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What's in your bucket??

#1

grumpygrizzly

grumpygrizzly

OK, I've got a 5 gallon bucket with a swivel padded seat on the top and pockets that run around the outside as well as inside the bucket. It's what I grab when one of my mowers/weedwhackers/chainsaws/etc give me problems starting or running..

My question is: What's in your bucket?? Or tool box/bag.. Whatever you grab to take out and fix one of your small engines.. or going to someones house to fix it onsite.

First thing I do is grab my Arnold Multi-Tool out of my bucket and hang it on my belt in the pouch that comes with the tool. 1671404245109.png

Then I grab my bucket with all kinds of goodies (i.e. gas line, spark plugs, socket set, screw drivers, nut drivers, can of ether, can of wd-40, small bottle of Stabil..

OK, so that's a short list.. What's in your bucket??


#2

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

I take a trailer.


#3

B

bertsmobile1

The mobile tool box has around $ 3000 worth of second grade tools in it.
I know that because it got nicked a few years back & I told the police around $ 500 initally.
Then when I did a full replacement search the figure came close enough to $ 3000 for the purchaseable tools the ones I made myself were not added to it .
When I gave the police the full list with replacement costs I got a visit from the Fraud Squad as the police decided I was doing an insurance fraud which is funny because I was not making a claim other than for a tax loss on the replacement tools.
Meanwhile my tools, all identified with my drivers license No seem to have vanished without trace .


#4

T

Tbone0106

Hammermechanicman said:
I take a trailer.
Click to expand...
Exactly. It's almost always easier to just haul the broken thing home where the tools are. I also use a set of ramps to run smaller tractors into the bed of the truck (the ones that run, that is).


#5

B

bertsmobile1

IF it is a quick & easy fix or a strait service I do it on site.
The customer then gets to see that there is more done than just changing the oil & filters or that it DOES take time to work out what is wrong.
They also see just how much time it takes & even better still how much mess is made .
Stuff done in situ is charged out at actual hours and no one ever complains about the labour because they have seen you working the whole time .
But charge the smae amount fora job taken back to the shop & they think they are being ripped off.
It also forces me to finish the job rather than 1/2 finish it then get distracted by another 5 jobs so the simple service ends up taking 5 days.
During the peak season I do bring all jobs back to the workshop because I can do 6 full services in a day if I have to , but it is a very looooong day .
Major repairs are always taken back to the shop.
But my problem is always doing the easy ones first then noticing that the PIA job has been sitting in the yard for a week .


#6

T

Tbone0106

Things I'll do on site (IF I have serviced the equipment previously and know what I'm getting into):
  • Change out a battery
  • Plug a tire
  • Change out a deck belt (usually)
  • Other minor stuff like fuses
  • Chassis lube
Beyond that, it's coming home to my shop. I only do battery swaps on site because all the equipment I've previously serviced has standard 1/4" stainless steel terminal bolts and nuts.


#7

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Tbone0106 said:
Exactly. It's almost always easier to just haul the broken thing home where the tools are. I also use a set of ramps to run smaller tractors into the bed of the truck (the ones that run, that is).
Click to expand...
I quit doing onsite service as it always more than is expected. What i take is a trailer with a small HF winch. The control switch cable is long enough i can sit on a mower and steer while running the winch. I am too old to push dead mowers onto a trailer. I also take a charged air tank and a jump pack.


#8

grumpygrizzly

grumpygrizzly

Wow, some great answers and a lot that I didn't even ponder before.. I've got a 4x8 trailer, a 6x10 trailer, the bed of my pickup, plenty of ways to get them back to the shop.

What I usually do is buy those units that "ran last year" and won't start at all this year. I get them VERY cheap.. Take them home to my shop, unload my truck and commence to making them run again.

Then I put them on Craigslist and easily double if not triple my money (depending on how much I paid for it).

I had a decent Step Van I picked up at an auction and drove home for $1,600 that I was going to make into a mobile shop and be able to go around to some of the yard maintenance guys and work on thier stuff right there on site..

Momma poo-poo'd that idea so I sold the stepvan at a nice profit.

Sure miss that step van..

With all the fires they have over in Oregon, I could have picked up pretty much every chainsaw I could find, tuen them up and drive down into that area where the homeowners are trying to save thier land and sell running chainsaws they could use to fell the trees and take away some of the fuel for those fires that come through there.

Thanks again for the responses. Look forward to more as they come along.


#9

T

Tbone0106

grumpygrizzly said:
Wow, some great answers and a lot that I didn't even ponder before.. I've got a 4x8 trailer, a 6x10 trailer, the bed of my pickup, plenty of ways to get them back to the shop.

What I usually do is buy those units that "ran last year" and won't start at all this year. I get them VERY cheap.. Take them home to my shop, unload my truck and commence to making them run again.

Then I put them on Craigslist and easily double if not triple my money (depending on how much I paid for it).

I had a decent Step Van I picked up at an auction and drove home for $1,600 that I was going to make into a mobile shop and be able to go around to some of the yard maintenance guys and work on thier stuff right there on site..

Momma poo-poo'd that idea so I sold the stepvan at a nice profit.

Sure miss that step van..

With all the fires they have over in Oregon, I could have picked up pretty much every chainsaw I could find, tuen them up and drive down into that area where the homeowners are trying to save thier land and sell running chainsaws they could use to fell the trees and take away some of the fuel for those fires that come through there.

Thanks again for the responses. Look forward to more as they come along.
Click to expand...
Yep, I do the "ran last year" thing too, though you never really know what you're getting into. Picked up a very nice JD rider year before last because the woman who had it claimed the "differential was blown." When I slid a hand underneath, I could feel the drive belt off the hydro pulley. Bought it for $250, sold it two weeks later for $800. This past summer, picked up a Husky LGT2654 for $100; they said it used to run great and they just hated to see it go.... yeah, right. Judging by the scuff marks and a broken deck, it had pretty clearly been rolled. New voltage regulator, new right front tire, a couple hours jigsawing the hood back together, a bit of welding from a buddy who owed me one.... out the door for $850.

When folks start viewing multi-thousand dollar mowers as "disposable," it is a huge opportunity for folks like us.


#10

B

bertsmobile1

FWIW I do overnight servicing for commercial customers as they can be anywhere within a 100km radius and they can always do a couple of extra hours tomorrow to catch up
I do on site servicing fro my tradies , Brickies / builders/ plumbers etc because they are happy to pay a call out fee as they have time deadlines to finish their work.
I now do all of the crews in a 5 mile radius because I work with them , do urgent repairs overnight and leave them in the yard for pick up at the silly hours that crews leave .
None of the mower shops will open before 8 am by which time my blokes would be on their 3rd job or more and they all close at 5 to 5:30 pm .
My workshop is one corner of a 1000 acre farm so no neighbours to annoy .
If you are in a residential area one complaint to the local authorities and you get closed down or they declaire you property to be commercial and triple you local taxes .


#11

T

Tbone0106

bertsmobile1 said:
FWIW I do overnight servicing for commercial customers as they can be anywhere within a 100km radius and they can always do a couple of extra hours tomorrow to catch up
I do on site servicing fro my tradies , Brickies / builders/ plumbers etc because they are happy to pay a call out fee as they have time deadlines to finish their work.
I now do all of the crews in a 5 mile radius because I work with them , do urgent repairs overnight and leave them in the yard for pick up at the silly hours that crews leave .
None of the mower shops will open before 8 am by which time my blokes would be on their 3rd job or more and they all close at 5 to 5:30 pm .
My workshop is one corner of a 1000 acre farm so no neighbours to annoy .
If you are in a residential area one complaint to the local authorities and you get closed down or they declaire you property to be commercial and triple you local taxes .
Click to expand...
Ah. You're into it a lot more than I am. I've only done a few commercial repairs. Almost everything I take care of is for private individuals. I find that they provide me with literally more than I can do in the warm weather months, and they leave me alone (mostly) when the snow is flying. (Yes, I fix snowthrowers, but that work is pretty spotty, and some winters I don't get one call.... because it doesn't snow.)

Near me, there's only one mower/small engine shop, and naturally the service rates are through-the-roof outrageous. Kinda handy for me when I endeavor to keep my rates high enough to justify all those hours away from the woman and in the shop -- where things tend to make sense.


#12

B

bertsmobile1

Getting some good commercial clients take the volatility out of the income.
They drop blades in to be sharpend and get their mowers serviced regularly and usually in off season because in high season hey are too busy mowing .
The big problem with having privates as your base, they are very unreliable.
The "wrong" person gets into the White House & they won't send their mower in for service.
Petrol goes up 5¢ so they cut cost by not getting their mower serviced
Or because they don't need it right now, they will get around to it latter but never do.
Then all of a sudden it is spring and their mowers that should have been serviced in the off season won't start and suddenly it becomes YOUR fault that their grass is 3' tall & their dog got eaten by lions .


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