Going rates for install labor on public safety vehicles

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Fri Nov 15, 2002 3:19 pm

I need to know approximate going rates for full public safety equipment installs on vehicles. i.e LABOR CHARGES on an hourly basis

Assuming a typical marked police or fire vehicle (cars or trucks, not rigs)

full radios
consoles
Lights interior and exterior
Lightbar
consoles
full wiring

need to know asap. Will check the local private shops as well.

We do our vehicles in house so we don't charge ourselves!

Post by **Code3Response** » Fri Nov 15, 2002 4:09 pm

Thanks for posting - I was wondering the same thing!

Post by Pj » Fri Nov 15, 2002 5:09 pm

Well, I was told about $600 to install four antennas (3 roof, 1 hood mount), and three Syntor x9000's. Kinda high in price if you ask me, but I could be wrong. This would be in a Suburban. Whelen (at the factory)would wack me around 300-500 for the emergency lights, however I have no problem paying them as they do excellent work.

radar1564 · Post by **radar1564** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 4:09 pm

In my area installers charge 50.00 to 80.00 an hour for installs. You would think 600.00 is allot but considering all the wires you have to fish and the skin you loose in the process. As long as they do good clean work I would pay the 600.00.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 4:21 pm

radar1564 wrote: ...and the skin you loose in the process.

There are some vehicles I worked on that I wanted to add "Hazzard Pay" onto the bill for parts. Lets see how many sharp edges, tight corners, and puncturing strands of braided wires I can find!

mancow · Post by **mancow** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 5:05 pm

You guys ever have to dissasemble one and save the parts? I just finished on with a full cage too. I felt like I had been wrestling bears all day when I was done. Then the staff has the gall to keep asking why it's taking so long. They just don't understand that it would be really quick if I wasn't worried about keeping what's on the ends of those cables.
Also, the things you find in old patrol cars are amazing and I will leave it at that!!

mancow

fire-medic8104 · Post by **fire-medic8104** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:00 pm

Not positive, but last time I checked we did flat rate fees:
$150 (1) trunk mount radio (less for dashmount)
$75 console
$125 lightbar
$50 switching system
$75 siren & speaker
$125 for dual rear decklights
$45 travel fee if installed at customer's location within 1 hr of shop

Of course, some vehicle are charged more if there is more involved. Such as, a specialty vehicle i.e. hummer, firetruck, ambulance, aircraft, marine vehicles.

And yes, we frequently work on planes, helicopters, boats, and trains.

kens · Post by **kens** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 6:34 pm

I just checked with some local shops and here is what they said:
Hourly varies from $45 to $70 hr. The $45 quote was from a large shop that said that was their price to a county that wanted 20+ identical vehicles. A local city shop said they figured 40+ hrs for a typical PD car.
Another shop quoted $1500 average for a patrol car with higher rates for specialized vehicles.
A couple of years ago, we sent an Explorer out and the bill was almost $1000 labor for 1 mirror light, 4 corner strobes, 1 rear amber strobe and undercover siren. Work was high quality and it was done in 48 hrs. from the time we delivered the vehicle.

KitN1MCC · Post by **KitN1MCC** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 7:16 pm

Well just for an FYI Verizon Charges 25.00 for install and 15.00 for removal at the store.

As me my self i charge 25.00 or so plus 25.00 for shop supplies

perthcom · Post by **perthcom** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:11 pm

well considering a cell install these days consists of a cigarette lighter adaptor and a clip with 2 faced tape.. 25.00 is ok

we used to charge 125 for a standard cell install and 175 for luxury.. and we'd do a proper job. Then they started hiring kids to do it... hack jobs.. alot came to use to get fixed... but they only charged 50 bucks..

As for Police vehicles.. used to take about 40 man hours to do the whole thing... UHF and VHF remote mounts, center counsol, MDT terminals, light bar and wig head lights (daytime running lights defeat), siren,electric loc controls and power window controls. Remove back seat and install fiberglass seating and cage.

Used to charge about 1000.00 including all wires, terminals, fuse blocks, new antennas etc etc...
Then the local police chief he could get it done for 200.00 complete... I said fine.. I knew I'd make more money if I'd bought the guys a case of beer.. set up a TV and send them home in a cab.. Guess what.. Liability insurance and the garage Policy to drive the cars in and out of the bay went way down... nearly 3,000./year by not doing police cars.. still do Fire etc. so Now i fiquire I get a week in the south during winter for not meeting this guys price.

So don't forget all the hidden costs to doing this work. We were doing maybe 6 small town forces and the local small city force (2 cars every year). The small towns were taken over by provicial police and the small city went to the 200.00 guy.. so i'm sure with the savings i was actually losing money doing the cars!!

Prospect62 · Post by **Prospect62** » Wed Jan 08, 2003 10:24 pm

Hey. I know you were looking for prices for FULL installs, but just for your information...

A local shop that does installs on police and fire vehicles quoted me $29 to do my NMO 3/4 roof mount antenna. That would include drilling the hole and mounting the antenna, then routing the coax down to the floor (concealed). I have a 98 Dodge Ram.

Have fun!

Jonathan KC8RYW · Post by **Jonathan KC8RYW** » Fri Jan 10, 2003 10:05 pm

Prospect62 wrote:Hey. I know you were looking for prices for FULL installs, but just for your information...

A local shop that does installs on police and fire vehicles quoted me $29 to do my NMO 3/4 roof mount antenna. That would include drilling the hole and mounting the antenna, then routing the coax down to the floor (concealed). I have a 98 Dodge Ram.

Have fun!

Now that's in my price range.

RCVMO · Post by **RCVMO** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 4:51 pm

I was laid-off from my old township DPS about 3 yrs ago. I was not out of work very long since I had my own radio-shop/installation buisness to back me up. Two weeks after I was given the pink slip, my former colleagues came back and asked me to bid on the remaining 10 cars.
2000 Crown vic's mind you be.
Just to install the equipment I recieved $1500 for each vehicle for:
MX7000 lightbar
HLF
TLF
Untirol TM-4
TS-100 siren under the hood. (fabricating special HD bracket.....BOLTED!)
Rhino pushbumpers
Triplogger
Havis shield console
spectra A-7 radio
Mobile vision camera
Setina Prisoner screen
remote right spotlight off TM-4
Setina Plastic back seat with Acc.
3 radio antennas
compaq laptop set-up, with bracket install , power supply,
Dataradio modem set-up and install with GM300 UHF radio
fabrication of rear trunk plate to install all the radio TXR's, Modem's, TLF, Triplogger.
install tactical equip. box,
and fire extinguisher.
Additional services required were to modify the MX7000 for a different secondary light flash-pattern.
de-energize the rear window switches and int. LPS
Horn ring
Siren kill on park.
brake kill switch.
for K-9 units, design circuit to deactivate one set of rotators, siren kill, K9 remote door activation, and throttle kick-up upon placing car in park.
Install sniper light.
fabrication and install or shotgun rack and assoc. locks to accomodate an AR-15 and .12 ga. along with a 15 minute timer off the TM-4(between the seats type)
It took approx. 10hours after the fact that I was not bothered or interrupted by other repairs when working in my own environment. While doing this when I was employed by the city, took almost 1-1/2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!
Then again I pre-made the wiring harnesses 4 yrs before hand, and over-rated the wiring to make sure the power was there. Stuff the harness in, plug-plug/, power/power, you're done.
And I think I'm done with crazy cars like those. No wonder the previous guy quit before me. For all this, $1500 per vehicle was not enough, but kept me out of the red. Shortly after the 10 cars were done, the fire dept. from my old city also had me No-bid the installs on the new Medic Master ambulances. Now that was some good money!!!!!!!!!

Jimmy

Equinox · Post by **Equinox** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 8:47 pm

We charge $250.00 for a basic lightbar install (including wigwags and such). If they want radios, pushbars, etc. installed we just figure it on our hourly labor rate, $35.00 an hour. Most recent one we did was for local university police- lightbar, console, single radio, pushbar. We charged $385.00.

RCVMO · Post by **RCVMO** » Sat Jan 18, 2003 4:40 am

Some vendors base the installation rate depending on the size and revenue of the city. After working in this field for over twenty years I've seen the one horse towns slide away with a $300-400 install while a metropolitan city will be charged in excess of $1500 for the same install. I keep it the same because I go to the firechiefs and police chiefs roundtables on occasion and you hear what they talk about. After 2-3 years of a vehicle in service , and change-out becomes necessary, it's almost ludricrous to have price changing in an area that everyone knows one another. To do a good clean install on a vehicle that will become a "harvey wall-banger" in a couple years or the next day, I just basically throw my hands up in the air and say I give up.

Just out of curiosity, from the time you present that dept. with their new patrol vehicle, how long was it before you saw this very same vehicle on the back of a Flatbed, or see pictures of it rolled over?
For me, one crown vic back in 2000,.......2 weeks!!!!!!!

Jimmy

motorolamonster911 · Post by **motorolamonster911** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 2:35 am

I have seen where some local shops have let kids who know nothing bout radios or anything running wire through door jambs, and connecting coax with just electrical tape

, and not sealing antennas

. I change my price depending on who I am doing it for, if its for P.D then I have price a little higher than if its my Fire & EMS buddies

.

RCVMO · Post by **RCVMO** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 12:56 pm

You're absolutley right about the kids. You will undoubtedly see alot of that no matter what part of the country, world you live in.
"It's all based on the almighty dollar! Cut corners where you can!"
In this case, I have the wonderful job of always being called for a professional opinion in the case of a patrol car/ ems/fire/ utility rig fire where the question of the fire was possibility of no regard for install.
Jimmy

Post by Pj » Thu Jan 23, 2003 2:25 pm

Whelen at the factory charges $75/hour for everyone, and they will do pretty much everything from new installs, complete changeover's etc. I am sure some agencies may get a little discount but who knows. They do very good work and just about every PD in CT and the surrounding area uses them. Usually there are 100's of crusiers in a parking lot wating to be done.

kb9tyc · Post by **kb9tyc** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 1:23 pm

$90.00 an hour in Eau Claire, WI.

Flametamer · Post by **Flametamer** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 1:28 pm

In the shop I used to work for, bench work $60/hr. Field work $65/hr + travel.

Installs are set per radio/ lightbar, etc. Still trying to get current prices.

dt

kens · Post by **kens** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 10:36 pm

I just attended FDIC West last week and got to talk with a couple of SF area installers. One shop quoted $70hr and said their installs were not usually quoted ahead of time unless there were a large number of vehicles to equip.
I saw a new Suburban with 12 antennas (2 cell phone, gps, 2 ham antennas) along with strobe bar and most of the usual code 3 equipment. The provider said their labor charge would be about $4000 which I thought was low for the amount of work involved.

Going rates for install labor on public safety vehicles

Going rates for install labor on public safety vehicles

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