What do you charge for brush/bush hogging?

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Now that we've moved, we've got a beautiful tractor on not enough land to use it. I'm looking to use it as another way to supplement our income, but I don't have the slightest clue what to charge.

You guys that use yours for side work, what do you charge? How do you charge? By the acre? By the hour?
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
What size stuff are y'all/them capable of cutting?
Well you CAN cut what it will run/push over with the tractor if you have a good bush hog. But I steer away from that, I have no problem at all cutting overgrown fields for folks. 1- 11/4" trees is about as rough as I want to run through my good bush hog. Now if they have real rough stuff I do have an old one that is basically indestructible and I will do smaller jobs with it. Only thing about getting into that you run the risk of busting tires and snagging hydraulic lines on your tractor in the real rough stuff. You do that and you automatically loose.

Regular ag. tractors just aren't set up for real rough stuff. You need skid plates under them if you are going to do much of that.
 

ncscrubmaster

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
You can get the 60 for the tractor and bushog. If you have to travel you will need to include travel time. Also I know a people that have two and three hour minimum and have no trouble finding work. You have to make a few repairs and you will be glad you didn’t do it cheap.
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
Well you CAN cut what it will run/push over with the tractor if you have a good bush hog. But I steer away from that, I have no problem at all cutting overgrown fields for folks. 1- 11/4" trees is about as rough as I want to run through my good bush hog. Now if they have real rough stuff I do have an old one that is basically indestructible and I will do smaller jobs with it. Only thing about getting into that you run the risk of busting tires and snagging hydraulic lines on your tractor in the real rough stuff. You do that and you automatically loose.

Regular ag. tractors just aren't set up for real rough stuff. You need skid plates under them if you are going to do much of that.


Wish my younger brother would learn this or listen to me....He is rough on our 2940 we have for food plots...Thinks it's a skidder...Last year he ran a 3 inch diameter tree through the battery box, tore the box up, ruined a good battery, just made a mess....The year before he cut one of the rear tires hooking up to the disk...Half the time I go down there I have to repair something before I can use it... :(
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
I have that same tractor with a 5’ frontier bushhog. It’ll cut more than you should cut on a 30 hp tractor. No limit to blackberries and normal tall, thick grasses. I especially enjoy listening to volunteer Bradford pears die a horrific death as the bushhog backs over them. I’ve mowed them up to 5’ tall 2”-3” in diameter. I wouldn’t make it a habit of bushhogging trees that big with my 5 footer, but it will knock’em down.

I love my 3032. It does everything I need it to do with the exception of lifting a 3x3x8 1200 lb square bale with my loader forks but the 3pt will pick'em Up.
Word of advice if you plan on bushhogging a lot with it. Get you a portable air tank or compressor to blow off the grill, radiator and intake. In tall dry stuff, it’ll build up in no time and you’ll notice it starting to get hot. Blow it off, and carry on. Temp drops instantly.
 

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
I've seen them carrying the prey to the holes they dug. Impressive "cargo weight"/body weight!! Don't want none of them!! So..they hurt a little? Lol.
 

ABBD

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Now that we've moved, we've got a beautiful tractor on not enough land to use it. I'm looking to use it as another way to supplement our income, but I don't have the slightest clue what to charge.

You guys that use yours for side work, what do you charge? How do you charge? By the acre? By the hour?

I’ve charged $55.00 per hr. I steer away from fields with holes...big rocks.... or otherwise trashed with unknowns. Landowners should be familiar with most problems areas and high stake or identify them accordingly. Also, I personally will forgo mowing during turkey nesting and fawning season.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I’ve charged $55.00 per hr. I steer away from fields with holes...big rocks.... or otherwise trashed with unknowns. Landowners should be familiar with most problems areas and high stake or identify them accordingly. Also, I personally will forgo mowing during turkey nesting and fawning season.
To you mow each place once you can forget trusting most folks. One of the last places I mowed hadn't been mowed all year and it was late fall. It was fescue close to waist high along with the usual weeds mixed in, pretty nice creek bottom. Fellow assured it was clear. I still ran with my FEL just slightly higher than I was cutting just to be safe to "bump" anything ahead that I couldn't see as thick as it was. About the 4th round around the field I got stopped in my tracks. I backed up and eased up to what stopped me and poked around with the loader and there was an oak stump about 30" across that wasn't all that old. When I finished I mentioned that he said it was all clear but it wasn't. He said yeah I forgot we cut that tree a few years back, lightening got it. SMH
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
To you mow each place once you can forget trusting most folks. One of the last places I mowed hadn't been mowed all year and it was late fall. It was fescue close to waist high along with the usual weeds mixed in, pretty nice creek bottom. Fellow assured it was clear. I still ran with my FEL just slightly higher than I was cutting just to be safe to "bump" anything ahead that I couldn't see as thick as it was. About the 4th round around the field I got stopped in my tracks. I backed up and eased up to what stopped me and poked around with the loader and there was an oak stump about 30" across that wasn't all that old. When I finished I mentioned that he said it was all clear but it wasn't. He said yeah I forgot we cut that tree a few years back, lightening got it. SMH

This is why I don't make it a habit to offer rotary mower service. If I do take a new job my fee isn't cheap. You poke a hole in a tire or worse, they will just shrug at you and say, "not my problem." A rear tire costs me over $1500. It costs me nothing to leave my equipment parked in the shed.

I would check all the variables and quote the job, not the hour because it gives them a set price and you can better cover expenses. They get fussy if you take too long. By the job will be incentive for you to finish quicker. You will get people who say so and so is cheaper. Just tell them that's so and so's problem. Don't sell yourself short.

I once quoted 10 acres that required travel for $1200. I even got the so and so does it for $200. Did I get the job? No. Did I lose money? No. It probably became so and so's problem :)


Quick Tip:

It takes longer to mow following winding tree lines. It's faster to mow straight lines and turn on headlands.

Long fields are faster than wide fields, less time spent turning.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
This is why I don't make it a habit to offer rotary mower service. If I do take a new job my fee isn't cheap. You poke a hole in a tire or worse, they will just shrug at you and say, "not my problem." A rear tire costs me over $1500. It costs me nothing to leave my equipment parked in the shed.

I would check all the variables and quote the job, not the hour because it gives them a set price and you can better cover expenses. They get fussy if you take too long. By the job will be incentive for you to finish quicker. You will get people who say so and so is cheaper. Just tell them that's so and so's problem. Don't sell yourself short.

I once quoted 10 acres that required travel for $1200. I even got the so and so does it for $200. Did I get the job? No. Did I lose money? No. It probably became so and so's problem :)


Quick Tip:

It takes longer to mow following winding tree lines. It's faster to mow straight lines and turn on headlands.

Long fields are faster than wide fields, less time spent turning.
I have hired out heavy equipment and tractors on the side for years by the hour. I will do it by the job but if I figure it by the job the person will pay for the worst case scenario. As for tearing up something that is just normal operating expenses. If you don't put money back for stuff like that you are going to get burnt.

I have long been retired so I don't take any jobs of any consequence, I just piddle here close to home pretty much. More to help folks out than anything. Just like yard mowing, there are plenty of folks out there hungry enough to under bid you so I don't want the business too bad anyway.
 

bag12day

Six Pointer
Contributor
I have that same tractor with a 5’ frontier bushhog. It’ll cut more than you should cut on a 30 hp tractor. No limit to blackberries and normal tall, thick grasses. I especially enjoy listening to volunteer Bradford pears die a horrific death as the bushhog backs over them. I’ve mowed them up to 5’ tall 2”-3” in diameter. I wouldn’t make it a habit of bushhogging trees that big with my 5 footer, but it will knock’em down.

I love my 3032. It does everything I need it to do with the exception of lifting a 3x3x8 1200 lb square bale with my loader forks but the 3pt will pick'em Up.
Word of advice if you plan on bushhogging a lot with it. Get you a portable air tank or compressor to blow off the grill, radiator and intake. In tall dry stuff, it’ll build up in no time and you’ll notice it starting to get hot. Blow it off, and carry on. Temp drops instantly.
This... and blow from the inside out not into the Rad core.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
mow the other direction?

Mowing the longest direction is less passes meaning less times you turn which is less time you are not cutting. While minor it adds up quickly on large tracts.

If you do it by the hour, weave around the tree line or the shortest line.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
I have hired out heavy equipment and tractors on the side for years by the hour. I will do it by the job but if I figure it by the job the person will pay for the worst case scenario. As for tearing up something that is just normal operating expenses. If you don't put money back for stuff like that you are going to get burnt.

I have long been retired so I don't take any jobs of any consequence, I just piddle here close to home pretty much. More to help folks out than anything. Just like yard mowing, there are plenty of folks out there hungry enough to under bid you so I don't want the business too bad anyway.

I hear you. I reckon I'm not hungry enough.

Same on the neighborly jobs. I just ask they pay it forward by helping someone else in need of a hand.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Mowing the longest direction is less passes meaning less times you turn which is less time you are not cutting. While minor it adds up quickly on large tracts.

If you do it by the hour, weave around the tree line or the shortest line.


yeah, I know - that's why I said on "wide fields" you mow the "other direction",,,,,,,,guess I was to coy (to steal a word from a friend)
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Local place here has a nice tractor (mahindra) with a heavy duty bush hog that can be rented for less then 300 for 8 hours of use.....pretty good price and generally what I end up doing since I only have stuff mown once a year in late summer. A bit of a hassle in that I have to pull it to my farm, but it is a lot cheaper then what some guys have quoted me to do the same work.


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