How long do you keep your truckmounts?

[Mikey P]

-What brand/model is your oldest unit and how old?
-How often do you replace your slide in units and why?
-and CDS/PTO units?
-What combination of failing components will lead you to give up on a truckmount?
-How much does a fresh appearance play into your decision to replace?


and what are the top 3 factors that will determine your choice in your next unit?

Cost?
Price?
Heat?
Suck?
Easy of maintenance?
Local service?
Trendy?
Actually dual wand capable?
Physical size?
Low noise?
other

 

[Dan]

95 Butler. Runs great and still dependable. Biggest issue is keeping the van alive. Strongly considering a transplant but won't be dealing with Butler because all they wanna do is sell you a new one and they can kiss my ass.

 

[Chris A]

My last one was 10 years old when I sold it, Chevy Van/CDS. honestly I coulda thrown a trans in it and kept it going a while longer but I wanted something new. Current rig is 4.5 years old has 60,000 miles and 3,000 hours, I plan to keep it running 10 years. My second rig should last forever at the pace I'm going, going on 6 years old and has 23,000 miles

 

[mirf]

I have a WM 1200 that is 12 years old and plan on keeping it!

 

[Art Kelley]

I have a WM 1200 that is 12 years old and plan on keeping it!

Right on dude. Milk that money maker. My 03 Express Pro-1200 will be celebrating it's 10th birthday soon and she looks and runs like new. 10K hours and she'll go 30K. The biggest improvement in this van over my 87 GMC WM is the corrosion resistance. The 03 is rust-free after ten salty Michigan winters whereas the 87 had to be de-rusted and repainted after five years and now it looks like what JFK probably looks like if he were to be exhumed. The cleaning unit is still perfect though.

 

[Steve Toburen]

We found with techs running our units 5,000-6,000 hours was the "sweet spot" to sell. The main components were fine but little nagging problems started to crop up. This was stuff that a motivated and "handy" owner/operator would quickly fix but was just an excuse for our employee to sit down and have a smoke. GRRRR!

Steve

PS I really didn't have a problem selling our machines once they hit 5,000 hours. After all, they had generated well over a half million dollars for me. Plus new equipment is a great motivator for employees. We all like new toys!

 

[Zee]

Current rig is 4.5 years old has 60,000 miles and 3,000 hours,

That is why I won't consider buying a direct drive here in SoCal..too much driving around..the trans will go out even if you don't have a direct drive hooked.
I am always surprised how little certain areas of the country drive.. having 4-7 years old vans with 40000-60000miles on it. I wish.. I have a Ford right now over 100000miles and it is less than 5 years old. Used only for business. Even estimates are done, with a different car not the van.

As far as keeping a unit: until it has a major breakdown that can not be solved easy or cheap. And I firmly believe that there is no numbers to that. It could be 2000hrs on a unit that is giving up it's soul but could be another type unit that has 7-8000hrs on it. I have a tm that had less then 500hrs on it and it needed a new roots45 and the engine was already leaking oil everywhere. Not to mention the frame looking like it was treated with acid to bring out as much rust as possible- artistic...

On a side note: WHEN will you manufacturers freakin figure out that our tools and machines are not compatible with powdercoating?!?!?

No matter how well you take care of them they WILL chip off and rust out.

 

[Shane T]

Zee wrote "On a side note: WHEN will you manufacturers freakin figure out that our tools and machines are not compatible with powdercoating?!?!?" The only thing I really like about my PowerClean is the raw SS frame.

 

[Buck1955]

02 GMC with WM 1200 pro. Van has 111,000, unit has 1900 hrs. The van has been a problem, leaks oil, front end problems, getting ready to swap the unit to a gently used 2012. Should end up costing me close to 30,000. Much better than a new unit. I may rebuild the pump while it's out.

Before I was poor, I'd keep them about 6 years

 

[Zee]

Zee wrote "On a side note: WHEN will you manufacturers freakin figure out that our tools and machines are not compatible with powdercoating?!?!?" The only thing I really like about my PowerClean is the raw SS frame.

I should have said: other than the select few like Judson that uses only stainless steel....

And I don't mean just truckmounts...other devices, tools, machines that are powdercoated too look like junks after a short time..

 

[Shane T]

Aren't the Judson painted or powder coated?

 

[rwcarpet]

03 Chevy Van Extended, 112,000 miles, 03 Powerclean Genesis 59, close to 6000 hours. Van needs some body work, mainly from ocasional leaks from the Kinetico brine tank. Genny still running good after some repairs to drive system and APO. Spare Genny sitting in shop for parts. 1992 Powermatic that can be installed and cleaning in a few hours. Not too concerned with machine looks because custys don't really see it. Would be nice to have a reliable Aero Tech or Vortex type machine, that's not going to give me hed-aches after a few years.

 

[ruff]

Good thread.
I always ran my CDS units to the ground. (Well actually just two and number 2 is still running.)
2002 Ford van, 85,000 miles, about 4000 hours on the CDS. Still runs good, if every machine hour is about 35 miles that means that the engine has about 220,000 miles on it, had to change transmission once.

I know that Ken sells his units every 5 years or so, how do O/O handle this?
Can you get anything for a 10 years old machine?
Does it make financial sense for an o/o to sell after 5 years?
Will the money saved by not fixing problems etc. be equaled by the loss in value?

 

[Zee]

Good tread.
I always ran my CDS units to the ground. (Well actually just two and number 2 is still running.)
2012 Ford van, 85,000 miles, about 4000 hours on the CDS. Still runs good, if every machine hour is about 35 miles that means that the engine has about 220,000 miles on it, had to change transmission once.

I know that Ken sells his units every 5 years or so, how do O/O handle this?
Can you get anything for a 10 years old machine?
Does it make financial sense for an o/o to sell after 5 years?
Will the money saved by not fixing problems etc. be equaled by the loss in value?

Whoa....that's a heluva year for 2012. 85000miles and 4000hrs....I bet you guys never even stopped the engine for a whole year.

 

[Zee]

My bad..there is 8760 hours in a year....so if I take an average of 45miles per hour driving that 85000 miles that means you were driving about 1888 hours and ran the CDs for 4000 hours. That means your van was in fact turned off for about 2872 hours in that year.. that is efficient.

 

[ruff]

Sorry Zee It should have been 2002, I don't put many hours on my machine. I'll correct it.
And there I thought nobody was paying attention

 

[Zee]

Sorry Zee It should have been 2002, I don't put many hours on my machine. I'll correct it.
And there I thought nobody was paying attention

I knew it was 2002...just wanted to see if YOU were paying attention.

 

[ruff]

I wasn't.
But I'm considering switching to Von Shredding.

A good source here, has been telling me its unsurpassed

 

[Doug Cox]

The only thing I really like about my PowerClean is the raw SS frame.

Same here

 

[The Great Oz]

How

long do you keep your truckmounts?

Used to be seven years/10,000 hours/70 to 100k miles. Gradually worked toward 5 years/7,000 hours/70k. Now we're back to the seven years and over 8,000 hours, but with more efficient scheduling and tightening our service area keeps the miles at about 70k when we sell.

-

What brand/model is your oldest unit and how old?

2 units set up for commercial use are 9 years old, but don't have many miles on them.

-

What combination of failing components will lead you to give up on a truckmount?

Learned over time when to expect the combination of multiple little things like door latches and slider failures and big things like transmission failure are due to become more common. We'll move them at a pre-determined time, not because a truck has become problematic.

-How much does a fresh appearance play into your decision to replace?

We keep up on bodywork and fixing small issues, but like Steve said a new truck can be pretty sweet. The guys with the cleanest trucks get the new ones.




and what are the top 3 factors that will determine your choice in your next unit?

Cost? XXXXX Days lost to repair downtime are the biggest cost, so reliability is #1
Price?
Heat?
Suck?
Easy of maintenance?
Local service?
Trendy?
Actually dual wand capable?
Physical size? XXXXX Smaller the better, as long as it has full-size capability. More space and less wear on the truck.
Low noise? XXXXX Lower the better
other​

 

[Chris A]

wow 10000 miles a year is awesome Brian. Thats gotta be some really disciplined scheduling.

 

[hogjowl]

I kept my first TCS unit for 12 years. Only reason I sold it when I did was because someone told me if I got rid of that stupid 33 blower it had on it, I could clean without having 12 hour drying times.

They were right.

My current TCS unit is something like 5 years old, I think ... and I don't see me selling it before I retire, or die from old age.

 

[The Great Oz]

Chris,
We're fortunate that we work in an area with plenty of customers so we don't have to drive a long way to every job. The more trucks you have the easier it is to schedule efficiently as well. One last thing is that we have a second shop and started to base some of our trucks there, which immediately cut 80 miles from each day's schedule.

 

[BCC]

We have 2 Power Clean Genesis both with a little over 4400 hrs. and 1 Titan 875 @ about 2200 hrs. We try to keep them until about 6000 hrs then sell. I like American made components , roots blowers, and Cat pumps. One of the reasons we bought the 875 was because of the GM engine. Both of the Power Clean units have the Roots blowers on them.
Will be looking at the next unit in about 1.5 years. Not sure what to get yet but will be using the criteria mentioned.

The Titan has given us the most headache the first two years. I think we have the bugs worked out now (for the most part).

 

[Jim Martin]

CDS...2 years...good strong machine..but got tired of when it had a problem that it had to many proprietary parts and when I needed something..they were never available..so I would be down longer then I should be... ....sold it.

Bought the Vortex...ran it 4.5 years.......something I can work on easy...parts are easy to find..... ..plus I landed some big car dealer ships and needed the duel wand....seen the writing on the wall where they were going ..sold it.......made out good on that deal....ran it that long and sold it for a few thousand less then I bought it for.....

Thermalwave....I have had so far for 2.5 years....

Sapphire 570....I have had for 7 months....






I got socks that I have had longer then any of my machines.....

 

[steve frasier]

use to buy a machine every couple years, had the V for almost 6 years, won't need to buy another, 21 years in the business

 

[SamIam]

Got a sgs 36 sizzler from steam genie on a trailer sold it after 2 years It was a great machine just didn't need it anymore a friend bought it that was in 96 he still has it.

Got a used PC150 the diesel heater gave me problems after 2 years and was becoming a problem so I went with what I thought was more reliable machine and for the most part it is. a PC legend SE new.
My cousin took over the lease on the 150 with a year left.

I had the legend for a little over a year and the van I put it in was getting old.

The guy who sold me both prochem's gave me a call and said GMC was doing a zero interest 72 month full financing on a van and machine. That was 2002 I paid $660 a month and got a new 405 with a water softener rack reel new quad wand. and a 6 jet ti.

my buddy Doug took over the lease on the legend and he still has it. funny thing is I put over 1200 hours on it on a little ever a year and he put about 250 hours the next year. He doesn't use it much.

I have over 9500 hours on my 1st 405 and I bought a used one with 650 hours 2 years ago that now has 2736 hours on it.

So it will out last this van and I'll probably send them to John to refurbish cause he's the man.

the funny thing is my old machine cleans and heats as well as my newer one.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I'll keep a unit as log as it can be made to look presentable. We only have 3 tms, were almost done building a 4th.

Our most used truck still does 2 shifts per day like a champ: 98 e350, 5.4 with 235,000mi and about 25,000 hours on the pro1200. The van is on it's original motor and trans. The tm has most components replaced: both heat exchagers, several pumps, a blower, shaft bearings, waste tank, several clutches, and we're on our 2nd little giant.

The other 2 are also in Fords. both were pro 2000's however I replaced the dual 45 blowers with a single 56. One has 95,000mi and about 10,000hrs. The other 35,000mi and 1900hrs.

Our 4th build will be mostly hard surface. It's a 98 e350, we just rebuilt the 5.4 and set it up with a white magic front end kit. The machine is a copy of the white magic frame, 250gal fresh water tank, + a custom 40 gallon preheated fresh tank, butler 210 waste tank, roots 45, General 3500psi\7.5gpm pump, and a diesel burner. I went with a 45 since I have 4 of them removed from our other tm's and to reduce the hp requirement since the pump will use so much at high pressure.

 

[ruff]

Wow Jess. That's impressive.

 

[Mikey P]

No kidding.

Jesse was a big help at M9F, from what I can tell he has it going on..