Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Rafia Dawar at 916-764-9470 (rental.rates@dot.ca.gov), she will answer general questions. 

 

The Department uses a Smartsheet form for submitting miscellaneous equipment rental rate requests. Before submitting your request, please check the dashboard (link below) to see if a similar request has already been submitted. There is also a Smartsheet link to the miscellaneous equipment rental rate request form on the Dashboard.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=3e6e9683d9824559b65ecaf4056ee910

• Make and model of equipment
• Date work performed
• Caltrans contract number/EA
• Local Caltrans field office/RE should be included in the request, if submitted by the contractor

One to three weeks depending on the complexity of the request and the number and complexity of rate requests that were received before yours.

We base the current fuel price on a one-year average of the California weekly diesel fuel price, which is published by the Department of Energy. The diesel cost, from the book effective April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, is $5.357/gallon and includes both state and federal taxes. These taxes are removed for off-highway equipment.

Below are the fuel costs for the previous five years.

Year	Fuel Cost ($/Gal)
23/24	6.028
22/22	4.164*
22/23	5.403*
21/22	3.377
20/21	3.923
19/20	3.876

 

*Note: A supplemental book was published during 2022-2023 work period due to a 15-20 percent fuel cost increase.

Some of the main components of the rate include major repair and overhaul, depreciation, facilities capital cost, fuel, oil and lube, and field repair costs.

Yes, the book will be published earlier if the price (one-year average) exceeds a 15% increase/decrease from the current book average.

The explanation is provided in the rental rate book. The varying component is the workers compensation insurance. The workers compensation insurance is arrived at by using the pure premium rates published by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau and then applying a load factor that estimates what contractors are paying for workers compensation.

Per our Rental Rate book title, “Cost of Equipment Ownership,” the rates assume the contractor has ownership of the equipment being used. Rental yards have overhead and profit in their rates and they have higher costs for short-term rentals.

Rates added to the system are for the equipment used on Caltrans contracts.

For non-official “dummy” rates, use the link below to get an equivalent rate:

https://mets.dot.ca.gov/equipment-rental-rate-calculator/home.php

The following information is needed to calculate a rate:

1. A new equipment list or sales price
2. Net horsepower
3. The approximate weight of the equipment

Make sure you read the declaimer at the bottom of the page before you submit your query for a rate. If you are having trouble with the site or have some additional questions, contact the Rental Rate Office at:
rental.rates@dot.ca.gov