For you guys who detail RV's...

[Duneroller]

Just curious what you guys are charging for outside details on RV's. I recently did a 32' gelcoat sided motorhome that had some clear peeling and fading. Took a fair amount of polishing on the faded areas and obviously I couldn't do much for the clear, but a friend and I spent about 7hrs on it. This was for a friend and we only charged him $300. I have since had a couple other people inquire about doing their coaches as well (it seems that there aren't many people who do RV's/boats). I take my time and do them right and don't plan on being the cheapest guy out there, but I don't want to price myself out of work either.

Thanks.

ps... I do this as side work for friends and referrals, not as my primary business.

[redhotchevy2000]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

i think 300 is about right, when i do a boat or RV as you said, i charge between 10 and 20 dollars per foot depending on whether its inside/outside or both needing done,

so 320 would be what i would charge for just the exterior of the RV. obviously the interior is their problem lol

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

Dan,

It basically comes down to how much money you want to make per hour for the time spent working on the job. In the case you presented, you and your friend worked a total of 14 manhours. So when you divide $300 by 14 hours it looks like you made a little over $21 per hour. Basically, you priced the job at about $10 per ft.

From a professionals standpoint, you will find that most rv exterior detailing is priced out at somewhere between $20 - $30 per ft, depending on the age and condition of the vehicle.

Again, the price you charge should always be based on your own needs.

[Duneroller]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

Thanks for the info. This coach belongs to a mod of another board I am on (not detailing related). He was very happy with it and tipped us $50 on top of the $300 we were paid.

The reason I was questioning this is...
I got a couple more quote requests in. One was a 38', triple slide, "bus type" gel coat sided coach. It is somewhat faded, but probably not to the point that an rv cleaner wax wouldn't take care of it with one step. I quoted it @ $550 (mostly since this thing is so tall) and the customer told me that he had found someone to do it for $306. Now, I know that there will almost always be someone out there who is cheaper, but that is a significant price difference. For $300 the other guy can do that job.

Guess I just wanted to be sure that I was not totally out of line in pricing.

Thanks for the replies.

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

Dan,

When someone tells you that they have someone else who can do the job for less, the best thing to do is to walk away.

Think about it this way. Would you rather get the job and not make what you need to make? or not get the job and focus on going out there and attracting those people who can afford what it is you are charging?

Basically, we should all be pricing our services based on what we need to make in order to pay our business expenses and make a reasonable profit.

When someone comes along and thinks they can get you to consider a lower price, they obviously have no idea of what you need to make in order to operate your business. From a business standpoint, the smart thing to do when that happens is to always walk away.

[redhotchevy2000]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

i hear the same thing all day at work. with our business in Myrtle beach people are cheap on occasion. they know we do quality work, but everybody "has a friend that can do it all for XX amount wheras we charge XXX amount" its a game and i dont play along with it anymore, i told a customer earlier today that if their "friend" could detail their F450 super duty for 80 dollars than they should jump on it. we charge 160 for such a project. which is still CHEAP. shortly after, the man remarked "i dont trust the other guy, will you be free to detail the F450 later today". he was just trying to low ball, but stone written prices are just that, no haggle. we have plenty of business, im done getting lowballed by people who really want to waste my time.

[gulfcoastdetailers]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

everybodys messages are spot on we charge dealers 10 a foot for new coachs on the lot. 20 to 40 a foot for used

[Duneroller]

Re: For you guys who detail RV's...

Great! Thanks for all the info.

The guy actually sent me a link to the company who quoted him $306 for his 38' coach and what he says is true. They have it listed right on their website. Like said above, I let the job go. For $300 someone else can bust their butt all day.