Rick Scarpinella
Member
My name is Rick and I want to share my story to see if anyone has had similar problems and could please guide me to a better fate. I’ve had my carpet cleaning company for 25 years so I’m very experienced and have tried many different things.
For the first few years I used a portable machine because I didn’t have funds for better equipment. When my business grew I took the leap into truckmounted equipment. My first bunch of units were always prochem slide ins. Those machines did work well but the maintenance became constant. I’m not saying it was always problems but oil changes were very frequent as I got busier and it didn’t allow me to have down time to relax and enjoy life.
In the early 2000s I decided to switch to direct drive units because I heard the maintenance was minimal. Even for oil changes I could just go to a regular mechanic to do the van engine. I could do the pump oil, blower oil, greasing regulator, cleaning orifice and greasing the drive shaft myself when needed. Over the years I’ve purchased about 12 Hydramaster truckmounts.
I take care of my van and equipment very well and have a great routine. I usually put about 5k to 7k hours on the machine then sell it to someone and purchase a new one. By the way everyone who bought my equipment was happy because I kept them so well.
I’m not sure if things have changed with the Chevy vans or the Hydramaster machines but for the last few years the problems are constant and severe. The heat coming from under the hood started melting Chevy parts and causing long downtime and high repair costs. I then decided to put fans by the radiators under the hood that go on once the machine turns on to help cool everything down.
Problems continued and got worse. The problems ranged from starters melting, master cylinders melting, to wires burning out causing constant misfires. Then the worst scenario, my 2013 van had the engine blown after only a few years and I was told I was out of warranty.
Feeling like I had nowhere to turn I had my mechanic rebuild the engine...so far it’s been ok at best. That rebuild was quite costly of course but I figured it was a weird fluke so I sucked it up.
Recently my 2015 van which was purchased in 2016 had the same issue and the engine is blown 2 years into use. With a purchase of over $70,000 this is unacceptable. The van only has 45k miles and the machine 3k hours. You may be thinking 5 year 100k mile power train warranty, if so, you were wrong. Hydramaster and fleet service company reps say they want to help but that van has been sitting in a Chevy parking lot for 2 months and nobody is calling me back.
I contacted Chevy again and they very nicely explained to me that these vans are not made to support this equipment and the machines should never go in the vans. They said the machine grossly overworks the vans. This particular van I even spent extra money on the 6.0 liter engine to further protect my investment but no luck.
I’m extremely concerned because last year (2017) I purchased 3 new Hydramaster machines in Chevy vans and I think I made a huge mistake. That is over $225,000 in purchases last year alone with two large companies, Chevy and Hydramaster, with no support for the small business owner who put all his faith in their machines and vans.
Hydramaster says we can’t do anything that’s a Chevy problem and Chevy says these machines don’t belong in the vans. Well where does that leave me? I’ll tell you. I’m desperate because my reliability to my accounts is compromised, I’m losing money daily, and my workers are frustrated. A once thriving business is getting jeopardized due to things completely out of my control and I’m losing my mind! Is anyone else out there having similar problems? Does anyone know and use different vans or a different truckmounted machine you could recommend?
I feel like Hydramaster is the only direct drive game in town and I’m stuck. I would sell all 6 vehicles I use daily in a heartbeat, even if I take a little loss, as long as I had proof that another company, vehicle or machine, had better support and lasted longer than a year or two without major problems like blown engines. I can’t believe that I’m the only person using this poorly supported, ill advised combination of Chevy and Hydramaster having these problems. Someone please help!
For the first few years I used a portable machine because I didn’t have funds for better equipment. When my business grew I took the leap into truckmounted equipment. My first bunch of units were always prochem slide ins. Those machines did work well but the maintenance became constant. I’m not saying it was always problems but oil changes were very frequent as I got busier and it didn’t allow me to have down time to relax and enjoy life.
In the early 2000s I decided to switch to direct drive units because I heard the maintenance was minimal. Even for oil changes I could just go to a regular mechanic to do the van engine. I could do the pump oil, blower oil, greasing regulator, cleaning orifice and greasing the drive shaft myself when needed. Over the years I’ve purchased about 12 Hydramaster truckmounts.
I take care of my van and equipment very well and have a great routine. I usually put about 5k to 7k hours on the machine then sell it to someone and purchase a new one. By the way everyone who bought my equipment was happy because I kept them so well.
I’m not sure if things have changed with the Chevy vans or the Hydramaster machines but for the last few years the problems are constant and severe. The heat coming from under the hood started melting Chevy parts and causing long downtime and high repair costs. I then decided to put fans by the radiators under the hood that go on once the machine turns on to help cool everything down.
Problems continued and got worse. The problems ranged from starters melting, master cylinders melting, to wires burning out causing constant misfires. Then the worst scenario, my 2013 van had the engine blown after only a few years and I was told I was out of warranty.
Feeling like I had nowhere to turn I had my mechanic rebuild the engine...so far it’s been ok at best. That rebuild was quite costly of course but I figured it was a weird fluke so I sucked it up.
Recently my 2015 van which was purchased in 2016 had the same issue and the engine is blown 2 years into use. With a purchase of over $70,000 this is unacceptable. The van only has 45k miles and the machine 3k hours. You may be thinking 5 year 100k mile power train warranty, if so, you were wrong. Hydramaster and fleet service company reps say they want to help but that van has been sitting in a Chevy parking lot for 2 months and nobody is calling me back.
I contacted Chevy again and they very nicely explained to me that these vans are not made to support this equipment and the machines should never go in the vans. They said the machine grossly overworks the vans. This particular van I even spent extra money on the 6.0 liter engine to further protect my investment but no luck.
I’m extremely concerned because last year (2017) I purchased 3 new Hydramaster machines in Chevy vans and I think I made a huge mistake. That is over $225,000 in purchases last year alone with two large companies, Chevy and Hydramaster, with no support for the small business owner who put all his faith in their machines and vans.
Hydramaster says we can’t do anything that’s a Chevy problem and Chevy says these machines don’t belong in the vans. Well where does that leave me? I’ll tell you. I’m desperate because my reliability to my accounts is compromised, I’m losing money daily, and my workers are frustrated. A once thriving business is getting jeopardized due to things completely out of my control and I’m losing my mind! Is anyone else out there having similar problems? Does anyone know and use different vans or a different truckmounted machine you could recommend?
I feel like Hydramaster is the only direct drive game in town and I’m stuck. I would sell all 6 vehicles I use daily in a heartbeat, even if I take a little loss, as long as I had proof that another company, vehicle or machine, had better support and lasted longer than a year or two without major problems like blown engines. I can’t believe that I’m the only person using this poorly supported, ill advised combination of Chevy and Hydramaster having these problems. Someone please help!
Last edited by a moderator:
