Anyone detailed (wash and wax only) a 40' motorhome?

[gb387]

I have a guy who wants me to wash and wax his 40' motor home. Its a CC/BC paint 3 shades of gray from light to nearly black. I would use NXT on it and depending on the paint some DC#1.

I know its a lot of work but I have three weeks to do the job and I don't have to do it all in one day. I would use my pc to do most of the work. I guess it would take an entire day but can anyone fill me in on this?

What might be a good rate? I know they charge $1 a foot to wash by hand then a wax fee on top of that, someone here told me about $160 for a wax, I know I would do a MUCH beter job than some others that I have seen. I have also heard a FULL detail can run up to $600. Again I know its alot of work but $250, that is what he offered me? I kind of figure a FULL 8 hours to do it.

This is a photo of 2002 his is a 2001:


Beaver Motorcoaches His is the "Patriot Thunder"

[jfelbab]

I believe Scottwax did one of these a while back. You might want to PM him and see what he charged. I also think he found the paint on some parts of the vehicle was very pliable.

[Desertdawg]

I have washed and waxed my RV's in the past. I now have a 30 foot fifth wheel with a super slide, and it takes me about 3 hours just to do a really good wash. (rubber roof included).

The waxing (by hand) takes over 10 hours. Your results will vary, depending on the quality of the finish to start with.

I don't do this professionally, so I really couldn't tell you what to charge. But please let us know how it goes for you.

[Rick]

While NXT would deffinitely last the longest your best bet for something that huge might be #66 Quick Detailer. It creates great results for a single stage process.

[2000]

ricks right on with the cleaner wax. when I do my trailer, it's like one of those horror movies where the hall way keeps getting longer and longer.... something else, when you wash do a VERY good job on the rubber roof. if you don't the first rain will have all your work covered up by black streaks. even if it looks clean do it any way, you'll be amazed what comes off the roof. good luck

[jchetty]

please oh please tell me u plan on applying wax by pc

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Anyone detailed (wash and wax only) a 40' motorhome?

Originally posted by gb387
I have a guy who wants me to wash and wax his 40' motor home.

I guess it would take an entire day but can anyone fill me in on this?

What might be a good rate?

I have also heard a FULL detail can run up to $600. Again I know its alot of work but $250, that is what he offered me? I kind of figure a FULL 8 hours to do it.

When it comes to washing and waxing a 40 ft motorhome you should figure about twenty hours in order to do the job right. It basically breaks down to the fact that you will probably be able to work at the rate of about two feet per hour. 40 feet = 20 hours. (For example; a 36 ft motor home would take about 18 hours and a 32 ft motorhome would take about 16 hours)

The next thing you will need to do is to figure out what hourly rate you want (or need) to make. If you settle for $250 and it takes you 20 hours that'll work out to an hourly rate of only $12.50 per hr. At $600 for 20 hours of work you would be making $30 per hour.

Your pricing should be based on the length of the motorhome. For example, if you charge $6.25 per ft the total cost would be $250. In order to make $600 for this job you would need to charge $15 per foot.

If I were pricing that job here in Southern New Jersey, I would charge somewhere between $20 to $25 per ft, based on the age and condition of the motorhome. That works out to a total cost of between $800 and $1,000.

Think about it. There is nothing worse than getting a detailing job that ends up taking much more time than you thought when you estimated the job. Remember, it is always better to under estimate and over deliver.

[Big Ben]

gb387,

Frank is right about the time it takes for the job. I am not an expert at detailing RVs but I've done 2 motorhome and 6 trailers since Aug and I charge $10.00 per foot and that's not very much for the amount of work involved (approx $20.00 per hr) but that's the ongoing rate in my area.

Also don't forget that some area on the RV will have black streaks that will not come off with a normal wash and you probably will have to pre soak the RV with a good detergent before you wash and use a cutting compound in some stubborn areas before you wax. I hope you have a PC because it would be a hell of a job to do by hand.

Good luck,

Big Ben

[mirrorfinishman]

Hey Ben, it sounds like you've got a very good business going there. Keep up the good work!

[Superior Shine]

We charge $4 wash, $8 wash and wax, $12+ for wash, deep cleaning and wax,

[Scottwax]

My son and I waxed a 44' coach over the summer. The bus was already washed so that saved us about 3 hours-the guy has a pressure washer and water deionizer at his warehouse, so it normally takes me 3 hours to pressure wash the exterior and engine and clean the exterior windows and dress the tires. I get $120 for just that. No need to dry it since the deionized water dries spot free. A real time saver.

It took my son and I about 4-5 hours to wax it since we had to polish and wax the front. I would get ahead of my son with the PC and he would go behind me removing the excess. The owner of the coach also has a rolling staircase which is extremely stable. Having to use a regular ladder would have added at least an hour of time since it isn't as stable nor as easy to reposition.

Anyway, I charged him $250 for the wax, paid my son $50 so I still came out with about $40 an hour.

A 40' RV, by yourself, washing it with conventional non deionized water and using a one step cleaner wax will probably take you a good 8-10 hours like Frank said. You need to decide how much that amount of time is worth to you. BTW, you may be able to knock an hour or so off by using that Mr. Clean spot free wash system. Not having to dry an RV is a real time saver.


This is the bus:



My kid took this while I was working on it:

[Superior Shine]

Darn man ! You had it made!! DI water, Shade! rollaround stairs!!

[gb387]

Now that is a bus! Sounds like you had a great system going there.

[Desertdawg]

Yeah, having a place to work in the shade on that monster is a BIG plus. Shade out here in southwest Arizona is almost non existent.

You did a fantastic job....

[Big Ben]

Well done,
looks like someone's working a little sweat there!!

Big Ben