How long do you keep your truckmounts?

[Steve Toburen]

Just a reminder for you folks with visions of a multi-truck fleet. Southwest Airlines flies only ONE model of airplane. They say this has given them a HUGE competitive advantage in pilot training, mechanic certification and parts inventory.

Steve

PS We of course were a fairly small company. But all four of my TM's were the exact same make/model which sure made life easy when it came to training and troubleshooting.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Does Ken Snow run a couple of Butlers too?

 

[Ken Snow]

A couple or so.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I'd heard you had a few.

Ken do you have an inventory of common Butler parts? Lint bags, fuses...etc.

I guess there is really not that much that shuts them down very often.

 

[Ken Snow]

We have a pretty good supply of most things that wear. Our maintenance area is about 1500 sq feet I believe including our parts room, hoist area etc., and we also have a separate paint booth that has been certified by MIOSHA and our cities Fire Marshall.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I wish we had a paint booth....actually I wish we had better drivers!

 

[Ken Snow]

LOL- me too Richard! Actually our are pretty good, for the over 1/2 million miles a year we put on our damage rate is pretty low and less than once a year do we get that call about a driver (usually a newer assistant).

 

[Desk Jockey]

We do pretty good just those minor creases and dings drive me nutz! I have probably 5- that could use some minor body work. 1-I know it will be the next trade in and the others I think I can live with until we trade them off. Probably another 5-10 that could use some paint to cover up scratches. Oh well I have far more issues to worry about than vehicles at the moment.

 

[Mikey P]

Legs still numb?

I hear that is a sign of upcoming impotency

 

[Art Kelley]

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?

Well if you want to do the math, you should consider intangibles, things that can't be quantified, such as that wonderful (but fleeting) feeling you get from driving a brand new vehicle, and enjoying all the newest technologies, and not worrying about a mechanical breakdown because (and I'm only talking about a new pro1200/new van) these are made to last through the payment cycle (barely). But you will always have a new van/equipment payment minus whatever you sell your five year old setup for. Right now that is about a $10000/yr in loan payments vs maybe $3000/yr in repair costs plus the occasional lost day's work. If you don't sell with a respectable (low) mileage/hours you might not get much for it. And if you are like me and pile on the hours, then after a few more years you're setup will have little value to anyone but you. That's where I am now with my high mileage/high hour TM. It's worth a lot to me and has a fairly predictable repair/breakdown cycle and will go on for years.

 

[SMRBAP]

Just a reminder for you folks with visions of a multi-truck fleet. Southwest Airlines flies only ONE model of airplane. They say this has given them a HUGE competitive advantage in pilot training, mechanic certification and parts inventory.

Steve

PS We of course were a fairly small company. But all four of my TM's were the exact same make/model which sure made life easy when it came to training and troubleshooting.

Exactly why my vans are all the same year and model, same TM's, same accessories, other than the plate - you can't tell one apart from the next.

I stock 12 of every scheduled maintenance item, 2 of wearable items, 1 of things that usually don't go but can - I have 3 shelves full of fluids, filters, belts, brass, brakes, bulbs, etc.

Buy in bulk, have it on hand for no down time, and save a bundle annually.

 

[Curtis Pennnington]

My Oldest is a White magic 1600 bought in 2000.... hour meter dosent work but it still kicks butt.(cant kill it lol)

 

[Mikey P]

Good Lord, where have you been Curt?

Hows life treating you?

 

[Curtis Pennnington]

Doing great staying busy.. Just got a little burned out on da boards.
Glad to be back.
What did I miss? :-0

 

[hogjowl]

You missed ME, of course, asshole.

 

[Curtis Pennnington]

Yeah I missed the Alabama peckerwood...

 

[Ron Werner]

Ran my Big Red for 12 yrs, upgraded to a Judson. The C4 looks great but really, instead of replacing the whole unit all I need to do is replace the components: engine, blower, pump, whenever they need it. Upgrade them at that time. Why spend $15000 again??

 

[Bob Savage]

I have purchased 1 new truckmount (Cleaning Technologies slide-in) in the past 29 years, and it is still running like a new one. It's been in a few different vans.

The other one I built 10 years ago, and it is still going strong.