Snow Plowing Forum banner

Summer work for skid.

5K views 42 replies 11 participants last post by  LoneCowboy 
#1 ·
This might be in the wrong area and sounds kind of stupid but I figured it could not hurt.
I have done custom farming since I was 14. Right now the hay market is down and it's looking like I am going to loose over 30% of my customers for this season. I bought my skid for using around the farm and plowing snow, it is one of those pieces I don't have to have but I will never sell it. I am looking to find more regular work with it this summer to make up for the slow hay business. I am just trying to figure out where I would be able to get the most work for it (dirt work, trenching, demolition, back fill at new construction). I don't mind having to invest in some more attachments to keep this thing busy. What do you guys think? What do you guys think would be the most beneficial for advertising? With the farming almost all of my new customers come from word of mouth.
Thanks everyone.
Robert
 
#2 ·
Wrap the season up with some sweeping? you can just rent a broom. Thats what I do. I rent a containment sweeper for a few days/week and get as many of my sites as I can.
What about talking to a landscaper and rentin out to him for bricks, rock ect? or maybe some pc work?
 
#3 ·
Good Idea's. I am going to talk to a friend tomorrow who stripes parking lots, I am sure he does not sweep the big lots by hand lol. What do you mean by pc work?
Thanks, keep the ideas coming guys
Robert
 
#5 ·
If you do demo, get flat free tires. Trust me, I have the nails in mine to prove it. I want a trencher this spring. I also use the hell out of my auger. I have a concrete breaker also, but concrete work is hard on machines. With a 300 you can throw on a pallet fork & just pick the driveways up & drop them... Just some ideas, I'm looking at my options also down here.
 
#6 ·
I mean like maybe you can rent it to a landscaper for some part time work where you just charge him to a flat rate where either you do the work or he does it. Eg you leave the machine there and he can use it for the job and you pick it up when he is done and charge so much. Or maybe he could give you so much to do this part of the job while he works at another site. I dont use mine all summer. I rent it here and there to a few guys... most already have machine but they are tied up and they want to start the next project... so I haul mine to their next job and they bounce back and forth while things get delivered ect. this way they dont have to move the machine 10 times or stay at one place.

This year I think I can line a few up where I drop the machine and leave the dump trailer.
They can fill it and I can haul it out then pick up the machine later.

Just make sure you have insurance on the machine, and make sure they have coverage on a rental machine.

Calculate your rate based in comparison to what the local rental place charges and what you need to have for your machine. Remember its going to be a huge time saver for a guy if have a bunch of attachements also.

I have forks, a tree/rock spade, buckets plus dump trailer
 
#8 ·
LoneCowboy;1021598 said:
tracked or wheeled?
do you have your SMM plates/stickers?
how far are you willing to travel?
A wheeled S300.
I do not but If it gets me work I will go get them lol.
I am use to traveling for everything. It all depends on how much work but Ill drive 40-60 miles one with out a problem.
Do you need some help Brian?
 
#9 ·
MIDTOWNPC;1021730 said:
I mean like maybe you can rent it to a landscaper for some part time work where you just charge him to a flat rate where either you do the work or he does it. Eg you leave the machine there and he can use it for the job and you pick it up when he is done and charge so much. Or maybe he could give you so much to do this part of the job while he works at another site. I dont use mine all summer. I rent it here and there to a few guys... most already have machine but they are tied up and they want to start the next project... so I haul mine to their next job and they bounce back and forth while things get delivered ect. this way they dont have to move the machine 10 times or stay at one place.

This year I think I can line a few up where I drop the machine and leave the dump trailer.
They can fill it and I can haul it out then pick up the machine later.

Just make sure you have insurance on the machine, and make sure they have coverage on a rental machine.

Calculate your rate based in comparison to what the local rental place charges and what you need to have for your machine. Remember its going to be a huge time saver for a guy if have a bunch of attachements also.

I have forks, a tree/rock spade, buckets plus dump trailer
Thanks for the ideas and it would probably work good. But i know how most guys operate skids and I could not let someone beat the HE!! out of my machine lol.
Robert
 
#10 ·
rob_cook2001;1021757 said:
A wheeled S300.
I do not but If it gets me work I will go get them lol.
I am use to traveling for everything. It all depends on how much work but Ill drive 40-60 miles one with out a problem.
Do you need some help Brian?
Sometimes i do
I might, or i can recommend for people who need grading, etc, stuff that we don't do.

sometimes I get massive jobs where i just need help moving stuff. (tracked would be better, mine is wheeled, sometimes it gets stuck and it's going to be bad this spring, it's a mess out there)

this is why we need to all get together to network here in CO. some of us do different things and don't compete, some of us cover different areas, etc. But I go all over (Franktown to Wellington) and people always ask me for this or that thing and I know some people around me, but not in other areas.

You have to have SMM plates in Colorado to use machines commercially off your own property. (yes, even if they never go on the road, boy was I mad, still am)
Big bucks BTW, prepare to poo a brick. The fine is double the fee.
 
#11 ·
LoneCowboy;1022053 said:
Sometimes i do
I might, or i can recommend for people who need grading, etc, stuff that we don't do.

sometimes I get massive jobs where i just need help moving stuff. (tracked would be better, mine is wheeled, sometimes it gets stuck and it's going to be bad this spring, it's a mess out there)

this is why we need to all get together to network here in CO. some of us do different things and don't compete, some of us cover different areas, etc. But I go all over (Franktown to Wellington) and people always ask me for this or that thing and I know some people around me, but not in other areas.

You have to have SMM plates in Colorado to use machines commercially off your own property. (yes, even if they never go on the road, boy was I mad, still am)
Big bucks BTW, prepare to poo a brick. The fine is double the fee.
Id be up for a get together / networking meeting. Whatever it takes for us all to stay self employed...
 
#13 ·
Sounds good Brian. Anything I can do to support my farming habit lol. I am up to meet but the weekends are hard for me. I am free every day this week though.
Robert
 
#14 ·
rob_cook2001;1022245 said:
Sounds good Brian. Anything I can do to support my farming habit lol. I am up to meet but the weekends are hard for me. I am free every day this week though.
Robert
After I got my first skid, I told my wife I was doing the handyman stuff just to support my skidsteer habit... I actually have stuff scheduled this week, GASP!!!
 
#15 ·
I actually worked yesterday, hauled and placed a bunch of 900-2000lb boulders.
 
#17 ·
Yes a Hauled and placed them into a few piles, or you might call them clusters lol
 
#19 ·
Haha, maybe if it's retaining the dirt under it.
 
#20 ·
The SMM thing is very important to the State of Co, and the county of (wherever you are) as well. This is how you pay your ownership tax. You are not even allowed to transport that skid without one. if caught your machine can be impounded. Agricultrural units are exempted. If you ar eusing yours for anything other than AG (like SNOW REMOVAL) you are at risk. You can go to the DMV and request a quote for the tax. It has been a while since you purchased it so there probably will be a penalty. I can't remember if they will expect you to pay the arears or not. You may be able to avoid this by changing from AG to commercial but (if I remember correctly) AG is also sales tax exempt. If you change over to commercial use you may have to pay the sales tax. Taxes are a *****.
 
#21 ·
I will check into that tomorrow. I understand how I could get busted doing snow removal or any other commercial work but how could they fine me for hauling it?? They have no Idea weather I am hauling to a job or to one of my fields. Not trying to sound like a D1ck guys, thanks for all they help and would appreciate any more info.
Robert
 
#22 ·
rob_cook2001;1022752 said:
I will check into that tomorrow. I understand how I could get busted doing snow removal or any other commercial work but how could they fine me for hauling it?? They have no Idea weather I am hauling to a job or to one of my fields. Not trying to sound like a D1ck guys, thanks for all they help and would appreciate any more info.
Robert
This is true, but I would like to be a fly on the wall when you are explaining to the State Trooper what AG purpose that snow blade has, and why you are hauling it around in the middle of the night. So far it has not been an issue for you. The more commercial work that you do the more you will expose yourself to risk.
 
#23 ·
I understand what you mean Jason. That is why I will be spending tomorrow morning on the phone with the intelligent people at the DMV haha I am just confused as to why they must have plates if they are never ran on the road. I am sure it's just the state wanting more money.
Robert
 
#24 ·
You don't actually need a plate. If you pay the tax (which is really what they are after-your money) you will get a little red sticker. It has a date stamp on it-good for one year. I would recommend the plate as it does'nt cost any more than the sticker does. What you get with the plate is the legal ability to work on, or cross over a public roadway. Both the sticker and the plate are evidience that you have paid a tax (ownership tax) on the vehicle that it's attached to. Good luck with the DMV tomorrow. I'm sure that you will get it all figured out.
 
#25 ·
Any Idea on price Jason?
Thanks
Robert
 
#26 ·
They have a chart and a formula (has to do with assesed value), and I think each county may be different. If I remember correctly my skid cost about $500. You should probably pay less since your skid should have cost less than an A300. It should be on a reducing scale (older machine = less value= less tax) but I'm not quite sure how it works. The oldest machine that I have did go down for a while but it seems that I pay about $350 a year for it every year.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top