Digger hire rates

Maineagri · Apr 27, 2023

I spent quite a few years driving a 13ton excavator for a firm I used to work for.
recently have been doing some ditching for a local chap using his 5ton machine. Really enjoyed doing it got quite a few compliments on how good it was.
this got me thinking about buying an excavator for myself and hiring myself and the machine out.
either a 8 ton or 13 ton machine. What are people paying/charging for an 8ton or 13ton excavator per day/hour?
Thanks

Fendtbro · Apr 30, 2023

£40-45 depending on how much you need and local demand. New machine Will cost more to run, can you sort older ones?

nick... · Apr 30, 2023

Work out your costs.machine hire and transport.8 tonner probably £500 week.transport maybe £200 plus.white diesel 60 litres a day,your time minimum £150 day,20% profit,all adds up
nick…

Maineagri · Apr 30, 2023

Fendtbro said:
£40-45 depending on how much you need and local demand. New machine Will cost more to run, can you sort older ones?

Yeah that’s roughly where my head was at.
i was looking at something around the £20k mark to start with Js130 etc. I have a fastrac to move it about and can soon sort a low loader out

Maineagri · Apr 30, 2023

nick... said:
Work out your costs.machine hire and transport.8 tonner probably £500 week.transport maybe £200 plus.white diesel 60 litres a day,your time minimum £150 day,20% profit,all adds up
nick…

Yep! Same as everything these days, will sit and do some numbers later

Derky · Apr 30, 2023

Maineagri said:
Yeah that’s roughly where my head was at.
i was looking at something around the £20k mark to start with Js130 etc. I have a fastrac to move it about and can soon sort a low loader out

That is what a lorry is for. So many people running bent moving kit on tractors. Rest of us have to factor in running a lorry.

Banana Bar · Apr 30, 2023

Maineagri said:
I spent quite a few years driving a 13ton excavator for a firm I used to work for.
recently have been doing some ditching for a local chap using his 5ton machine. Really enjoyed doing it got quite a few compliments on how good it was.
this got me thinking about buying an excavator for myself and hiring myself and the machine out.
either a 8 ton or 13 ton machine. What are people paying/charging for an 8ton or 13ton excavator per day/hour?
Thanks

Where are you based?

Maineagri · Apr 30, 2023

Banana Bar said:
Where are you based?

Lincolnshire

Fendtbro · Apr 30, 2023

Derky said:
That is what a lorry is for. So many people running bent moving kit on tractors. Rest of us have to factor in running a lorry.

Low loader still handy on tractor to put digger to neighbours and save tracking about on bigger farms.

Derky · Apr 30, 2023

Fendtbro said:
Low loader still handy on tractor to put digger to neighbours and save tracking about on bigger farms.

No issue with that. However a business taking it from job to job is haulage.

Zetor · Apr 30, 2023

Maineagri said:
Yeah that’s roughly where my head was at.
i was looking at something around the £20k mark to start with Js130 etc. I have a fastrac to move it about and can soon sort a low loader out

At that budget I would go pre 2008 the all analog engine is bomb proof, early common rail can suffer overheating causing head problems

Maineagri · Apr 30, 2023

Zetor said:
At that budget I would go pre 2008 the all analog engine is bomb proof, early common rail can suffer overheating causing head problems

Yeah thanks. I was just trying to do some research into decent machines and what to avoid

spikeislander · May 1, 2023

£350 a day 8.5 tonne hitachi with two piece boom ditching etc .
£400 with rotating tree shear on hedge and tree work.
transport included if local and a few days work.

hoff135 · May 1, 2023

Don't know how much a js130 burns but I'd imagine at least £12/hr for white just now.

I'd factor £20/hr for maintenance/depreciation/replacement costs

£15/hr minimum for your labour as can basically get that anywhere on someone else's tractor or digger.

That's £47/hr before adding a bit for profit or transport/insurance

In reality you'd need close to £60 I'd say. However if you can buy a £20k machine and run it for 5 years without spending too much and sell it for close to what you paid you might manage to make something at £45/hr.

If you have to replace undercarriage or the pump goes you'll need to clean a lot of ditches to get that back. Those making and selling parts show no mercy so the days of running machines on the cheap are basically over

flywheel · May 1, 2023

I hired a wheel 13 tonner by 2 Yr ago ...operator, fuel ,machine I think was 55 per hour .Full day tho ...from yard to farm & back to yard in working hrs ...be a fair jump for same machine now ..

Maineagri · May 1, 2023

hoff135 said:
Don't know how much a js130 burns but I'd imagine at least £12/hr for white just now.

I'd factor £20/hr for maintenance/depreciation/replacement costs

£15/hr minimum for your labour as can basically get that anywhere on someone else's tractor or digger.

That's £47/hr before adding a bit for profit or transport/insurance

In reality you'd need close to £60 I'd say. However if you can buy a £20k machine and run it for 5 years without spending too much and sell it for close to what you paid you might manage to make something at £45/hr.

If you have to replace undercarriage or the pump goes you'll need to clean a lot of ditches to get that back. Those making and selling parts show no mercy so the days of running machines on the cheap are basically over

Yeah that’s what I have roughly worked out, but so far seems going rate is around £45an hour which to be blunt is not worth it as won’t cover the bills and make a living

hoff135 · May 1, 2023

Maineagri said:
Yeah that’s what I have roughly worked out, but so far seems going rate is around £45an hour which to be blunt is not worth it as won’t cover the bills and make a living

I just bought a 6t machine, already had a 2.5t but needed something bigger. Working on the principle that being cheap just to get work is going to result in guaranteed failure, I am setting my rates where I think I can make something out of it. That probably means I'm too dear for some people, and others will undercut me. I will try and compete on service and job quality rather than price. Either work or it wont

Maineagri · May 1, 2023

hoff135 said:
I just bought a 6t machine, already had a 2.5t but needed something bigger. Working on the principle that being cheap just to get work is going to result in guaranteed failure, I am setting my rates where I think I can make something out of it. That probably means I'm too dear for some people, and others will undercut me. I will try and compete on service and job quality rather than price. Either work or it wont

Yeah that sounds fair to me, there is no reason to do it for bugger all. I think £55/60 for a 13 ton machine is fair.
need to do some digging and find out what other local firms are charging per hour/ day to be honest

principal skinner · May 1, 2023

No point in worrying about what others charge.
Work out your costs, add profit.
If it don’t add up you know the answer.

james ds · May 1, 2023

A lot depends how skilled you are at operating a digger, a good driver might be cheap at €100 an hour compared to a brain dead driver on €45 an hour. I’ve seen poor drivers costing the job a fortune

Digger hire rates

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Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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