That sucks! Was really hoping their gun would work. Looking like I am going to be getting the Schwartz box
You ever try Panel Bright? Thought about trying that as my second soap. Going to just get a 5 gallon kit to see if I like it. A lot of people are using it as a “1 step” soap.
Nope on the panel bright @GeorgeNicholson. I use the Dyna clean on some of my aluminum flat bed trailers, on the ones with polished aluminum boxes,wheels etc ,I use pro wash,all the rest get one stepped DS at 15:1 with good ole HF… I never 2 step a trailer, no need imo
Knocked out one of my customers this morning. One of the easiest jobs I have done since I started. I swear they had their trucks cleaned before I came out there today. I 2 stepped the cabs and then just put my #2 on the boxes and was in and out in 90 minutes for 9 trucks. Gave the guy a $25 discount for being a loyal customer (and he pays as soon as I send my invoice in) is what I told him, it was because I didn’t use as much product to clean them.
If you finally go hf for the easy stuff ,and learn how to use it ,you’ll cut your time, and be way cheaper buddy.
One day I’ll get there. Maybe after I take a drive down to Arkansas and see it in action.
Im actually kidding man,those wash times were pretty good @GeorgeNicholson
Just received the word that The Pressure Is On, LLC has won the Hy-Vee’s Omaha Fulfilment Center contract. Exciting times here!
That adds an additional $25k to the bottom line for the year. And there is a possibility that they will want to do weekly cleanings. All this leg work is starting to pay off, still waiting on 3 other companies that sounded promising.
That’s awesome! Congrats!
That’s great. You’re a great example for new guys on how to build your business by knocking on doors and being persistent.
Thanks Rick. It was quite frustrating at the beginning for sure. Enough to actually contemplate just getting a normal job. @Hotshot has been a huge help with my process of cleaning. This website has been a huge help and I pump this site out as much as possible.
I read thru this thread and the PM with @Hotshot and see just how far I have come
I haven’t gotten into fleet washing and don’t know if I ever will but I’ve truly enjoyed this thread. I’ve learned a lot and will be extremely helpful should I ever give it a go. I think the best part about this thread has been following your journey, watching you grow, and seeing just how far you’ve come in such a short amount of time. I’m sure it’s not as fun as watching terrorists who look like white shadows running around right before a huge dust/smoke cloud fills the camera but I’m sure it’s an exciting journey for this stage of life. Gosh, I love air support whether being drones or manned aircraft!
I’m happy for you. Heck, by next year you’ll probably have a couple crews running around.
[quote=“GeorgeNicholson, post:351, topic:18885”]
he Pressure Is On, LLC has won the Hy-Vee’s Omaha Fulfilment Center contract
Its gonna be nice when you can just stroll down to your Landa dealer and plop a fat stack on the desk for a new machine @GeorgeNicholson…Well done man,and congratulations
That is the goal!
Just picked up my 79" lance and new easy pull Suttner 2605 gun. I can tell the pull on this is going to be easy peasy! Can’t wait to use it tomorrow.
Now it’s time to buy more soap
I’ll say that Suttner 2605 gun is smooth as hell! I would 100% recommend. And the 79" lance is tough to control with the flex it has when rinsing. It wants to buck like an untamed bull. But it helps like a mofo when cleaning the box above the cab.
And after doing this for 2 months now I was able to afford an $800 soap bill. When this is gone in a month or two I will be able to afford a $2000 soap bill and so on. I am feeling like a self made man here and I have you guys to thank for it (especially @Hotshot)
Got a pricing question for the other fleet guys. I have tailored my prices compared to Blue Beacon to stay competitive and to have the pitch that they save money on fuel costs and man hours.
I am going tomorrow to cold knock on some doors tomorrow. Most of the places are straight trucks, which here are anywhere from $45 to $35, I charge on the lower end for bi-weekly cleanings.
I am hitting up Cintas tomorrow and was curious what you guys would be at for these:
https://www.cintas.com/App_Themes/Cintas2015/img/company/company-citizenship.png
As you can see from this link you will see there are different sizes of these vans. There are some straight trucks, small box trucks and then a couple of different sizes of these.
As you can see from the pictures there are 25 various types of trucks with a couple of vans in here. I would think I’d price them at the same as straight trucks? What do you think @Hotshot, @dperez, @pressureguy
Sorry bud,this is not my expertise, We do more small owner opp company’s, below 15ish. I also live in the Boonies, 70 miles from the only truck wash bay. But fortunately we have a ton of local rigs not wanting to travel that far,so my prices are 10% higher than Campos,blue beacon etc. We do more upper scale rigs ,my lowest price for new customers is $100 minimum up to $300 for a premium wash.Undercarrige washing, Polishing, interior deodorizing etc, is definitely an added on service . My older loyal customers are still at $85 minimum /weekly, We also wash tractor trailers only. I used to own FEDEX trucks in Pittsburgh back in the 90 's. They would wash all of us,the whole terminal, around 150 trucks like the Cintas you posted above for $45 a pop. That’s all I got. @pressureguy and @dperez probably will have better info for ya @GeorgeNicholson
So stopped by Cintas today and put in a bid. They had 31 large box vans (think UPS) and and 12 small box trucks. I priced it at:
$15 for small box trucks = $180
$25 for large box vans = $775
lady came back and said I was higher than current contract.
I explained to her that I was used to the 8-15 piece account and that I was at $35-$45 per piece on straight trucks. She explained that her current guy was at $10 for the vans and $17 for the box vans (for a total of $650 weekly).
She said that she would give me the opportunity to match and come weekly since her current customer doesn’t come weekly (which is what he bid and maybe comes 45 weeks a year). She asked me to come out to “show my work.”
If I could win it, I’d be at $36k a year, but not sure if I could make it work at those prices unless I can figure out to 1 step them in between weeks. @dperez What do you think?
$10 and $17 is pretty close to where I would be for them. I’d take it in a hot minute since she’s ready to fire their current vendor for dragging his feet. Once they are clean they are staying clean. You’re going to be blowing off dust and light mud. They are going to look cherry every week. You can do well at those prices upstreaming a already clean fleet. Skip the sides of the boxes and hit them every 3 weeks if you need to squeeze some labor hours back. Do it man, stack those accounts up! Next year when you’re a big timer be more selective on what you’re bringing in hourly. Acidize them round one and blow her panties off then maintain them with some solid upstream action. NO HEAT you in the money
