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Two man in one van versus......

  • Thread starter Solarpanelcleanington
  • Start date
S

Solarpanelcleanington

...two small one man set ups.

Was wondering what your thoughts are on this?

There's the obvious cost difference for putting two small vans on the road but then an advantage of being able to split up for the day.

Hmmmm

 
Only time its beneficial to have a 2 man van is on large commercial where you are there all day.

You can expect staff to do 20 - 25 jobs daily my lads do this no problem solo. If they ride together the they need to goto 40 -50 jobs and that would just not happen.

 
I prefer working alone anyhow. Occasionally I take my mates son with me and after being around him for eight hours I want to kill him.

When I'm alone I bang on my I pod and if I feel like finishing a bit early I can, where as if I have someone working with me, I feel I have to get a full day out of them for the wages

 
But how do you show someone the round? Surely there's a period of them getting to know where all the houses are and what's required at each job? Do you work with them until they've gone round once and then let them crack on solo? Loads of mine are very isolated hard to find houses.

 
But how do you show someone the round? Surely there's a period of them getting to know where all the houses are and what's required at each job? Do you work with them until they've gone round once and then let them crack on solo? Loads of mine are very isolated hard to find houses.
Give them the addresses

If they can't find an address then they can phone you

Of they need babysitting that much they're no good to you

 
It's different out in the wild. Sat nav might take you somewhere near. Time spent looking for a hidden barn conversion is time lost. There's no street or road names. Phones rarely work too. I guess you'd have to show someone the work at least once.

 
But how do you show someone the round? Surely there's a period of them getting to know where all the houses are and what's required at each job? Do you work with them until they've gone round once and then let them crack on solo? Loads of mine are very isolated hard to find houses.
My worker and friend Danny worked along side me for three years so knows my work as well as I do

 
Ive heard of a local Company over here that packs 3 guys on typical 12-15 pound jobs !! How CAN they make Money :fubar:, i do make 1 Day ride-alongs with other windies occasionally on jobs that sustains it .

 
if 3 people were going out theyd need be bangin them out

they must have tight rounds were they hardly need move van park van in right spot u could get 12 houses and hour done wudn make much sense 3 people going out to do a house here and there

 
@boarcity is the man in the know

I think he has 3 bods and himself in a van all trad and bangs em out

I reckon that could be very worthwhile in the right area

First 2-3 jobs an hour pays their wages..rest in your back pocket

 
the more bods you have out there the more work gets done its as simple as. course i know that its simpler one man but you can only do so much,whatabout days where you just dont feel up to it?or youre sick ? thats where extra workers chip in making the list guaranteed to be done one way or tother. 2 fresh jobs come in when youre out on the street,no matter,just detail the lads onto it . nobody is knackered , well occasionally yes , but not often .

iv recently temporarily downsized to 3 men in a van trad [previous was 4 ] and so far we are coping with the load . im in whats called a "grace period" where im only paying out 2 wages but the work of 4 lads is being done . how long i can keep this goin is anyones guess but its great . whether the other lads agree its great i doubt,however im upping their wages as of tmoro so that should get em smiling plus They keep all tips .

 
I hope so they do ,if they have Any sense of running a business ! Otherwise they were better off on wellfare ..

if 3 people were going out theyd need be bangin them outthey must have tight rounds were they hardly need move van park van in right spot u could get 12 houses and hour done wudn make much sense 3 people going out to do a house here and there
 
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I think the over all question though @boarcity is to go one van or two WFP and I can see no benefit in a two man set up for residential work or unless as @peter rogers says you have long rows all on the one street.

I do agree with Boars that the more the merrier on Trad work, I used to be the same, drop one lad on a street with 4 or 5 jobs to do then shoot of with the other lad, do 8 or 10 jobs then go back for the first lad then onto the net location.

If we were trad I would have a large crew cab and pile it high with ladders /emoticons/smile.png)

 
Looking back I should of just gone for a one man system rather than the 2 man I have as hardly use it yet, but I always tell myself it's handy to have the 2 man just incase I land big commercials in the future and require the extra pump/user, but I have used 2 operators a few times on large conny cleans when the mrs has come along and helped, apart from the extra I payed for a 9kw webasto instead of a one man 5kw there really wasnt that much difference in price, mostly chose it for looking ahead to the future.

The way I'd do it (domestics) from 1 van now if I took somebody on that is, is have them do the backs with a back pack system filled from a tap off my tank while I do the fronts from the van system. I prob wouldn't do double the houses in a day but reckon I'd do a fair bit more than just one man, as good time can be lost messing about with hoses around the sides and backs of some homes I do.

 
After having a bit of a wobble last year I started taking someone with me on occasional days where the work was condensed (usually one road). The benefits are; I easily keep up with my schedule, I end up having a few rest days a month instead of hardly any, I've got someone to occasionally foot a ladder and generally assist me with bits and pieces, I get a bit of company and someone to point out Milfs to, I get to feel good about myself giving someone a decent wage (a lot more than his other part time number). As a presence in the street, with the two of us wearing bright green company t shirts we seem to be much more visible and I get a lot more approaches (could be a coincidence) and finally if we get a really cold snap I suffer less as I'm sharing the load.

The downsides; I've got to book in a lot more work the night before, I spend all day doing ladder work, I give him practically everything he makes for me (the rate doesn't increase by more than £12 - £14 an hour when he's with me). The stress of employing someone, delays if they're late, worry about them causing damage (employees seem to be more Frank prone for some reason). He gets through scrims much quicker than me so more laundry duties for me. I end up with less money in total as I'm paying a share of my rounds to him.

In conclusion I've decided to get a van and do a lot more WFP so I will not be requiring my help nearly as much if at all. Bit of shame for him as he has done nothing wrong. I have encouraged him to get something going in his own town, he has seen for himself how easy it is to grow (every day we've been out I've picked up two or three new customers), I've offered to lend him a few bits and directed him here, told him he can easily double his earnings on his own, for some reason he seems reluctant to dive in. Can't work it out.

 

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