Odd Jobs

[chevytaHOE5674]

But if you didn't do them yourself you would have to pay someone to do them.

Ken

I know but it just feels different since nobody wrote me a check for the work.

Work all day on a piece of equipment for myself and my back account stays the same. Work all day on your equipment and the bank account says +$1500.

 

[Travlr]

I know but it just feels different since nobody wrote me a check for the work.

Work all day on a piece of equipment for myself and my back account stays the same. Work all day on your equipment and the bank account says +$1500.

You charge $1500 a day to work on someone's equipment? No wonder people work on their own. I'd be embarrassed to charge that kind of money to someone trying to make a living in Agriculture.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Find a shop that charges less that $100 an hour to work on anything. Heavy equipment is $120-250 an hour easy. Often times the tools required to earn $1500 far exceeds $1500, so that's why guys pay someone to work on their equipment, not to mention the knowledge required to properly diagnose and repair things without throwing expensive parts at it.

 

[Travlr]

Find a shop that charges less that $100 an hour to work on anything. Heavy equipment is $120-250 an hour easy. Often times the tools required to earn $1500 far exceeds $1500, so that's why guys pay someone to work on their equipment, not to mention the knowledge required to properly diagnose and repair things without throwing expensive parts at it.

This is why I never owned haying equipment and always did my hay on shares.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Just the Texa computer to plug in and do diagnostics on newer equipment cost me around 10k bucks. Needed for most emissions, can-bus, and sensor issues.

Or the 95mm 1" drive socket I just bought to rebuild a cylinder for $350 bucks.

We aren't talking $150 an hour to change oil. We are talking rebuild engines, transmissions, hydraulic pumps, diagnosing pilot pressure issues, checking ECM pin outs, etc.

And because you did your hay on shares, just means it wasn't you calling me it was the equipment owner. That cost was still there.

Also remember there isn't an operator to do hay on shares everywhere.

 

[Travlr]

Just the Texa computer to plug in and do diagnostics on newer equipment cost me around 10k bucks. Needed for most emissions, can-bus, and sensor issues.

Or the 95mm 1" drive socket I just bought to rebuild a cylinder for $350 bucks.

We aren't talking $150 an hour to change oil. We are talking rebuild engines, transmissions, hydraulic pumps, diagnosing pilot pressure issues, checking ECM pin outs, etc.

And because you did your hay on shares, just means it wasn't you calling me it was the equipment owner. That cost was still there.

Also remember there isn't an operator to do hay on shares everywhere.

Well, then the grift is just spread out over a lot of people then, it seems to me. $350 for a socket? Tell me it costs more to manufacture that socket compared to a half or three quarter inch drive socket you can buy for twenty bucks.

I'm not saying work in a shop isn't worth significant money, but just like hospitals charge $30 for a single aspirin there are definitely some questionable practices that look a lot like grift to the guy paying the bill.

 

[Dave]

When we bought this place we leased some of it to B to make the deal work for us. To get more money on the lease I told him I could do some things. It worked into me doing even more. I declared myself B's unhired hired hand. At that point he only had one so so employee. Now he has 2 full time employees and 2 part time. I notice that he calls me a lot less but I still do things for him.

 

[alacowman1]

I built about everything on the place myself "out of necessity"..when I built my cabin..a man stopped by and ask me what I would charge to build him some rental cabins on a lake.. all the while I was thinking man, if you only knew that I don't know what the he// I'm doing, you wouldn't even ask

 

[kenny thomas]

The local tractor dealership charges $132 an hour for anything. It can be changing oil or major overhaul.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Well, then the grift is just spread out over a lot of people then, it seems to me. $350 for a socket? Tell me it costs more to manufacture that socket compared to a half or three quarter inch drive socket you can buy for twenty bucks.

Find me a 95mm 1" socket that will stand up to 4000+ ftlb of torque for $20 and I'll happily buy it. 3.75" is too big and sloppy to get full use of a 1" impact.

You call it a grift, but it's the cost of doing business and keeping very expensive equipment operational and earning money in a timely fashion.

 

[Travlr]

Find me a 95mm 1" socket that will stand up to 4000+ ftlb of torque for $20 and I'll happily buy it. 3.75" is too big and sloppy to get full use of a 1" impact.

You call it a grift, but it's the cost of doing business and keeping very expensive equipment operational and earning money in a timely fashion.

You missed the point.

And it doesn't matter. It is what it is.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

What's your point?

I'd love if you could buy tooling for 20 bucks and I could charge people $60 an hour and cover costs and turn a profit from that.

But the simple fact is that's not the world we live in.

 

[Brute 23]

Find a shop that charges less that $100 an hour to work on anything. Heavy equipment is $120-250 an hour easy. Often times the tools required to earn $1500 far exceeds $1500, so that's why guys pay someone to work on their equipment, not to mention the knowledge required to properly diagnose and repair things without throwing expensive parts at it.

You would be covered up here. A guy a couple years older than me quit his job and started his own deal doing lawn mowers, equipment, atvs, etc. What ever he thinks he can fix. He is over $100/hr and you are lucky if you can get him.

Lawn mower repair is a minimum of $80/hr and doesn't require much in the way of specialty tools.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

The local tractor dealership charges $132 an hour for anything. It can be changing oil or major overhaul.

You also have to look at what's included in a shops hourly rate. Some charge lower hourly and then charge for shop supplies, oil disposal, cleaning fees, environmental fees, etc. Also some shops mark up the parts they install.

My hourly rate includes everything and I don't mark up parts at all.

 

[jltrent]

I try to have a backup for everything and if I can't fix it myself might as well junk it. The work I have had done I believe was closer to $200/hr. and had to take it back and also go over their work as they left every bolt lose on my loader brackets and I lost one metric bolt that cost $18 before I found about 20 others I could turn with my fingers. I am not mentioning the dealer.

I know these auto/tractor/small engine/etc. shops have to make a living, but it is highway robbery what they charge.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I know these auto/tractor/small engine/etc. shops have to make a living, but it is highway robbery what they charge.

When customers say that I tell them to go buy 50-100k in tools and equipment and get years of experience then get back to me on if it's highway robbery or not. Hahaha

 

[Travlr]

When customers say that I tell them to go buy 50-100k in tools and equipment and get years of experience then get back to me on if it's highway robbery or not. Hahaha

Anybody that's paying $350 for a socket is the one getting highway robbed. And then they have to pass that kind of expense down the line to their customer who is then highway robbed twice removed.
That's the way the government thinks... when they are buying $600 hammers and justifying their congressional raises.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

So instead of buying a $350 socket and completing the job and getting the machine back to running and earning money what would you do?

 

[Travlr]

So instead of buying a $350 socket and completing the job and getting the machine back to running and earning money what would you do?

I'd probably find a way to make $300 sockets and get rich selling them to people that don't have a source for $250 sockets.

 

[wbvs58]

Find a shop that charges less that $100 an hour to work on anything. Heavy equipment is $120-250 an hour easy. Often times the tools required to earn $1500 far exceeds $1500, so that's why guys pay someone to work on their equipment, not to mention the knowledge required to properly diagnose and repair things without throwing expensive parts at it.

I never begrudge paying someone with knowledge, experience and who is fair when they know what they are doing the only trouble these days so many mechanics don't know as much as me and they do throw major parts at things hoping it will fix it the problem. I use a workshop in town for my hydraulic hoses and I trust Phill, he is very practical and has often got me out of trouble adapting or fabricating a fitting that was not available. He is not cheap but I trust him to charge me fairly and accurately for what he does and he does not lead me around the garden path with unnecessary expense. 90% of my work I do myself.

Ken