Bus -RV info?

[Cosmin]

i may get this account , and wonder who much should i charge.
is my first bus so will be a learning experience.
is an 45ft bus/rv and needs only the exterior washed. no polish or interior. who did the bus before ask 100-110 for that, and from what i heard it may take a good 3 hours. i don`t wanna be short and i know is a lot of work. also the account may turn out good if is a go.
i will have a team of 2 people (me/assistant) for this job.


i just need some more info from people who deal with buses more often. price, onr works? etc
Thank you

 

[tuscarora dave]

I work on buses all the time. There are so many variables in dealing with buses that I wouldn't even comment on price other than to say you'll probably take a lesson or two from your first bus.

Some of the variables I see in working with buses have to do with what materials the bus is made of and how they are/were cared for if cared for at all?

Some buses are painted aluminum panels and some are gel coat.

Some have smooth panels and some have textured panels.

Almost all of them have a real heavy layer of neglect on the roof that makes a situation where the evening's dew settling on the bus brings dirt and black streaking down the sides of the bus.

Some folks think this streaking is from the black rubber moldings around the windows. Make no mistake, it comes from the settled contaminates on the roof, and if the roof isn't cleaned thoroughly as part of your wash routine, the streaks will be back in a matter of a few weeks.

Just like dealing with contaminates that need to be clayed off of a car, the contaminates that are on the roof of a bus can be easy to clean off or difficult depending on location and how often a bus roof is cleaned off.

If the bus sits near a freeway with lots of truck traffic there can be a lot of brake dust and other airborne dust from cars and trucks passing, settling on the roof.

If the bus sits near a major airport, there will no doubt be lots of jet fuel mixed in with whatever fallout has settled on the roof.

Sits near farms, soil..Sits under trees at a camp ground, acidic tree slime..etc. You get my point.

If the bus has a white fiberglass cap it will be very difficult to remove any discoloration as a result of contaminates sitting on it for any length of time. The more oxidized the cap is, the more difficult it will be to get cleaned.

If it is all oxidized and full of discoloration, a very strong (caustic) cleaner may be needed to remove the discoloration and some of the oxidation. This strong caustic cleaner, (if allowed to run down the sides of the bus) "will create a situation" that you don't want to deal with. If this happens, you'll have clean streaks on the side of the bus that will contrast with any level of clean that you can achieve with a standard car wash solution, and you'll end up having to use the caustic solution to wash the entire bus with.

This won't be too much of a concern "visually" if the bus sides are made of gel coat that is somewhat shiny. It will however leave the gelcoat without any protection, and vulnerable to staining very easily going forward and a coat of spray wax should be applied.

If the roof needs a strong cleaner and it runs down over a painted surface it could quickly dull the painted surface.

Bottom line is this...If the roof cap needs a strong cleaner to get it clean, you'll want your helper scrubbing away at the cap while you are on the ground with your pressure washer diluting and rinsing away any cleaner that comes down the sides of the bus so you don't end up with bad streaks. It only takes a few seconds for this streaking to occur if strong cleaners are allowed to run down the sides of the bus.

Unlike traditional car washing, you'll want to first rinse the gritty dirt off the sides of the bus and then wash it "from bottom to top" , if you wash from the top to the bottom, you'll likely end up with some level of streaking that will take extra scrubbing to remove, as the below surface contaminates will have had streaks of wash solution dwelling on them as the solution runs down the side of the bus. This is with either gel coat or painted sides and will obviously be more noticeable on lighter colors.

If you wash from the bottom to the top, the sides of the bus will have wash solution dwelling on the entire panel in a uniform and complete fashion, thus eliminating the possibility of streaking and the need for extra scrubbing or worse yet machine polishing to create a uniformly clean look.

I typically start at the bottom and work in about a 4 foot section and brush the wash solution onto the side of the bus (from bottom to top) and once I get the entire panel wet with solution, I scrub back down from the top to the bottom. This way the wash solution has had a little dwell time on the entire work section to allow the solution to begin emulsifying the below surface contaminates. Scrubbing back down the panel and then immediately rinsing the work section usually gets you a nice, uniformly clean work section before moving on to your next work section.

The streaking is the biggest issue with buses, the roof caps can be tricky to clean but if you follow my suggestions, it should be relatively straight forward.

If the roof cap is heavily oxidized, think twice before offering to buff the oxidation off of it. A bus the size of the one that you're talking about can take days to remove the oxidation using a rotary, wool pads and super duty compound. Fiberglass bus roofs are tougher to work with than boat gel coat.

 

[Cosmin]

Thank`s Dave ,
that`s a lot of info.

the roof will not be washed. i ask.
no polish involved ,
i plan use onr or car shampoo.
i got already 2 brushes , one soft hair same at carwashes that will help me clean it.
from what i saw is not heavy dirt or soiled, is the size and the bugs on the front side that may take time, also maybe some tar/dirt on rear of the bus.

i plan wash left half , and after that right half on each side ,depends how the wind is.
i may rinse the bottom parts first , and i may wash top bottom , the roof is not included.
i don`t plan do this everyday , but on occasion is good to know "how to"

 

[rustytruck]

If you are not going to wash the roof do not even bother doing the job. It will look bad next time it rains. The roof must be washed. Dave mentioned a pressure washer, I would not go near an RV with a pressure washer. RV's have many things cars don't. Vinyl graphics, seals, vents, caulking, caps, and a few more things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

As for your question, I charge $6/ft for wash only(including roof). A job the size of yours would be $270.

 

[Vegas Transplant]

​

From my experience, $120 is an industry average for production wash on this type of vehicle.

May look into one of these since most of the vehicles rooflines are 11-13'.

8 ft.-16 ft. Sherlock Extension Pole-R057 at The Home Depot

Another factor to consider is that when dealing with commercial vehicles, especially diesel pushers, fuel, transmission, gearbox, and wheel cylinder leaks are prevalent.
Need to keep a large supply of degreaser on hand. Nothing worse than arriving @ jobsite and finding the entire rear end of a vehicle covered in fuel (cracked injector) and coated in dust and grime...a real pita to deal with.

Also, most of the A.C.E.R.T. (and other Commercial 300-600 hp) engines - Cat, Cummins, Detroit, International, Mack, MB, etc., have an air filter pop up device ( mounted for federally mandated driver pre-trip inspection, and maintenance visibility) mounted in the rear fan fin area that are polycarbonate...but will crack from the pressure from your PW...need to be aware of this small device when rinsing...will cause issue and can be back charged to your account to repair...usually the first time it happens, it's on the company, after that it's on you.

Looks like this:

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[Hoytman]

Excellent post Dave!:dblthumb2:

If you are not going to wash the roof do not even bother doing the job. It will look bad next time it rains. The roof must be washed.

After reading Dave's thoroughly written post I came to the same conclusion of passing on the job. This is, of course, after you take Dave's awesome advice and educate your customer about what can happen if the roof doesn't get washed. If customer still declines, then you must explain the streaking that will happen and I'd ask a customer to sign a paper saying you explained things in detail. That way they can't come back on you. However, that is a hassle to have to use paper work for something like that. I'd simply tell them you don't want the job if the rood doesn't get washed because you don't want any chance of negative "talk" about your work.

As for the pressure washer and graphics...
I'd just use some common sense and don't get too close.

From my experience, $120 is an industry average for production wash on this type of vehicle.

May look into one of these since most of the vehicles rooflines are 11-13'.

8 ft.-16 ft. Sherlock Extension Pole-R057 at The Home Depot

Another factor to consider is that when dealing with commercial vehicles, especially diesel pushers, fuel, transmission, gearbox, and wheel cylinder leaks are prevalent.
Need to keep a large supply of degreaser on hand. Nothing worse than arriving @ jobsite and finding the entire rear end of a vehicle covered in fuel (cracked injector) and coated in dust and grime...a real pita to deal with.

Also, most of the A.C.E.R.T. (and other Commercial 300-600 hp) engines - Cat, Cummins, Detroit, International, Mack, MB, etc., have an air filter pop up device ( mounted for federally mandated driver pre-trip inspection, and maintenance visibility) mounted in the rear fan fin area that are polycarbonate...but will crack from the pressure from your PW...need to be aware of this small device when rinsing...will cause issue and can be back charged to your account to repair...usually the first time it happens, it's on the company, after that it's on you.

Looks like this:

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More excellent tips Vegas!!!:xyxthumbs:

 

[Vegas Transplant]

i heard it may take a good 3 hours. i don`t wanna be short and i know is a lot of work. also the account may turn out good if is a go.
i will have a team of 2 people (me/assistant) for this job.

I use to use a rolling mop bucket and bi-level split bristle nylon brush. Good car wash shampoo...wouldn't waste time with ONR .

With 2 people, won't be long before you guys will have the process down to 2 hrs or less.

More excellent tips Vegas!!!:xyxthumbs:

:thankyousign: forum friend!

 

[tuscarora dave]

Excellent post Dave!:dblthumb2:

Thanks, I try to share my experience as I can. Turns out the RV was in pretty decent shape to begin with. I'm used to working on severely neglected institutional vehicles that are mainly white.

After reading Dave's thoroughly written post I came to the same conclusion of passing on the job. This is, of course, after you take Dave's awesome advice and educate your customer about what can happen if the roof doesn't get washed. If customer still declines, then you must explain the streaking that will happen and I'd ask a customer to sign a paper saying you explained things in detail. That way they can't come back on you. However, that is a hassle to have to use paper work for something like that. I'd simply tell them you don't want the job if the rood doesn't get washed because you don't want any chance of negative "talk" about your work.

I always try to insist on including the roof and most people try to skimp in this area because you can't see it from the ground. I have to slow down there thinking for a minute and make sure they are listening to me when I explain the consequences of not washing the roof. By the time I get done explaining things, they usually give me the nod of approval to throw the extra time on the invoice. Some simply don't care about streaks but they are always made aware that they will be present regardless.

As for the pressure washer and graphics...
I'd just use some common sense and don't get too close.

Yeah... right...:doh:

Cosmin did a very nice job in the end, I just hope the roof situation doesn't come back to haunt his efforts.

 

[Vegas Transplant]

Cosmin did a very nice job in the end, I just hope the roof situation doesn't come back to haunt his efforts.

I agree, and in a good time frame.:dblthumb2:

My past says the same...but some owners just don't want someone walking around on, and dragging pw hose on their roofs.

If you look carefully at the way the awning boxes are made...and mounted the length of the vehicle on the roof edge, as opposed to being mounted on the side of the coach.
Most of your newer model high end coaches awning covers are siliconed the length of the awning box(cover), while lesser models are mounted on 90 degree brackets (roof mounted) spaced intermittantly.

Also, if you look carefully, the unit has basement A/C, as opposed to roof A/C units.
Also look at how the nose/roof cap/awning covers tie in.

 

[master detailer]

2 guys 1 hr per bus thats is how you will make money pay your guys 15.00 per hr and they will work hard for the better pay and make you more in the long run