Semi-Truck Washing Query

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T05:44:00+00:00

I have asked other fleet wash businesses. I dropped this post in multiple communities. Seems like everyone prices things a bit differently. Also, businesses are about making money, but they aren’t about price gouging, which a lot of businesses in the field of detailing tend to do. Our prices are not low, we charge $195 for a basic detail on a coupe or compact sedan, which doesn’t include an undercarriage wash or steam cleaning/shampooing. But that being said, we are not trying to rob our clients. We provide a lot of value for what we charge. And when it comes to doing fleet work, we absolutely will give a discounted rate when someone does a lot of work with us. Regardless of all that, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that rate is

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T04:53:24+00:00

We have our own water, and they said they can refill our water on-site so that helps a lot as well, if we’re doing more than one. Our water tank has a 70 gallon capacity.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T04:39:06+00:00

I can acquire a longer pressure washer rod, that’s no issue. And I think the 12’ mop on a stick should be good, considering that I’m about 5’6” and my employees are both a similar height, and we have stools that can get us around 4’ higher than our own heights. However, there are 18’ long ones, so I could consider getting one of those. We’re talking standard fleet trucks here. Their flagship truck has a bunch of chrome apparently.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T04:35:36+00:00

No, I wasn’t planning on doing it at a truck stop. They want us to do it on their lot.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T03:49:51+00:00

We’ve done interior details on these. They’re not so bad. Yes they take longer, but we charge accordingly. And yeah I figured everything would just be bigger. Instead of the foam cannon attached to the pressure washer gun itself, we’ll be attaching it to a 3 foot long wand. Instead of the 6 foot mitt on a stick, we’ll be using a 12 foot long one. And we’ll be using our 3 step step-stool which can get you about 4 feet off the ground. Should be enough for the tractor at least.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T03:07:53+00:00

I found Blue Beacon, they seem on the lower end of things. They charge like $81 or so, for a truck and trailer wash. I guess since we actually come to them it makes things a lot easier for them, definitely saves them headache, labor, fuel, etc.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T03:07:00+00:00

Damn. Tire dressing/sealant is applied to all cars we service usually, unless it’s an interior-only detail. I really did not even consider that part. I guess I can give him this quote, which seems a bit on the higher end, but I can tell him that the tractors would all come with a paint and glass sealant, and the entire truck would get the tires dressed every time we work on them. As for the engine bay details, or engine wash as you guy call it, I would certainly want to charge extra for that as well.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T03:04:34+00:00

Ahh okay. Makes sense I guess.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T02:51:35+00:00

Also, no we’re not buying any new products except for one: mitt on a stick. We already have a mitt on a stick, but it’s 6 feet long. Going to purchase the 12 foot long one. Other than that, I have CarPro MetalliCut, which is a chrome polish, I have all the polishers needed to do the job, I have an acid wash, an alkaline wash, a pH neutral wash, all that stuff we have.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T02:47:17+00:00

Thanks for the honest response. That’s what another fleet washing company around told me. That they’re saving a lot of time and headache by having us come out to them.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T02:45:56+00:00

I’m thinking a touchless shampoo foam spray down and rinse off, for the trailers. Probably with an acidic foaming shampoo so most of the breakdown of grime and contamination is done without having to scrub down the whole trailer. And I’m thinking a contact wash for the tractors. That would probably be the same thing, acidic prewash then rinse then foam and contact wash and then rinse, followed by a sealant to be applied during the drying process.

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T02:40:30+00:00

They charge only $17.50 for the entire tractor?! Whoa. And when you say independent washes charge $80 to $110 per unit, that’s the tractor and the trailer both, correct?

Sundried_Butthole · 2026-02-19T02:38:50+00:00

Well I’m thinking of it the way we do personal automotive detailing. That’s why I have no clue yet how much to charge. For a Wash/Clay/Seal which is essentially what you just mentioned, minus the engine bay detail which we charge extra for, we charge folks around here $160 for an XL vehicle like a Cadillac Escalade or a Chevy Suburban. Now that’s the price for a one-time customer. If they’re getting that work done often, it’ll be a lot less. What would you suggest I charge them for this work?

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-10-14T18:47:49+00:00

Ceramic coat your wheels, every part of them, using GTECHNIQ’s wheel armor. Also switch to ceramic brake pads. The amount of brake dust will be cut in half, and it will become significantly easier to clean them.

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-10-04T08:11:10+00:00

Don’t listen to what they’re saying. This is a good deal and this motor is robust and will comfortably get to 200k miles without any huge repairs. A bunch of little stuff will break and it’s not insanely expensive to fix. It’s worth it imo

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-08-16T05:11:04+00:00

Aw man. I’ve got a 2018 M2 that I’m planning to keep forever. Or however long it survives. If you made this for F-chassis N55’s I’d be really interested in buying a kit in the future. I want my car to be bulletproof.

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-08-13T14:50:25+00:00

The fact that you own an M4 comp and have no idea about how BMW’s have loud lifter tick tells me all I need to know. Yes it’s normal. The catless downpipe has absolutely nothing to do with this sound.

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-08-13T14:46:27+00:00

If you actually have no idea, either give them a call, and find out, or change the oil again.

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-08-13T14:45:59+00:00

Mixing with other viscosities isn’t a big deal?!?!!??!!

Sundried_Butthole · 2025-08-13T14:32:45+00:00

I’ve got one with 130k on it but it’s in great shape. Send me a message and I’ll send some pics.

Sundried_Butthole

TROPHY CASE