question for you mobile welding business owners

[GJCHALFANT]

i have a question for you business owners who do mobile welding and know the expenses, pros and cons. alright so I have a one man rig f250 utility body fully loaded ready to go, right now since its winter im slow but come spring time i know i will get to the point where im going to need the second hand at either the same jobsite or send it out seperatly, i know i can handle most of the work but i am sure a second hand and second machine running will speed up work and bring in more profeit. which i was going to sub contract to a friend paying him hourly the same rate as a company would pay an employee. he is a business owner himself (landscaping) but welds with the best of them. now here is my ques. I picked up a 95 superduty last summer for a steel. Im looking at it like an investment and thought the bigger truck would pull its weight (now remember i do alot of equiptment repairs) but then again my f250 has done the job just fine. since i wont need the super duty year round and wont need it 5 days a week during summer time, for atleast the next year or two should i flip the truck. sell it and build myself a nice trailer rig fully loaded? and I can also make a profeit to help along the business now keep in mind I have a second machine and some tooling for a second rig, just need to build the trailer itself. so keep the superduty fix it up and use it, or make my second rig a trailer?

[eclipse]

If you are going to truly sub out your work to the guy, at the same rate he would get as am employee, then he must not really be a friend. On the other hand, if by sub you mean pay him in cash only as much as he would make mowing for someone, then you're not really his friend. If you are really friends, and want to keep a good relationship with him, don't hire him. As for the bigger truck, I think you should switch everything to the superduty, and sell the F250.

[GJCHALFANT]

If you are going to truly sub out your work to the guy, at the same rate he would get as am employee, then he must not really be a friend. On the other hand, if by sub you mean pay him in cash only as much as he would make mowing for someone, then you're not really his friend. If you are really friends, and want to keep a good relationship with him, don't hire him. As for the bigger truck, I think you should switch everything to the superduty, and sell the F250.

keeping the f250, its 4wd and gets into tight spots that i would never have though about going with the super duty 2wd 9ft utility bed and mid mount welder.last 2 weeks i have been working in woods scrapping out old gradalls for a customer. previously and summer i have been in the mud where i know i would have to get pulled out. I get the whole friend situation as i wouldnt work with family, for now I trust him with xx amount of dollars into equiptment than someone else. Reason for sub-contract is because he has everything in order just would need to update his insurance to cover it. I agree with your statement but with tough times he could use the extra work, just like when im free'd up i go to work for him. we both started our businesses at the same time and helped each other out since day one. I could use another machine going a couple days out of the week some weeks. and hiring someone as an employee puts me a in much different tax bracket i dont want to go into just yet. basically looking for opinions of having a part time second rig, pros and cons. is it worth the extra costs, would it really pull its weight for what im looking for

sorry for the curse, think its nice that this board actually censors that out haa

[tbone550]

I have never made money buying equipment and reselling it. Occasionally I'll make back the initial buy-in cost and the cost of the parts I put in to "fix it up." But I never make anywhere close to my hourly rate once you count up the time I spent making repairs. Especially on equipment that's just not worth much to begin with, like the 95 Ford. Super Duty or not, if it's 2WD, it's not worth more than $1500-$2000 around here.

If you take that little bit of money and try to build a nice trailer with it, then once again you're spinning your wheels and wasting time - just taking money from one project and spending it on another. It's easy to run a small business into the ground messing around with tooling. I know, I've nearly done it myself before. These days I set aside a small amount of money to mess around with, and I buy and sell a torch here and there. Sometimes I make money on them and sometimes I lose, but either way it's not enough to break me.

If I were you, I'd sell whichever truck didn't make sense for me to own over the long haul. I would NOT then turn around and spend that money in the slow season on tooling up for a busy season that might or might not come. Just save that money for when things really do get busy, and then buy an old used trailer if you must. Heck, you can fix up an old trailer into a welding trailer in one day if you have a plan. Why spend the money now?

As far as having employees, that's a curse I hope I never have to endure. It's bad enough just managing myself!

Just my opinion. It's worth what you paid for it. :)

[GJCHALFANT]

exactly my concerns thats why i havent tooled up the super duty lol, but did purchase it during the busy season because it was a steal, and figure in a couple years after i get my feet on the ground, im looking ahead, i like to plan. and just like you said could even be a slow summer. just glad that the investments i made paid for themselves and the company owes nothing (besides taxes of course) its all paid for. i know most small companies like mine are able to run themselves with one rig, one man. I have a hand me down vantage and tooling I collected over the years i would like to put together into some sort of extra rig when the time comes that it would benefit me, not run me into the ground, thanks for the advice!! Jesus it sounds like no one has luck with friends working for them. not sure if its worth it but its a dually powerstroke cab and chassis, 10 lug with room for mid mount. I thought they would have been worth more than that in pretty decent condition... i was looking into similar trucks like a f350 and they were going for a bit more around my way

[David R]

I have had both. I just junked my 94 F250 diesel 4 x 4 in the avatar. I now have a F350 Super duty diesel 2 wd. Welder is back on a trailer because I went from having a piece of junk car or mini pick up to one truck for everything.

Things have changed for me. I'm too old to work outside in the winter cold welding. I just can't take it any more. Now its bring the work to my shop. More tig and pulsed spray type of work so I don't have to leave where its warm and almost (leaky roof) dry. The money is just as good If I can find the work.

Which truck to keep? Sheit, I can't decide for you. I can tell you the F250 I could not drink a cup of coffee while driving because it rode so rough. The 99 F350 diesel with the 9' flat bed in my "Contractors Cadillac" Today we have snow so I put my full 4' square scrap bin on the back for weight and it got me home just fine.

Tomorrow morning I am going to a restaurant to weld a stainless sink with a V160-S tig setup. I also have some carbon steel on a grill to repair so I have a Passport for that job. I will use customers electric and leave the Ranger 250 at home on the trailer. I could do all this out of an S10. Pay is the same as welding on a cell tower. All this equipment is in the back seat of my F350 super duty.

In the summer I ride a motorcycle to work every day. The truck sits at work waiting for a service call.

Good luck.
David

[Sparky0908]

Just a heads up. You may want to talk to your accountant or lawyer about the sub contractor thing. There is a fine line between a sub contractor and an employee. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you set his hours or he has set hours (say he works 7-4 every day) he is considered an employee by the IRS.

[tbone550]

...its a dually powerstroke cab and chassis, 10 lug with room for mid mount. I thought they would have been worth more than that in pretty decent condition... i was looking into similar trucks like a f350 and they were going for a bit more around my way

GJ, the Super Dutys have a much smaller market of potential buyers than the 350's and down. Generally the '99 and up ones are worth a lot more because of their more modern looks. That's why I went with a '99.

You might get lucky - all it takes is one guy who HAS to own your truck.

I will tell you one of the secrets I learned along the way - it's usually not a good idea to buy equipment that you don't expect to need for a couple of years, no matter how good the price. The time will come when you really wish you had that money - maybe to buy some tools that you need for an immediate job, or supplies, or just rainy-day money.

When you have a sudden need for it, It's a lot harder to get your money back out of a piece of equipment than it is to get it out of your bank account.

Again, these sorts of things are a gray area for business owners - how much do I re-invest in the company? How much do I leave in the company account? How much do I pay myself? I have a 4-year degree in economics, and I've still had to learn these things the hard way. (And am still learning...)

[Capozzoli]

You guys get paid? Hmm interesting concept.

Just a heads up. You may want to talk to your accountant or lawyer about the sub contractor thing. There is a fine line between a sub contractor and an employee. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you set his hours or he has set hours (say he works 7-4 every day) he is considered an employee by the IRS.

This is true, unless the sub has proof of insurance and workmens comp. They have to have their own insurance or the are an employee. You can pay them as a sub, and then 1099 them at the end of the year but if they don't pay their taxes you will be liable for the taxes.
That is why most General Contractors want to have your certificate of insurance. If I sub out work, the subs insurance company has to forward me their certificate of insurance.

I learned this the hard way, the REAL hard way.

[tbone550]

....In the summer I ride a motorcycle to work every day. The truck sits at work waiting for a service call....

I worked on a secure jobsite a few years back where I was able to leave the truck parked onsite for a few months, and rode a motorcycle 45 mins each way every day between home and the site. Now that is the life. Except when it thunderstorms the whole way home. :)

[David R]

Snip... Except when it thunderstorms the whole way home. :)

Then I drive the truck and leave the bike at work.

Yeah, right now with only one truck, sometimes its at home. If I get a service call where I need the truck right away, I have to ride home and get it. All good!

Right now I have one truck and 3 bikes. Last year I had a mini pick up I drove as my car and the F250 with welder on stayed at the shop. I ran out of room at the shop and can NOT leave it outside there, so now its at home in the summer. I drive it every day in the winter for $100.00+ a week in fuel.

David