When She Goes Down

[Spurlington]

of course Im talking about the van or equipment .. I thought itd be a great HEAD-line ..

for those of yous thant dont have a back up machine - wouldnt it be nice to have the option to rent a fully loaded ready to go truckmounted van for when your vehicle or machine goes down .. since I think so, Im thinking of entering the market of renting out fully equipped vans for those who break down .. or even for those who dream of being a weekend cleaner but the expense of a start up holds them back ..

back when I had only 1 truck and when something sounded funny or wouldnt run right Id panic and my blood pressure would rise ( Id get on the phone with my wife and say,"oh my god, were gonna go out of business." .. after buying another fully equipped van I have this new way of looking at issues - well if I break down, Ill just go get the other van .. its great peace of mind but comes at a cost .. cost of maintenance, warehousing, insurance etc.. Id rather get rid of it and have the option to rent one when the time comes

yes - Im aware of misuse .. just like renting a rug doctor or car from a rental store .. youll get your careless users .. Im looking to lease out a collection of used refurbished machines with used vehicles to keep my cost down .. my biggest concern is vehicle insurance .. I wonder if the renter could use their own ins to cover accidents .. if not, my premiums would probably go through the roof .. I may consider TM on trailers

so my question to my MB family is .. how much would you pay for this service Id like to offer? 1hr, 4hr, 6hr, 8hr .. multi day discount, fully equipped - (wands,cards,blocks,booties) vs basic whole machine set up and hoses .. trailered mount vs van mounted

come on guys .. Im expecting a few hundred views based on the title .. so some input would be great!!!

(pros and cons are equally welcomed)

 

[Steve Lawrence]

oh about a hunert a day

doesn't seem like a good investment to me

btw, I have Butlers and would likely never need you

but, best wishes for your venture

 

[ruff]

I think it is a good idea. Not sure how practical it would be from your point of making a profit though.

I wish my suppliers offered it, that would be awesome. I would think it will definitely help with client loyalty. Will certainly be worth it for me to have that option instead of a back up unit, as once you consider all the extra costs, it is not cheap.
Didn't think much about how much, though off the top of my head I'd be willing to pay $150.00 a day. It does not have to have all the extra stuff, as most of us already have it. I would think that our insurance will cover it as a rental.

 

[Spurlington]

Ive discussed a rental option with the local distributor and he thought it might be a great idea .. he says most guys that come to him with a break down are in panic mode which puts alot of pressure on him cause they want shit done yesterday .. Ive been there .. I had a Cleanco direct drive about 5 years ago, (the newest version), with 200 hrs on it, (demo unit that I bought) break down on a job .. the clutch, bearings and shaft were damaged .. they say they were having a tough time getting the shaft delivered from Canada .. luckily I had a spare set up ..

I may or may not do this .. it just seems like a good idea .. of course if its not profitable - forget about it .. I wonder if people that pay $40 to rent a rug doctor would be willing to pay $100 for me to drop off a trailered mount or van mount ..

thank you Steve

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I'd think for a daily rate it would end up being way higher for a new one. A clean white Butler less than 10 years old would work for most of us in a pinch.

 

[Mardie]

Have you considered farming these rental units out to TM suppliers. You could send these units out to every TM supplier in the country and the supplier could take care of the billing for a cut. After all they probably got guys in their all the time in panic mode. You could get a premium because you will have a desperate and I mean very desperate captive market who have nowhere to turn.

 

[GCCLee]

To cleaners yes, to weekend warriors no!

We got enough fuds to compete with

 

[Spurlington]

Panic mode brings on desperation .. (been there .. sleepless nights, lost customers) not only will my service provide a means to complete the job but also keep the customer from straying .. customers dont want to hear youre broken down .. if you show up unmarked and anyone asks, you can say your van is in for a routine service or better yet - youre so damn busy (cause youre that good) you had to rent another truck .. some customers cant accept a reschedule .. like the lady throwing a dinner party .. or the customer who has everything moved .. so the value of my service is high in my opinion .. Im thinking maybe $100 min to use in 4hrs maybe charge an hrly rate of $25 an hr .. just brainstorming ..

farming out will come after proven success in my area ..

 

[Mardie]

You can do a survey amongst TM suppliers with a phone call very easily to figure out what the demand would be.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

If you don't have backup you should be in panic mode RIGHT NOW...before "it" hits the fan.

 

[bob vawter]

TRAILERS????
i can see it all now.....
a 2" ball wit 2 5/16" hitch....
trailer comes loose and heads into oncoming traffic....
unless yor gonna babysit all the morons in this world

i'd reconsider..........

 

[Spurlington]

Starting with my area .. the distributor says absolutely a need .. hed feel less stressed to be able to offer an option to rent something until their unit gets fixed .. hes so pressured by the cleaner to get it fixed he ends up staying all hrs of the night to get shit done .. so my service would relieve the distributor and make him a hero to offer this option ..

I could advertise my service to distributors and all carpet cleaners to let them know I am their plan B

in larger cities - Im thinkin a dist would have an advantage if they included a rental with repairs .. Id bring my shit there if I could use a rental .. of course the cost of repair might have a portion of the rental fee included .. (hidden)

 

[Spurlington]

TRAILERS????
i can see it all now.....
a 2" ball wit 2 5/16" hitch....
trailer comes loose and heads into oncoming traffic....
unless yor gonna babysit all the morons in this world

i'd reconsider..........

Insurance ....

if everybody does nothing because theyre afraid of something .. nothing would get done

hey .. that sounds so literal ..


I was thinking trailers to make it a cheaper option subtracting all costs of having a vehicle .. I prefer offering a van .. trailers are very difficult for the inexperienced .. just gotta figure out what works ..

 

[Torrey Express]

I have a local supplier that rents full ready to work TMs.

The way they do it is the only way I see it possible to be profitable.
They charge 2-300 a day to rent it. I can't remember what I paid last time I rented it during a breakdown but it was right around there.
They sell you chems. (Van does not come with anything but the tools)
And they have a full time crew of mechanics. So as these trucks are being drove hard and put up wet, they can fix them stress free at their own pace.
And I'm 99% sure they will not rent to the public. You have to be a cleaner they know and sign a decent waiver with proof of license and insurance etc.

I just can't see how anyone that isn't a dealer/mechanic shop with multiple staff could ever make it doing this.

Trailers!? Lmao. That's just trouble waiting to happen.

 

[Mikey P]

Will you have Aerotechs for those of us who just wont settle for less?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Will you have Aerotechs for those of us who just wont settle for less?

um Mr Bean how quickly you forget

 

[Spurlington]

I have a local supplier that rents full ready to work TMs.

The way they do it is the only way I see it possible to be profitable.
They charge 2-300 a day to rent it. I can't remember what I paid last time I rented it during a breakdown but it was right around there.
They sell you chems. (Van does not come with anything but the tools)
And they have a full time crew of mechanics. So as these trucks are being drove hard and put up wet, they can fix them stress free at their own pace.
And I'm 99% sure they will not rent to the public. You have to be a cleaner they know and sign a decent waiver with proof of license and insurance etc.

I just can't see how anyone that isn't a dealer/mechanic shop with multiple staff could ever make it doing this.

Trailers!? Lmao. That's just trouble waiting to happen.

So Im close when Im thinking $25 an hr .. $200 for an 8 hr day .. I wouldnt offer detergents as different cleaners have different products .. bring your own cards, blocks and booties .. as for maintenance and repairs .. Id start off with what I could and add help when business picked up .. farm out repairs that I cant do if needed .. rent a machine for my rental program .. haha

Renting to the public might not be a good thing .. may be to problematic ..

You cant see how anyone that isnt a dealer/mechanic shop with multiple staff could ever make it doing this .. Im not to clear on this statement

If I went and bought multiple trucks and had a need for my inventory, Id probably keep a mechanic close by .. I dont really have to be a dealer - just a supplier of rental units .. I am 1 person who will start with 1 fully loaded van which I already have sitting around collecting dust and I have a full TM set up sitting on my warehouse floor .. I could get a cargo van to install it into .. if it takes off, Ill get more going and keep a close relationship with a local mechanic .. so I can see me doing this with out being a dealer/mechanic shop with multiple staff

Trailers .. yeah that may be a bad idea .. again, I thought to keep the cost down by eliminating all costs due to having a vehicle ..

I appreciate all comments!! Thanks guys!!

 

[Spurlington]

Will you have Aerotechs for those of us who just wont settle for less?

View attachment 3333View attachment 3334

Ill reserve this for you Mikey .. comes with 200 ft of 1.5 inch hose

 

[adamh]

I should rent my back up machine. I have guys coming and using it all the time.

 

[Chris A]

I have a cherry low mile van/tm for a backup and ive thought before of renting it out, but what if I need it?