So I'm pretty certain that I'm going to be detailing a 35-foot trailer that measures roughly 500 square feet all around. It's in a pretty faded condition so I will be compounding it with a wool pad and following it up with the appropriate steps. So what I'm wondering is what would you guys charge for it compared to your normal paint correction rate? I'd be interested to hear everyone's take on the matter. I figured I was just going to charge an hourly rate of $40-50 per hour to keep things simple but I've read some other detailers have charged on "per foot" basis. :shead: So what would you charge? :thumb:
I just got done doing a 40 foot motor home. What are you going to be doing exactly. Like how many stages. Is it Gel coat or clear coat. You are going to need 911's opinion too...I had to many hours to charge by the hour. I did a three stage only because I had problems and it looked better with three...I had 36 hours with the machine alone another 6 hours for the wash and I only washed the roof and that was it for that. I busted my ass for almost 4 full days and the agreement was 450.00 but I ended up @ 400.00 because I did have a lot of oxidation on one side that just didn't want to come off. I can't tell how much to charge because I don't know what you are doing yet. Oh BTW I did have more hrs. doing this and that for the customer and what a great customer.
I have found that a 40' motorhome will take one full day to do a wash and wax. I normally charge $50 / hr so that works out to $400 or approx $10 / ft. You can tell your client either but I'm sure most people would be more comfortable knowing what the total will be beforehand. As far as the polishing goes, as Buddy said, its reeaaallly easy to lose your ass on one of those if you give a firm price. I would tell them $10/ft for the wash and wax and your hourly rate for the polishing. Maybe do a small panel on the WORST part of the trailer to kind of guage how long it will take to do the whole thing and give them a quote based on that. Having said that, if they are willing to pay you hourly, maybe knock your rate down a little(remember, this is going to keep you busy for at least three days) and run with it. Good luck with that. It'll be a big job but its so rewarding when you finish a behemoth like that!
Thanks for the input guys! I think I'm going to go with what you suggested 911. I hope he'll accept the charges, hehe.
I wish you all the luck and please keep us posted as to whats going on. This is going to be very interesting for you. I wanted to add that a friend of mine has a 32 motorhome. He called a mobile detailer and the price he gave was 600.00. Needless to say he did not get the job. My friend is very cheap. he did not want me to it because I am not a professional. Well I offered to help him and said that we could do it together and you can save alot of money. He blew my mind when he said that he would rather pay some one to do it. I offered again, I could use the money but silly me I forgot that I was not a professional. Anyway my feelings were hurt. The window is now closed. Afer thinking about it for a while I really did not mind. This was right after the the 40 footer and I was beat. I'm still a little pissed but we are still friends non the less. I'm trying to figure out if there is a moral to this story... Maybe you can't be cheap and lazy at the same time???
Just a thought Buddy, but why don't you offer to do a small panel for your friend and if he likes it he can let you do the whole thing. That way he's not committed until he's seen your work. Funny friend you got there. I've seen hobbyists on this forum do work that so called pro's in my area couldn't dream of doing!
One of the Camper/RV stores has their price set at $12 per foot for a wash/wax. I doubt if there is any paint correction. I just spent 12 days on a 32' that I recently purchased. Didn't look bad but it was more oxidized than it looked so it would gum up a pad every pass or two. A real time eater. You will also use much more product than you imagine. I would guess about the same for 4 or 5 cars. Even for tires and wheels.
That is exactly what I did with my client. He was very ecstatic about the results and was not expecting it to turn out as great as it did. If I get the green light on this trailer, I'm going to have to order up some additional supplies very quickly, hehe.
This was very smart denzil and im glad you did it...hopefully he will pay you what you are worth...and im sure you wont have to twist your own arm very far to click submit for a big big order :giggle:
Thank you 911 for putting another perspective on this situation. That is a very good idea. I really do want to help but I closed the window to soon maybe. If he doesn't come around pretty soon the weather is going to close the window for sure. I was also thinking about your comment (Funny friend you got there) and he is thats for sure but this is a liitle over the top for him though. I will give it a shot in hopes that I can help him. If not then maybe I'll find out whats wrong if anything.
Sorry if i ask a dumb question, just curious what did you use to reach the roof for the washing? :shead:
NOT DUMB...I actually got on the roof via the ladder on the back of the motor home. I had to make two trips so I could get the bucket and cleaning supplies up there. I brought the hose up with me on the second trip. The owner stayed with me the whole time and held the hose so it would not scratch the side of the motor home.:thumb:
Depending on the RV condition and the customer's demands(or "cheapness") a strong polish wax/OCW does a very good job in a removing oxidation and smaller swirls and provide protection. I did a 38' RV(just sides-roof was cleaned by customer) with Meg's D151 white pad on rotary/OCW and it took me only 9 hours to do even though I had to clean the pad after every pass and constantly move the ladder! The customer was thrilled and did not care about some of the larger swirls that would have required 3 polishing steps to remove. Make sure you bring TONS of polish/wax and instant detailer as you go through far more of it than you think you will! Also make sure you do your work on the shaded side if you have to work outside. Place the RV North/South, then start on the West side in the morning and move to the East in the afternoon and you will be constantly in the shade! Good luck!
Excellent point!!! :thumb: I always get there early enough to start in the shade and work my way around the rv to avoid the sun.
Update: So about after a week after I emailed my client his estimate, I originally had thought that my client was not interested in having his trailer detailed. I also followed up with a phone call only to reach his voicemail. Well a few days later, I receive an email back requesting that I call him for details. I'm back in business, hehe. So I worked on the trailer today and just worked on the rear door section. It turned out pretty good and was exactly what the client was looking for (oxidation and vinyl lettering removal with no care for swirl removal). I wasn't able to snap pictures today because I had forgot my camera but I'll be heading back next Friday to work on it some more. The read door in itself took me 5.5 hours to complete which is a 7'x7' rear door. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures! P.S. After seeing the results of the rear door, my client already has another project lined up for me, LoL. Can anyone guess what it might be? I'll reveal the details on let's say Wednesday, hehe. Guess away!
