What are you guys doing per day??

[alpineman]

I am looking to make some new goals for this year and I was wondering what you guys are doing per day during the normal season. We were doing about $1800-$2200 per day this year. That is for Denver(we used to do about $2500 a day back on the east coast). I don't know how much more I can push out of my single crew. Any thoughts...

 

[ducaticorse]

I am looking to make some new goals for this year and I was wondering what you guys are doing per day during the normal season. We were doing about $1800-$2200 per day this year. That is for Denver(we used to do about $2500 a day back on the east coast). I don't know how much more I can push out of my single crew. Any thoughts...

You get what your competition is getting. Around Boston my mark is $1800 a day, thats with 3-4 guys a forrestry truck and chipper. I bought a log truck and another chip truck and I'm not planning on raising rates this year.

I guess you need to look at your schedule, and if it's full, and you're turning jobs down, you can raise at say 15% and see if you can maintain your full schedule.

 

[mpatch]

I work in the same market (front range of Colorado) as you and target is $72 a man hour.

 

[TreeClimber57]

I work in the same market (front range of Colorado) as you and target is $72 a man hour.

what equipment do you include with that hourly rate.

 

[Blakesmaster]

It's difficult to assess what a crew should be making in a day w/out knowing their skill level and equipment available to them. Earlier this year Eric and I were shooting for a grand a day. As we've gotten better at working together and with the addition of our mini we now try to hit $1500 a day. Some days we only make a grand, some days we make $2500. Our best day this season was $3K. This is just 2 guys, 17 yard chip truck, 12 inch chipper, mini skid, 1 ton and trailer. With the addition of a small crane, bucket truck OR another guy I will up our goal to at least $2K a day.

 

[TreeClimber57]

It's difficult to assess what a crew should be making in a day w/out knowing their skill level and equipment available to them. Earlier this year Eric and I were shooting for a grand a day. As we've gotten better at working together and with the addition of our mini we now try to hit $1500 a day. Some days we only make a grand, some days we make $2500. Our best day this season was $3K. This is just 2 guys, 17 yard chip truck, 12 inch chipper, mini skid, 1 ton and trailer. With the addition of a small crane, bucket truck OR another guy I will up our goal to at least $2K a day.

Of course this depends on how many hours your days are, for a 15 hour day then $1500 is only $50 per hour per man (including equipment)... for a 7.5 hour day it is $100 per hour per man.. Issue always is you get paid for hours onsite -- and pay men for whole day. Of course if like me you bid for the job, and not per hour.

 

[mpatch]

what equipment do you include with that hourly rate.

Whatever is needed to complete the job. Crane fees are extra.

 

[TreeAce]

Can anyone working in the Northern Ohio (Cleveland burbs) area tell me if they TYPICALLY get these kinda prices these guys are talkn?? Because I can't get it. Sometimes people even show me bids (I never ask!) of competion and I mean wtf!! I find it hard to get more than 800 a day for me n 2 guys with truck n chipper. (no bucket truck). I think this area I live in is more depressed than I ever realized. I get alot of word of mouth work also and I KNOW i have darn near 100% happy customers.

 

[lxt]

Can anyone working in the Northern Ohio (Cleveland burbs) area tell me if they TYPICALLY get these kinda prices these guys are talkn?? Because I can't get it. Sometimes people even show me bids (I never ask!) of competion and I mean wtf!! I find it hard to get more than 800 a day for me n 2 guys with truck n chipper. (no bucket truck). I think this area I live in is more depressed than I ever realized. I get alot of word of mouth work also and I KNOW i have darn near 100% happy customers.

Your area is close to mine in PA (pittsburgh area) I see some of these guys talking $1500 - $2500 a day & Im like you.......HOW? if I pull $100 an hour im doing good.....$800 a day, its a fluke & Im dam lucky to get jobs were I make what they are making!! I guess they live at the other end of the rainbow (where the pot of gold is) Ive seen what you are saying too: the home owner will show me 2-3 other bids for $400 dollars when im at $800, of course these are the pickup truck non legit types.

But hey........thats what the market dictates, this is why I get upset sometimes when I see someone in a station wagon with a dump trailer attached to it doing tree work! these are the ones bringing the trade down! I make less now than I did back in the early 90`s. Go figure!



LXT....................

 

[tree MDS]

Your area is close to mine in PA (pittsburgh area) I see some of these guys talking $1500 - $2500 a day & Im like you.......HOW? if I pull $100 an hour im doing good.....$800 a day, its a fluke & Im dam lucky to get jobs were I make what they are making!! I guess they live at the other end of the rainbow (where the pot of gold is) Ive seen what you are saying too: the home owner will show me 2-3 other bids for $400 dollars when im at $800, of course these are the pickup truck non legit types.

But hey........thats what the market dictates, this is why I get upset sometimes when I see someone in a station wagon with a dump trailer attached to it doing tree work! these are the ones bringing the trade down! I make less now than I did back in the early 90`s. Go figure!



LXT....................

Jeezus.. I guess they don't call it pittsburg for nothing!

I was at $800 ten years ago. I might have to go back to it by the looks of things lately though.. really show those bastards.. get them trucks out there rolling! lol.

 

[lxt]

Maybe you ought to hit the double rainbow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI&feature=related




/

LOL, I couldnt even watch that......I thought he was gonna climax over the thing!!!


LXT..........

 

[TreeClimber57]

Whatever is needed to complete the job. Crane fees are extra.

Well, I can not image how anybody can put a bucket truck, chipper and a couple of men out in the field for less than $1500-2000 per day -- preferably on the higher end of that.. as a minimum. If you get more then great. Somehow you gotta pay for the insurance, maintenance and eventual replacement of that gear - not to mention the saws, gas, etc..etc..

For anything less, sorry the truck stays parked and the wheels don't turn. Now I will admit I used to make more 3-4 years ago than I do today, but there are a lot of other circumstances that impact that as well (I was in different area geographically, had different clientele, was well known in area and well established).. I moved to a new area for family reasons.. and it is not quite the same. But it will come.

 

[IcePick]

In the summer our crew was averaging $3500 a day, plus we had one guy doing an extra grand, at least, in plant health care.

 

[ducaticorse]

Well, I can not image how anybody can put a bucket truck, chipper and a couple of men out in the field for less than $1500-2000 per day -- preferably on the higher end of that.. as a minimum. If you get more then great. Somehow you gotta pay for the insurance, maintenance and eventual replacement of that gear - not to mention the saws, gas, etc..etc..



YUP

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Can anyone working in the Northern Ohio (Cleveland burbs) area tell me if they TYPICALLY get these kinda prices these guys are talkn?? Because I can't get it. Sometimes people even show me bids (I never ask!) of competion and I mean wtf!! I find it hard to get more than 800 a day for me n 2 guys with truck n chipper. (no bucket truck). I think this area I live in is more depressed than I ever realized. I get alot of word of mouth work also and I KNOW i have darn near 100% happy customers.

If you've been on this forum for a good while, you come to understand that so many just blow smoke, on here. They post these rates and/or make statements like, "Man, I'm only getting $4000 per day, now, and I can't keep making ends meet if this keeps up!" Knock a zero off, and you might be close to the actual $$ these guys are taking in, daily. Just figure it out, and you'll arrive at more truthful figures. Sure, some days you might pull in $3-5 G's, but daily? Not unless you're in on the Big O / Big Green sweetheart contracts with municipalities and their surrounding utilities. I have pm'd some of the guys posting larger daily takes, and when you start questioning them with prosecuting attorney type interrogatives, they knuckle under and/or end up telling me that they can't discuss particulars. That's because they are true bs artists up until they can't keep pumping it out. One guy, one of the more truthful fellows on here, openly admitted to me that he posted highly inflated figures just to intimidate others on here. With that in mind, take some/most of the posted figures in here as the output of blowhards and little else.

 

[IcePick]

If you've been on this forum for a good while, you come to understand that so many just blow smoke, on here. They post these rates and/or make statements like, "Man, I'm only getting $4000 per day, now, and I can't keep making ends meet if this keeps up!" Knock a zero off, and you might be close to the actual $$ these guys are taking in, daily. Just figure it out, and you'll arrive at more truthful figures. Sure, some days you might pull in $3-5 G's, but daily? Not unless you're in on the Big O / Big Green sweetheart contracts with municipalities and their surrounding utilities. I have pm'd some of the guys posting larger daily takes, and when you start questioning them with prosecuting attorney type interrogatives, they knuckle under and/or end up telling me that they can't discuss particulars. That's because they are true bs artists up until they can't keep pumping it out. One guy, one of the more truthful fellows on here, openly admitted to me that he posted highly inflated figures just to intimidate others on here. With that in mind, take some/most of the posted figures in here as the output of blowhards and little else.

Jealous much?

 

[alpineman]

The question of equipment is definitely a relevant question. We run a 22 yard chip truck, a vermeer 1500 and 3-4 guys depending on the type of job(trimming vs. removal) I might send a truck and trailer for wood on a large removal. One guy mentioned $75 per man per hour and that has always seemed to be a good target. We only plan on working 8-10 hours a day max! It definitely depends on location. My father in law lives outside of Nashville and he can buy a nice house for $125K. It seems like most of the well known companies are looking for that $1500-$2500 range on a daily basis. Obviously you guys out east can get more possibly as you do more of the huge removals! I agree with previous post wondering how you guys can work for $1000 or less day. How do you even pay the bills??

 

[TreeAce]

Jealous much?

I dont think Sunrise Guy is jealous. But I can tell u that u won't make those big bucks around here. I guarentee it. How do I get by n pay my bills?? By staying under the radar as much as I can. What blows my mind is a few of the better companies near me that will bring in a crane a bucket a large chip truck and a big azs chipper with 5 guys for 2000$. Believe That. O ya n don't forget a guy will b by later in the afternoon with a 1102 n blast the stumps out. What I gotta do is get all the jobs that that big equipment cant use its full potential on. Back yard take downs outa crane reach and dead wooding large oaks are good jobs for me.

 

[jefflovstrom]

This is getting interesting!
Jeff

 

[TreeClimber57]

This is getting interesting!
Jeff

Yup..

The other thing to take into consideration is:

Average wage in the area, some areas have higher wage earners.. and consequently the cost of everything in area usually reflects that. Even equipmetn costs more (The GRCS as an example if purchased from Sherrill Tree Canada cost nearly $1,000 more than the one advertised on the US sites. Go figure.. So guess where I bought mine.. still cheaper after shipping, duty, etc).

Taxes.. fuel costs.. etc.

Where we are - if I am not mistaken - the average wage and cost of things are higher than most in the U.S. - as are the taxes I think. So.. we may end up charging more on a job of similar size. BUT.. at the end of the day after all is said and done.. we may not have any more to buy food or anything else considering costs, etc.

It is difficult to compare simply a dollar figure and come out with the same end result on what anybody is actually making profit wise (or maybe I am wrong but don't think so).

The tough ones are always the guys with pickup truck and chain saw.. working for a few hundred a day. This drives anybody who is serious into the larger equipment -- so they can then bid on and work on jobs out of league of these other guys. Unfortunate as they take all the easy jobs.. but that is life. (at least around here)