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Fall Clean up prices

9K views 36 replies 20 participants last post by  Watkins 
#1 ·
Hi guys I have alot of customers asking me about fall clean up and they all want prices now! I dont no how to charge this yet I am new to the business. It will only be me doing the work, I have a backpack blower and am going to use my lawn tractor cause it has a bagger on it and I will probably have to tarp some also, I have no leaf loader and will be loading with 55 gallon drums. Do most of you guys charge by the hour? I dont want to under bid something for ex. the leafs look thin but once yet get to blowing them around the underlayer is is wet and they are 4 inches deep in some places. Thanks for your time...
 
#2 ·
just charge em by the hour, 50-60 an hour. dont use the drums, tarp it and drag it to the trailer.
 
#5 ·
invest in a trailer (at least a 5x10) and put 4' walls around it. you can thank me later!
 
#10 ·
How big are the properties you're looking at doing fall cleanups on? We have a number of smaller residential accounts and I find that the easiest way to do fall clean ups is to use a billy goat lawn vacuum to suck up all the leaves and then dump either in your truck box or trailer etc. If you're accounts are larger, I'd suggest adding a wheeled blower to your fleet as well.
 
#11 ·
I got some free advice about fall cleanups. The advice was to mow other the leaves one time to cut them up. Them go over them a second time with the a bagger.
This has two benefits.
1) IT beaks down some of the leaves for the yard.
2) IT breaks them down so they take up less space when you haul them away.

Anyone agree, disagree?
 
#12 ·
I got some free advice about fall cleanups. The advice was to mow other the leaves one time to cut them up. Them go over them a second time with the a bagger.
This has two benefits.
1) IT beaks down some of the leaves for the yard.
2) IT breaks them down so they take up less space when you haul them away.

Anyone agree, disagree?
I think its a waste of time...The time spent doubling it I dont think is worth it. This Truck doesnt stop unless I get a minimum 140$ for a cleanup.:clapping::gunsfirin
 
#13 ·
I got some free advice about fall cleanups. The advice was to mow other the leaves one time to cut them up. Them go over them a second time with the a bagger.
This has two benefits.
1) IT beaks down some of the leaves for the yard.
2) IT breaks them down so they take up less space when you haul them away.

Anyone agree, disagree?
I would disagree if you have a lot or Pin-oaks in the lawn. If you grind up too many of the leaves it will mess with the ph level in the lawn. For us it was worth the investment of the leaf loading trailer! I look forward to fall clean-ups now just like brown snow!!
 
#14 ·
How do you guys tarp the leaves without blowing the tarp all over tha place?...

I pick a wall or corner,,,blow everything into the one spot,,then use a 55 gal tote with handles and wheels to get the loads to the trailer..

I use a oversize dust pans or snow shovels to get em into the tote....seems to work great...
 
#15 · (Edited)
How do you guys tarp the leaves without blowing the tarp all over tha place?...
put some stuff on the tarp to weight it down then rake it up. if you can id upgrade to a better leaf rig asap, leaf removal is a nightmare if you dont have the right equipment.
 
#17 ·
trailer/dump truck, leaf box, leaf loader, backpack blower, push blower, leaf plow. but stay within your budget. blowing leaves into a pile is the easy part, getting into the trailer is a whole different story. so the bare bone would be trailer with sides, backpack and a loader. just my opinion though!
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
Thanks andy,,

Honestly, ive never seen any of those pieces of equipment out here in New Mexico...( wit the exception of the walk behind leaf blower..Im guessing thats a midwest to eastcoats thing, considering we dont have large lots with HUGE amnts of leaves out here in the desert southwest...

The truck loaders seem like they would be hella expensive, and you would have to have the truck super close to the pile?...That situation would almost never happen in the area I service..

I figure I could get away with two guys using backpacks blowing onto a tarp,,hauling the tarp to the trailer, and repeat.
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
Thanks andy,,

Honestly, ive never seen any of those pieces of equipment out here in New Mexico...( wit the exception of the walk behind leaf blower..Im guessing thats a midwest to eastcoats thing, considering we dont have large lots with HUGE amnts of leaves out here in the desert southwest...

The truck loaders seem like they would be hella expensive, and you would have to have the truck super close to the pile?...That situation would almost never happen in the area I service..

I figure I could get away with two guys using backpacks blowing onto a tarp,,hauling the tarp to the trailer, and repeat.
What isn't super expensive? It all seems to cost a lot. That being said, truck loaders aren't too good. You can get a good one for a little over $3,000. When you live up north where we have lots of trees they are a necessity if you have a lot of lawns. You need to be quick and leaf loaders will pick them up quickly and get them in the dump truck/trailer. Go to the dump and press a button and watch them go away. No more loading truck with tarps and making a million trips. Leaf loaders really reduce the volume too. You don't have to get too close. Most leaf loaders will have a hose of 15 to 20 feet.

Our wheeled leaf blower is great too. Many of our customers live near woods and we can just blow the leaves right in there. Our Billy Goat wheel blower can do more blowing than several backpacks. The only side is they aren't real maneuverable.
 
#25 ·
That wouldnt help me at all...There isnt really any yards where I could pull my truck into..They all have fences, or walls with three foot gates.
Blow them out to the street and suck them up:hammerhead:
 
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