Charges for 15 foot bush hog

Floyd A tn · Feb 1, 2009

How much an acre or hour for a 15 foot bush hog in general grass.

I am not looking to bush hog any thing that has very big bushes in it..

Pulling the bush hog with a 5093 john deere tractor.

IaGary · Feb 1, 2009

I get $75 an hour or $7 an acre.

Which ever is higher when I get done with the job.

Gary

Mark · Feb 2, 2009

I wouldn't start a rig like that up for $75 an hour! More like $125 or more if I thought I could get it. Big tractor, big mower, big maintenance bills, lots of fuel.

I have a 5320 Deere and a piddly 6' hog and $75 an hour is the going rate. When they turn their noses up, I tell them to use a scythe for an hour and call me back. If they don't change their minds on the spot, when they do call I tell them the rate went up to $85 an hour.

IaGary · Feb 2, 2009

You can get a $100,000 bulldozer,excavator or other equipment to work for you for $100 to $125 an hour around here.

I only have about $15,000 invested in my mower and tractor that I use to do the job.

Gary

jddriver · Feb 2, 2009

Gary I get 15$ hour per foot per hour and the developers are happy to pay it here in sububia.Would be very different in the country

IaGary · Feb 3, 2009

Hey jddriver surprised to see you here.

My mowing consists of mowing 20 to 100 acre pastures.

I can mow as high as 15 acres an hour. That's $105 an hour. I would not even consider mowing larger brush or construction lots with this mower.

Gary

Tx Jim · Feb 3, 2009

Gary,
I curious as to what mph you have to run to mow 15 acres/hr with a 15 ft mower. My calculations point to 10 mph. Here in Texas pastures are way to rough to mow that fast!!!!!!! The only time I've seen snow over 6 inches was in Iowa when I drove to Waterloo to pick-up 3 JD tractors at the factory. It is beautiful country in the summer.

Floyd A tn · Feb 3, 2009

Around my area people bush hog with a 6 ft at 45.00 an hour.

At that price, thats about 7.5 dollars per ft width.. With that in mind, a 15 ft should get about 112.50 an hour.. Of course people around here see that as a high price instead of bush hogging 3 times more for the same amount of time..

I was thinking of charging 100.00 an hour..

This equipment will not be in any thing other than open fields. I have a 6 ft hog and a 135 MF for the small and rougher areas..

Most of the time I will be cutting hay fields that I don't cut fall cutting because of sage grass or johnson grass.

I also have three fields where the owners want to keep their fields cut clean after first cutting..

Mark · Feb 3, 2009

IaGary,

I meant no offense, just saying you are offering a bargain for running a 15" batwing, regardless of what you have invested. It takes a big horse to pull a big mower and they like the hay!

I will mow anything I can run over...which means up to about 1.5" diameter.....of course the speed goes way down. I run my machine for customers the same as I run it for myself....no faster/no slower.

We have a discussion before I enter an unknown field about hidden objects...ie., scrap iron, steel posts, steel rods/markers, HOLES!, stumps, locust trees/thorns, etc. Man made hazards are their responsibility when it comes to repairs to my damaged machine....thorns and such go with the brush being cut, sealant in the tires cover that. Yeah...it all gets signed in ink before the blades turn. I learned it the hard way.

IaGary · Feb 3, 2009

Yep I can run that at times if the weeds and grass and not to thick. And most of the fields are smooth enough.

Most times it is closer to 8 to 10 acres an hour.

When its thicker yet and I get down to 5 or 6 acres an hour that's where the $75 an hour kicks in.

Gary

Anonymous-0 · Feb 4, 2009

Some people give their work away. Let "em. Don"t even try to compete with them. I carry insurance, pay employees, and operate a legit full time business. Someone doing the work as a sideline and under the table can work cheaper if they don"t mind taking the risk. (Risk to BOTH the person doing the mowing AND the property owner)

My rates vary with conditions and distance to/from job, as well as size of job. In general, I get $125 hr for 95hp/15", $65hr for 60hp/7", and $55hr for 45hp/6". I have five 15" mowers, two 7"ers, and two 6"ers. (We mow highway right-of-ways also) Time starts when we pull out of the yard. Per acre rate is determined by acres per hour and above rates. Have mowed for as cheap as $16 an acre in recent years. I won"t quote work "per acre" though. (Hourly or flat rate price only)

I can"t imagine mowing @ 15mph! In average conditions that would destroy a mower in minutes.

jddriver · Feb 4, 2009

dont come here much just too many mean peaple

Floyd A tn · Feb 4, 2009

If the ground is smooth and clean, I am going to charge 100.00 an hour.. If the field is a little rough or has some over growth in it, I'll charge accordingly.

I have a 135 with a 6 ft cutter. i don't get into any hurry and charge 45.00 per hour on normal fields.. I have charged as much as 65.00 per hour for the 6 ft.

Do you all charge more for rolling hillsides?

How about hillsides that are kind of steep but not a problem to cut?

tg in VA · Feb 5, 2009

Do you guys ever think about how many miles you drive to bushhog an acre?

If you use a 6' bushhog and probably overlap a foot, you drive 1.65 miles to bushhog one acre (33 miles for 20 acres, yet you probably never think about getting on your tractor and driving 33 miles when you start to bushhog 20 acres). Maybe I need a radio on my tractor rather than thinking about things like this when I mow!

Anyway, using the same premise of overlapping a foot, it takes 2.06 miles to mow an acre with a 5' bushhog and 1 3/8 miles with a 7' bushhog.

Charges for 15 foot bush hog

Floyd A tn

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IaGary

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Mark

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IaGary

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jddriver

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IaGary

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Tx Jim

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Floyd A tn

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Mark

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IaGary

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Anonymous-0

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jddriver

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Floyd A tn

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tg in VA

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