I'm 100% new to skid steers. But I do believe I will be purchasing this machine. It is a John Deere 333 g with 1400 hours. It comes with many attachments including this mulcher head. How much would you charge to run this machine with the mulching head? I may have a couple jobs right away clearing small tag elders and such in overgrown fields. Also, what is a normal hourly rate for this machine doing general work with a bucket. Thank you
I talked to one guy with a mulcher about a year ago and he said $1600 for 8 hours so $200 per hour. I'd make sure and have a minimum so your not hauling it around for nothing or moving 2 or 3 times a day
Might not get top dollar per hour if you new at running it. Might be better to give a price per job.
Anybody run the mulcher in winter? I suppose depending on snow depth so as to see rocks etc.
Matt, I know the snow get's deep and tough in Michigan, however I don't think you'll need to resort to using the mulcher to plow the driveway..... Do recall how charpy impact numbers drop off fast with cold temps.
Cmon man! I'm gonna grind that snow to nothin'!
A rule of thumb for hourly rates. The rate should be 1% of the cost of a new machine and attachment. $200,000=$200 per hour. Running a mulcher will double the fuel consumption over bucket work. Being a newbie get all the information off the jobs you do like areas done, time involved, type of terrain and vegetation type and costs to do. With that info you've got a baseline to quote future work. Don't do lump sum quotes because clients have a habit of asking you to do a little bit extra while you're there but hate paying for it. Charging for area cleared removes that argument.
When comes to mulching, going by the hour needs to account for any damaged teeth. Depending on which mulcher you have, the teeth can be expensive. Its impossible to find every hazard your going to hit on a walk through. The 333G also has can have an issue with hyd over heating, so there will be times when your going to have to sit and let it cool down. The customer needs to know up front that is part of the deal. If your a contractor you understand that, customers expect to see the machine moving if they are paying by the hour. A discussion about that before hand can spare a more heated conversation later. Be sure to have a fire extinguisher on the machine. I prefer to quote the project myself over hourly.