ctsboy Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I know that in the past a few members have posted asking what to charge for a man and tractor, well i spent the day today in a talk held at work on cultivations,energy and grain storage by a chap who is like a agric buisness troubleshooter, and the rising fuel costs were discused and we worked out that on todays fuel price a 100HPtractor(of which i bet very few owner drivers run) alone will us £14 per hour of fuel :o :o :o so if you then add in all the other costs for example:you sat on the seat, repair cost the list goes on. So in my view and i'm no expert but alot of owner drivers need to look deeply at costings or other options like have fuel from the farmer you are working for etc. But i think that the price to make any money should be in the £28 or above bracket. (but like i say i'm no expert)I thought i would share with you what i found out today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 28 quid an hour are you sure?? i saw a recipt the other day at a farm for 3 hours hire and manhours for a muck spreader job, total inc everything was 175 quid, ,not sure if thats over the top or not to be honest ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsboy Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 This is just man and tractor no machine! When i was self employed 6 years ago there where people going out with 140hp tractors for £15 per hour, at the time i was looking into getting a tractor but i couldn't justify it , i'm not big headed but i think my time is worth at least £10per hour if i was a plumber,sparky etc i would be charging much more and in our field we are just as skilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 This is just man and tractor no machine! When i was self employed 6 years ago there where people going out with 140hp tractors for £15 per hour, at the time i was looking into getting a tractor but i couldn't justify it , i'm not big headed but i think my time is worth at least £10per hour if i was a plumber,sparky etc i would be charging much more and in our field we are just as skilled. very ture mate, most trades charge 10 quid an hour or more to be honest, hence it pays to know a few good mates at times in need, this bill i saw was for tractor driver and spreader, sounds like it was just a old howard from what he described to us, he only did that as his was broken and he couldnt find one to rent/borrow anywhere so he claims Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerrabbit Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I think that this would come under agricultural contracting and be up to the contractor to set his prices according to the operation and costings of type of machinery used for any specific operation. A lot of farmers around here are now dispensing of certain operations that they previously engaged a contractor for and for such things as hedgetrimming, hiring a tractor and trimmer for the required period where breakdown costs are covered in the hire 'contract' and the farmer only has to provide the fuel for the tractor. This is particulaly the case now when a farmer just needs an extra or larger tractor for a short period of time to jet a job done that he can do himself. Of course there is another 'angle', I know of a few particularly 'tighter than most' farmers that when they want a tractor for a short while, they will go to their dealers and have a new one on demonstration. The dealers will probably get wise to it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 28 quid an hour are you sure?? i saw a recipt the other day at a farm for 3 hours hire and manhours for a muck spreader job, total inc everything was 175 quid, ,not sure if thats over the top or not to be honest ect I think that would be on a different price structure anyway..... you'd have to charge out a full day to haul that lot over there anyway, by the time you've washed down you won't fit much else in that day, could even be cheap .... for instance, our ceiling fixers charge £5 /m2 for suspended ceilings, but for anything less than 150 quid's worth they charge a day rate - they won't drive to site to install 10m2 of ceiling for 50 quid.... £28/hour would be a long term hire rate, spud planting etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav836 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I think the sensible people about here are already charging at least £20 an hour for a man and tractor excluding fuel. The chap I've been working for has a condition written in all quotes now that price is subject to change due to rising fuel and wearing parts cost, fuel is being billed separately as well in some cases. Unlike one or two local contractors he's fairly clued up on it, others charge as little as possible and are then unable to afford to repair or replace the tractors as the need arises, yes they got the job but its not good business sense : Going rate here for self employed tractor drivers is between £9 and £12 an hour typically Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsboy Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 There are so many variables that can be brought into it, i am working on price per hour , you can't compare things like putting up ceiling tiles etc cause they have differnt pricing stuctures i was think of letting the small man know well the younger lads who think it would be good to have there own tractor to watch out on hidden cost and at the minute fuel is a big cost that needs taking into account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsboy Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Its true we had a price for fuel at work at 68p/litre today four years ago it was 16p/litre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Well my mate has been out on silage work these last few weeks @£25 per hour for him, his tractor and trailer +fuel supplied by the farmers he was working for which I didn't think was too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robl12 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 My mate has just gone back into contracting. He was charging 16 pound and acre for spring drilling plus fuel on top of that. He said it was the easiest way to keep his prices fair and get work. None of the farmers complained about the price or the fact that fuel was extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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