Help !!! - Detailing a Bus and a Freightliner

S

shinymopar

New member
My son has started to work as a detailer. He did a short school term and I worked with him the other day at his job. I went in to help him since he did a bus. It was a government bus but it was the same size as a Greyhound bus.



The thing was not only huge but was very dirty. We had the use of a power washer thank god but what he needs to know is how long should that job take on average and how much should it cost. He gets paid both hourly and/or by the job.



I know it's not a car but any help would be appreciated.



We did a complete cleaning of the inside, all the windows, scrubbed the insides under the windows until they sparkled, the same under the seats as well as power washed / scrubbed the outside including the wheels. We didn't have to wax it.



The next day he had to do a Freightliner cab. The owner of the shop thinks an hour should be enough to do the Freightliner inside / out, no waxing, cleaning the frame and wheels. Is an hour a reasonable amount of time and what's a decent rate for this type of job.



Thanks in advance for any assistance you guys may give. We really appreciate it. While I don't post here all that often; myself and my son always come here to get great advice and techniques.
 
Having drove a tractor trailer for a few years, I remember power washer was the only way the truck stop washes would clean it. They would use a long handle brush to apply some 'suds', then power wash again. I can't remember the price, but I believe the outside alone was about $40-50 bucks. That's just for the tractor, not the trailer! And they were pretty quick due to the amount of trucks in line for washes...like 20 minutes but multiple guys doing spraying and scrubbing..



An hour would seem reasonable. And hell, it's a freightliner. Now if it were a Kenworth W900 (the mac daddy of tractors) or Western Star (the cadillac of tractors), I'm sure the owner would want a real detail done since brand new they cost about $150k with the big HP motors and plush sleepers.
 
I wash a 2-ton dump truck every other month(about the size of a smaller "tractor"), and for doing the frame/wheels/tires/cab/bed/dressing/detailing spray, it takes me about 1.5hrs.



They actually go quicker than you think if you know how to spit the sections up so you dont waste time.
 
the other pc said:
Check this out.





PC.
Click to expand...



Thanks to all for your responses.



Wow. 36 buses and I was wondering about one. My son called today because he had another one to do so I went in to help him. I'm still looking for an idea on how long it took and the price. He doesn't have to wax them but right now the owner had mentioned around $100.00 per bus and I did tell him today that 4 hours inside / out doesn't seem reasonable to me. These buses are really hard to clean. I also told him that the money wasn't enough and he said he was trying to figure it out as it was new to him as well.



We started by rinsing one side, spraying a de-greaser and then using the long-handled brushes to start scrubbing. I worked the outside while my son was cleaning the seats, windows,flooring etc.



It seems that you have to do multiple passes. The buses look like they're cleaning up pretty good but then the 'seams' start dripping gook etc. and so it's taking multiple passes to get them really clean. Once you're done we're using a product called 'Slam' and we go around the entire bus and spray any spots that are still showing. (The interior also needs multiple passes. The floors are black so of course it looks great while it's wet but when it dries you see the bad spots.) I'm guessing these buses don't get washed very often.



The thing is once we're done it looks like we just waxed the damn thing. I'm just trying to get a timeline from someone with more experience so I can make sure my son gets a decent rate.



So today we had the seats and windows inside looking great. The outside also looks great but he has to finish the floor, under the seats and the lower sides of the inside of the bus (which of course is VERY dirty). I'm sure he'll need a couple of passes to finish the inside.



All we have to use is a ladder. No scaffolding or platform which would be a big help for the outside of the bus.



My back hurts !!!



Again any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Well thanks to all and I thought I'd give you an update. When I told the owner about the bus story here he went off. He decided to pay my son 43 bucks for doing a bus inside and out. Factor in that I helped him and it took about 5 man hours (10 hours total for two people) I was more than pissed. He then decided that two hours for one person was enough to do the job !



Suffice to say I got my son out of there asap. The owner was pissed but not as much as I was. He went back on his word for the pay rate and then cut the time more than half. It worked out to 4.30 an hour. SO he decided that a 60 foot bus should be done inside / out in two hours with one person and no scaffolding etc. What a jerk !!!



The crazy thing is my son got 35 dollars for washing inside / out a 20 foot step van.



I told the guy he should come here and READ since he obviously doesn't know how to price jobs.



Again thanks to everyone for your input.
 
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