Is it not cheaper putting together a custom tm?

kyfireman2004

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Feb 1, 2013
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Lexington Kentucky
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Lou Zehnder
Is it not cheaper putting together a custom tm?
Engine 29 hp $2500.00
Blower 4007. $1600.00
Pump. $ 800.00
Heat exchanger $1500.00. Guessing?
Mis parts. Valves gauges bypasses ect $1500.00
Fabrication. $400.00
Hose and reels too
Am I missing anything?
These prices could be off... I'm just curious ? noobie question. ...

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Mike Draper

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Jan 13, 2008
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Fabrication 400? Maybe if you do things extremely cheap that wont last. How about vac pressure relief valve?$100-300 for a nice one. Switches, fuel pump, hoses from pump to hx and etc. how are you gonna feed the water pump? Flo jet, mounting hardware, water float box with float. Water tank. Waste tank that will handle the vac load. Waste tank dump valve. hopefully you have the correct pulley, shaft spinning ratios to match the Rpm rate if your motor. These are a few of the other things you may want to consider as well.
 
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Shane T

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Shane Tiegs
Using your figures its already $8500. That doesn't include steel for the frame and recovery tank. Your trying to reinvent the wheel and in the end have no support and have a lot of headaches unless your just looking for a challenge.
 
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GCCLee

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Depends on quite a few things, have you looked at rebuilding a used TM, that way you don't have to buy everything.
 

realclean

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Bossier City, LA
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Jesse Lowe
His number are close, but its all the small things that will add up quick. If you want a custom built TM to fit your needs. But the answer to his question is yes you can do it yourself cheaper if you don't include your time.
 

SMRBAP

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Pittsburgh PA
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Anthony
The time you spend to fab a one off, and maybe the pennies saved afterwards - is a monster loss when you consider the ground you lost to just marketing alone.

Market and clean - let the manufacturers provide you with the tools to do so :)
 
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Yohance
After years of having our lancer 2 we tore it down and rebuilt the whole thing. Like someone else said you may be able to find a used one for cheap you can rebuild it.
 

Cajun

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Mar 19, 2010
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DanaM
The only valid reason to build a truckmount, assuming you have the expertise, is because you want to. The money you save will not be that much in the overall. I like doing it because I like to build things. I have also raced for most of my life, so the truckmount is not a big deal to science out, especially when you have friends. So if you want the fun of building one, go for it. Saving money, not so much.
 

Steve Toburen

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Durango, Colorado/Santiago, Dominican Republic
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Steve Toburen
The time you spend to fab a one off, and maybe the pennies saved afterwards - is a monster loss when you consider the ground you lost to just marketing alone.

Market and clean - let the manufacturers provide you with the tools to do so :)
Yep- been there- done that- got the scars to prove it. (Literally as our home made vacuum tank imploded and sent my partner to the hospital.)

Steve

PS Nobody ever agrees on anything here and yet everyone is basically saying don't do it. Especially when you are starting out your time spent selling and marketing is your most precious asset. Don't pee it away playing with tools.

If your start up funds are limited there are lots of good cheap TM's out there that with some easy, MINOR repairs will run for years and for much less than what you are describing investing.
 

Jimbo

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Oct 7, 2006
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Fabrication # should be multiplied by 10...then doubled...then add 30%

$10,400 for some gear head shop to do it for you...no savings at all.



IF you are a gear head yourself...I would say go for it! But if not...better just buy a unit.
 

ThaBeast

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Jan 9, 2012
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Henderson KY
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Dave
Then would you be interested in building me another mount for the Vawter steam genie shaft for a 98-02 GM van with air? Or at least sell me the blueprint. Remember Bob it gets stinking hot here and I gotta have a/c!
 

bob vawter

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La La Land
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i would propose that someone supply the parts (new if possible) blower...pump...all gauges.....i'll build the frame...wire it...
i can buy the parts mostly wholesale....however i would want the buyer to price the parts himsef...to know how much he was saving!
YA...i gots one brand new Genie left....HELL YES!...
i would even guaranty the unit for ten years...parts an' service............you'd just havta know where ta dig me up...................
 

ThaBeast

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Jan 9, 2012
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Henderson KY
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Dave
Bob no offense bud, I really just need the shaft mount bracket (with a/c mount) so I don't have to disassemble my running unit to copy it!


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idreadnought

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Apr 5, 2009
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Oroville, ca
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Richard
Take it from someone that has done it twice. Do Not Do It! First machine I built out of pure necessity 15 years ago. I used a nissan engine direct coupled to a 47 blower. That machine has done me fairly well but it still needs constant maintenance because it was not engineered. Its not the big items its all the small ones.

Second machine I had fabricated for me. I again used a nissan engine and belt drove it to a roots ram 4006 blower. My thinking was that the blower was a beast that would last forever. Problem is that all the little things drove the price of the machine way too high. Again its reliability is not what I was expecting. Its always the little things that cause issues that makes the return less than desirable.

My suggestion would be to buy an old prochem performer 405. Tear the thing down completely and rebuild. Those machines were the ultimate cleaning machine with performance and reliability. Engine parts are still available and most components are still available.

I look back and credit the building of my last machine to one of the biggest failures of my company. The time and expense it caused really slowed down my growth. If you want more info pm me.
 
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