Most land‑clearing guys think they’re making money. Sit them down and add up: - Operator labor - Fuel - Teeth & repairs - Insurance, ads, yard, notes, admin, your own salary …and you realize they’ve been donating days to the universe. Let’s fix that. Texas Skid Crew – Reality Check For our new Texas skid‑mulcher crew, one full day really costs: - Operator + burden: ~$423/day - Fuel: ~$280/day - Major wear & repairs: ~$75/day - Teeth: ~$90/day - Overhead share: ~$1,331/day True cost ≈ $2,200/day If you’re charging $2,000/day and calling that a “good day,” you’re lying to yourself. The Simple Rule (Texas Skid Crew) We’re locking the Texas skid crew at: $3,000/day Baseline production: 1 acre/day in medium brush, flat ground, normal access From there, estimating is just: 1. How many acres are we really treating? 2. Brush density? Light ≈ 1.5 ac/day Medium ≈ 1.0 ac/day Heavy ≈ 0.5 ac/day 3. Terrain / access? Easy → acres/day × 1.1 Normal → × 1.0 Rough/Pain → × 0.7 Then: Crew‑Days = Acres ÷ Acres/Day (round up)Price = Crew‑Days × $3,000 Examples: - 4 acres, medium, normal → 1 ac/day → 4 days → 4 × 3k = $12,000 - 6 acres, light, easy → ~1.65 ac/day → ~3.7 → 4 days → $12,000 - 3 acres, heavy, rough → 0.35 ac/day → ~8.6 → 9 days → $27,000 (or you phase it) What To Do With This - Admit your real cost/day. If you don’t know it, you’re guessing. - Pick a real day rate (not charity). I’m using $3k/day on the Texas skid crew as an entry number. It will go up as demand climbs. - Estimate in days, not vibes. Acres → density → access → days → days × day rate. Full stop. - Track est vs actual. Every time you miss, log it. Tighten the multipliers. Your pricing will get sharper every month if you’re honest. Free Tool I dropped a simple Job Cost & Crew‑Day Estimator in the Classroom Replays: OPS REPLAYS → Week 6 – Job Costing & Profit Make a copy, plug your own numbers in (labor, fuel, overhead), and stop pretending “$7,500 feels right” is a real system.