Why so few fleet washers?

Roy Sanders

New member
It seems like alot of pressure washing businesses seem to stay away from fleets. Why is that. I know I have heard that it pays to little per piece or you have to volume to make money, costs more to get started etc. Just curious as to thoughts on this. Is it alot of misinformation out there on fleet washing? From a few of the guys I have talked to they seem to be doing pretty good in their business. Now I know that location is sometimes key to whether a business can make it or not. Depending on if there is a market for it and also what the market pays for this service in that area. No matter what board you come across the fleet guys are a minority or atleast the posts are less than other branches of pressure washing. FWA being the exception.
 
It seems like alot of pressure washing businesses seem to stay away from fleets. Why is that. I know I have heard that it pays to little per piece or you have to volume to make money, costs more to get started etc. Just curious as to thoughts on this. Is it alot of misinformation out there on fleet washing? From a few of the guys I have talked to they seem to be doing pretty good in their business. Now I know that location is sometimes key to whether a business can make it or not. Depending on if there is a market for it and also what the market pays for this service in that area. No matter what board you come across the fleet guys are a minority or atleast the posts are less than other branches of pressure washing. FWA being the exception.

Great post Roy. I've been wondering about some of the same things. This could develop into a really good thread.
 
I think there are a lot of opinions/answers to your question..fairly easy to get accounts very easy to lose to low ballers..i do fleets and find it somewhat monotonous or boring..But i like it..Overall not as profitable as say roof washing..

I have a few accounts which require me to go when they are closed (sundays) but overall even in my area with the exception of the National Guys there are not many who fleet wash.
 
A lot of guys think there's no money in fleets (which I strongly disagree with)
Also a lot of guys are against working weekends.
It's all about systems. Once you get a good system for it then it is profitable. It's just like anything else we do. House washing, concrete cleaning etc.

For me personally, my fleet accounts are the least profitable compared to other jobs we do - BUT, it's steady money. So I take the good with the bad. I always have work for my guys and always have income every week. To me it's a brainer.
 
A lot of guys think there's no money in fleets (which I strongly disagree with)
Also a lot of guys are against working weekends.
It's all about systems. Once you get a good system for it then it is profitable. It's just like anything else we do. House washing, concrete cleaning etc.

For me personally, my fleet accounts are the least profitable compared to other jobs we do - BUT, it's steady money. So I take the good with the bad. I always have work for my guys and always have income every week. To me it's a brainer.

No more than what I know about fleet washing (just trying to get started myself) I would have to agree that I hear that alot. Working evenings and weekends is looked down upon with this. I agree but that is just part of it. I also think there is great potential in making money if you can make a go of it.
 
Roy, I have 3 employees that handle the fleet accounts and I stop by randomly on occasion to make sure things are on the up and up. That's the only thing that keeps me sane lol. If I had to do them I would probably go nuts. Like I said - Systems
 
There is day work as well. If you see a truck making a delivery at night chances are that truck is idle during the day while it gets loaded. Other companies start at 4 am so they are back pretty early. We also work for new and used dealerships during the day.
 
I have been seriously considering getting into Fleet. We get calls we pass on all the time. And Ron seems to give me a lead a month for fleet as well that we turn down. Honestly, I do not know why I have never moved into Fleet. It feels like no one in PHX is doing it besides Fleetwash.

I may have to consider it pretty soon. I know there is great money in fleets.
 
Plan on every weekend. Its hard work and we are always busy so we don't have time to post a lot. Yes there is money in fleets if you are productive and efficient.
 
Plan on every night and weekend. I had a pretty good fleet operation going at one time. I gave it up when I realized my kids were growing up, and I still had to go to work. I did manage to wash fleets without working Sundays. That was definitely a plus, but required long Saturdays.
 
Personally I think that it is much more of an investment than flatwork or duct cleaning services. That is why those businesses have so many new people joining by buying cheap equipment, trying to stay in business, not succeeding, and selling everything off at a loss. Then another guy thinks "I can make a lot of money doing that", buys the local home depot pressure washer, and the cycle starts all over again. You need to spend money to wash fleets right. You also need to hire employees and deal with all of that. So right out of the gate you need to have a business owner mentality as opposed to just trying to create a well paying job for yourself. The far majority of people in the non-fleet washing businesses have less than 4 employees. The majority of fleet washing businesses have more than 3 employees. And as Scott said, it's evening and weekend work which is unattractive to many as well. Can someone go from $0 to a company like Scotts size? Maybe, but it would take someone as organized and intelligent as Scott, and most of us don't possess those sort of skills.
 
Can someone go from $0 to a company like Scotts size? Maybe, but it would take someone as organized and intelligent as Scott, and most of us don't possess those sort of skills.

Yea most of us are stupid.
 
Personally I think that it is much more of an investment than flatwork or duct cleaning services. That is why those businesses have so many new people joining by buying cheap equipment, trying to stay in business, not succeeding, and selling everything off at a loss. Then another guy thinks "I can make a lot of money doing that", buys the local home depot pressure washer, and the cycle starts all over again. You need to spend money to wash fleets right. You also need to hire employees and deal with all of that. So right out of the gate you need to have a business owner mentality as opposed to just trying to create a well paying job for yourself. The far majority of people in the non-fleet washing businesses have less than 4 employees. The majority of fleet washing businesses have more than 3 employees. And as Scott said, it's evening and weekend work which is unattractive to many as well. Can someone go from $0 to a company like Scotts size? Maybe, but it would take someone as organized and intelligent as Scott, and most of us don't possess those sort of skills.

No more, homedepot pressure washer, $3000 trailer, $500 tank, you are a fleet washer. $2000 easykleen hot water pressure washer if you want to get fancy. I see these setups running around here every weekend, don't know how they are going to work this weekend being how cold it is, but they find ways. Many guys skip the trailer, spend $5000 on a cube van that they overload the crap out of (Any 3500 dually van normally only has a 2000 lbs payload), 600g tank + easy klean and they think they can charge the same as my tandem freightliner.

This business is one that you can technically get in with little money and skip along and with some luck do ok. There is some common sense as well, but don't think you need tons of money to get into fleet washing.
 
I think the key to being successful in fleet work is not only the price you get per unit but your efficiency

You can get a great price but if your not efficient your going to go down

I dont care how much your getting, Its all about production- how fast you can do the job in a quality manner

i know guys who had real good accounts but got swallowed up
 
First I didn't go from a 0$ to a hero operation over night. It took me 22 years to become an overnight success. In the preceding years, we would only gross about $500,000 a year doing fleets. We did maintain a nice margin, though.
Second, I have been fortunate to have a lot of jobs that prepared me to be able to manage 40 employees, and do it to my customers satisfaction. Try managing 160 truck drivers with a boss that is a warehouse manager, and refuses to learn about the particulars of managing people on the road, with that mentality.
Third, My wife is way more organized than me. The secret is that even though I could hire someone to replace her, it would be expensive, especially to find someone that cared anywhere near as much. I am the operations guy, and I make sure that everyone knows their job and gets the proper training.

Honestly, even though you may think that you could manage a larger pressure washing operation, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. I had a lot of other experience that helped prepare me for what I am doing. I think that is a large part of why I have been able to successfully expand my business.
On Sunday, I developed a list of things I had done in the past week to manage and operate my business, on a daily basis, and I was shocked on the number of line items, everything from reading P&L's, to running balance sheets, to Welding and Fabrication. I think I counted thirty some different skills that I used. It shocked me.
 
Yea most of us are stupid.

Have you seen some of the responses to posts?
The guys that think everything is a nail are a big problem.
 
Great responses Scott, thank you.
 
Have you seen some of the responses to posts?
The guys that think everything is a nail are a big problem.

I was being sarcastic.
Yes I shake my head when reading certain things here but mostly on FB.
I agree, single minded individuals need to wake up.
 
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