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Any Fleet Washers Here?

4K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Barry M 
#1 ·
Just checking to see if there are any on this board.
 
#5 ·
Yes, with resi only about 6 months long we also do fleets.

What did you need, Barry?
I was just doing some research on pricing tractor/trailers. I wasn't sure how many fleet guys were on this board, that's all. Nice site by the way.

I know not too many guys are going to talk pricing openly but on a tractor/trailer do you guys charge more for the trailer and how much more do you charge than the tractor?
 
#6 ·
To answer your question:Yes, we do charge more for a trailer wash than a tractor wash, which is stupid, but that is what the industry has seemed to set. The trailer has nice, easy-to-wash flat surfaces and it isn't as necessary to get a trailer as clean. A tractor is much more difficult to wash, gets a lot dirtier than a trailer, and the driver is much more likely to complain if it isn't relatively clean. A person can spend twice as much time on a tractor than a trailer to get it clean, all for less money. Obviously, pricing varies dependant on numerous circumstances, but we typically charge anywhere from $2.00-$5.00 more for a trailer, hoping that the extra money we get from them makes up for less profit on the tractor. Are you strating to test the "fleet waters" a little? What kind of experiences have you had so far?
 
#7 ·
I obviously did my research before submitting a bid but after I did I just got to thinking like you said, the trailer is easier to wash so I second guessed myself. I charged $2 more for the trailer in this particular instance.

Yes, I am getting into fleet washing, I have been up north and worked with another fleet washing contractor. He showed me the ropes and of course we've talked on the phone for countless hours. Still I believe the only real way to get good experience is to be out there doing the work. I recentley landed a nice little biweekly account of 24 step through vans (route trucks). It's the perfect size to go out and knock out by myself and get some experience. I have a very good lead on another account and I've submitted quit a few quotes to numerous companies that my produce work down the road.
 
#8 ·
Barry, I have one fleet account too. It was too good to pass up and its very easy but we are still feeling our way around the efficiency aspect. Our friend up north would do this account in two hours but as of yesterday, its still taking three of my guys 7 hours.
 
#10 ·
If I know you, it's because your so darn anal. That's the fine line I can't figure out how to make money on fleets. Prices are too low for spending much time on them doing extreme quality. I can't seem to figure exactly "how clean" is clean enough to make money. How do you clean a $15 Tractor in 5 minutes and get it CLEAN? That's how fast I would have to be to make the same money as a House wash.

If I am understanding right, fleets are all about setting expectations as to what you get for $xx.00. Otherwise, a guy could spend an hour washing a Truck for $15 because it wasn't explained that $15 only gets them 5 minutes worth.

Am I correct? How clean do guys get them for these amounts I see everywhere?
 
#11 ·
Yeah thats pretty embarassing I know. Its a total of 42 50-passenger busses. They are not all housed in the cleaning area (which has sanitary drains and 3 high flow water outlets) We have done them three times now. First two times was ten hours (Michael's right, that was because I was there the first two times LOL). Its the moving of the busses that causes problems. They have one guy there and its a 50/50 chance as to whether he is on the phone with his wife or ready to move the next set of busses into the wash area. Two guys are washing, one guy is brushing and there is plenty of stepping over each others toes and/or standing around. I bid this job at $32 not knowing if that was high or low but we got it so its worth filling in a Sunday and the guys get time and a half so its easy to get them to work but soon I will be down to two guys and I am a bit worried about the time.
 
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