Bucket truck rates

[ams]

I just purchased a bucket truck for my sign company, it's a 2000 GMC with a 30' boom.
Question is, how much do I charge for it? One of my goals is to change light bulbs in shopping centers, but also of course use it to install signs.

I've tried to research pricing and haven't found anything. What do you guys charge or know they are charging?

 

[FatCat]

Oh boy, well I tried to ask this same question a few months ago when I got my truck and instead of getting rates and understanding why people charged what they do it took off on a different tangent...but I digress.

Anyway, the few decent responses I got was that rates were all right around $75/hr. To me, this seems absurdly low to install signs - especially when my shop rate is already $65/hr. I can't see how I can justify charging only $10/hr more for a truck when I can stay in the shop not pay insurance, burn fuel, put wear and tear on the truck, etc. Realistically, I would think $95-$115/hr is where I should be at for me and my truck - and I would be around $135-$150 for me, truck and a helper.

I know I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but why on earth would you have a tool like this and not charge appropriately for it?

 

[rjssigns]

First let me say if I can't get it with my stepladder I sub out installation. Anywhoo...I deal with two places. One charges $115 an hour the other $140 for bucket truck installs.

 

[TheSnowman]

I had a guy call last week wanting me to quote him a job that's about 30 ft in the air that would require a bucket truck. He told me that the prices from the other guys were crazy high. I told him that there's no way he can expect someone to show up and do a job 30 ft in the air for a cheap price, even if for no other reason, the liability of being associated with a sign 30 ft in the air that's gonna be tested by ever element known from mother nature.

I don't have any desire to get into this world, but knowing what I do about our industry...I wouldn't flinch if someone quoted me $150 for one. What do excavators charge an hour for their equipment, expertise, and everything else that comes with knowing how to do the job professionally?

 

[Northern Design]

Bucket truck

If you rent a lift its about $160.00 for four houts or $187.00 for a full day. You should start at $125.00 per hour and adjust as needed in two months or so....

 

[ColoPrinthead]

When I was running a small format shop in Dallas we had to pay $150 for the one that arrived to fix our neon . . . that was hung from 6ft in the air inside of our front window.

 

[CanuckSigns]

We dont do many installs that require a bucket truck, but the few times we have hired someone, we paid around $160 - $180 /hr

Having said that, i generally dont even quote a job that involves a bucket truck anymore, there is a shop in town that will do the job with a ladder for next to nothing. I love driving by and seeing them hanging off a ladder 15-20 feet in the air while trying to wrestle with a flimsy sheet of polycarb, all for a few hundred bucks.

 

[MikePro]

we charge our shop rate, for an additional body onsite.
1 guy & a truck = 2x shop rate for an installer.

 

[Z SIGNS]

You can charge whatever you want and get it.
This is specialized work that requires specialized skills and equipment.

Do the math.
If you charged a minimum of $500 ea. time the truck rolled out.
and you did it 5 days a week.

There is not much leftover after you pay good help,insurance and maintain the truck.

It does not bother me if a customer does not understand this or like my price
I just move on to something else.

If I go hang out on the end of stick 30 feet in the air it's not
for some hourly rate.

It's based on what I have to get which is based on how often the truck goes out.

 

[DigiPrinter]

Oh boy, well I tried to ask this same question a few months ago when I got my truck and instead of getting rates and understanding why people charged what they do it took off on a different tangent...but I digress.

Anyway, the few decent responses I got was that rates were all right around $75/hr. To me, this seems absurdly low to install signs - especially when my shop rate is already $65/hr. I can't see how I can justify charging only $10/hr more for a truck when I can stay in the shop not pay insurance, burn fuel, put wear and tear on the truck, etc. Realistically, I would think $95-$115/hr is where I should be at for me and my truck - and I would be around $135-$150 for me, truck and a helper.

I know I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but why on earth would you have a tool like this and not charge appropriately for it?

FatCat -

I view the hourly rate for a bucket truck for service work only....service work is typically time and material so you need the hourly rate for that. For installs, I feel installs should be priced according to complexity.....hanging a box sign is different than installing individual channel letters. Most installs are based off of a two-man install crew as well.

I don't know if there is a national average, but if there was, I'd think it'd fall around $85 to $95 per hour for one man and a bucket.

 

[d fleming]

125 per hr, 2 men and truck, 2 hr min. + mileage.

 

[J Hill Designs]

FatCat -

I view the hourly rate for a bucket truck for service work only....service work is typically time and material so you need the hourly rate for that. For installs, I feel installs should be priced according to complexity.....hanging a box sign is different than installing individual channel letters. Most installs are based off of a two-man install crew as well.

I don't know if there is a national average, but if there was, I'd think it'd fall around $85 to $95 per hour for one man and a bucket.

Indeed. Service work - 1 man w/bucket I charge $85 ph -- additional guy ups it to $150 ph

install depending, and is usually figured in as an estimate of total time incl travel.

 

[visual800]

Congrats on your truck, they are fun to own for doing your stuff but suck like hell when they mess up. I just put my last truck on ebay and got rid of the damn thing. PITA! But I digress.

i did work for other sign companies and charged by job. Before I got truck I was using other guys and they charged same way. How long and how complex. Charge what you want and NEVER let anyone borrow it

 

[signage]

Congrats on your truck, they are fun to own for doing your stuff but suck like hell when they mess up. I just put my last truck on ebay and got rid of the damn thing. PITA! But I digress.

i did work for other sign companies and charged by job. Before I got truck I was using other guys and they charged same way. How long and how complex. Charge what you want and NEVER let anyone borrow it

Best Advice!

 

[selpats]

I just purchased a bucket truck for my sign company, it's a 2000 GMC with a 30' boom.
Question is, how much do I charge for it? One of my goals is to change light bulbs in shopping centers, but also of course use it to install signs.

I've tried to research pricing and haven't found anything. What do you guys charge or know they are charging?

I insure a 2009 International 4300, 65’ altec lift, two man bucket with a 4400 lb material handler... my rate is about $314. A month . Cheap when you consider the truck is $185. Hour. Crew of 2

 

[BALLPARK]

We charge $150 per hour with 2 men / 1 bucket with a 2 hour minimum. Time starts leaving the shop and ends when truck returns.

It's fair in our area and you're not that far from us. I've seen rates from $125 to $180 per hour for 2 men / 1 bucket.

 

[rydods]

I think for us, one of the main reasons for purchasing a bucket truck was for the safety. I found that a lot of jobs found us hanging on and climbing things we shouldn't just to get the job done. Too many times I had just gotten a horrible gut feeling just standing on a ladder, looking down and wondering, is this going to be the day. Even taking all of the necessary precautions.
I do realize how useful they are and I know we probably should be charging way more than we do for using it.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

$135 for me to take the truck out. That's for a local install and roughly an hour on site. If it's further away, add in for mileage. If it's going to be longer, I add in more hours. If the truck is just being used to get my installer and sign there but the bucket isn't being using on-site, then it's $135 to get there and my standard hourly rate once there.

 

[OhioSigns]

We charge $175 per hour for our truck with 2 man crew (truck is a 55', 2 man bucket with material handler). Time starts once we arrive on the site and stops once we leave the site. We also have a trip charge depending on the distance from our shop. Bucket trucks are not cheap. Ours started having trouble shifting in and out of gear and it turned out a couple of the modules were bad.... $5k later it was fixed at the local International dealer. There are a lot of cost with a bucket truck (commercial plates, insurance, maintenance, annual inspection, fuel, actual cost of the truck). We are actually considering selling our bucket truck and scissor lift and just getting a nice boom lift. We already have the trailer to haul it on so it would cut out the expenses of commercial truck plates, vehicle insurance and would be less maintenance cost. It could also get into places that our truck cannot and could do about 90% of what we do with the truck and scissor lift. All while taking up less floor space in our shop.

Just look at what tree trimmers cost... my neighbor had a tree cut down a couple weeks ago and he had multiple quotes of around $3400 for one big tree.... 2 guys, bucket truck and wood chipper did it in 2 8 hour days..... made their hourly rate about $212.50/HR.

 

[equippaint]

Tree guys w/c rates are about the highest of any trade out there. Bet their liability is about the same. They may be killing it but I seriously doubt they are.