1st truck mount advice

Trip Moses

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Trip Moses
Are you calling someone cheap without knowing anything about their situation, really!! come on you should know better.
I just laid out $3500 to pay my chevy van off early, just bought a new 2019 car and am in the process of buying the house i'm currently living in.
I'll be paying cash in full for my new TM, I own and owe nothing on any of my equipment, all of it was bought new and paid in full at time of purchase. My TM purchase will be no different

I'll finance a house, i'll finance a new car but when it comes to my business I like to own everything outright from day one. Thats just the way i am
See. I was right.
I just hate hearing stories about hard earned and week disciplined savings being gambled on equipment with lesser track records than others.
 

Meter Maid

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As you can see... it's virtually impossible to get reliable information on any forums/groups... bias will always creep in. I will tell you what I learned from being in a similar position:

I was all VLM... didn't want to spend lots of money, even though I was being steered toward bigger machines than I needed since people in the forums/groups will always justify their purchases.

I finally got to have a conversation with Greg down at Janitor's Closet in Orlando and he set me straight. He could've sold me bigger, but he didn't.

I'm like you... most of my jobs are 100'. Rarely do I use 150' and 200' maybe once or twice per year.

At 100' there is literally no vacuum difference (with a 12"-14" wand) between a 36 blower and anything bigger... no matter what anyone tells you. At 150' there's a small difference (maybe 10%). Over 150' and that's where the bigger blowers start showing up.

The bigger machines do produce more BTU and therefore more heat, but my little Boxxer 318 puts out plenty if if run it properly... I'd never want an LG... with the chems today, you don't need scorching heat, no matter what Les says. 170-180 degrees at the wand and you are good.

So, for 13k I got a Boxxer 318 (new), 70 gallon fresh water tank that it sits on and of course the waste tank. If something goes wrong, I can take it to a dealer and hour away.

My uncle uses a Legend and my little Boxxer performs exactly the same even though it's a bit smaller, because, again, there's no difference at 100'-150'.

I like the idea of buying a name brand because those companies actually employ engineers and have dealers that can help you if needed.

I did go through a phase recently where I was shopping extensively for a bigger unit, just because they are cool and I thought I'd get ridiculously better dry-times and heat. Then I called Greg and he basically said I was being stupid. He was going to buy back my Boxxer at full value for a 575, but he said I simply did not need anything bigger for what I do.
 

Mikey P

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As you can see... it's virtually impossible to get reliable information on any forums/groups...


BS!

It's impossible to get a consensus.


If he's smart he'll go with the suggestion he hears pop up the most.


My experience with my one Judson was not favorable but it was the 1st unit of a new model.
 
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Meter Maid

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BS!

It's impossible to get a consensus.


If he's smart he'll go with the suggestion he hears pop up the most.


My experience with my one Judson was not favorable but it was the 1st unit of a new model.
Definition of reliable:

adjective

  1. consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted.
Notice the "able to be trusted".

Those who speak the loudest and use lots of caps are rarely right.

The suggestion he hears the most would be the "popular vote". Ask Hilary how "reliable" the popular vote is.

That said... the Judson was definitely on my short list.
 

Bob Pruitt

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All the advice here is consistent with the experience of the person posting.
A used Butler met the criteria of a simple, reliable machine and something he could work on himself. I didn't understand he already had a van until later in the thread.
My suggestion was based on information I had at the time.
Advice on this board is far more reliable than you will find other places.
 
F

FB7777

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I’m working on my 15 minute presentation for a future Mikefest

So far I have “ Hey Morons if you want to grow your business, you are either cleaning or selling . If you didn’t know that , then sell your shit and go get a fookin job cuz you’re a
Phucktard”

The other 14 and a half minutes I’m gonna brag about myself like HeiferMan and Cermak
 

Mikey P

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That is only partially true.

Again let me preface by saying I know little of reliabuilt other than what I've read from a couple owners. Seems like they are happy with them like @Acp (?).

You know that at least two the manufacturers mentioned in this thread are relatively local to you (Greenville and Atlanta). Manufacturers that have tons of units out there spanning over decades. Units that you can go and touch either at the manufacturer, distributor/sunbelt, or a user close by.

Ease of maintenance and simplicity is one thing, it is just an engine/pump/blower, but what if there is a design issue? Maybe the jig slipped that day. Maybe the welder got sloppy. What is added in getting that corrected when you have an issue like that? How quickly can a blower or engine that happened to be a lemon be taken care of?

How stable is the manufacturer? Are you having to finance the build for them?
What is the warranty?

If reliabuilt was < a couple hundred miles from you I'd say you would be stupid not to buy one.

You have more to go by than what some anons on the internet say.

Honestly I doubt you will have issues but personally I'd probably go with a closer manufacturer.




As far as opinions given you've been here (and there) a while so you should have some ability to weigh the validity of opinions given. Are they saying stupid shit like " I had to call and ask how to turn the vac down" after moving from a truck portable? Are they people who have been running different TMs over decades? Were they around when you only heard good things about moon unit/nellows/amtex et. al?

No not all of the suggestions are going to fit what you have decided you need..................
Why did you delete this golden advice...
 

BIG WOOD

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Are you calling someone cheap without knowing anything about their situation, really!! come on you should know better.
I just laid out $3500 to pay my chevy van off early, just bought a new 2019 car and am in the process of buying the house i'm currently living in.
I'll be paying cash in full for my new TM, I own and owe nothing on any of my equipment, all of it was bought new and paid in full at time of purchase. My TM purchase will be no different

I'll finance a house, i'll finance a new car but when it comes to my business I like to own everything outright from day one. Thats just the way i am
It's nice to be in a budget to be able to pay cash for most of your belongings. BUT......... in a business, it's not always the best way to purchase.

You can use your portable for the ridiculous amount of time to save up $10k for your reliabilt and after you've purchased it, you get to enjoy more of the profit on the job.

Or, you could finance a nice Peak500 with a Business Loan and save that $10k for any emergency costs that happen to us in life, AND write off the interest of the loan and how it depreciates and save more on your taxes at the end of the year.

I would rather get the better truckmount through financing and build my business credit at the same time.
 

BIG WOOD

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If you are the kind of guy that likes to pay cash for everything then go buy your TV, wife's new ring, and next summer's vacation with cash up front

Finance your truckmount that makes your job easier and can hold enough heat to give your wand a 12flow.
Titan575, Peak500, or Apex570.

If you're stuck on the smaller class, then the Rage would be my first choice. The 36blower is a good size for that size truckmount.
 

randy

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If you are heart set on a truck mount lease a Buttler with their special no money down 3 year deal. If you like it, after three years buy a new one or get traditional bank loan and buy it. With your experience with VLM and the availability of the high performance portable do you really NEED to go truckmount ?

It will save you time for sure, but is worthless with apartments and even a lot of townhomes if you can't get close enough.
 

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