I have to bid on washing 140 school buses. 15ish which are short buses. I know full retail is out of the question, so anything of that nature is out. As far as I know, it will be 15-25 per week, depending on conditions and what is going on. There are tons of "lot washers" would would jump on them, but I really want the contract. The email I received stated they needed to be just soaped up and rinsed. I assume I have to clean the tires too. As far as drying them, I am in the air on it. I may break down and lease some DI tanks. I have been talking about doing that for 2 years now. Haha maybe this will be the straw that breaks the camels back. It would only help me in the long run. Was also thinking of a new pressure washer and foam cannon. So what would you charge? per bus at that volume? Remember, it has to be "Fleet prices" as I was reminded they have a budget to stay in. Thanks in advance. Edit.... I looked around online, and it seems the fleet washing companies charge anywhere from 8-15 a bus, with some up to 25. But with the volume, I would think the 15 would sound about right???? For just a soap up with a brush and rinse, no tire dressing... I don't know
Sounds like you're in the ballpark on price...any chance on upsells, etc? If so, it's worth the lower price for future biz. BTW..ask P1et..he's used to riding the short bus....hahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahh
If I were doing a job like that, I'd definitely be using DI water, foam cannon and a pressure washer. This is what we used (except for the foam cannon) when we did fleet jobs for Subaru and VW.
I couldn't tell you as far as price, but damn brings back memories from a few years ago. Worked at a semi bodyshop for 5 years and had an account with the local schools so we did a lot of buses (I tried to not get them as I hate working on them). I hated washing and cleaning the inside. I did do a quick dry down the sides too with just new white towels (not up to DB standards). Are you degreasing any parts or just a quick wash? Also remember if your just washing the windows are still going to look like shit as the inside is covered in stuff (fingerprints, spit...you get the point). I would say 15-25 a week is easily doable if not more. I was turning them around in about 1/2-1 hour and thats with a wash and cleaning seats/windows/blowing the inside out. Its just the thinking...one more damn bus that gets to you....
use DI water for sure, foam cannon would help, cough cough, only to consider is the help you'll have to pay to help you out you will have one next week :thumb:
I sent my bid in, so now I just sit back and wait. If I do get the job, I will invent in DI tanks. Possibly a larger washer and a foam cannon
I would like to say congratulations. I'm really pulling for you. what a great opportunity. Good luck...:thumb:
whats the cost on DI water after the initial purchase of the tanks? how big of a tank are you buying? i would look at the cost of the water, the amount you could carry verses the amount you would use per bus which may limit how many you could do in a day....i for one wouldnt use DI water due to the expense and the fact that they are school buses and water spots, rids, swirls, halograms ETC are not a big deal...they just need top be cleaned and free of debris..... if you were doing a fleet of cars or dealership work DI water would be a must..... my .02 is that if you get the contract i would start and see how much time it takes as well as the amount of materials used to get an accurate total cost per bus to see if its worth it in the end.....if you go nuts trying to make the busses perfect like you were doing a car it probably will not be real profitable....
Good luck on the RFI! I hope you bidded an amount per bus that won't make you cringe every single time you're there washing all 140x of them. Remember, you can always outsource the work afterwards and pocket the difference.
I recently looked into DI water for me this spring..i can share with you my findings and can hopefully save you some leg work TB...i called Culligan and they said that a medium sized tank would run me 32.00 a month plus a 45 dollar fee for swapping out the tanks as needed, he said between 1,000-2,000 gallons could run through this depending on the hardness of the water without having to be replaced...with a pressure washer it seems to be a decent amount of use...
