So i have been mulling over quiting doing saturday work at my normal job as m-f work pays the bills. I know a few owner operators and they know my skills , was thinking about doing a little work for them on my terms when i want to for extra moneys . And then i started asking what the one was paying at the shop he goes to in south carolina , the answer to thay was 75 an hour shop rate . I was thinking that is what i would charge and that would be a good deal guess not. Where i am from the independent shops charged more then that or about that much 15 years ago. So now i am enquiring what other people see from there local independent shops for trucks labor rate. If i were to do business on other equipment it would likely be ac repairs only as its something i enjoy and am good at and doesnt generaly take all day i would have to be picky though changing an ac line on some equipment turns into quite the ordeal.
95 to 100 is what I am seeing around here
Yeah that was the range i was expecting to hear.
The old man that does alot of our welding repair charges 65 hrly but at this point i dont think he cares about getting ritch he is 76 and i think is still working just for something to do to be honest.
Certified welder with rig on site - $85 per hour here. $110 shop labor at the Cat house - that was several months ago, probably more now. I don't know what local truck shop rates are but I would guess all around $100 an hour.
I think around $100 an hour is the going rate here (I know there are cheaper....). I think Pete and KW are 125-130 an hour. Guys I know who aren’t in a hurry pay me $75. If you want it done ASAP or are paying with a check it’s $100. I’ve always inquired as to what people felt was fair and $100 an hour for a knowledgeable well equipment tech is a common answer.
Independent with service truck and more importantly experience doesn't have to be less than a shop rate. In some cases can be more. You still need insurance, etc., etc. Big difference between working on something all washed up in the shop and something in it's work clothes in the field. You don't want to undercut a shop rate by too much especially if customers are waiting till the weekend to have you work on their equipment instead of taking it to the shop. What happens if your current employer finds out you are doing side jobs or worse taking business away from them? You don't want to be forced into being a full time independent. The other thing I'd worry about is if you need common parts and the customer needs his machine ASAP. Are they going to wait till the next weekend or do you have to go out after your regular job is finished for the day. Could be a good thing but some things to think about.
Sell yourself cheap and word of mouth will wipe out your real job if not careful. Make it worth your while as YOU are looking to earn for YOUR abilities.
My real work is truck andnpart time equipment mechanic at a grading company we dont work on anyones stuff, side work is fine to do as long as company truck stays shut off and in the driveway . My buddy just bought an 88 pete for a spare truck needs a bunch of little stuff done to get it road worthy he is not in a hurry but want to have it ready incase his 89 pete ends up with engine problems . I have 2 customers most of the time im just there eyes and advice and they throw me a little cash my way , clutch adjustment 20 bucks if they bobtail over to the house .if i ever want to go full on i will by a service truck of my own tell boss im going part time or quit altogether , in just looking for a little mad money at this point that big brother dont know about. Yall got good points though, if i were to do mobile ac for peoples more then my friends i would have to think more serious and probably legit start a business.
I dont even remember how many job offers i declined and interviews politely canceled when i took this job, everytime i go looking at used trucks with people so they know legit what is wrong with truck or what it needs to go on road i get job offers for more then im making now . I guess this is what got me throwing ideas around in my brain. The good truck mechanic shortage is really starting to rear its head in my area anyways. I know it is in other regions also.
Need to start charging for the inspections and reference time I also worked that way once long ago Many knew could get advise for free until I shut it off The ones that mattered kept coming back checkbook in hand
I got a benjamin for looking at a few trucks didnt have anything going on anyways. Found out one of the dumptruck drivers had an 88 pete for cheap got it sold for him made 200 off that deal wasnt even expecting that lol. Plus i will pick what repairs i will do for him the buyer , probably quick sort out any wiring issues and fix his ac, needs brakes all the way around but not sure i want that part just yet,
It sounds like you're wanting to do it under the table for cash and not reporting it as income. That could be a real recipe for disaster.
No
Where did the dang edit button go . The 20 bucks here and there i dont worry about same with my scrap money i dont get enough to be required to report it even though techically your supposed to just like a waitress and tip money. If i do this i need to register business with nc and get insurance and a tax number, once i get a chance to breathe im going to check on the liability insurance before i do anything, if that is what i think its gonna be im probably just gonna shelve this idea for now because that will put me in a position of having to proceed with a larger investment of time and money that i am not in a position to do at the moment.
That makes sense. I was going by what you said here. "in just looking for a little mad money at this point that big brother dont know about."
"Big brother" is his wife, who are you to judge?
I thought the wife was the "boss". Either way if you get caught with extra money you probably won't get to keep it. LoL
Not even gonna go there , house hold got put on a budget, not putting paycheck in the bank got my point across. I glean off the top side of my paycheck anyways usually whatever is on the top side of 55 hrs goes in my wallet still leaving 200 more a week then old job going into the bank. Boss lady got with the program pretty quick and i even got an apology , i have it saved in my phone as proof lol. Big brother dont need to know about the 20 or 50 bucks here and there like my scrap money it only amounts to a few hundo a year , i already payback 85% of my wifes social security because of my income when taxes get filed .
If you could i would find something that isnt so close to your regular job. Then you will not get so burnt out.