Junk removal price calculator: a price list by truck load

Charge what the job costs you, divided by one minus your target margin.

Cost = crew hours × (crew size × burdened wage + truck cost per hour) + dump fee + overhead per job

Price = cost ÷ (1 − target margin)

Crew hours run from leaving for the job to the end of the last dump trip. Federal wage rules count travel from job site to job site during the workday as hours worked (29 CFR 785.38).

Example: a 1/2 load in a 15 cubic yard truck takes 2 hours 20 minutes with a crew of two at 26 dollars an hour, a truck at 30 dollars an hour, a 52.50 dollar dump fee and 35 dollars of overhead. That costs 278.83 dollars, so a 35% margin needs 428.97 dollars, quoted at 430.

Price each eighth of your truck with the same cost formula, so loading time, weight and dump fees grow with the load.

Cubic yards in a load = truck length × width × height in feet ÷ 27 × load fraction

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. The drive to the job and the walk-through stay the same at every size, so small loads cost more per cubic yard.

Example: with the settings above, a 1/8 load (1.9 cubic yards) comes to 320 dollars, a 1/2 load (7.5) to 430 and a full load (15) to 640. Step 2 prints the list. The Jobber download in step 5 puts it in the columns of Jobber’s Products & Services import.

Charge the weight times the dump’s rate per ton, or its minimum per trip if that is higher.

Dump fee per trip = the larger of (pounds ÷ 2,000 × rate per ton) or the minimum per trip

A short ton is 2,000 pounds. Get your average pounds per cubic yard from a month of scale tickets, and enter a known weight on the job when you have one.

Example: at 70 dollars a ton, a 40 dollar minimum and 200 pounds per cubic yard, the minimum covers loads up to 1,143 pounds, about 5.7 cubic yards. A full 15 cubic yard load weighs 3,000 pounds, so its dump fee is 105 dollars.

Charge at least what each item costs you to drop off, plus the time to handle it.

Charge each ≥ disposal cost each ÷ (1 − target margin)

Refrigerators, freezers and window air conditioners hold refrigerant. Under 40 CFR 82.155, the scrap yard or landfill must recover it or get a signed statement that it was recovered, with the name and address of who did it and the date. Rules for tires and mattresses vary by state.

Example: a mattress at 40 dollars with a 20 dollar recycling fee, four tires at 15 dollars with 5 dollars each to recycle, and a refrigerator at 75 dollars with a 30 dollar fee add 175 dollars to the job and 70 dollars of cost.

Set the minimum at or above the cost of your smallest load, because the drive, setup and a dump trip happen on every job.

Minimum charge ≥ cost of a 1/8 load ÷ (1 − target margin)

Example: with the settings above, a 1/8 load costs 204.83 dollars to run. A 125 dollar minimum loses 79.83 dollars on it; 320 dollars earns the 35% target.