[mrusk]

Guys don't laugh. A few years ago i met this guy who owns a septic pump business in another state. He told me he recently got into the porta john rental business and was making a killing. I really been thinking about it alot lately.

Heres my plan. Mount a pump tank and a fresh water tank on a open trailer to pump and service the rentals. I can tow this with any of my companys future trucks. I can use any trailer to drop the porta johns off on site. The main thing is i can tow the porta john service trailer to pump the rentals at night when the crews are not out working. Due to my yesrs of working in the construction field i am sure i can get several clients right away. Then i could rent johns out to people who have parties. Almost everyone who has people cut their grass have parties. I really think it would be easy to rent out to my existing customers. I really belive if i did strong marketing i could make alot of money with this. It seems no other company in this field does more then the yellow pages.

What do you guys think of this idea? I am not trying to make a living off this, just add an extra 20k or so to my bottom line, and keep money rolling in during the winter.

matt

 

[lawnman_scott]

i think it stinks!!!

 

[ipm]

The only advice I can give is to check into the rules and regulations. I know you will have to have a permit of some type to be hauling waste, etc. You may experience some red tape issues. I am not 100% sure though. Let us know what you find.

How much will it cost you to dipose of your waste. How much are the porta johns???? Let us know.

 

[ipm]

Of course it stinks..... LOL....however, I don't think any type of vision stinks though. I really would like to know what type of information you can gather.

 

[Mdirrigation]

Well I would take it one step further and buy a full size septic truck along with the porta johns. Septic pumping , repair and installation is good money , its expensive start up costs have kept the prices up unlike lawn mowing.

 

[mrusk]

Mdirrigation- Your on the same lines as i am. The start up cost to get into septic pumping, and installion is through the roof. I am going to have to work up to that. If i can get a full lawn root together next year, i will buy another truck and just send a crew out mowing, and i'll go work with an excavator that said he'd hire me.

matt

 

[Team Gopher]

Hi mrusk,

Here are a couple of sites that may be helpful.

Universal Opportunities : The portable toilet industry has grown worldwide because of the important economic benefits it provides to the construction and outdoor event industries.

http://www.blacktieservices.com/

And an article.

Dad said, “We are going to start a port-a-potty rental business. Oh look, they are arriving right now.” I looked out the office window to see a semi-truck full of brand new portable toilets.

 

[Evermow]

I work for a Septic and portable toilet company during the week. Portable toilets are ALOT of work. Toilets used on any site where Mexicans are working will be ruined. They will burn holes in them, draw nast pictures, and worst of all, instead of sitting or "hovering" to do #2, they stand on the tank and do it standing up, and every once-in-a-while they will actually hit the hole. most of the time, not. Crack cocain addicts and wino's will be frequent overnight guests. Also, like it or not, you will get feces and or urine on you on a dayly basis.

I'm not trying to discourage you from getting into the bussiness, just trying to let you know what you are getting into. I ran the route for a little while, and I hated it. I've done nasty jobs before, but this was just disgusting. Good luck, but be warned- This position has a VERY high turnover rate, so once you get burned out of doing it (which happens in a short time), it's hard to find help that will stick with it. Oh, yeah: get ready for lots of complaint calls. I don't care how good you scrub them, people will find something to complain about.

The Septic bussiness, on the other hand is very profitable. Our new truck cost $83,000, but MAN it's nice- Freightliner M2-class, 2500gal. sewage tank, 500gal. fresh water tank to run the jetter or a hose sprayer. 600gpm pump. Hydrolic dump with vibrator.

We also do drain-feild repairs/replacement with is also very profitable, but you need a backhoe and a bobcat.

 

[mrusk]

Evermow- You get a mexican to do the route! LOL I never heard of the stand on seat one before. I am still doing my market research on this.

Matt

 

[CamLand]

Originally posted by mrusk
Evermow- You get a mexican to do the route! LOL I never heard of the stand on seat one before. I am still doing my market research on this.

Matt

please explain why he should get a mexican to do it?

 

[chris28]

I dont know anyone who would want a porta-john at their house for a party. I think the guests would say "what? I'm not good enough to use your bathroom inside the house?" I think the residential aspect is a wash. Commercial you may have luck.
Just my opinion

 

[EZTarget]

two yrs ago my brother drove from Oklahoma to Dallas to see Jimmy Buffet in concert. He rented a porta john and hauled it down on a trailer! it was the funniest thing. i need to find the pics. he also made a little side money "rentin" the services. 5bucks a pop or something in the parkin lot of the open air concert venue.

 

[Evermow]

chris28,
It depends on how good the servise is as to whether or not you'll get bussiness for partys. We do more than anyone in this area.

 

[Expert Lawns]

you're going to be #1 in the #2 business

 

[EZTarget]

now here is a way to make money! Jimmy Buffet Concert. And that aint me.

 

[EZTarget]

here is how u do it. cash only. irs will stay away from this cause it stinks!

 

[NHMan]

I am thinking of doing this too. Did the original poster have any success?

 

[AintNoFun]

good luck.. i put some serious thought into it. the only way to make money is in the volume. the big guys - mr john, johnny on the spot etc will kill you on price because of the volume.

 

[DoetschOutdoor]

I was just trying to picture these big ass houses that MRUSK works at and then trying to see a few porta potties located next to the pool or pool house at their next party!!! WTF, I bet those houses have 10 bathrooms, they dont need no stinking porta jon on their lot. But yea on the commercial side, you may have enough contacts made to get somethign going.