This Kubota M6111 with a Live Edge plow from Metal Pless on it was recently rented out for snow removal work.Photo: Dozr
As the winter months start to loom in the near future, many landscaping companies are either prepping for snow season or are looking for creative ways to keep the revenue coming in during this slow period.
Dozr, a Canadian contractor-to-contractor equipment rental service, sees this as an opportunity for both types of landscaping companies as it allows owners to rent out idle equipment and help other businesses boost their productivity with the extra equipment they need just for the season.
Kevin Forestell, CEO and co-founder of Dozr, owned a landscaping company himself and started Dozr after seeing inactive machines sitting in lots as a waste of money and wanted to help owners generate extra revenue with their fleet.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Forestell said. “People love it. I regularly hear ‘Is this for real?’ ‘Why didn’t I think of this?’ and ‘This is genius.’ People really, really love it. There was a need for this and as soon as it was filled it became really, really obvious. Basically, we just have to let people know that we’re here and working and after that they just love everything else.”
Dozr was working to expand into the U.S. market via New Jersey and Florida in January this year and now is available in all the U.S. The main area where demand is the highest right now is the Northeast, but the company has done business in states like California and Texas as well.
The company has been called the “Airbnb of construction equipment” and has a simple process for both renters and lenders. The platform is free to use and renters can find any piece of heavy equipment they need from skid steers to mini excavators and even extra work trucks.
Both renters and lenders have to complete a simple verification process and then can start renting or listing equipment. All the equipment is covered by Dozr’s insurance.
While it varies how much an owner could make over the winter by renting out their equipment depending on the type of machine, Forestell says that he usually sees articulating loaders go for $10-15,000.
As for whether renting the snow removal equipment is cheaper than hiring subcontractors, Forestell says absolutely.
“As long as they have the operators in place, it is far cheaper to do it with your own resources,” he said. “It definitely saves a whole lot of money by renting equipment and using your own resources to do the project.”
Lenders can also win by using Dozr to make money off otherwise unproductive equipment during the off season as the company say it is currently bringing equipment from the South to the North.
“If you’re a little farther south and the season is wrapping up or slowing down because it gets a little more wet, but not too cold, it’s definitely an awesome way of bringing in revenue in those winter months and it’s very, very low hours on the machine,” Forestell said. “The actual work load on them, not just from the number of hours but how hard the work is on the machines, it’s very late work for these machines so it’s great way to get them out of your parking lot and get someone else to basically pay for them and make some additional revenue.”
Dozr handles the transportation and the logistics of the machinery, making it simple for both the lenders and the renters. Machinery in the same state can be delivered in the same day, while it takes 72 hours for a piece coming from Canada.
Equipment few states over, say from the South to the North, Forestell says could take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. The renter is responsible for covering any of the transportation fees.
As for the upkeep of the machine, heavy lifting tasks are the responsibility of the lender but the small day to day care is the renter’s responsibility.
“The lister does the oil changes,” Forestell said. “The renter greases the machine, makes sure the tires are full. If they pop a tire they would replace it. If they break the glass they’d replace it.”
Part of Dozr’s logistics process is putting a snowplow on the equipment so owners who may not own any plows can still rent the machine out for snow removal.
“We help them with that whole process and match a snowplow and then get it out to the right owner,” Forestell said.
For more information on Dozr, click here.
