machine hire venture

[plugga2012]

Ok we are looking into the possibility of hiring out various paddock maintenance equipment.

First being a vacuum paddock cleaner, is this something you think you would hire if so how often and what sort of money would you expect to pay? the cleaner would be supplied as a tow unit that needs towing by your vehicle, quad, ride on mower etc or we would hire with a suitable towing machine.

Second is a dedicated school leveler / grader this is a ride on machine similar to a quad with mounted attachments for different surfaces. we are thinking of hiring the machine self drive as one option and the other is to offer a school grading service where we would make regular visits and do the work ourselves.
Once again any comments on regularity, costs etc would be most appreciated.

 

[perfect11s]

Ok we are looking into the possibility of hiring out various paddock maintenance equipment.

First being a vacuum paddock cleaner, is this something you think you would hire if so how often and what sort of money would you expect to pay? the cleaner would be supplied as a tow unit that needs towing by your vehicle, quad, ride on mower etc or we would hire with a suitable towing machine.

Second is a dedicated school leveler / grader this is a ride on machine similar to a quad with mounted attachments for different surfaces. we are thinking of hiring the machine self drive as one option and the other is to offer a school grading service where we would make regular visits and do the work ourselves.
Once again any comments on regularity, costs etc would be most appreciated.

My gut feeling is people would need this sort of thing most days so would work out cheaper to buy rather than diy hire , and from your angle they would want it delivering and colecting?? I would think you would do alot better if you did the job,I bet you could charge almost as much for say draging an arena as a days hire and maybe get a round going and do quite a few in a day???, maybe need doing weekly unless the school is getting constant use, maybe same with the poo hoovering but that would need doing say every other day? ...harrowing , rolling and topping, padocks etc might be a good thing just need a decent Kubota compact tractor and your away....

 

[best2000]

where are you based?

 

[jeeve]

My gut feeling is people would need this sort of thing most days so would work out cheaper to buy rather than diy hire , and from your angle they would want it delivering and colecting?? I would think you would do alot better if you did the job,I bet you could charge almost as much for say draging an arena as a days hire and maybe get a round going and do quite a few in a day???, maybe need doing weekly unless the school is getting constant use, maybe same with the poo hoovering but that would need doing say every other day? ...harrowing , rolling and topping, padocks etc might be a good thing just need a decent Kubota compact tractor and your away....

Agree with above.

 

[Birker2020]

I would have thought it would be cheaper to buy the equipment than to rent it and unless you have a lot of business in your local area it probably wouldn't be worth your while as you would have to charge for your time as well as travel distance.

As for a pooh picker - no way. They is a high probability from what I have read that researchers have found a link between the brushing mechansism of a pooh picker causing soil disturbance and cases of grass sickness. I would not want to take the risk myself.

A member of staff normally harrows and then rolls our 65m x 45m school twice a week and that is sufficient for medium to heavy use on a 45 horse yard. He uses a small roller and chain harrow as the previous harrow brought the surface up too much (spiked prong type). These are used via a very small tractor.

 

[Cocorules]

I think people who would use a vacuum paddock cleaner would probably hire it infrequently ie to catch up if poo picking got behind. Not sure anyone would hire regularly. My former livery would charge 100 pounds a time to people who did get behind and it was rarely hired. Paddock vacuums are not associated with grass sickness just the sweeper ones