GAS PRICES TRIM PROFITS GARDENERS, OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES FEELING THE PINCH.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Two one-gallon gas cans sit in the back of Jose Rubalcada's beat-up blue truck as he rolls into a gas station for his daily stop.

``Those tanks are expensive on a daily basis,'' Rubalcada says. ``I have to fill the car and spend more money filling the tanks.''

When Rubalcada started gardening seven years ago, gasoline prices were the least of his worries. But now, with record prices set sometimes every day, he's feeling the bite a lot more.

While Southern Californians are paying steep fuel prices - in some cases as much as $3 a gallon - Rubalcada and other gardeners feel the pinch all the more: On top of the hundreds of miles traveled each week, they must also fuel up lawn mowers, weed whackers and the other tools of their trade.

And every extra dollar spent on gas is another taken away from earnings.

``Yeah, it's hard, but they can go somewhere else for business if I charge more,'' he said.

That fear is a trend witnessed by the Small Business Administration's Frank Brancale, who says that people who depend on their cars for business - from legal couriers to the kids delivering pizza - are severely affected by gasoline prices, often absorbing more of the cost than they can afford.

``Gardeners are certainly in a tough situation,'' Brancale said. ``They spend about 20 minutes at each site, and half that time using a blower and a weed whacker. If a gardener doesn't have a client base strong enough to take on those extra costs, many are likely to struggle.''

Larry Boyd's monthly gas bill - now in excess of $125 a week - has increased 70 percent in the past year. Coupled with rising insurance costs, he says he cannot sustain that kind of a loss.

``So just like the airlines, I'm going to start passing on the extra cost to my customers,'' said Boyd, whose customers will see a $20 surcharge on their bills beginning this month. A footnote reads: ``Due to rising gasoline prices.''

``Any smart businessman wouldn't take on the rising price of gasoline - they'd pass it along,'' he said. ``I'm at the point when I will not even accept a client who can't afford $150 to $200 month for gardening,'' he said.

In some neighborhoods, clients can afford the surcharge, but Faustino Elizalde still fears losing business if he asks his clients to pay an additional 20 percent.

Like a one-man band, Elizalde mows and sows the lawns and gardens he visits every day in Canoga Park. He drives to the Valley from his home in Hawthorne, occasionally hiring some extra help when his back hurts - but not this month.

Two fuel-intake knobs busted on his leaf blower about three weeks ago. So Elizalde spent $25 on parts and then did some extra raking until it was fixed.

``That took time and money - I have to fix these things myself - and when you think about how much I drive, everything adds up,'' said Elizalde, who has been a gardener for more than a decade.

Gasoline prices trickled lower last week, averaging about $2.248 for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Los Angeles area. Though off only a few tenths from May 11's record high, industry watchers say, prices may have finally reached their ceiling.

``Without sounding optimistic, we may have peaked,'' said Jeffrey Spring, spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. ``We are expecting them to drop somewhat with wholesale prices going down.''

But as spring gives way to the summer driving season, it's expected to again be more expensive to fill up the tank - even when it's on a mower.

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) A gardener from Larry Boyd Gardening Service runs his mower

through the fescue at a Chatsworth home. Spiking gas prices have affected many small-business people, such as gardeners.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer