Brushhog mowing, What is the going rates??

Just wondering what the going rates are for brushhoging??? Do you charge by the hour or by the acre?? I"ve got some extra time now and thought about doing some mowing Thanks!!!!

100.00 an hour for 15 foot batwing.

Find out what a rental company charges for a mowing rig then add $20 an hour for your time.

A customer would pay 25$/Hr for a 6 foot 40hp tractor in grass.
But not a 4' under a Cub.
And would grin all the way to the bank if you showed up with a 10' rig on a 966 capable of 2" saplings.
So it depends on what you have, and what you mow.
If tough material, add 25% or more, to the time, and price. If remowing clean fields, with a 6' mower, the 25 to 30 might be on track.
Ditches and scrub land (be careful and) double the price. JimN

I charge $65 an hour for my Massey 135 and 5' brush hog.

do a study of your expenses. I have, and can tell you jobs are worth doing if I charge $40 per hour, with a 2 hour minimum. I get alot of jobs that are 1-1.5 hours long. that first hour I make $5 when I take out travel cost and gas.

I charge from when I get there to when I leave. I have started saying I will charge out of county(long travel times) one way travel time to cover costs, and it lets people know my terms before they even bother me.

I put cards on local bulletin boards and on craigslist.

I charge $50 an hour with my 5ft. for grass $65 to $75 for heavy brush and saplings as they tear up your brush-hog in short order. I use a real heavy duty tow behind brush-hog for heavy work. You have to figure your cost plus a decent wage plus break downs. I also have a $200 minimum this can be adjusted for jobs close by or friends who help you out. If a job take 4 hr. and 15 minutes I just charge for the 4 hours it helps you to get the next job if you bend a little. And always be the nicest guy you can know matter what happens.
These fields can have lots of old stuff hidden in the grass THAT THE OWNER DIDN'T KNOW WAS THERE DON'T MAKE IT HIS PROBLEM BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T SEE IT. And be careful you won't believe the things that can happen on what looks like a flat field. Grass will grow flat at the top and there will be a big hole right under it.
Walt

Just wondering what size mower you have and at what gear/mph you usually mow at? That would give me an idea of how many acres per hour can be mowed on the average(I know speed varies with what is being mowed). Thanks. Same goes for anyone else with the info.

A 6' mower would mow about 3/4 of an acre per hour for every mph in speed. (5280 X 6= 31,680 sq.ft.)(an acre is 43,560 sq.ft.) A 36" lawn tractor would do half that for every mph in speed and roughly around a acre an hour or more from typical mowing. They you have to allow for overlap and turning. Probably hard to avoid anything less than a 6" or more overlap.

Usual rates for MOST jobs;
50 to 60 hp machines, 6 or 7 foot mowers, $55 hr.
90 hp machines, 15 foot batwings $125 hr.
Ground man w/weedeater, $45 hr.

Clock starts when I leave the yard, ends when I"m loaded and ready to leave for home/next job. That covers milage.

Simple formula I use for acreage per hr. width (in inches, deduct for overlap) X mph divide by 100. Fast, easy and fairly accurate.

I carry insurance, run LEGAL trucks/trailers, operate with legal payroll for employees, and pay taxes. Some people don"t. That"s their choice.

Almost all of my business is from a handful of clients who provide me with a LOT of business. I don"t do any 1/2-hour jobs. Too many people around with a new compact and a 4" economy grade mower that"ll do them for $25 an hour. Don"t even try to compete with those guys. Let "em work for free. I"d rather go fishing than work for free.

I also mow some for state. (hwy right-of-ways) Payment runs 60 to 90 days after completion of work. They pay higher rate to cover carrying the bill.

Mow enough and you"ll eventually tear up equipment. Fact of life. Charge enough to cover that eventuality.

All things equal, I"d rather price work PER JOB than PER ACRE or PER HOUR. Too many variables from job to job for standard "across the board" rates.

Whatever number you come up with, increase it...we all have a tendency to be conservative in pricing, leaning more to what we would like to pay that what we ought to charge.

Also, it's funny how much breaks when you are away from home. I did a little mowing down the road with a 165 and 6' mower @ $50 per hour and I'm sure I lost money. I finally told them to find someone else.

My dad does some brush mowing for the city storm ponds. He charges $55/hr. That is with a compact and a 5 ft brush mower..

I have what most guys would say is underpowered/too old. I use a '41 9N with a 5' hog. This will pretty mush mow through anything I want.

I can mow a little more than an acre per hour with overgrown grass, or a little less than an acre per hour with heavy brush or lots of large trees to go around.

I also know that I burn around a gallon per hour of gas. sometimes a little more than that.

Last year, I did a 5 acre lot that had years of growth in it, and I did it in 6.5 hours of hard work, only stopping for water breaks and gas breaks. I also did a 2.5 acre grass field in less than 1.5 hours.

i charge 60 an hour unless its sapling and heave brush then i go up as to what i think i should because thats hard on tires as well as every thing else

It depends on what kind of area you are brush-hogging. Previously tilled fields might be OK. But if there are rocks, junk or other obstacles you might hit, you almost need to scout the area first on foot. If there is tall brush that they expect to be cut down, that is very hard on the equipment, and you probably cannot charge enough to make any money.

I have had several people ask me to brush-hog their ground, but usually I decline. It just isn't worth it to me, to tear up my machinery on unknown overgrown pastures where I might run into just about anything. BTDT. Good luck!