First RV detail... 37 footer

W

White95Max

New member
I just got a call about detailing an RV. She said it was a 37', and she wanted it washed, polished, and waxed. I was very happy to hear that she doesn't want the interior done.



I have a few questions for anyone that's done an RV...



1. Is the paint just like a typical automotive paint? Would something like VM or SSR2 be ok?



2. How much would you charge for 37', or how would you base your price? I was thinking $10 x 37' = $370. Does that sound reasonable?
 
How many clay bars will that use? :rofl Price sounds right, but what do I know? On second though, might be a little low--is it tall, as in needing a ladder to do the sides?
 
White96Max, I just did my own, just a 21' van, 9'6" high and good grief what a job. Unless you have staging to roll around on you can count on at least three days, mine took over two. What would complicate the job is a rubber roof if the coach has one, and the degree of neglect. Heck you could probably spend a day getting the bugs off.

Me, I wouldn't quote it unless I saw the thing, including the roof and even then I think $500 is a good starting point if the finish is in decent condition, which it probably is not. Keep in mind that the rv has spent 90% of its life outdoors, under trees and on the highway. Additionally there are alot of obstacles to work around both on the roof and on the sides so if anyone is thinking you just load up the pad and have at it, think again.

Working off a ladder is not fun and heaven help you if it is not a clearcoated paint job.
 
I'm guessing that I'll need a ladder, yes. I haven't seen it yet, but the woman's husband is going to call me back after work to discuss an appointment to see the RV. I guess it's stored at a place just north of here, so I'd probably be doing the work in a parking lot. That's why I mentioned SSR2 and VM. I'm pretty sure I'll be using all sunsafe products. This is going to take at least a couple hours to wash.



And I hope you don't seriously think I'm going to clay the RV. No way!
 
RJJ said:
White96Max, I just did my own, just a 21' van, 9'6" high and good grief what a job. Unless you have staging to roll around on you can count on at least three days, mine took over two. What would complicate the job is a rubber roof if the coach has one, and the degree of neglect. Heck you could probably spend a day getting the bugs off.

Me, I wouldn't quote it unless I saw the thing, including the roof and even then I think $500 is a good starting point if the finish is in decent condition, which it probably is not. Keep in mind that the rv has spent 90% of its life outdoors, under trees and on the highway. Additionally there are alot of obstacles to work around both on the roof and on the sides so if anyone is thinking you just load up the pad and have at it, think again.

Working off a ladder is not fun and heaven help you if it is not a clearcoated paint job.
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Thank you very much for your input. I'll be sure to check the roof and bug situations before pricing.



I was just thinking about how the price was too low as well. My dad had some advice for me... "If they spent a hundred grand on a motorhome, I don't think $500 is a big deal."
 
I have a 34 foot motorhome and usually pay $500 for interior/exterior, but mine is very clean. It takes 1 full day. You can get special cleaners for the rubber roof, do it first with a soft brush. The Gel Coat is very durable, you'll need black streak remover. And on mine the bottom is fiberglass so he uses a fiberglass polish. Next time, I'm going to give him Zaino to use as lsp.
 
RBW111, wow your boys don't play around and it sounds as though they give you a heck of a deal!, how many do the job and do they use ladders, staging or what?
 
It's just one guy who owns an RV store. He just uses a 6 foot step ladder. Of course there is a built in ladder to access the roof. It's really not much different than doing a car or boat, it just takes time. For mine, the interior only consists of vacuming and glass cleaning, dusting. The wax I provided last time was fine for the fiberglass and gel coat. Ask the owner, he should know if its gel coat. Or go to an RV store, they will be glad to show you what to look for.
 
My advice would be to charge by the foot for this job, not a "total price." If it were me, $25 per foot wouldn't seem unreasonable.



As for other products if it has a rubber roof and/or is gelcoat, you can get cleaners from the same place you would get your QEW (RV store) as ProtectAll makes these products. Meguiar's Marine line is pretty good too from what I've seen.



I would never take an interior detail job on an RV though -- I detail cars, not houses.
 
$25 x 37' = $925 :eek: That would buy me a new set of wheels and tires! But that seems like a lot of money. I don't want to underprice the job and regret it later, but that's a lot of money, and I would kinda like to get the job.



I'm going to be working in the sun, so I'm thinking SSR2 and EX-P. Or maybe SSR2/Nattys? I don't know if the Meg's Marine line is safe in the sun.
 
Well obviously you should judge by condition; but I guess I figure if I'm slaving on a vehicle that gets abused by the owners (like most RVs I've seen) it's worth it. I also have to remember that I'm buying products that are special for the job, and I don't use them on a daily basis. Therefore it is going to cost the customer more since I have to invest in, and store the extra products.



I'm on the low side with what I charge most of the time on cars/trucks -- "normal" vehicles. The specialty stuff is where the real money is.
 
Well I'm thinking of saying $15 per linear foot so 15 x 37 = $555.00. But I don't know how I would reach the roof. With an ordinary ladder, I'd still be a couple feet from the edge of the RV, so reaching to the middle of the roof would be impossible.
 
White95Max said:
How can I tell whether it's a gelcoat/fiberglass or a typical automotive finish?
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It's a gel coat. The only time you have them with any automotive paint is when the RV chassis is grafted on to something like a F-350 Van chassis and then only the cab is automotive paint.



If the gel coat is in good shape, VM would be fine, if it is faded you should go with gel coat specific products. You might want to discuss with them what their expectations on the roof are. If it is the texturized rubber stuff, they may not want you to even worry about it. Painted roofs pretty much everyone wants protected along with the rest. Heavy bug deposits on the front end will really take up time so make sure you look the RV over.



One product you may want to look into if they are really only interested in you waxing the RV (as opposed to a two step process) is Long Haul's Truck Polish/Wax. Great one step product, did a terrific job on the 44' Newell I regularly clean.



I'd go with $10 per foot for a one step (assuming you also have to wash it), glass and tires, $15 for a two step and maybe another $40-50 if the front end is just caked in bugs.



Just FYI, most owners of newer RVs usually have a warehouse they keep them in so you don't see as many oxidized ones as you used to.
 
Well the owner called back and he said that it was indeed a gelcoat. I told him that I didn't have any gelcoat products so I would have to go out and buy those products for this job. Since I would rarely use them, I would have to raise the price for that reason.

He wanted it washed, polished, and waxed. I told him that I would charge $15 per foot, which comes out to $555.00. He paused for a few seconds and said "I'll talk it over with my wife and call you back". Well he never called back so I guess I got my answer. No big loss I guess. I've got lots of stuff to do before I move in a couple weeks, including at least 3 details, not including my own car.
 
At my buisness we wash the exteriors of Semi tractors and tanker trailers. We do this as a service for our customers who are here to get a food grade interior tanker washout. We use a bi-level 10" brush with a 6' handle. We use a local exterior soap that works well at removing black grease and oil from the vehicles. It takes 1 man about 30 minutes to do the truck and 30 minutes to do the trailer. We charge $20.00 for the truck and $15.00 for the trailer. Keep in mind this not the core part of our business, only an added service. I know that retail truck washes get about $40 to do a truck and about $30 for a trailer. Which is a no touch, acid injected with the soap though a pressurer washer type wash. Quick and dirty.
 
Personally, I wouldn't want to do one. Having said that, I would price it at around $750 and if they let me do it, it would be worth my time. Those things are killers. My cousin opened his paint and body shop and his first customer was some guy with an old orange GMC motor home. He wanted it painted white. The poor cousin was so hungry for business, he did it for a lot less money than it was worth.
 
I would've passed on it anyway. I even turned down a boat because I just want to stay with something I'm comfortable with....I know that I may not be reaching that "untapped" market (and is there ever a market for boat detailing in our fishing town) but it's just not something I want to do, not something that would interest me in the least bit no matter if I would get $500 for it. Same with RV's, just too massive and labor intensive, detailing a regularly sized car in bad condition is already very labor intensive.
 
I was going to suggest using collinte fleetwax liquid (#870). It is a one step, but the cleaners are potent and it has that Collinite's trademark durability. It is intended for marine applications (gel coat) and works also great on automotive paint :up
 
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