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I had some large tractor work done yesterday

G

Gun guru

Well-known Member
A guy that goes to my church has a 4320 Deere with FEL and a backhoe. (very nice machine too)
Anyway I had him come over and dig 3 holes and bury rotted stumps and tree debris. He buried it and covered it up and I will likely have him come back and go deeper into the woods after I clear a path for him.
Not cheap.....$50/hour He was at my place for 4 hours, I paid in cash.
 
$50.00 an hour sounds like a bargain to me ? at least from the standpoint from an owner operater of such type of equipment. Way cheaper then you could rent one for too.
 
That price is very fair in my opinion. I charge $75 an hour for my tractor/loader/backhoe and turn away more jobs than I take. (I just do it for a little extra spending money as time allows. Not in the excavation business by any means.)
 
If you think $50 an hour is "not cheap" for backhoe work, you might not be needin' my phone number.

I'm assuming the "4320" you're referring to is a Deere compact of recent vintage and NOT the 4320 row crop of the early '70's. So go buy a $10,000 to $15,000 tractor, add a loader and backhoe, (probably a MINIMUM of $8,000 to $10,000 more, if new) and go to work for $50 an hour and see how long you stay in business. Add liability insurance just for giggles, get a truck & trailer to haul it all on, THEN see how much you're making. If you have any money left, get proper license and insurance on tow vehicle, pay taxes on what you make, and buy fuel.

If your buddy is "legal", he might have just lost money burying your stumps.
 
I was wondering about the model number sounds like a Ag model, is that a compact tractor? If so, the price is most likely on target, $75 and hour for a lot bigger machine that does a lot more work.
 
I have to agree with everyone else. You got a bargain. 1st it was only 4 hours and most people wouldn't start up their equipment and 4 hours work for 200 dollars. Does it make a difference if you paid cash. I think not.
 
Hey MF, I rented a new Case BH with a 1000 lb. hammer on it for ONE day, delivered, $800 from Hunt Tractor. I'll take $50 an hour anytime.

Hilltopper
 
Way back in the middle 1970's I ran a Case 580B Backhoe loader and I was charging 60 bucks an hour and getting all the work I could do. This was in Silicon Valley in California. I don't know how good a machine a JD 4320 is with a hoe attachment...I know a 4320 is a 110-115 hp ag. tractor.
 
I don't like to do mowing or discing work for someone I know, as they think I should give them a special deal. This may be the reason the guy only charged 50.00 an hour. Like someone else said by the time you figure all the money before you start to move any ground is a lot. Stan
 
In my area going rate for a small backhoe is $75 per hour and the bigger machines like the Case 580s it is $100 per hour so you got off dirt cheap for $50 per. A track hoe which yes a whole lot bigger will run a guy $1000-1500 per an 8 hour day and that includes hauling time both ways
 
I've got a Case 580SuperM hoe that I bought off my former employer. It's set up for a hoe ram, although I don't have that. (can be rented) It's handy to have around, but I wouldn't drive it off the property for $200. Insurance for excavating work is OUTRAGEOUS. And I'm not digging a hole in anyones yard without insurance.
 
One could argue on the "paid cash" value. I once had a guy with a little back hoe dig up my well. He gave me a price and when I mentioned that I had to pick up some cash he immediately cut the price in half without asking. In today's world of high taxes, credit costs and government requirements cash can go a lot further than one might think. I've gotten to where I always ask, even in areas like an appliance store if there is a better price if I pay cash. Sometimes it pays and sometimes it don't. You don't know if you don't ask.
 
The Deere 4340 is a farm tractor (48 HP) with a 2.4 liter deere motor. The backhoe only goes down 5-6 feet. Which is enough for burying scrap wood.
 
The guy that did the work told me that a few years ago he was getting $70-80 per hour to run that same tractor with a 6 foot brush hog. This was mostly to cut down fields so that a general contractor could start to build a dozen homes on a 20-30 acre site.
 
Yep I understand. Back when I retired I was getting $50 per hour to drive my dump truck on job sites and some jobs $55 per hour. That was back 10 years ago. When my doctor found out I was driving a truck he told me your retired no questions asked
 
Why cant you drive a dump truck.......Not real stressful I would think. Only a little more stressful then driving a pickup truck. (who cares)

Or is it a disability insurance issue?
 
I did a little better'n that today. A guy right down the road called just a little while ago and wanted to know if I'd come down and pull 3 shrubs out for him. Pulled them and a lilac bush out and he handed me $80. I told him that was way too much. Said $5 a stump was plenty,didn't take me 20 minutes. He insisted. Said it was better than digging them up by hand and cutting the roots off with an ax. OK,it was his money,but it wouldn't have taken that much to satisfy me.
 
4230 utility tractor isn't particularly large.
$50/hr for a man, fuel, insurance, maintenance and amortized purchase price? Your neighbor worked for you for free.
 
This 5.5 inch scar on my lower back says no way, had the L-5-S-1 disk removed back in 1996 and have pain 24/7 and truck driving is one of the worse things you can do and have back problems also. Also with a bad back and the other problems I have I can no longer pass a D.O.T. physical.
 
It's dishonest. If you will break the law for that, even if you disagree with the law, what law is next?
I may not agree with what they do with my money but it's still my country so I pay my taxes.
 
Perhaps you can pay some of my taxes if that's what you love. I'm in New York state and well over 40% of my money goes to someone for taxes so someone can abuse the welfare system. I don't have a problem if the government is missing a dollar somewhere.
 
Sure he would. The state of Michigan is real bad economically. $50 per hour for anything is good, the place where I work charges $55 per hour shop rate. And has a whole lot more overhead then he does.

This 4320 deere is a compact utility tractor, he bought it used. He only lives 10 minutes from me.
 
Donate to a CHARITY in HIS NAME ...REMINDS ME OF THE TIME 20 YRS BACK WHEN THE NEIGHBOR CAME OVER WITH HIS BACKHOE TO DIG A COW OUT OF 25 FT DEEP SINK HOLE ,, and the little calf was down there too ,, been missing for couple days before i realized they were not hiding on purpose , NEW HOLe OPENED UP amogst blackberry briars,,. seasoned operator REFUSED PAY AFTER DIGGING as deep as possible next to the hole ,, after establishing a good basin , he knocked thru the hole of the sinkhole creating light for the DISTRESSED COW who was still anothe 8 ft or more lower than the floor of the new hole ,, Lucky FOR EVERYONE this cavern opened up to a massive room like a cistern cavity .. We simply pushed dirt down to where the cow was a little at a time and after about an hour had it hi enuf for her to come CAT CLAWING out of that HOLE , with the little calf leap frogging up the ramp behind her ,, Operator was Laughing So Hard with Joy , Amazement and Sheer Triumph ,AND we were nearly moved to tears ..earlier we had seriously considered aiming a gun down in the hole , Because we thought it would be impossible ... Both Of Us realized WE HAD TO TRY ,../.
 
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