# Worried i underbid one, would you do it for this?



## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

Hey guys i just need run this one by you cause i think i might have goofed and under bid it, i'm not used to bidding stuff this big.

Site is 11 acres of cement, trucking facility, 89 loading bays with about 20 in use, trailers parked out back in a large open lot (majority of the area), minimal sidewalks (maybe 20ft total). Salt costs me $74.50/tonne

My projected salt usage for the year is around 123 tonnes (28 saltings) and i figure around 7 plowings (most around 2-4" and maybe one 6" i have never seen a storm drop more than 8" in a twenty four hour period in 12 years doing this). I capped the contract at max 12 plows and 34 saltings

I have a medium sized loader i planning to sub for the site and i will purchase a 12' box plow for it, they charge me $140/hr and that includes operator ect. I figured an average of 5 hrs to plow the lot with loader and one of my trucks doing the few areas it can't get for an hour or two (i pay my guy $17/hr).

So i figure my direct costs to be about $9200ish for salt, sub about $4900 and my labour/fuel about $1900. So about $16000ish in direct cost not including overhead (payments on equipment insurance and all other background costs runs about $6500/month).

Now all that being said i would normally try to get $48,000 for the annual on it. However it is stupid competitive around here for big contracts so i figured out my lowest price to be at $34,500. I wasn't too worried about it till i started looking around here and what people get for sites of similar size (i know pricing varies wildly by region). I am worried that in my eagerness to try and land it i dropped the price to much and missed something.

Using the figures i have given would you do it for that price? Did i miss something? Am i worried about nothing?


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

so your at 52ish% GM?


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## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

something like that, i am just worried i missed something crucial. I see ppl around here saying they get way more for something that big (in other threads).


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## Jguck25 (Oct 30, 2009)

this has nothing to do with your bid but is that really all the snow you get there? i thought pretty much everywhere in canada got clobbered.. lol im from nh and we get way more than that on average


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## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

Jguck25;1650752 said:


> this has nothing to do with your bid but is that really all the snow you get there? i thought pretty much everywhere in canada got clobbered.. lol im from nh and we get way more than that on average


Im from Missouri I get that maybe more last year had 15 storms 2 was 10'' and 1 was 18''+ lot of 4'' few 6''
I wasn't going say anything since He knows his area better then me

To OP hold your ground Don't drop your price Once you start dropping the price you will second guess your self all the time


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## mulcahy mowing (Jan 16, 2006)

Only you know your costs. It sounds like you know what you are doing. No one here can tell you if you will be ok. Have some faith in yourself! It doesn't sound like its enough to sink you anyways if you lose some you will know for next time. Good luck!


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## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

Jguck25;1650752 said:


> this has nothing to do with your bid but is that really all the snow you get there?


Yup we are in the tropics of Canada, we don't really get any lake effect, Colorado lows go south of us and Alberta clippers go north. We plowed 5 times last year and 2 were really borderline to our trigger (we probably could have salted them away)



mulcahy mowing;1650786 said:


> Only you know your costs. It sounds like you know what you are doing. No one here can tell you if you will be ok. Have some faith in yourself! It doesn't sound like its enough to sink you anyways if you lose some you will know for next time. Good luck!


Yeah i think i might be worried for nothing, i have a pretty good handle on my costs. Big stuff like this is just out of my comfort zone so i am second guessing myself more than i normally would.


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## SHAWZER (Feb 29, 2012)

Wow , only 5 times last year . Can I ask where u are from ?


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## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

Windsor, the tropics of Canada.


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## Italiano67 (Feb 16, 2005)

I have been involved in a plowing a trucking warehouse site too but it was much bigger than yours. You are figuring on 5 hours per snow fall for loader time but that is only when you can do a total clean job. What about the prolonged events? Are they going to wait past 24 hours for the snow to stop and then clean it up or is the loader going to plow with the storm. We had to be there after a couple of inches and stay until it was done keeping it clear for the trucks in the drive lanes and also afterwards relocating snow piles etc. Is it open and need to be passable for 24 7? There was a lot of machine hours on our site and they were justified. What about after the trailers are moved? There is snow there as well. The reason prices are higher is is that if you figure in a decent amount of variables it has to be. I think your subbed loader will cost you more than you figured.


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## Italiano67 (Feb 16, 2005)

I also think a skid would be very helpful with cleaning out between trailers and by the docks. I bet sooner or later the loader messes up a dock or two.


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## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

Italiano67;1651615 said:


> I have been involved in a plowing a trucking warehouse site too but it was much bigger than yours. You are figuring on 5 hours per snow fall for loader time but that is only when you can do a total clean job. What about the prolonged events? Are they going to wait past 24 hours for the snow to stop and then clean it up or is the loader going to plow with the storm. We had to be there after a couple of inches and stay until it was done keeping it clear for the trucks in the drive lanes and also afterwards relocating snow piles etc. Is it open and need to be passable for 24 7? There was a lot of machine hours on our site and they were justified. What about after the trailers are moved? There is snow there as well. The reason prices are higher is is that if you figure in a decent amount of variables it has to be. I think your subbed loader will cost you more than you figured.


I have considered most of this, in a big storm the loader would plow the lot every 2" or so, go to a nearby 2 acre lot plow that come back and plow again. So if this had to happen 3 times it would count as three plowings towards the cap. It is open 24/7, if they want clean-up once trailers are moved that is extra (hourly rate) and if they want snow moved that is extra as well (hourly again).


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## Precedence (Oct 3, 2008)

Italiano67;1651659 said:


> I also think a skid would be very helpful with cleaning out between trailers and by the docks. I bet sooner or later the loader messes up a dock or two.


Not sure what you mean by messing up a dock? The docks are about 150' or so each along the building for a continuous run with the loader, only about 1/4 of the individual bays are in use so we can just push snow to the end of the dock. I plan on having a truck there for a bit so i could have him make a passs along the building in each dock so the loader doesn't have to try and get right up to the building.


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## Italiano67 (Feb 16, 2005)

Sorry about that last post. I meant the dock lock on the bottom of the bay. At least our site had locks to keep the trailer in place and they were easy to hit with drifts etc covering them.


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