Sweat of my brow

[leafbyniggle]

Hello and good evening.
I’d like to start off by saying, I appreciate an actual sub that is for people who work for a living!

I have a plan.
Let me give some back story.
I’ve been a mechanic for the last twenty three years.
I started sweeping floors, and currently run a crew of eighteen technicians. For a very large Indy fleet body shop. We have an eighty thousand sqft facility.

We also specialize in RV repair and maintenance.
I’ve worked every facet of the
body shop/mechanical repair industry. From taking out trash to running the whole shop, staying late, coming in early, working vacations, building maintenance, developing sop’s, HR, compliance and accounting to name a few.

I’m tired of it. This industry has worn me the hell out. The company I currently work for is a meat grinder, from techs to management. The deadlines are death. The hours are obnoxious, and truly it has made me want to quit working on anything… my passion has always been cars, trucks and custom vehicles.

Today while driving my wife home from a breast cancer appointment it came to me… the idea of
Mobile Polyurea rv roof installation.
I’ve found a supplier for the chemicals, I’m currently looking for a suitable van/truck.

I think my biggest question is capital?
Do I fund it myself? Do I apply for grants? Should I use a small business loan?

My initial investment would be for the poly equipment only. The rest will be time and energy. Since it’s get cold during the winter months. I figured I could repurpose my equipment and make money doing spray in truck bed liners and general coatings. My state is a compliant VOC state and the good news is this system contains no VOC’s. I have a large garage space and live rurally, so working in my shop is no problem. Currently I already have an established LLC and I believe I should be able to use it for this venture.

With my basic math skills here are my rough numbers.

Poly system $44k including the part A and B chemicals. The first set of chemicals is enough to cover roughly 1,600 sqft.
Roof prices for 400sqft typically run 8-10k.
My guess, with the first set of chemical. I should be able to coat 3-4 rv’s, new drums of product run $1,200 shipped. My thought is completion of 4-5 units per week with a avg cost of $9,000.

This is a very established product and has been used on rv roofs for many years…. My closest competitor is a brick and mortar roughly 100 miles away. Not near any rv camp sites. With this product I am able to offer a lifetime warranty, as well as capture maintenance on sky lights, roof vents and roof mounted air conditioning units. I’m also Rvti certified, so added ticket value is always a possibility.
As well as other markets. Mobile home roofs, companies who have dry vans, school busses and Rv dealers who would be able to roll a lifetime coating into new unit sales could be another market that is in my area.

If you don’t know rv’s are built like crap! Current factory warranties on caulk and weather seals are only 90 days.
This is a lifetime coating and possibly would be added value to anything it’s installed on.
The product I intend to use was developed for IED proofing vehicles in war zones. So I figured a solid business name could be Bomb proof roofing.

Im trying to make a seamless switch from my current source of income to my own business. Any help or ideas would be appreciated

Thank you for reading my loose idea.

 

[flashcracker]

@leafbyniggle Those would need to be high end rvs. That’s large investment. Do you offer a lesser option like a roll on coating?

 

[leafbyniggle]

@flashcracker Sadly most rv roof replacements, at least at our shop run between 6-9k… for a replacement rubber roofing system. My price is an average of about 20 or so of our jobs… shop labor rate for us is $175/hr for regular RV work and $225/hr for anything that’s fabrication related…. I could offer them as well… however materials cost for a roll on is $3200 for a 32’ rv. Labor is more as well due to the prep difference in the systems. Only one roll on I trust to offer a warranty with… the ep Henry stuff is bottom of the barrel. It’s pure silicone with no reinforcement. I’ve also seen it fail and it’s not pretty. The only fix is to pull off the whole roof and replace with a new roof.

 

[vladimir21]

@leafbyniggle Hello, fellow wrench turner.

First, I completely understand wanting to get out of the industry. I run a two man shop for a construction company, and while I’m happy working there I no longer love fixing things, I only do it because it’s what I know how to do and I get paid well to do it.

Second, having helped rebuild an RV with my autobody tech stepdad I completely agree that while they’re very expensive, RV’s are built like shit.

I think you could do pretty well with this business, since you definitely know the industry. You’ve already got a list of potential customers from your current job, and most RV owners know lots of other RV owners so word-of-mouth should be good for you. I don’t know if you tried calling/contacting owners of fleets of straight/box trucks if they would be interested in your services.

Can you do this work on site or does it need to be done in a shop?

On a side note, why do you not like the Transit? I’ve been looking into buying one for my party rental business because I haven’t heard anything great about the Promaster/Sprinter and Nissan is, well, a Nissan.

 

[leafbyniggle]

@vladimir21 The automotive industry, I feel is the same as any union industry…. When Covid hit, we never stoped! We only got more busy and had to adapt. Since the parts manufacturers and auto manufacturers stopped… no matter how you looked at it, anything with wheels that kept the country running had to be operational… I’ve learned one thing in this business, if you aren’t the owner you really don’t make shit. Unless you’re killing your self for flat rate. Even then you’ve got maybe 15 years before everything hurts and your the grumpy old tech in the corner.

The thing I see most in the RV industry is about 85-90% of owners don’t want to take the vehicle into the shop. So mobile rv guys make a killing…. $175-225/hr, parts and markup plus mileage and tolls @ $4.25/mile…. Then emergency time fees and canceled appointment fees. It’s crazy to me… a simple water heater install…. 1.2-2hrs After hours with a emergency call out fee added. $600 to show up and diag it. Then parts $1,200 after markup $1,680 Then I drive 60 miles and pay two tolls $280.

All in I’ve got three or so hours invested $1280 in profit not including fuel and vehicle maintenance. Not saying they are all that simple however the industry is far underdeveloped. 1,200 certified techs in the us. The dealerships don’t care after you sign. They are so backed up with PMI’s from new unit sales. If you need something fixed your 6-8months out and then they are going to sit on it for probably another 2-3. The biggest delay is parts…. It’s not like trucks or equipment. You could be months for something.

My operation would be purely mobile, then during the cold months. I could do small units 38’ and under in my shop at my house, as well as doing spray in bed liners for extra cash flow.

I have worked on every generation of sprinter… I’ve worked on transits and the rest since they came to the us. I think the Benz is just a solid unit… esp if you get a 2nd gen 06-18… the early ones used Chrysler Nag1 transmissions and to be honest fed ex rarely ever put a trans in one… we were a drp body shop for fed ex. Secondly I’ve seen them beat to death and still run really strong with 450k on them… you can tune and delete them now and never have an issue… the 2nd gen is the sweet spot. Very few modules or electronics to go wrong. The newer ones have electronic issues and turbo problems… Our fleet shop services 125-150 units per week the fords, just seem to not last nearly as long and have turbo issues and trans problems…. I won’t even get into the ram’s or the Nissans they are just bad.