Whats is it worth for on trail repair at URE?

snappy

snappy

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Looking for input here guys...

Would a on trail repair be worth? Thinking about building a mibile unit with basica trail spare parts and welder and on board air...

Thought process would be $100 for the call out and $65 hour rate to come to you... Thoughts?
 
I don't know that I would do it for that. I'm sure people would pay well if they didn't have any other way out of the woods. I guess it all depends on whether you are trying to make money or just provide a service to cover the cost.
 
I think there's more money in towing disabled vehicles off the trail, and even to their home or shop.

Check out BSF towing on Youtube. I've always wanted to have a company like that.
 
I have to imagine there's a good reason why nobody is doing this now. You're not the first guy to mention this.
I'm sure the local tow places get calls all the time. Heck talk to the guys at the Outpost about it.

I'm sure you know this, but one thing you'll have to deal with is that even though this is a very reasonable, good service to provide, and worth whatever the price is, there will be people who will badmouth and bitch about you as somebody who is "gouging people in their time of need". You'll have a lot of, "come om, help a brother out, we're all buddies here" etc etc.
Personally I wouldn't want to deal with that.
 
I would pay more for a towing recovery than I would for trail repairs. I also don't like other people touching my vehicles so I would rather find a way to fix it/bootleg it out of the woods than pay someone to come fix me.
 
RatLabGuy said:
I have to imagine there's a good reason why nobody is doing this now. You're not the first guy to mention this.
I'm sure the local tow places get calls all the time. Heck talk to the guys at the Outpost about it.

I'm sure you know this, but one thing you'll have to deal with is that even though this is a very reasonable, good service to provide, and worth whatever the price is, there will be people who will badmouth and bitch about you as somebody who is "gouging people in their time of need". You'll have a lot of, "come om, help a brother out, we're all buddies here" etc etc.
Personally I wouldn't want to deal with that.
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Thats the reason I started this. I have had 4 calls in the last 2 weekends to bring a welder, you have this etc etc.... All have been buddies and one did give me money to cover getting up at midnight to bring the welder and gennie down so they could ride...... I may also look at a hook setup to tow off the trails. Hmmmm wonder if I can get on AAA list for URE????
 
I wonder if the Forest Service could hold you liable for enviromental clean up if one of your customers vehicles spilled a large amount of oil or fuel on the trail?
 
I also wonder about charging for services on NF land. Didn't Terry have some issues with that in getting set up w/ his permits etc for the hot dog cart? Seems he had to get approval/permitted or something.
 
I think you'd have better luck as a recovery service and mobile welder than you would a repair station. Realistically, how much are you going to be able to carry with you? Or are you planning on building inventory and bringing it along per the call request? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars are you going to need to tie up in inventory to be able to help in real time? Or are you just gonna focus on sammi's or jeeps or broncos or or or??? Assume you get all that cleared. What happens if the customer is a dip shit...says he needs widget Y, so that's what you have and what you bring...you get there...they really needed doohickey X. Beyond that, I'd imagine you'd have more liability concerns than a standard automotive shop. I really think the slick idea is extraction and welding...to at least get off the trail. I know that's always my concern whenever I go somewhere...if I could just get off the trail, I'll be fine. I'll either be able to fix it myself or get towed home.
 
Nothing personal, but you would never get a nickel from me. I never wheel alone. I carry most parts that could leave me stranded. I have a trailer at the bottom of the hill.

A stock pile of stock parts for the average mall crawler may work, but the first time you rub a tree with customer vehicle the headache would end your A+ yelp rating!
 

"I think you'd have better luck as a recovery service and mobile welder than you would a repair station." This and not much more. And if it looks like alcohol or substances were involved I'd politely roll on. If lack of funds was also involved I would be sure everybody upfront under stands a "storage" fee will be involved. On another note I would have a copilot no mater the time of day. For protection physical and legal. Personally it would be a really cool gig but maybe dicey and require some balls in certain groups. But then again "those" types would probably not call for such a service. Could weed out trouble by itself. Just some outward thinkin...........
 
I'll probably never wheel there. However when I break I just want out.

I think you would be better off just dragging crap out then strapping it to a roll back and taking it to their mommas house.

Just my $.O2
 
I wheel alone, so I'd be OK with this type of service. I think the $100 for the call is fair, if say that included the first 1/2 hour at least. If it cost $200 to get out and home and save a tow bill and hassle, it would be worth it to me.
 
Great idea, and surprised nobody thought of it before (well, actually I did, just never acted on it). When I wheeled, I usually hung out with guys that were much better spinning wrenches than I am so it was rarely a problem when I broke (and it did happen a LOT).

Since I always make wild plans up in my head that I never act on, I'll fill you in on what I was "going to do" if I ever got the gumption and finances together to build a rig of this sort. My plan was to start with a military 5/4 ton chassis with a service bed (had a line on one at around the same time). Since these are already built as heavy duty as you would ever need for Uwharrie, I'd just put some Swampers and a winch on it and run as is. At the time of this pipe dream, a buddy of mine was selling a repo-man truck rig that fit in the bed of the truck and included a compact hydraulic wheel lift for towing. In the service bed would be tools, and I'd stock up on some Dana 35 axleshafts and build some PVC tubes for them to fit inside and mount to the top on a ladder mount. Keep some u-joints on hand of various sizes, bolts of various sizes, and some small chunks of flat steel to use as welding repair fodder. OH...... and lights.... LOTS of lights. Trail repairs in the dark SUCK. They also call for a doubled rate. I'd be tempted to charge a "stupid fee" or similar if the person broke doing something particularly stupid, but that's up to you.

I don't know if AAA is still this way, but it used to be that if you were a AAA member and had to use a non-AAA towing company in an emergency that you could apply for reimbursement of the tow bill as long as it was reasonable and customary.

Now as far as payment goes, I'd definitely get a smart phone and a Square credit card reader (or similar).
 
Heres my thoughts,take it for what its worth.I have thought about this before,takin a load of commonly broke parts(shafts,yokes,hubs ect) and sitting up at the bottom of the hill in Harlan during big events.Heres why I never done it.

A lot of people would rather give you a sob story and try to play on your sympathy than pay you for a service/part they need.

Ive been out w people who were so close to be broke they couldn't afford to go to the dairy hut to eat,much less pay to get there junk fixed.Face it this is an expensive sport and if you cant afford to carry spares or have some $$ in case something unexpected happens you better stay at home.

I don't deal well w a bunch of mouthy drunks and the sport is getting alot of folks who drink on the trail,esp at Harlan.I would rather not deal w em regardless of the profit.


I am an anti-social asshole who has a lo tolerance for stupid.Peoples endless babble about their awesomeness drives me crazy.

Granted not everybody will fall in to these catagories.A card reader would be good but the problem youll have is service.Ive never been to Uwharie to know but I know phone service at Harlan is sketchy.
 
A concierge service at the campgrounds would be cool. Selling, the things most people forget about. Or delivering firewood would get my attention. I never bring enough.
 
1200 passes?? Wow! Guess I won't be heading out that way for a few more weeks.

What kind of help did those that asked for it need (if you know)? Sounds like the majority of the trees out there have a higher IQ

You couldn't pay me enough to deal with that
 
1200 passes and they are broke????????
 
snappy said:
Bingo... The outpost alone sold 1200 passes this past weekend and 15-20 people come back asking for help...
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Im glad i was not there. That is WAY too many people for those trails. It must have been like NYC grid lock out there.

I think a basic recovery service could work. I would only take cash and i would need to see it as soon as i arrive on the scene.
 
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broncosbybart said:
1200 passes?? Wow! Guess I won't be heading out that way for a few more weeks.

What kind of help did those that asked for it need (if you know)? Sounds like the majority of the trees out there have a higher IQ

You couldn't pay me enough to deal with that
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I was told, couple needed welders, some needed wheel studs, few rzrs needed tierod ends, a trackbar needed new bushings.
 
A recovery service only. Payment upfront unless you knew the folks. Repairs off the trails at or in a controlled environment.
 
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