I'm not opposed to renting equipment, but when I have to rent and pay to haul it becomes less appealing, both scheduling and money wise. United Rentals is our closest large rental outfit and they charge $500 ea way for delivery inside of 20mi. There are some local trucking companies that haul at $175/hr. I currently have truck/trailer that can legally haul 17,000lbs, I could upgrade trailers and haul 20,000lbs but that'd be maxed out for my trucks (F700/IH 4700) given the mountainous terrain and bad roads we have here.The way I see it I have three options: 1. Rent the equipment and pay to have it hauled. Pros: No extra upkeep or overhead, new equipment, I don't have to worry about break downs or maintenance. Cons: Costly for short term rentals, long term rentals are cheaper but I can't move equipment between sites myself, so I'm paying for pickup/delivery, plus moving from site to site. Scheduling both a rental and hauling and my jobs can be a nightmare. They are usually delivering with a tandem axle semi and 45-48' trailer, and are unable/unwilling to access some of my sites. 2. Buy heavier truck/trailer, rent the equipment and haul it myself. Upgrading just trailers doesn't net me much, might have to buy a single axle semi and the shortest drop deck/ramp style flatbed I could find. Pros: Fits my schedule easier, can move long term rentals from site to site, still get new equipment without the overhead/maintenance. Possibly better access to difficult sites. Cons: Cost and overhead of another truck. 3. Buy used equipment and pay to have it hauled, in this example something like a 130 sized excavator for $50-70K. Pros: Still easier to schedule just hauling vs rent and haul, can use it as much as I want, owning will probably grow the business more. Cons: Cost and overhead of the machine, maintenance, etc. Still have to arrange trucking. 4. Buy the equipment and truck to haul it. Not really in the cards, I'd probably be looking at $100-150K for this option and right now that just doesn't pencil out. Curious what everyone else does with lesser used equipment. I know there are several guys on here that rent a lot, others who own a large variety of older equipment, some who haul themselves and others that pay to haul everything. Just looking for different perspectives and how it pencils out for your business. Thanks in advance.
I'm just going to pick one thing here. Rent vs. buy on the excavator. You say 200 hours per year. What will be the determining factor is how much will you spend on rent. Just stabbing blindly in the dark, I'm going to guess your cost per hour is going to be considerably higher than normal, because you're not going to rent it straight through. You're going to rent it for a week here, a week there, maybe you reach the hour limit, chances are not. If you can rent for an average of $50 per hour, at 200 hours per year, you will technically come out ahead, but you will never have anything to show for it.
$175 an hour=2.90 a mile--with fuel costs, license, insurance--that's in the park of reasonable. No point in buying a single axle--short wheel base tandem. But one has to remember trucks in the construction business are a necessary evil.
Just as an example, here are our local rates at United Rentals for a Case CX130D excavator: $753 / day $2,107 / week $5,247 / month By the time you add rental insurance, tax and all their BS fees the actual cost is about 15-20% higher. Then add hauling. I try to rent by the week or month when I can, either for a big job or have several small jobs lined up that I can use the machine on. In the later case I'd have to move it from site to site also. If it's less than a week rental it just isn't worth the hassle, I'll just muddle through with my smaller equipment. Also, since I generally work by myself I almost never hit the hour limit, which does make my cost higher.
We move our small stuff like CTL's, mini, trench rollers and small support items. If the job is close to our yard I'll move the small dozers and roller with our L9000. Trackhoe moves are hired out exclusively. The jobs we do last at least 2 weeks and usually a month or more so it makes financial sense to hire out the heavy moves. The smaller stuff is easily moved with our pickups so that's a no brainer. I think it depends on your business model and the customer base you work for. If you only have the occasional job for a 130 sized machine it's better to rent. Own what you use all the time and rent the ancillary. On the flip side we use to rent mini-ex's from time to time until we bought a used 305. Now we use it all the time. Sometimes buying a piece of iron opens up things opportunities you didn't have before.
Yes, a short tandem with walking beam rear suspension and full lock up would be perfect for what I want, but hard to come by around here and $$$. I also would need a very short trailer, 39' is the shortest I can find, 35' would be better. My thinking with a single axle was I could possibly stay under the 55000lb heavy use tax, and still have the capacity to haul a 120-130 size excavator, it'd be close though. Might have issues with rear axle weight on the tractor and/or traction issues.
That's the concern, can be found just takes time, if you have it.
I hate renting.
Time on the job site is the part I'm trying to figure out. Sometimes the quick in and out jobs with big equipment can be big money, but renting/paying to haul kind of eliminates those. I currently can haul everything I own from the mini ex/ctl up to the dozer and backhoe. The next step up in equipment size is where things get difficult around here.
Drive 10 miles and load, drive 10 miles and unload, drive 10 miles back to shop. That will take at least 2 hours, probably more. At $175 per hour that's $11.67 per mile. Many have a 3 hour minimum as well. One needs to add that in to the job whether or not they hire it done or do it themselves.
Option 3 is what I did. I bought the machine, then the trailer to move it. Pay a tandem dump by the hour to move it using your trailer, should save about $25.00 per hour since they don't charge you for the trailer. Dumps are the most common, cheapest and the best to use to move the machine. The bigger machines will bring bigger work and once you find you need the bigger truck get it. The truck issue hit me when I could not get someone to move my machine when I needed it on the job. So along comes the older truck. You dont loose any money moving the machines in and out even paying because I charge to deliver equipment. I dont make money off the truck, it is just for moving my machines. I dont want to earn a dump truck rate, I want the specialized total job rate. I have no problem dropping the insurance and letting it sit till work is rolling. Lots of nice excavators around right now in the 30s, i got a 20 ton eager beaver for 5K, and off to the races. I loose money tring to rent equipment, it takes too long to go rent it...
Yeah the cost per mile is going to be a lot around here. Last job I did was 18mi from the house, takes 45min to get there in the pickup, over an hour hauling my equipment with the bigger truck. I sometimes wonder how easy this job would be in the midwest, flat ground, easy hauling, digging in garden dirt lol. But I digress...
I've thought about buying a 20T air brake trailer to use with my single axles, would give me the ability to haul an 8 ton excavator now, and upgrade trucks later if need be. Problem is a 20T trailer is spendy and way overkill for my day to day tasks. I hear you on the trucks though, everybody and their brother hauls dirt and gravel cheap around here. That's why I have never felt the need for a tandem dump, and was thinking about going straight to a small semi.
You have no need for a small semi. A dump truck can work on your jobs a semi will sit and watch you.. When you demo or pullout stumps you can charge to haul them off.
Yeah me too. It's been a while since we rented a piece of iron.
That's part of what I'm trying to decide. I have two single axle dump trucks already and there are plenty of tandem dumps to hire for cheap. I can buy a decent semi tractor and new drop deck equipment trailer cheaper than a tandem dump and new 20t pintle trailer. Also cheaper to insure and can haul a lot more weight, but access isn't as good, IDK...
Same….
I hate renting for the shear hassle of having to hopefully get done what is needed on a timeline and get the rented item back before time rolls to the next day. The whole process can be time consuming and the rental items break down a lot as well. Normal procedure for me, after 1 or 2 renting events - I soon own the item, and have never regretted buying anything yet. Once well equipped it helped open doors / opportunities for me over and over.
For what it is worth I know someone that used a 20 ton trailer and an F750 to move his 953 for years. Not legal but he did it. 953 and 20 ton will weigh about 42,000 lbs. What is unbelievable is my f450 is legally rated to pull a 15 ton pintle trailer. What BS.
Seems like a lot of people dislike renting, I don't really like it myself but I have made a lot of money with rented equipment in the past. I also now own most of the types of equipment I've rented in the past. If nothing else it's a good barometer as to what is worth buying based on how often you rent it.
175 divided by 60 on a straight run =2.90, 10 miles here 10 miles there--can't figure that way for the simple fact loading and unloading doesn't always go as planned. So figure in a radius and use several 2.50, 2.75 3.00 and so on it's the way it's done towing to cover mileage and hook, unhook. And right now with fuel costs the national average is 2.69. So for towing it would be 5.80 mile one way, and can still add in hook fees. same with hauling I've figured it that way for years. * But I know it's not the contractors way or idaho way. and you drove for tom.
That set up right there hits 60000lbs on the dot I regularly haul a couple 314s with it in this conglfiguration I have 5000lbs to go I also have a dump truck and a 20 ton tag this set up is a lot handier and smother driving I hate hiring transport. It cost money and never works to my schedule demands because I can put a machine on a truck at the drop of a hat we have almost paid for a lowboy in one move under the right circumstances I got a pc220 and lack the trailer to move it its a minimum of 700 bucks to move it has been up 1100 to move it and on jobs where your limited on hours to get in and out it is hard to schedule sometimes pount is I run with the mindset that the value of transportation is way more than cost YMMV
How long is that trailer? How does it turn (cut in on the corners) compared to the dump truck + pintle trailer? Turning is my biggest concern, I have to be able to get into regular farm or residential driveways.
have you been renting the 130? If not, then I think the cart is in front of the horse a bit. What I see is you got a 5 ton and now you see what it does for you. you see jobs that would be either: A) possible with a larger machine, or: B) Easier with a larger machine. I'd suggest getting what you can haul now. Get an 8 or 9 ton and see how that serves your needs. 1) it is a reasonable progression and not the big outlay. 2) you will use it to do more than the 200 hours a year. Way more. 3) You can move it and take care of your hauls. What we end up doing in the business is making do with what we have, more often than not. Everybody will agree with that statement. An 8 or 9 ton loads trucks, it digs a 10' trench in a pinch, it can move some lighter shoring. Just the loading trucks is far better than a 5 ton. I think you'll not find many jobs that you can't do with it.
Your analysis is exactly right. I've run 6-ton and smaller machines, and 12-ton and larger machines, but honestly I've never even sat in an 8-ton. Next big job I have I might rent a TB290 from United and try one out. I'll be 1500lbs overweight on my trailer, but based on what everyone else thinks is "OK" it'll be fine. If it seems like a good fit, I'll upgrade trailers, then look for a machine.
It's 36 or 37 ft its really a trade off from a dump and pintle both get around the same but I can sneak the lowboy into a few places that I can't get a TAG into you could put this setup together for about 40 grand ilmaybe less if you look hard and can do a little TLC Other guys disagree with my opinion and that's fine but I don't move anything bigger than a 35 mini ex behind a pickup dually or not if your going to stay in this buiss for the long term upgrading trailers and trucks to meet your all around needs is the best long term investment a small gut that does a lot of small jobs can do
Although we have avoided straight rental; on two occasions we did a rent to own (Hitachi ZX135, ZX120). We penciled out the numbers and figured we should be able to complete a buyout at 3-4 months (80% of rental towards payout). In both cases we were able to achieve this. Perhaps this could be an option if a fair amount of work is lined up/anticipated? We really liked the 12 ton size, I haven’t owned a 8-ton but have some time on my buddy’s. With the side mounted boom it loaded out his dump truck quite nicely. (A lot better than our 5 ton Deere!).
I have two pieces of equipment that I rent, compact track loaders and telehandlers. I need one or the other about 4-6 times a year, and only for a day at a time. The little track loader or skid steer, to buy one that I want- is $25-30,000. If I can rent it for a day for $300, and need it 4 times a year, that's only $1,200 a year. I've decided I can't afford to own one. I can rent for my needs for 10 years and not touch what it would cost me, and its a new one each time I rent it. The telehandler is the same. Only they are more expensive, and its just easier to rent one. Now I do have a couple small cranes that I only use once or twice a month, that I own. And they have a similar value to the telehandler. The difference is- I can't rent one of those small cranes for a one or two day job. They aren't available in my area, so I own them. I do most of my own hauling, its more expensive, but I have my schedule in my own control. I don't do any hauling for other people, I don't really want to be a trucking company.
I more or less started with the idea of owning and hauling my own stuff. The building market here has only gotten more nuts over time, and rental rates/hauling costs have accelerated right along with that. My jobsites are often remote, and a rental situation for those sucks as it costs a pile to get equipment delivered, and the rental shop's timelines are such that if I'm 2 or 3 hours short of being done, there's no tomorrow - the machine(s) have to be returned and I'm SOL. So over the years, kinda looked at where things were going and have slowly morphed from being more in dirt to being more in trucking/moving equipment. Got two or three pieces of equipment and attachments that I wind up renting out to guys I work closely with. Liability insurance for digging deeper than 4' has skyrocketed here in the last two years, so I'm really not sure how much longer I'll stick with doing that - margin just isn't there unless I were to concentrate completely on that. I'm further ahead to farm my abilities out to contractors who are short-handed from time to time, need a heavy equipment operator. Then when that phase is done, I get the work hauling material in/out or demo out. It tends to fill gaps nicely when I'm not trucking aggregates. All that said, I'm keeping my 9T hoe and skid, usually small jobs here and there I can pick up for grocery money. I've seen the market for hauling equipment get a bit better. Businesses are seeing lack of available CDL hires, many of them are unreliable and/or can't/don't want to be a multi-tasker as an operator. Insurance has gotten far more expensive and then all the expenses of owning a truck/trailer combo that sits too much. I'm trying to get a triple axle tilt bought as I see the 20T-22T zero or compact swing class of hoe being more and more a thing. We're pretty limited on axle weights here, especially in spring breakup, so my dually is shot down on two counts for that weight class.
I'm not sure where you live but a tandem truck can be licensed at 52000 and still hook the trailer on this is assuming the dot in your area is well... you he the idea
The fastest growing companies I deal with all rent equipment. They even pay us to move the equipment from job to job. No serious down time or repairs eating up their cash reserves. Job changes and they need something else, usually gets a different machine to fit their needs quickly. Equipment manager told me, and was confirmed by others that it’s a good starting point, his rule of thumb: 25 times a year to determine buying vs renting unless it was a mission critical (if he had to have it, it would have to be on site in an hour)
Stay under 5000 miles per year and you are exempt from the federal heavy use tax. Or 7500 mile cap for farm use.
Or, to my point, just make it simple/fair and charge by the hour. The original post is a question from a contractor, so I should think "the contractors way" is pertinent. I'm not sure that what you do while towing is relevant given there are completely different equipment, insurance, licensing, demand/scheduling concerns as it relates to the contractor's project. You will have to define what the "idaho" way is. I also did not drive for Tom. I leased my equipment to his company for a short period of time. I then obtained my own authority and had no dealings with him after that. I'm not sure what that has to do with the topic at hand either. MG84, I apologize for getting so far off topic. The questions you have posed are addressed by every small contractor when starting out. I rented all my equipment in the first years of business, and had the dealership deliver anything bigger than a skid steer. My thought at the time was that I could always have exactly the right equipment for the job, be more efficient, and look more professional showing up with newer equipment. If I had an issue with any of the equipment the dealership was there immediately to address it. That was in 2008 though, equipment availabilty was not an issue and the dealership would subsidize the hauling somewhat. Since then we have moved to a point where we only rent various equipment two or three times a year, and typically for a relatively short duration. The biggest reason for the change is that availability became a real issue, especially in the last three years. Also, we were putting 500 or more hours per year on our primary equipment and the cost per hour of ownership became lower than the rental rate. Add in the convenience of having your machine right there ready to go has a lot of value, just hard to put a number to it. In regard to hauling, trucks are just a necessary evil, especially for a contractor getting started. That said, for the size of equipment that you have I also believe that a dump truck with tag trailer is probably the best way to go. It will free up scheduling, allow you to go get your own aggregate and have it available when you need it rather than altering the job schedule around material delivery, and allow you to move to the next job at your convenience. That said, if you have a good relationship with another contractor or aggregate company that will haul your equipment for you, it probably makes more sense to invest in the equipment first. It will become clear when you need to invest in a truck. I wound up buying our transport before equipment. The reason was that it became difficult to have our rented equipment hauled from one jobsite to another. We typically use nothing smaller than a 200 size excavator, paying rent on one for a day or two and the loss of revenue while awaiting transport didn't settle well with me. A lot will have to do with what you have available in your area as far as companies to transport your equipment.
Why?!?
Those are the same numbers for the Kubota with 5' mower. I can road it from the rental shop, it is a mile away. I won't be buying a compact tractor when I can get either a 35 mini or the Kubota for that price. Tack on 30 to rent their trailer. A 35 mini will dig fillagreed circles around some little backhoe attachment.
I thought that was the point of an F450 . . . Oh wait, I remember, if it doesn't have 22.5's and airbrakes it is a car . . .
Go out and rent an 85 Deere while you are renting things, OP. it might take a drive to go get it, but you can haul it yourself and you'll probably like it. I know the TB290 is closer, but I would audition all the players. One thing about renting: Cat and the big players do not have weekend hours, and I can get a machine on Friday morning and return it Monday for a 1 day rental. I don't know if United does the same thing or not, but I can get the 8 hobbs hours in that way on Fri~Sat.
20,000 k on trailer axles according to a cat scale. It is legal and well balanced. After 100,000 miles of pulling, I have encountered enough road issues to know that the weight controls the truck too much. Trailer can pull you off on the shoulder. Braking is good if it works. Truck can not stop load if trailer brakes disconnect. If you hotshot like me you come to the understanding if you leave the road the load will kill you. There are so many tractor trailers if they make a mistake and clip you, you don't have enough truck. A guy I knew got brushed by a big rig in a 350 pulling a Pintel, he got hurt in the wreck. It ended his life as he knew it. And honestly it just doesn't feel safe. But I do it and still do it... That being said this F450 is best truck I have ever owned. The BEST by far. A true work truck. No issues other than water in fuel. Even the tires are the best. Continental tires made 98,500 miles with no rotation hauling. And it rides smooth.
I'm not trying to pick a fight, believe me. But, my response is what about pulling a 75 ton load with a tractor?? It will kill you just as easy. I think sometimes things go overboard. Now, if you were pulling that trailer with a 1995 F350 with no back brakes on the pickup, I'm all in. But, 30k behind a 450? The REAL issue IMHO is these new trucks can get that load moving 70 mph faster than you can blink. Along with that, you have a pickup that feels and drives like a car. Like I said, the truck or the rating isn't the problem in most cases, the driver is.
Your right. My truck has 475 hp 1080 ft lbs of torque. It will move on down the road. No complaints on power or comfort, but I am counting my blessing because twice I had to come from 75 mph to a dead stop and leave the road. Not fun.
Yes, same here. The truck is licensed at whatever you plan to gross, whether it is just the truck or truck + trailer. My thinking was the single axle is a good bit lighter than a tandem so that's more payload to still stay under 55K, but maybe tha'ts a backwards way to look at it. I did see that, not sure how many miles I'd put on it. I put about 10K last year on my single axle dump and probably will put close to that many on the IH flatbed. Lots of good points and similar to my way of thinking. I've been in business 17yrs now, but have just been growing the business very slowly, mostly with cash. I tend to mull things over for quite awhile before I make a big purchase or change to the way I do things. That being said, I think previously I had just been way too conservative with my purchases. I'd buy an older piece of equipment, fix it up, and it'd pay for itself in just a couple months of work. I realized while that is a good/quick ROI, I could buy new or newer equipment and the payback would be a little longer, but the operating experience is so much better and little to no down time. This year I bought a new CTL and almost new 35 mini excavator, and the productivity boost has been huge. The one area I'm still lacking in is equipment for clearing land/stumping, hence looking to add another larger excavator. The ol Case backhoe gets it done, but not quickly.
Our Rental Store does or does for us. My guys rented a telehandler to put together a bank safe on their property we took down on a demo a couple of years ago. They dropped it off Friday afternoon and picked it up Monday morning and only charged 8 hrs rent.
Kubota, Takeuchi, Deere and Case are my choices for excavators in that size class, all have dealers fairly close, some better than others. Cat is out of my price range, new or used. As far as rentals go, United rents the Tak 8 ton, Case dealer rents their 8 ton but is 1.5hrs away, Cat has a rental store about an hour away, may rent from them but don't plan to buy. No place to rent the Kubota that size, not sure about the Deere yet. If I do buy one it'll probably be used, they are $130K+ new from what I've seen. I don't have enough work for one to justify that kind of expense. Which brings me to the other part of this equation, my business is not entirely dirt work, I also build barns, fencing, and do some masonry work. Every year is different of how the work is made up, some years there are a lot of big excavating/land clearing projects and I put hundreds of hours on my bigger equipment, other years the skid steer/mini ex gets the bulk of the hours. Doesn't matter to me either way, it all pays good and I like the variety, mostly boils down to what my customers need. With that all being said, I need to evaluate how much I'll really use a piece of equipment and when renting vs owning makes sense. Yall have given me some good direction so far, this is a good discussion.
Correction on my posts, I said pintle and I ment to say gooseneck neck. The dump pulls with a bumper pull pintle and the f450 uses a either a goose neck or pintle. F450 is good for a 10 ton pintle and 15 ton goose neck. One thing I forgot to mention about using the goose neck is the weight is up further in the air, way more tippy than a low slung skid steer type trailer. But better weight distribution on the rear truck axle.
Glad it is working out. My work is a niche where I really need a 35 rather than anything bigger. Most times if I can do it with the bigger machine that is what I would bring. I don't know about your work, but I could see an 8 ton just parking the 5 ton, and eventually replacing it.
I wish my 5 ton sat up 1' taller for more frame ground clearance, had the ability to raise or lower a track based on grade and had 6 ft more reach. I could really knock out some concrete slabs then. I would bite the bullet and buy a new machine. Case could call it the Footasuar! Do you think they will hire me for product development?
Remember that guy with the wacker that he totally customized for small logging? What a shame it burned up in a forest fire. It raised up level on any grade.
We have all the major brands here within a 20-30 mile radius, Cat and Kommie have multiple locations. Cat, Komatsu, Deere, Volvo and Kobelco are all very competitive on pricing new equipment. Cowin has Case, Volvo, Hitachi and Kobelco. Kubota is more of a hobby farmer dealer not a construction dealer so their higher pricing reflects their clientele. Bobcat here..well I won't go there. Anyway it's interesting how pricing varies regionally on new equipment.
I was not personally impressed by the case 37 rental I have used a couple of times. It was just OK.
I might have misspoken somewhere in this thread but I don't own a 5 ton, I have a U35-4 Kubota (8500lbs), and a Case 480E backhoe. I have frequently rented 6-ton machines in the past, in fact put about 65hrs on a TB260 rental last year. A 6-ton is not quite a replacement for the backhoe, doesn't have the reach or bucket size, but it's close. I too need a small machine for a lot of my work, the U35 mini is perfect for most small jobs, I just don't like how heavy it is vs the narrow tracks. It's noticeably more ground pressure than my CTL and really does a number on lawns. There are times I wish I had something even smaller like a 1.7-2.5T machine. I have also thought about buying a 6-ton, but it seems too close in size to what I already have, it would be easy to haul though. My thought process was have two machines with a big enough size difference to compliment each other in the variety of work they do. 1.7t+6t, 3.5t+6t, or 3.5t+8t I'm not sure what's the most versatile for what I do.
Only reason I'm considering a Case the in the larger machines is they are made by Sumitomo, not Hyudai like the smaller minis.
We do have a Komatsu dealer about 45min away, but I've never had any dealings with their equipment before.
I'd rip some 3/4 used ply and put it under the tracks of the mini when you have a sensitive job. The job can pay for some plywood when the alternative is expensive restoration.
While we are on the topic of renting, has anyone else noticed the huge number of private individuals renting out their equipment on Marketplace and Craigslist? It's usually a mini excavator, CTL, dump trailer or the like, often brand new. Makes me wonder if this is stuff people bought and have trouble making the payments on so they try to rent it, or are they actually trying to run a rental business out of their house? Either way seems risky for both parties involved. Anyone here do this, or rent from them?
Sounds like a complete cluster.
With the previous low interest rates starting noticing brand new mini excavators (primarily) on ‘acreages’….after initial use now sitting largely unused. Personal use only; likely can’t afford payments IMO.
That's my thoughts too, but someone must be renting it or they wouldn't keep doing it. I think we may start to see a lot of low hour used equipment for sale at good prices soon. A lot of it was bought during covid, using 'free' money as a down payment, when they had nothing better to do, now reality is starting to set in. Are other people noticing this around the country or is a regional thing? If you search for "excavator" on Marketplace 40% of the ads are for someone trying to rent out their mini excavator or skid steer.
I also wonder if it's also one of these youtube get rich quick business ideas that everyone wants to try? Around here its also dump trailer rental/service delivering tiny quantities of gravel, and those small roll off dumpsters you can pull behind a pickup.
I have seen small overhead rental guys for many years now. One guy is Bobcat Bob, and he has no storefront, he just delivers bobcats and minis.
Similar to a air b n b, they are trying to have other people pay for their hobby excavator or skid loader. The big thing in my area is selling lake cabins in a development to individual owners. Buy the lake house, they (the developers) rent it out for you (for a fee). You block out what week you want in the summer- and all the other vacationers are paying for your lake cabin. There's been a bunch built here in the last two years.
Sounds a lot like a timeshare.
its just the new version of that scam.
I have seen the ads. Lots of dump trailers or skid steers for personal rent. With or without operator. I sold my last gooseneck trailer to a guy that was so busy with the side gig rentals that he was quitting his job and going full time. He bought the trailer from me to deliver his equipment because the insurance offered him a steep discount if only he moved his equipment. He started with a Deere 27G, and some skid steer for personal use. He finished his project and his neighbor wanted to borrow. They agreed to a rental deal. That neighbor shared the story to his buddy, who then rented for a weekend, etc. The owner of the new business then stopped and got proper insurance before his machine got ruined. Last I talked to him, he had 8 machines on rent and 2 new ones on order. I still see his ads from time to time.
If the property is owned fee simple I don't see it as a scam. The rental agreement might be brutal but the owner still owns the home. Not a bad idea actually. Buy the house, rent it out in order to pay it off and have a paid for home in retirement.
It all depends on what you are doing. I am a big believer in renting when you are starting or growing. BUT, in my opinion, you need to own some type of excavator and loader and a dump truck/trailer to pull them. Size varies on type of work, urban vs. rural, etc. You need to be able to say "yes" to the 1-2 day job when you are starting and they don't pencil when renting everything or paying for hauling.
I'm a bit past that stage in my business, right now I'm in the streamlining/adding efficiency/adding value stage, but I agree with what you're saying. Just for reference I do have a dozer, backhoe, mini ex, skid steer, CTL, two dump trucks/trailers, flatbed truck, etc. I can do most anything my customers need, just some things I'd like to be quicker at, such as clearing and stumping, hence the large excavator. Looking back at everything I rented last year, it really wasn't that much. Rented a Takeuchi TB260 twice, once for a month to help on a land clearing job, and again for a day to run a hammer on a small bridge demo/replacement job. Rented a Takeuchi TL12 with hammer for a week for a foundation job. Also some small sundry things like a plate compactor and jumping jack, both of which I should probably just buy.
Dozer weights 22817 lbs and trailer is 6500 lbs? Would ja? I cant imagine the trailer lasting very long....
Nope. Too many drivers focused on ticktocking, fb'ing and Lord knows what else on the road to be responsible for that rig.
I have 3 crews, Crew A is 3 men, one KUV van for supplies, 3 CAT 308 E2 Cr excavators. They do STEP (septic) tank installs in 3-5 subdivisions. At $500 per move one way you can buy a nice used 80 size machine. I bought and paid fo 3 in the last 18 months. Crew B is 4 men, one RAM 5500 crew cad with long wheel base and a ton of tools and aux fuel tank, one CAT 289D3 CTL, one ASV RT40 CTL, one CAT 305.5E2 CR mini ex, one CAT 308E2 CR excavator, one tandem axle equipment trailer for the CTL and 305, and IH single axle 4300 dump truck Crew C is 5 men, CAT313 excavator, CAT D4K2 bulldozer, CAT D6R bulldozer Cat 299D3 CTL, IH tandem axle bucket truck, IH 4800 crew cab pick up. F350 crew cab flat bed with aux fuel. One Mack tri axle dump truck and CDL driver, 26K tandem dually pintel trailer, 40k tandem dually pintel trailerto service all three crews and move equipment. We started 7 years ago with the single axle dump truck, ASV RC100 and a CAT 304C CR mini ex. All the above except the 313 are paid for. We do rent mainly excavator and hammers for the septic crew 2-3 days a month.
Friend of mine installs the individual tanks and pumps for the subdivision wide on-site sewage systems. Basically a septic tank and a pump chamber in the front yard that is connected to a low pressure system that leads to spray fields or other treatment system. He has 2 - 306's and a 305 he keeps in the subdivisions he works in so he doesn't have to move them. It's cheaper for him to have a machine staged than move it around when you consider crew down time.
Do you move your cat D6R with a dump truck and pintle trailer? I'm not implying that it's not legal but I have not seen it done. I feel like if I tried that around here the DOT would have me pulled over in very short order.
With a tri axle trailer it is theoretically legal, I think. Pretty sketchy though.
D6R is hauled by hired hauler with proper equipment. He also hauls the bigger rental equipment for the rental company. That way the moblization is on the rental ticket as well as the sales tax for the mark up
When you are doing production work like the step tanks in multiple subdivisions it makes sense to leave the machine on site. Scheduled to be in subdivision A on a Monday for the week for 3-4 systems. guess what the builder did not get the dumpsters moved. Go to subdivison B or C and start one or two there until subdivision A is ready mid week. I did not have to move a machine. At $500-$600 per move that you cannot recover times 3-4 moves a month you can buy a nice low hour machine and keep moving the jobs forward.
Smart business.
Although I generally work by myself, I do the same on a smaller scale. It's not uncommon for me to leave the CTL and mini ex at one job site and backhoe and dozer at another 20mi away. While I'm waiting on materials to be delivered, inspections to get done, etc I can just drive the pickup and get to work somewhere else.
Same here. We'll leave the 321 on a job that has multiple phases like one we did downtown and move the 325 around to production jobs. Even though they are easy to move we do the same with the 279's. Since they have keypads no one can "borrow" them.