The bush hogging travel fee and minimum charge work separately on the job price. The travel fee is added after hours times rate, and the minimum charge takes over when that total falls below the lowest price you will accept for a visit. They matter most on small far jobs.
Bush Hogging Travel Fee and Minimum Charge in the Calculator
The Bush Hogging Cost Calculator asks for acreage, cutter width, speed, terrain and growth, hourly rate and any travel fee, then it gives total hours, job price and bush hogging cost per acre. It works out cutting time, turns it into a cutting price, adds the travel fee, then compares the total with the minimum charge. Use the live guide on bush hogging cost per acre for the general quoting method, and use Blog 01 for the full calculator walkthrough. The page example is a 20 acre pasture, a 6 ft cutter at 4 mph in average conditions at 75 percent, at an example rate of 85 dollars per hour. It gives 2.18 acres per hour, 9.2 hours shown, and a total of 779 dollars, about 39 dollars per acre, all as example figures at the page example rate. Quote 779 dollars as shown, never 782 dollars from the rounded 9.2 hours.
What the Travel Fee Does
The bush hogging travel fee and minimum charge each change the job price in a different way. The travel fee is a flat amount you enter for the visit, and the calculator adds it once to the job price after hours times rate. It is not a rate per acre and it is not a rate per hour. It changes only the final job price, and it changes the cost per acre by the same amount spread over the acres in the job. The page tips state this plainly. Add travel and minimums, because small jobs far away need a travel fee or minimum charge. The page gives no travel fee amount, so any travel fee amount in this guide is an amount you enter yourself, never a page figure or a market figure.
How the Travel Fee Changes the Page Example
Acres per hour equals cutter width in feet times speed in miles per hour times efficiency divided by 8.25, so 6 times 4 times 0.75 equals 18, and 18 divided by 8.25 equals 2.181818, shown as 2.18 acres per hour. Hours equal 20 divided by 2.181818, which equals 9.166667 hours, shown as 9.2 hours, and the price uses 9.17 hours times 85 dollars, which equals 779 dollars as shown on the page. Cost per acre equals hourly rate divided by acres per hour, so 85 dollars divided by 2.181818 equals about 39 dollars per acre, all as example figures at the page example rate. Now suppose you enter 50 dollars as your travel fee for the visit. That 50 dollar figure is an amount you enter yourself, not a page figure and not a market figure. The 20 acre job becomes 779 dollars plus 50 dollars, which equals 829 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate, and travel is 6 percent of that total.
The Travel Fee on a Small Job
The same entered 50 dollar travel fee changes a small job far more, and the one acre job shows it best. For one acre with the same 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent, hours equal 1 divided by 2.181818, which equals 0.458333 hours. Cutting price equals 0.458333 hours times 85 dollars, which equals 38.96 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate. Add the entered 50 dollar travel fee, and the job price becomes 88.96 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate. Travel is 50 dollars and cutting is 38.96 dollars, so travel costs more than cutting on this job. A one acre job an hour away can cost more in travel than in cutting.
| Job size | Cutting hours | Cutting price | Plus entered travel fee of 50 dollars | Job price | Travel share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 acre | 0.46 hours | 38.96 dollars | 50 dollars | 88.96 dollars | 56 percent |
| 2 acres | 0.92 hours | 77.92 dollars | 50 dollars | 127.92 dollars | 39 percent |
| 5 acres | 2.29 hours | 194.79 dollars | 50 dollars | 244.79 dollars | 20 percent |
| 10 acres | 4.58 hours | 389.58 dollars | 50 dollars | 439.58 dollars | 11 percent |
| 20 acres | 9.17 hours | 779 dollars | 50 dollars | 829 dollars | 6 percent |
All cutting prices in this table are example figures at the page example rate, worked from the 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent, and the 50 dollar travel fee is an amount you enter yourself. The 20 acre cutting price is the page figure of 779 dollars.
What the Minimum Charge Does
The minimum charge is the lowest price you will accept for a visit, and it works as a floor under the total, not as an addition to it. Apply it yourself as a flat amount after the calculator total, not as a calculator input. Work out hours times rate, add the travel fee, then compare that total with your minimum charge yourself When the total sits above the minimum, the minimum changes nothing and the total stands. When the total falls below the minimum, the minimum takes over and the job price becomes the minimum charge.
How the Minimum Charge Changes the Page Example
Suppose you enter 200 dollars as your minimum charge for a visit. That 200 dollar figure is an amount you enter yourself, not a page figure and not a market figure. The page gives no minimum charge amount, so 200 dollars is Unavailable as a page figure and Unavailable as a market figure. Start with the one acre job. Hours times rate is 38.96 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate, plus the entered 50 dollar travel fee gives 88.96 dollars. That total falls below the entered 200 dollar minimum, so the minimum takes over and the job price becomes 200 dollars. Five acres gives 194.79 dollars plus 50 dollars, which equals 244.79 dollars, above the minimum, so the minimum changes nothing. Twenty acres gives 829 dollars, above the minimum.
| Job size | Hours times rate plus entered travel | Entered minimum charge | Job price | Minimum applies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 acre | 88.96 dollars | 200 dollars | 200 dollars | Yes |
| 2 acres | 127.92 dollars | 200 dollars | 200 dollars | Yes |
| 5 acres | 244.79 dollars | 200 dollars | 244.79 dollars | No |
| 10 acres | 439.58 dollars | 200 dollars | 439.58 dollars | No |
| 20 acres | 829 dollars | 200 dollars | 829 dollars | No |
All dollar figures in this table are example figures at the page example rate, except the entered 50 dollar travel fee and the entered 200 dollar minimum charge, which are amounts you enter yourself. The 20 acre cutting price inside the 829 dollar total is the page figure of 779 dollars.
Travel Fee and Minimum Charge Together
Enter both inputs together and read the result in order, because the order decides which one changes the price. First work out cutting time and cutting price from acreage, cutter width, speed and efficiency. Then add the travel fee. Then compare the total with the minimum charge. A wide cutter shows the same point. A 15 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent gives 5.454545 acres per hour, so five acres costs 77.92 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate, plus 50 dollars travel equals 127.92 dollars, below the entered 200 dollar minimum, so the job price becomes 200 dollars.
How to Set Your Travel Fee From Your Own Costs
Set the travel fee from your own costs, not from a competitor figure. No competitor travel figure is used in this guide, and no competitor figure should be copied into your calculator. Start with the round trip for the job. Add up the fuel you use on that trip, the wear on the vehicle and trailer, and the time on the road at your own hourly rate. Total those costs for the trip and enter the total as the travel fee for that job.
How to Set Your Minimum Charge From Your Own Costs
Set the minimum charge from the cost of a visit, not from the cutting price and not from a competitor figure. The page gives no minimum charge amount, and this guide gives no market minimum, so the amount must come from your own costs. Add up the fixed cost of a visit. That fixed cost includes loading the cutter, driving to the field, unloading, walking the field first, and driving back, plus the smallest amount of cutting time you will accept as a visit. The page tips say to walk the field first, because hidden stumps, wire and rocks are the biggest risk to time and equipment, and that walk is part of the visit even on a small job. Add a margin on top of those costs, so the minimum charge covers the visit and leaves something for the business.
How to Enter the Travel Fee and Apply the Minimum Charge
Enter the acreage first, using the area to be cut only. Enter the cutter width and a realistic speed next, then choose the terrain and growth that match the field. For the efficiency behind that choice, use the guide on understanding field efficiency and keep the band honest. Small or irregular fields use 55 to 65 percent. Average fields use 70 to 75 percent. Large rectangular fields use 80 to 85 percent. Ideal fields with GPS guidance use 85 to 90 percent. The ideal band is 85 to 90 percent, never 88 to 90 percent. Enter your own hourly rate next, then enter the travel fee as a flat amount for the visit and compare the total with your minimum charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where does the bush hogging travel fee go in the cost calculator?
A: Enter it with the hourly rate, as a flat amount for the visit. The calculator adds it after hours times rate.
Q: When does the bush hogging minimum charge change the job price?
A: When hours times rate plus travel falls below the minimum, the minimum takes over. When that total sits above the minimum, the minimum changes nothing.
Q: How much is the travel fee on the Bush Hogging Cost Calculator page?
A: The page gives no travel fee amount, so the amount is Unavailable as a page figure. Enter your own travel fee, worked from your own costs.
Q: How much is the minimum charge on the Bush Hogging Cost Calculator page?
A: The page gives no minimum charge amount, so the amount is Unavailable as a page figure. Enter your own minimum charge, worked from the fixed cost of a visit plus a margin.
Q: Why does a one acre bush hogging job cost more in travel than in cutting?
A: Because the travel fee stays the same while the cutting price falls with acreage. At the page example rate, one acre gives 38.96 dollars of cutting and an entered 50 dollar travel fee gives 88.96 dollars.
Q: Does the minimum charge apply on a large bush hogging job?
A: It applies as a floor on every job, but it changes nothing when the total sits above it. With an entered 50 dollar travel fee and an entered 200 dollar minimum, five acres gives 244.79 dollars and twenty acres gives 829 dollars, so the minimum changes neither total.
Plan the Travel Fee and the Minimum Charge Before You Quote
The bush hogging travel fee and minimum charge are small entries with a large effect on small jobs. Enter the travel fee as a flat amount for the visit, worked from your own costs for that trip, and enter the minimum charge as the lowest price you will accept for a visit, worked from the fixed cost of a visit plus a margin. Read the result in order. Hours times rate gives the cutting price, plus travel gives the job total, and the minimum takes over only when that total falls below it. Use the cost calculator for your own job, and use the per acre guide for the general quoting method.
