Today I discovered some downsides to owning a truckmount

[Guest]

I was called by the receptionist of a psychologists office today. They need their carpet cleaned and tomorrow I will go do an estimate. The most important things they asked was if I'd be dragging all sorts of hoses through the building, because this would not be allowed. Their windows don't open, so I couldn't run it to the 3rd floor of this building that way. Certainly hoses past the windows of other tenants could be a problem anyway... Let's say hoses hanging out the windows are "OK". What if the customer is far from the parking lot, because the building is landscaped, the lawn is big and they don't want you noisy truck blocking the front door. So this building does not allow truck mounts. A big plus for box extractors.
Then I started thinking about fuel, because today it hit $2.65 per gallon. My minivan 2004 Ford Freestar averages about 22 mpg combined driving. My younger brother has a Ford E-150 van that gets more like 15 mpg. Right now I don't drive much and I use 20 gallons per week. If I had a E-150, I'd use 30 gallons a week. At today's prices, that's an extra $26.50 per week. At the prices they were in July 2008, more like an extra $52 per week. If I did this full time and was moderately successful, I might double more fuel consumption. I think we will see $5 gas again soon. That could be an extra $100 a week in expenses. Can any truck mount even fit in a minivan? Would I be able to continue to use the vehicle as something else?
What if the van doesn't start? Can I put the equipment in a car I could borrow from my parents? It is their 2002 Ford Taurus station wagon. Seems with a truck mount, a breakdown puts you out of business until you get repaired. Ever try to get a tie-rod replace at 1pm Saturday? Means you will not get your vehicle back before noon Monday, unless they have to order the part, then you don't get it back until Tuesday.
Yes, if you own a truck mount, I am trying to push your buttons. I know there are plenty of advantages to having a truck mount. I just wanted to point out it also comes with its share of drawbacks too. Feel free to add to this.

 

[Blue Monarch]

I didn't read that mess, but having more than one tool in the box can usually compensate for anything.

 

[truckmount girl]

I ran portys for many years before getting my first TM. I cleaned through two pregnancys. Try hauling a 150 lb. fiberglass box extractor up stairs when you are nine months pregnant or hauling it in and out of the back of a Suburban pregnant like I did.

Once you get a truckmount you'll never look back. it's so much better andso much easier you'll never know how you did without one.

I kept a porty for years after getting the TM for just the kind of situations you described, but only used it once or twice...

Still waiting for a call.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Guest]

I didn't read that mess, but having more than one tool in the box can usually compensate for anything.

I'm sorry that was too long and too complex for you to be bothered with. Thanks for your input anyway.

 

[Guest]

Still waiting for a call.

Take care,
Lisa

I really have nothing to say to you and nothing to prove to anyone.
Take care,
Deb

 

[Guest]

I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You by Pablo Neruda
I do not love you except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
From waiting to not waiting for you
My heart moves from cold to fire.

I love you only because it's you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.

Maybe January light will consume
My heart with its cruel
Ray, stealing my key to true calm.

In this part of the story I am the one who
Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood.
Email This Poem to a Friend

 

[bob vawter]

sometimes....you can't do EVERY job.......the advantages of a TM FAR out weigh the disadvantages....

by a long shot!

 

[Dolly Llama]

Ms Keese, while there are benefits to owning a porty, one thing you're not considering on the fuel usage is..
a TM will increase you production exponentially over a porty.

You might be spending more in gas, but you'll realize more profit (or should) with a TM

BTW, my fully loaded (weight not options) E-250 extended super cargo van gets 18MPG hi-way
My Mercury Villager mini van gets 22

I get good city mileage too, but I do drive like I have a bowl of goldfish on the dash

I didn't make it all the way thru your post.
No offense, but it was hard to read...use of paragraphs really helps a lot on lengthy posts


..L.T.A.

 

[GeneMiller]

I've never owned a portable nor will I ever. There are some jobs where it would be necessary but I just send those to a friend . My customers pay for all my expenses so the price of fuel really doesn't matter. If I should ever have to reschedule because of equipment problems, great, a day off.

Gene

 

[Guest]

Revelation 22
1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.


King James Version (KJV)
Public

 

[truckmount girl]

Does anybody else think of Darlene on PCP? Maybe it's a NY thing.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Jim Martin]

0 to PMS in less then 4 post.......got to be a record..........

 

[bob vawter]

Revelation 22
1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.


King James Version (KJV)
Public

RELIGION??
mostly a southern thing?????

 

[Guest]

sounds like you could use a little good ol time religion

 

[davegillfishing]

you should look into a cimex machine..you really need more tools in your play box..
i have a porty and every time i have to use it i want to cut my self up
with a dull knife..it sucks using one once you have truck mounted..i break out
the cimex at least once a week for commercial jobs.

 

[Mikey P]

Slippy, you'll have to excuse my rather rude Moderators here.


They suffer from Mikeypitous.



You certainly pushed my buttons with your post.


I ran my portable all day today and really enjoyed its simplicity and fuel savings.

 

[truckmount girl]

Look Debra, we just need to know if you are for real.

If you are, welcome. If not, piss off.

I am one of the admins of this board. I'm not going to be mean to you. I'm not going to stalk you, eat your children or take your customers. I live in Southern California and most who post here have met me in person. I'm 46, married with four kids. I've had foster kids and now foster dogs. I cleaned by myself as an owner/op for 18 years. Myself and most here have a lot of experience that can be valuable for you if you intend to stay in this business, but no one is going to waste their breath if they they think you're a phony or a flake.

Call me, call Mikey....when you let us know you are legitimate, we'll treat you like you are. Until then, expect to not be taken seriously.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[rhyde]

I dono….. If your business is at a point where your doting over that 100.00 a week in fuel as a deal breaker …you might want to bag it and get a job at McDonald's

Just saying ?

 

[XTREME1]

i guess i am a retard 3 floors is tops 35ft plus the 100ft to get ther and 100 tio finish what tm doesn't perform at under 300 ft

 

[Louis]

Look at the judsons nitro tm I think it will fit in your van.

2.65 a gal is cheap, move to calif 30 to 40 cents more per gal.

A good porty is nice to have when needed but I have used both and I will haul hose all day so I can have the power and heat of a TM

Breakdowns are just part of the game, my portys pump just went out. lost plug wires and the alternator on the van in the same week. Stuff happens you just roll with it or stress out.

 

[R W]

Some of those jobs you just have to turn away, or have the proper equipment to do them. I regularly set up in an ally and run hoses up 8-10 floors....right up the stair well.

They say...."once you've had a TM, you'll never go back"....

 

[steve frasier]

like Dirk said, more then one tool in the toolbox

I bid a few building where I would rather OP then run a portable, only problem was I didn't get any of them because they were bid at less then .10 per sq ft.

HWE or not, fuel or no fuel, .10 isn't enough

as long as the value of the $$ is down, it will be hard for gas to get that high

once you have an op, tm, portable, crb, rotary, rx 20, glided Ti wand, greenhorn, good chemicals, you will never look back

 

[floorguy]

you should look into a cimex machine..you really need more tools in your play box..
i have a porty and every time i have to use it i want to cut my self up
with a dull knife..it sucks using one once you have truck mounted..i break out
the cimex at least once a week for commercial jobs.

yup....

thats why i go and help my dad at times, and we use THE TRUCKMOUNT....screw using a porty, maybe an M5 but thats about it...

been there done that, aint going back

 

[Al]

Look Debra, we just need to know if you are for real. If you are, welcome. If not, piss off.

 

[rhino1]

You need to invest in a Rug Doctor. HIGHLY PORTABLE! Bonus- it will fit into any minivan or station wagon ever built!

Definitely use the minivan, it would even be better to use the station wagon. You can imagine how much at ease your customer would be when you pull into their driveway and drag out all sorts of buckets, cords, and hoses from the back of a Vista Cruiser, it will almost feel like they could have done the job themselves!

I have to agree that owning a truckmount is a real drag, they are big, noisy, and with all that unsightly lettering I have on my van, people notice me wherever I go. It's kinda hard to keep my business small and unprofitable with all that attention I have been getting.


P.S. Did the psychiatrist office actually call YOU, or were you there, maybe....already? Are your "helpers" wearing lab coats, and does it seem like your "customers" live very, very close to you? Does your "office" have a small sign that reads Janitor on it?

 

[Walt]

Actually she makes a good point .

If you are doing this part time, it makes sense to keep the overhead low. I know for certain that there is enough high rise work in Portland that a guy could keep himself busy with a portable and a floor machine. All he would have to do is decent work and they could own the market. Very few cleaners in the area like doing the work, so why not specialize? You would never grow an empire or make a million bucks, but I bet you could make 5k a month.

 

[Doug D]

Still waiting for a call.

Take care,
Lisa

I really have nothing to say to you and nothing to prove to anyone.
Take care,
Deb

I certainly would not want to piss Lisa off!! :shock: I think she was just trying to get to know you, but if you want to have a pissy attitude about it, that is up to you! I find Lisa very helpful and she posts alot of good information on here. You may want to rethink your post!!

 

[Bob Savage]

Debra,

What if you had a truckmount that could operate from your van, but when you had a job such as you described above, you could easily (would not be heavy or cumbersome) put in onto a 2 wheeled dolly, and take it IN or UP. regardless of distance, and use it inside as a portable?

When operating from the van, it would not use any gasoline, because it is electric. From the van, it would use propane for heat, and would produce all the heat you would ever need for cleaning, both carpet, and tile/grout.

When operating inside, it would also not use any gasoline, nor would it use propane. It would use a dual element electric heater.

What if this truckmount would automatically meter chemical into the high pressure line, and also automatically pump out the dirty water at 30 GPM, all the while running on less than 15 amps of electricity, whether used from the van, or inside?

You could also easily remove the entire unit from your van, and use it in another vehicle, if your vehicle became disabled.

It sure sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[Guest]

You need to invest in a Rug Doctor. HIGHLY PORTABLE! Bonus- it will fit into any minivan or station wagon ever built!

Definitely use the minivan, it would even be better to use the station wagon. You can imagine how much at ease your customer would be when you pull into their driveway and drag out all sorts of buckets, cords, and hoses from the back of a Vista Cruiser, it will almost feel like they could have done the job themselves!

I have to agree that owning a truckmount is a real drag, they are big, noisy, and with all that unsightly lettering I have on my van, people notice me wherever I go. It's kinda hard to keep my business small and unprofitable with all that attention I have been getting.


P.S. Did the psychiatrist office actually call YOU, or were you there, maybe....already? Are your "helpers" wearing lab coats, and does it seem like your "customers" live very, very close to you? Does your "office" have a small sign that reads Janitor on it?

Thank you for your brilliant, insightful answer. You really impressed me. I am truly defeated and crushed by your sharp wit. You must be another million dollar man. Good for you. How could I possibly compete with a manly man such as you? What was I thinking?

 

[Guest]

Look Debra, we just need to know if you are for real.

If you are, welcome. If not, piss off.

I am one of the admins of this board. I'm not going to be mean to you. I'm not going to stalk you, eat your children or take your customers. I live in Southern California and most who post here have met me in person. I'm 46, married with four kids. I've had foster kids and now foster dogs. I cleaned by myself as an owner/op for 18 years. Myself and most here have a lot of experience that can be valuable for you if you intend to stay in this business, but no one is going to waste their breath if they they think you're a phony or a flake.

Call me, call Mikey....when you let us know you are legitimate, we'll treat you like you are. Until then, expect to not be taken seriously.

Take care,
Lisa

I could give a crap who you are or what you think of me. i do not need your approval. If I were you, I'd worry about my mess!

and piss off hon...