How to wash fleets?

the_GUNN_man

New Member
I have tried to do a brief search but don't have time to do a thorough search. I need to know the scoop on fleet washing. I had a company call me that is moving to my town and wanted me to quote them on fleet washing. I don't yet know how many trucks they have. They said they mostly want trailers washed but also want a bid on tractors too. Fleets is something I haven't done. I have yet to go after a fleet account. They got me from the yellow pages and now it has me considering going into fleets. I have basically no work to do in the winter. I have a 5.5 gpm hot water machine and I have a 500 gallon supply tank. I need to know what is thge low down on washing trailers.
#1 What chems do you use on the trailer? I am in Michigan and there is lots of salt on the trucks.
#2 Do you brush the trucks? Or just pw them?
#3 What chems do you use on the tractor?
#4 Is there anything special I need to know about? Such as the fuel tanks, exhaust stacks, etc.
#5 What is a good price to charge per tractor and per trailer? I don't know what the current price is around this area. I do not know how long it takes to wash these so it is hard to figure by the hour. I know different areas get different prices.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I need to give them a bid tomorrow.
 

ron

New Member
need more info
Do you need to recapture the waste water?
What equipment are you going to need to recapture the water?
Where are you going to get rid of the waste water?
Do you need to bring your own water or is there a supply?
How far will you need to travel to get water?
Depending on the waste water and water hauling might/will depend on price,how you wash[brushing or 2 stepping],and price.
What are you going to pay your help[inc. workman's comp,insurance,fica,ect...] You will need help to brush if it's a lot of trailers.
Dan and Scott are the brush kings.
[you lerking out there bigboy?]
Then we need to know the size of the trailers and how meny times per month they need to be washed, to help with price.
Lastly [i think] your not supposed to list co. that sell chems here.
I think Dan is the biggest "one man band" when it comes to fleet's.
 

the_GUNN_man

New Member
Here is what I found out form the company that wants me to wash them. It will be mostly just trailers. They are 53' trailers. They are painted with no aluminum. They don't have any stainless on them either. The rims are painted also. Nothing needs to be brightened. The fleet is 25 trailers and will be a 3 trailer minimum when I go there. I will use their water. Nothing needs to be recaptured. They only want the road grime and salt off of them. They said the last people were charging them $15 a trailer for washing them and now they are moving and want them washed on site. Their old pw'er was having them bring the trucks to them. They said they did some kind of laser wash. The other fleet guy in town wants $50 per trailer to wash them and he said that is too much. So I am stuck between $15 and $50. I was thinking that if I could do 2 an hour that I could charge $30 a trailer and come out ok. The place is only 10 minutes from where I live. What do you think?
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
I'd say go somewhere in the middle..........they can't expect you to come TO THEM and charge only $15..........so, shoot them a price of around $30 to $35 and see if they bite. Don't give it away, even if it is local.
 

ron

New Member
the $15 per tailer might be bullstuff.
The other guy wants $50 and your thinking of $30.
Go $35 and try for a 4 trailer min.
Tell them you need 4 to make it worth your time.
I would use a 2 step type approach to cleaning them and get my chems from Steve.
You might not need the acid everytime, the atlas is pretty good stuff.
remember $5 more per trailer at 100 per year will pay for the chems used.
Remember you are at the point where your mouth[sales] can make more money then that wand can.
It is darn near impossable to go up in price once you set it.
As far as the min amount of trucks, yes it's close to you but you still have travel,set-up and break down time.
Plus the time to mix up your chems,shipping costs,billing time,tax's,chem cost,fuel cost's,ect.... so be carefull how you view $60 per hour. It might be less then 1/2 that in your pocket at 3 or 4 trailers at a time. But you need to start somewhere.
 

Dan S

New Member
Steve,

I guess first thing would be do you really want to wash fleets?
I mean REALLY want to wash ??

there is a couple reasons why I ask ..


1) do ya need the work? Fleet wash9ing is a great source of income..steady work ..


2) If the other outfit was washing it for 15.00 thats probably about right .. a lil low for a trailer but you can still make some money even @ 15.00.. I would go for @ least 20.00 ..

even at 15.00 x 25 =375.00

20.00 x 25 = 500.00 not 2 bad if that is per week .


sounds like all you gotta do is hose 'em down . I would just up-stream a good chem ......... heck they supply your h20 all ya need is a pick-up with a hot-pressure washer and 5 gal of soap .
10 mins from home making 4-500.00 per week? Yes I would take it . I would take all of that I can .. 2 of my contracts are about 10 mins away .. I love it ,wife stops up brings lunch . and If I forget anything -or just wanna go home for a bit it wont break me in gas.

I really dont think you would have too much set up time .

you didnt say ---or I didnt read how many times they want this washed -- once a week/month/year?

I would really give this some heavy thinking if I were you ..

once you get to do the trailers then you are in the door for there trk.s..........

This could be a profitable deal for you..

you say nothing needs to be re-captured ....... WHY ? do they have a place for you to wash?

I would look into that before you start spraying ..

good luck and keep us posted how you made out .

ps: I do brush my trailers .... BUT I use a big-big big- brush .. about 12'..............
 
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Dan S

New Member
justin,

do you really think he will call you?

I mean after all in a different thread you called him an IDIOT

what gives ..

do ya know each other or what ?
 

Scott Stone

New Member
I know nothing about washign in temps below freezing. I have done it a few tiems, but it was usuallu at least 50 before I was done for the day.
There are a couple of things that need to be thought about.
1. Usually the guys that say that it just needs to have salts and road grime removed are the most demanding. They think that washing trucks is easy.
2. Fleetwash gets $14.50 per trailer, usually. They will ream someone if they can. Usually on a national contract.
3. Setup for any job takes 15 minutes on average. I am fast, but it still takes me 15 minutes toset up and do the job they way that I would like.
4. You really need to make about $60-$70 an hour minimum to be profitable in fleets. If you have an employee or two, it takes more. If it is less than that you might as well work for someone else.
5. Sometimes recapture is not all it is cracked up to be. Sometimes it is more appearance than anything else. As long as an effort is made, usually everyone is happy.
6. Some companies tha shall remain nameless, seldom if ever recover, even if they do use that as their biggest marketing hook. I have pictures of them washign LOTS of trucks on bare dirt, by a riverbed. Mostly they use recapture to steal accounts.
7. Make no mistake, Fleets are work. No such thing as easy money.
8. IN MY OPINION, You cannot trust an employee to wash a fleet more than one time without supervision. After that, you need to CONSTANTLY check on their work quality, even if the company swears that they have an inspection after every wash.
9. Done properly, a brushwash is faster than two step. You just have to have a brush guy that is in really good shape, and willig to work hard and fast. You also need two guys to do it this way.


Scott
 

offdutyfirema

New Member
I do trailers for $15.00 each, either interior or exterior. I don't two-step or use acid and use that as my selling point. Don't have to worry about turning paint yellow or anything. If all you have to do is brush the front and back and rinse the sides you should be able to average 10 an hour.
williamdpage2002@yahoo.com
 

Dan S

New Member
I dont doubt what you say works ( for you ) but you cant sit there and tell me that that is the only BEST way to clean ..I have done the 2 step before and once in awhile I still do .

I just pre-spray soap on let dwell ......... time varys with temp....
then I wash it off with hot h20.I use nothing more then a 150psi shure-flo 1/4" hose and a trigger gun , and of course the 100' of 1/4" is on a reel.( for pre-spray)
and I hardly ever brush !!!!

I try and stay away from acid only b/c thats one less product I need to buy . I get my soap from! @#$%^&**&^%$#@!@#$%^&**&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!~~~~~ it cleans alum. with ease. when I want the alum. to stand out I give it a kick of juice.. but for the most part I stay with the one soap .. and you cant tell the diff. between a 2- step wash and a regular pre-spray wash.
so I guess the "comparison" is only in the hands of WHO is doing the spraying..

ps: there is a sponsor on this BB who would hook you up !
 
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Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
Its the same old battle as to what works best,it will never be won as to which.

I like 2-stepping it works best for me,you do not need a helper to brush,you can work by yourself which is what I want.....As Dan said prespraying works the same way,best for him.

The price you need to look at is how much do you need to stay in business not what everybody else is getting.The trailers can run anywhere from 8 dallors to 15 dallors on big fleets,small fleets run 15 to 35 a trailer.A 'one' man team usually washes between 4 to 6 (box) trailers an hour,any more then that you'll be called a hit and run type powerwasher.

With 25 trailers and only 3 minimum each time you go there tells me the trailers doesn't get washed enough,this may be a 4 trailers a hour type fleet,15x4=60 dallors a hour.

Only thing with 25 trailers and not knowing for sure how many each week will but a one man team behind in his work if they want all 25 washed some weekends,it happens.

In my area the fleets with 25 (box and reefer) trailers runs 15 dallors each,with a minimum 6 to 8 being washed each week.

If I was wanting the business,I'd washem for 15 b/c of the travel time there,10 min.

Last weekend(Saturady) with the SUN shinning with a high of 25 degree with a 17 wind chil,,I washed.Ever ever little ice formed on the trucks but care should be taken b/c the wash water will freeze on the ground around the trucks making it a wittle dangous.

The fleet account would be good for you in your learning.....

They have been paying 15,trying to get 25 to 35 dallors would put you in their joke box,lol.I'd tell them 20 dallars a trailer and cut it down to 17.50 if they washed atleast 6 trailers each time,it's worth a try.
 

ron

New Member
good to see back bigboy.
At $15 per trailer they were also paying the driver to take them to the washer. Now they dont need to spend on there help or fuel.
That has to be worth something to them.
 

the_GUNN_man

New Member
I actually bid them at $30 a trailer and it sounds like I got it he said that was the best price he had got out of the 3 that called back. The guy said he called 15 contractors about washing them and only 3 called back. One was me at $30 a trailer, another guy came back with $50 a trailer but I know why his is so high. He is very busy and can't really handle much more. I do not know who the third guy is but it sounds like he is not equipt to handle washing fleets. Probably because he doesn't have hot water. For a fleet that small and for the possibility of only getting to do 3 on some days nobody will travel from Grand Rapids to wash 3 trailers. Most all the other pw's in town don't do fleets. I have talked to a few people and I think I am going to go the 2 step route. I may try both just to see but i am going to try 2 stepping and if it works for me I will stick with it. I used to wash charter buses(greyhound) for a bus company. We had to scrub the buses down and rinse with a garden hose. That sucked and it took about 20 minutes to do it. I figure that a trailer will be close to the same. So if I can 2 step it and shave 5 to 10 minutes off my time then I am all for it.
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
Not trying to scare you Steve,only pointing out a few things I seen in your last reply.

He called "15" with only getting 3 bids,thats fine,but some where later on one of the 12 will come a calling.Sometimes the ones that didn't reply back knows where they can get new business after they figure and reroute some of their other accounts.They will also get to wash more of the trailers than you,all they have to do is lower their price down 50 cents a trailer or wash one get one free at your price.Fleets are not like washing houses,get all you can get the first time b/c of only washing a few times in it's life time.30 dollars is high in fleetwashing and they know it,the first guy that comes along with just a dallor or two will shoot you out of the saddle.

You say most of the other washers in town doesn't do fleets,neither did you.They too may decide too try their hand at fleet washing,you did or are.

You can 2-step a trailer in 10 minutes,3 trailers in 30 minutes,,the fleet owner isn't going to like you knowing your making 90 dallors for 3 trailers when he has been getting 6 done for the same price.

You'll always be at risk losing the account from what I've seen over the years in fleet pricing and washing.When pricing fleets it comes from the speed/qkly you can do,the cleaner they keep the fleets the faster you can go and with less chemicals.

I'm only putting myself in the fleet owners shoes and know how alot of the other fleet washers think.The ones he called may take several months/year before they decide to take on more new business as in growing.Also I think with 25 trailers they'll wash more than 3 a week but not at 30 a trailer,the 3 you do wash will be nasty nasty.......like I said this is just my thoughts,wish ya was in my area lol.
 

the_GUNN_man

New Member
I will see how it goes. Fleets really isn't my speciality but I will give it a try. I mainly do brick washing. 75% of my income last year was from that. Until I am washing brick every week through out the washing season I have to go after smaller stuff. I would like to get out of residential work altogether. Since brick washing pays so well in this area it is hard to get your foot in the door with some companies. Since I was a brick layer I know other brickies in various companies and am trying to shore up a couple more companies. One thing I noticed about the brick cleaning is once the find some one they stick with that person. I have had someone go up to the company I work for and try and under cut me by .10 a ft. They stayed loyal to me. It helps I worked for the for 3 years though. I get .45 a sq. ft. now and I can wash at least 250 sq. ft. an hour. That equals $112 an hour. The problem is that I only get about $15,000-$20,000 worth of work from them a year. I need to get about 4 more companies like that and I can stick to just brick. I have done work for other masonry companies but that was only because they had two jobs finish at the same time and their other washer was busy on that job. I am lucky with the company I work for now because they will hold the work for me to do. Anyway, I am not looking to start washing fleets fulltime. Anything could happen but I am happy with my brick. I just need more of it. Like I said though I need other stuff to fill the gaps in the mean time.
 

the_GUNN_man

New Member
Oh by the way there trucks leave and go into Canada for up to 10 days at a time. They said usually there should be 10 on the lot on average. Justin said he did fleets in this area for $27 a trailer he said that was about the going rate for around here. I guess you could say this, you know how you have a job you really don't want to do so you price it on the high side? Because if you get it then it is worth your time but if you don't then it is something you really didn't want to do in the first place. This is one of those jobs. I am not familar with fleets so I would rather price high and not get the job then be too low and end up regreting it everytime I go out there to wash trailers. I guess different areas price differently. I get .45 a sq. ft. to wash brick in this area. Some guys get .55 in this area but I have heard guys in other states doing it for .15 a sq. ft. I guess you can't call me a low baller at $30 a trailer LOL.
 

Dan S

New Member
Steve, Once you get one fleet you will want more.It is a great source and steady work. Just make them happy and you will soon see why I prefer not doing Residential.
hope it works out for ya!
 

washit

New Member
I agree with dan. We prespray and rinse almost everything. It is just as clean as a two step job, because I use to have a two step machine. We will brush all stainless and chrome because sometimes there is a film left if you don't. We have washed a lot of trucks with two step and the way we do it now. I started out by myself two stepping. Let me tell you one man pre spraying and brushing and the other washing is a lot faster than one man two stepping. Just my two cents.
 

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