question for you mobile welding business owners

admin

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?
Reply: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.Last edited by eclipse; 01-19-2012 at 08:22 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by eclipseIf 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.
Reply: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.  Last edited by tbone550; 01-19-2012 at 09:00 PM.
Reply: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 wayLast edited by GJCHALFANT; 01-19-2012 at 09:16 PM.
Reply: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. DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply: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.
Reply:Originally Posted by GJCHALFANT...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
Reply:You guys get paid? Hmm interesting concept.  Originally Posted by Sparky0908Just 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.
Reply:Originally Posted by David R....In the summer I ride a motorcycle to work every day.  The truck sits at work waiting for a service call....
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550Snip...  Except when it thunderstorms the whole way home.