mobile home parks

hydro-clean

New Member
I want to try to land some business in mobile home parks. I was going to make a flyer and send it out, I can look in the phone book for the parks address but how can i get each individual address in that park? I can also use some tips on a good mobile home flyer. what products have you found to work best on mobile homes? thanks
 

Aplus

New Member
Around here, the lowballers get most of the mobile home parks. A single wide goes for $75 and a double wide $100 at best. I don't advertise for mobile homes for this reason.

What happens is the mobile home owner gets cited by the park that they need to get their home washed. Every spring an inspection is done listing for each tenant what needs to be done. The tenant needs a receipt showing they had the work done. Even if they get a crummy job done, it get's them by until the following spring.

I've seen young guys, maybe seniors in high school running HD washers, blasting mobile homes for 40-50 bucks. They use no chems at all, just high pressure. At that price, they get plenty of customers lined up. The perceived value is now lowered in the eyes of many mobile home owners.

If people call for a quote, I do a verbal over the phone of 100-125 for single wide, and 125-150 for double wide. It doesn't matter if I don't get the job, because I'm not going to work for less.

I hate to say it, but if people could afford a house, they wouldn't be in a mobile home watching their dollars. In other words, there are better places to advertise where you can make money.

Anyway, wash them just like you would any other other house, be it vinyl or aluminum.
 
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ron

New Member
dont let A Plus scare you.
If you know the right way to sell and wash a mobile home you can wash then in less then 30 min.
The trick is to line up 10 per day at $75 each
Run a 1 day special.
Get a drum of gutter zap,a X-JET with a close range tip and a 72inc lance. Maybe some bleach and some liquid car wax.
You prob. could just use some ATLAS soap metered at 50 to1 and a downstreamer. I upstream the ATLAS and downstream the bleach. I use a 72 inc duel lance and can wash a single wide in 25 min. I have a 250 gal tank and hot water. I dont even need to hook up to water.
Stop the truck. Open rear door, Unwind hose, start unit with heat.
Twist grip to apply hot bleach,twist again to apply hot soap with wax added. Do all 4 sides. Turn off heat. Rinse with cold water.
Shut off unit roll, roll up hose. Collect check.
20 min to 30 min.
 

Gwas

New Member
I agree with Aplus... Low ballers get all of themobile home business in my neck of the woods. MIDDLE CLASS HOUSES !!!!! That's who spends the bucks.
 

Aplus

New Member
Hey Ron,
Have you washed many mobile homes? The reason I ask is, while your method is feasible, the reality is it doesn't always work like that.

Problems I've seen time and time again are: Cheesy, aluminum frame windows that leak like a sieve, siding that's barely attached, and blows loose when hit with almost any water pressure, black streaks from the tar coated roofs streaking down the sides, and often the trailer park is built on poorly graded land that is swampy most all the time.

It's easy to say line up ten a day, not so easy to do. Trailer parks around here don't allow flyers, you'd have to go door-to-door cold calling each tenant.

A 15 gallon drum of gutter zap costs $232, I know, I just bought one. Chemical costs are too high to make a decent profit at 75 bucks apiece.

Oh, and what about all the hose burns in the grass you are going to leave behind?

Not trying to pull your chain, just pointing out that profits are not what you might think they'd be.
 

melsmobile

New Member
I would have to agree with Ron, some what , but not totaly !

I've washed 10 mobile homes in one day , but they were repos and didnt have to deal with the owners! at $75 ea. it was a cake walk! about 5 hrs total wash time , 2 dif locations 3 hrs drive time !

Mel
 

Aplus

New Member
15 gallon drum directly from xterior was $223 with freight.

If Sunbright is selling it for $125, then I got boned.

I need to investigate why they charged me so much.
 
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ron

New Member
A-PLUS you paid the 30 gal price.
I have not washed a trailer since i went legit.
2 years now.
The trailer park's here we way diffent then what your describing.
These had stone foundations,decks,some tripple wide,lot's are 50 by 50. Retirement homes.
not 3 tooth kissing cusiun backwood's shack's
I also made good money washing and sealing the roof's
COOL[something] it has a polorbear on the can.
They let me post a sign at the entrance's for a WEEKEND SPECIAL.
They wanted everyone to get a housewash.
Here's a tip for you.
Get 3 or 4 bundles of the cell foam type pipe insulation from home depot. You just clip it over you line and space them apart.
No more grass burn.
Takes a little time but the customer see's you care.
I also use tent spikes around the flower garden's and landscape bed's. That way when i pull the line it stays out of the bed's.
I'm going to make some h's and put a bend on top of the I part.
That way you step on the h to drive it in. Then have the handle to pull them out.
 

Mikespowrwash

New Member
I see both points of view. I wash mobile homes along with everything else. I shoot them a quote over the phone of 100.00 singlewide 150.00 doublewide. these prices are stright house and steps, sidewalks wood decks etc. all extras after I see them. Ive been in parks like Ron is talking about...very few and far between around here but they do exist and if you sign one you most likely will work all day so bring plenty of supplies and cards. The norm are the nasty run down parks where if you get one your lucky to get one more and they are nasty, these take closer to an hour to an hour and a half to wash. I have done 6 in a day but do not think I can do 10 in a normal day unless they are clean and wide open away from trees. Most of our mobile home parks are wooded and this increases the difficulty with tree sap and lots of mildew. Just saying I see where both of you are coming from as I have worked both ends of the spectrum.
 

HeavyChevy

New Member
Check this out...I went to pay for an ad that would go in the quarterly newsletter of 4 different parks in my area that are owned by the same company. While in the parking lot, I see one of my competitor's driving in the park. I go in the lobby and this same company has a flyer in a "flyer box" on the counter of the lobby. They have their prices listed on this flyer. Are you ready for this...$60 for all double wides and $50 for all single wides. There is a little footnote, "apologizing" for the $5 increase from last year due to their "quality" chemicals going up in price.

I asked the park manager if he had to provide proof of insurance, like I was, and she confirmed he did. I also asked if they have had any complaints from residents regarding unsatisfactory work...nope. How in the hell does someone like that stay in business???

From my observation, he has a single axle enclosed trailer...nice lettering...nice Ram truck to pull rig...hot water unit...and still he only charges $60 for a 28'X60' mobile home?!?!?!

I think I'll stay away from the mobile homes.
 

the_GUNN_man

New Member
You should watch him and see how long it takes him to do them. If he is doing them in half an hour is making alright money if and only if he is doing multiples a day. If you get 4 trailers in one park and spend 30 minutes washing and 10 minutes between each one you are doing 4 trailers in 2.5 hours. Say he did 2 singles and 2 doubles. That would be $220 in 2.5 hours or $88 an hour. BUT if he is going in there doing them one at a time then you would hardly make anything. If it is a 28x60 I charge $88. It depends on the park too. I have 4 big parks within 5 miles of my shop. I can do a trailer in about 30 to 40 minutes. So if I leave from my shop do the trailer and come back it is only one hour. So I make $88. I never go do just one trailer though, I usually line up at least 3 for the same park on the same day. Sometimes I offer specials for $50 a trailer but that is a sign I put up when I am in the park and they have to get it done right then that day. No call backs. I can end up doing two an hour easy. So $100 an hour is pretty good. You just have to work them. If I do 3 trailers and noone takes advantage of the sign that day and calls me that night or the next day the price goes back up. I usually tell the person I am doing the trailer for, that if I get at least one more job for putting up my sign that I will discount his too. The key to trailer parks is multiples in one day.
 

Mikespowrwash

New Member
I used to do them 65 single 95 double just not profitable, so over the years ive gradually gone up now with hot water its 100 single 150 double with wax. If they dont want it at that price too bad, there are plenty other jobs waiting for me at a profit.
 

Bridget

New Member
We have a contract with a community management company that manages several communities in the metro area. We deal directly with them. They call us for prep washing. We wash the home after its been delivered and all the foundation work has been completed.

This removes all the road grime and makes for a nice presentation to the new home owner(s). On occasion when a resident finds a need for their home to be washed the management company refers them to us. We schedule the home owner when the park calls us with a list of new houses.

In any area, you'll have mobile home communities that meet the stereotype that this thread has made reference to and there are mobile home communities that have strict standards that are enforced.

Mobile/Manufactured homes made today are not your tin bread box of yesterday. When you see a community that takes care of their property and you see well maintained homes go to the manager and present your service.

Lowballers are everywhere and if they choose them over you, than you know that quality service is not something they are interested in.

Gordon & Bridget
 

HeavyChevy

New Member
Just washed my very 1st modular home (3 in a row, actually). Here's my take after the first 3:

The first one was white...gotta LOVE those weep holes in the vinyl siding that allows dirt to run out FOREVER after rinsing. I especially liked trying to clean the yellow stains the streaks left behind! Soooo much fun!

I also enjoyed climbing up and down the ladder to CONSTANTLY put the sidng back up where it CONTINUOUSLY blew off!

Oh yeah, wait...my favorite part was informing the "customer" (my mom, thank God!) that I have to replace one of her shudders that cracked when I hit it with about only 500-700 PSI's (40 degree tip).

Second was light brown...relatively easy. Had to put siding back up in only about 4 places, along with the corner piece of the gutter. Fortunately, there were no yellow streaks!

Third was light green...'bout the same as the brown one, minus the gutter part.

FYI...all three of these are in a "nice" park that is only about 7 years old, with all three trailers being 6 yrs. old.

My initial feelings about these "homes"...my competitors can clean as many as they want!
 

HeavyChevy

New Member
My goal was to do 28X60's for $120, 28X54's for $100, so on and so forth... As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there is another company in the parks nearby that does 28's (ANY length) for only $60 and single wides for $50! Although, the lady that owns the brown one that I washed on Friday had them do hers last year and she was NOT impressed with the cleaning job. They were in & out in less than 1/2 hour! Splashed and dashed! I spent 1 hour on hers.

Prior to washing these three last Friday, I had paid for an ad to go in a newsletter that will reach approx. 3,500 modulars so if/when they call, I'll tell them my prices and explain the technique that I'll use. Like I said though, I won't realy care if I do them or not. We'll see what happens with Completely Clean vs. Mobile Home Parks.

TO be continued...
 

Mark

Moderator / Sponsor
We washed single wides for $39.95, double wides for $45, and triple wides for $49.95 back in the late 70s.

We averaged 4-7 a day. One day we did nine single wides on the same street, never even rolled up hoses between jobs, just dragged them next door and started washing again.

(We brushed also, and squeegeed exterior exposed windows.)
 

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