Install Rates for your own Department

[blackcherryxj]

I've been doing some installs for one of my departments, told them that I would do them free of charge, to help out the department and have quality work done. I get done with the 3rd vehicle for them and they tell me that I will be getting paid, because they were gonna have to pay for the work if I wasn't doing it. Now I've tried to get out of it, but they keep insisting that I'm paid.


The installs I've done:


Put a light bar on a crown Vic.


Put a lightbar, console, and radios and antennas in a Explorer and re-wired.


Complete install on a 2000 F-250 including the havis in the dash, radios, lightbar, rear HAW's.


Still have atleast one more vehicle to do as well as add lighting to existing trucks.


So my big question is, what do all you other installers do in this situation? They are my department, and I'm on of their Lieutenants, but they are insisting on payment. So what would be a fair price?


Thanks,


Paul

 

[ParkPiggy]

I've done install work in the past, and do it on the clock. I'll pick up a cruiser, take it home, and the clock starts ticking. I just turn in a patrol report, to document what I did, and that I wasn't on patrol, but still on the clock.

 

[NJEMT]

If its a volunteer dept just donate it back to them. Or just take the money they gave you and buy something for your members, maybe dinner or luch for them

 

[wkr518]

I smell a Lieutenants Dinner coming up!

 

[RL1]

I did a little work on my old depts cars. I would clock in, work, clock out. Got my regular pay, sometimes OT from it.

 

[Fast LT1]

When my department got me my tahoe a month ago, they were going to do the install and the install shop wanted $105/hour for labor, plus equipment and they were jack ass high! So i had a liberty and cencom sitting around, so i got the department to buy the radio, shotgun rack, cage, console and a few other things, and i installed it all myself, and they paid me my regular hourly pay. But i ended up donating my cencom and liberty! Though now i have a take home car!

 

[FireEMSPolice]

If its a volunteer dept just donate it back to them. Or just take the money they gave you and buy something for your members, maybe dinner or luch for them

That sounds good, or just tell them you will do it for 1/2 price or some insanely small amount.


I know many firefighters who would do installs at the station, on duty, while waiting for calls. I pulled up one night at midnight. There were 2 of the EMS guys under one's POV wiring up lights.

 

[Fast LT1]

That sounds good, or just tell them you will do it for 1/2 price or some insanely small amount.

I know many firefighters who would do installs at the station, on duty, while waiting for calls. I pulled up one night at midnight. There were 2 of the EMS guys under one's POV wiring up lights.

We do all our installs in-house for my Volunteer fire dept. We did everything ourselves except the logos on a few trucks that we bought used because we couldn't afford to change them, so they still say Sedgwick County Fire Dept. So technically we are impersonating SCFD firefighters every time we drive them! LOL

 

[blackcherryxj]

It's a all volunteer department. So no doing this on the clock.


The price I'm probally gonna turn in is paying me something like 4 dollars an hour or less. I put in numerous hours above most all the department doing jobs they never see. It's not uncommon for me to run over 40 hours a week volunteer work. So I figure if I can get one truck payment out of it, then I think it would be pretty fair.


But I just want to hear some opinions from installers that have run into this. I'm starting my business up slow doing installs and they put me in a hard spot by not running into this before.


Any more opinions?

 

[Ben E.]

I just charge them regular wages that I would be getting paid if I was on duty working a shift.