Young guy here. Earthworks books/advice?

ACoats08 said: Do you run excavators and dozers for more hours than CTLs and minis because they're more expensive, or because they can handle the wear and tear better? Correct me if I'm wrong but the machines get the most out in terms of work but still have enough resale value at these hours too, right? Click to expand... Both - the larger iron is more expensive, lasts longer and holds it's value longer than the smaller stuff. How does the trade out process work? Can you go into the dealership and walk out with a different piece of equipment the same day? If not, how do you coordinate working and getting a new piece of machinery? Click to expand... Most of the time my salesman will find the piece of iron we want then bring it out for us to demo. Usually get 3-4 days to demo. If we take the machine they will value a trade if there is one. 90% of the time we go through Cat Financial where we have a long payment history with so financing is just waiting on paper work. So long story short unless the machine needs something added we keep the machine they bring out to demo then when the paperwork is finalized they come out and pick up the trade in. It is much easier than buying a truck that's for sure. I can't stand car dealers.

ACoats08 said: What documentary, I briefly looked into his channel last night after I got off work, but I couldn't find any documentary video. It just looks like a bunch of small 10 min vids on various work stories. I'd like to watch it, do you have a link? Thank you for your insight on storage tank construction and your recommendation Click to expand... The documentary is broken up into 34 segments. It was produced over an eight year period because it required a tremendous amount of research. The short segments allow for deep reflection and the comment section provides a two-way conversation with industry experts. Boyd goes deep into the regional nuances of project management, the people and the local socioeconomic conditions of the work force. Because, at the end of the day, it’s about relationships. You will learn about clear job site communication using the parlance of the day. It’s an incredible journey. Please watch and report back.

Coaldust said: The documentary is broken up into 34 segments. It was produced over an eight year period because it required a tremendous amount of research. The short segments allow for deep reflection and the comment section provides a two-way conversation with industry experts. Boyd goes deep into the regional nuances of project management, the people and the local socioeconomic conditions of the work force. Because, at the end of the day, it’s about relationships. You will learn about clear job site communication using the parlance of the day. It’s an incredible journey. Please watch and report back. Click to expand... Alright, something to do instead of paying attention in class!

You either need to be able to wear a lot of hats, or hire people you can trust. You need to understand business, law, engineering, survey, environmental, mechanic, welder, truck driver, dealing with customers other contractors supply chains. HR . We have been having supply issues this summer. Machine Parts, they have been waiting on an oil separator for a parking lot for a month and a half

Hmmm like on Karate kid, learn by book! I as a kid always wanted to do tractor work, I had to wait till I was about 28 or so before I got the opportunity. I started out riding with a hot shot kid about 22 on a friend of someone I knew D155, doing a clearing job, I learned alot in the few days or so that I spent with him, I learned the feel of getting stuck in soft ground with a big dozer and when to stop, I guess the kid didn't have said feel. LOL I think the bank got that dozer some months after my time on it, and all that was left dozer wise was a Case 350, so I learned how to do big dozer work with a small one, sorta. I got a good friend out of that dozer experience, the owner. Ended up with my own D155 same vintage a year or so later, figured that was the only way I could learn more, as well as the mechanics on the same. So my advice to learn to move the machines around would be find someone that will let you train with them. Learning to operate takes years, that is how to do the work and job with said machines.

cuttin edge said: You either need to be able to wear a lot of hats, or hire people you can trust. You need to understand business, law, engineering, survey, environmental, mechanic, welder, truck driver, dealing with customers other contractors supply chains. HR . We have been having supply issues this summer. Machine Parts, they have been waiting on an oil separator for a parking lot for a month and a half Click to expand... this is a good point. you are young enough to see and experience different jobs. try to work for some time in a repair shop and also as accountant. sounds contradicting? yes but you will have to have a lot of knowledge in these areas. once your business is growing you can hire people for that but in my opinion you have to be able to understand if their work is done correctly.

I did not do the school route and I wouldn't change it but I can say its just as expensive as school cause I have definitely paid for experience learning contract and bookkeeping things that are fairly basic CM runs a top notch set up but his model runs a lot different than mine i buy new stuff and keep it for a long time I also buy older stuff that is a good deal but needs work I have 2 full time mechanics and 3 other guys plus myself that can wrench decent we always have something in the shop torn apart Running about 5 excavators all were bought used for cash there of a vintage that is really reliable i seem to have accumulated around 10 backhoes some were bought brand new some were bought used 1 has over 15000 hrs and still gets used on jobs when something else is down Bought all the minis new and skid steers no joke on those they don't last near as long as big iron at 5000 hrs you had better have your money out of them cause you will either trade or put a bunch in them I have 3 fully dressed transports all 3 are a different configuration to accomplish a different task and need If something goes down I have a backup or I own a machine that can be a work around for a few days while the right machine is fixed I hate renting and because I own my trucks and don't hire out transport I have a lot of flexibility I can have a truck under a machine in an hour if I need to and swap out a job before lunch if need be The mechanics have fully dressed trucks with cranes and welders one truck has a small lube system I can do everything that my outfit requires to operate I have flat struggled on the office side because of my field background and there was no one to teach me past the basics in the office What i have just described is a buissness model that is very self reliant it's also expensive to set up my payments are on the down hill side from the high mark at almost 30 grand a month in another year they will be less than 10 if I don't get an itchy trigger on new iron You can operate 2 models in my opinion in the grading and underground world One with fixed cost of operations where your always keeping things under warranty and trading it not long after it's out down time is minimal with new iron but it's tougher to afford your own backup equipment and a full time service guy or mechanic is a stretch because that budget gets spent in payments but you can always have the latest and greatest and if your a lean outfit it's not a bad way to go The model I run we don't care about depreciation the way the other model does if a machine flat wears out and is not worth fixing we part it out to keep the others going while I don't have high payments for my size I do spend overhead on staff to support all this so I pay the payment cost in a different way but if the market gets soft I can park most of what I have and not worry about it cause it's paid for and owes me nothing Both models have pros and cons and nothing is perfect your milage will vary