Let the air out?

[CanYouHemiNow]

I'm cleaning 3 pedestrian sky bridges tomorrow morning with an access problem. The parking garage I have to enter to get to the bridges has a 6' 10" clearance. The highest point of my van is in the back and measures right about 7' full of gear and 80 gallons of water. I figure I am going to let air out of the tires and also add weight to the back if necessary. The bridges are 3 stories up with no hose access from the street below. Wondered if any of you 'old pros' had any other tips or tricks from similar situations. (I am bringing an air tank to refill the tires after exiting.)

 

[Jay D]

My old 1/2 ton van with 15" tires fits under that and barely in the garage. Get a used set of 14-15" tires for when you have to do the job. :roll:

 

[-JB-]

can't/donwanna mex it?

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Related point:

Will you be parked inside of the garage, and if so, is it enclosed or is each floor open to the outside air?

Also, if within a parking garage, are there any offices/stores directly adjacent to the area where you will be operating your machine?

I know you'd think a parking garage is designed for cars to drive through, and therefore engines should be able to run in them. But bad stuff has happened to carpet cleaners operating truck mounts in public parking garages.

Be careful.

 

[truckmount girl]

Umm....is there a reason you aren't just bonnet/OP/cimexing this area?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Mike Draper]

You could buy some 50lb sand bags or bags of salt for your water softer. That'll weigh it down fast to.

 

[Johnny]

Shaped charges, air hammer, concrete saw. Just a few options to improve clearance a little.

 

[Ryan]

Shaped charges, air hammer, concrete saw. Just a few options to improve clearance a little.

I perfer the charges myself hammer and saw methods take way too long. Make sure you charge enough to cover the cost of the explosives though...

 

[CanYouHemiNow]

Jay - that's a novel idea I did not think of... smaller wheels... thanks.

JB - I'm almost afraid to ask but what the hell is 'mex'ing it?

Jim - thanks for the heads up!

Lisa - that's what the custy wants so that's what the custy gets.

Mike - you get the prize for the best (easiest) solution. Sandbags - thanks!

Johnny - you get the prize for the most fun solution. Explosives - a great idea as long as I don't have to detonate them in my under shorts!

 

[Nate The Great]

mex = Cimex. I concur with Jim P. Is the parking structure open air? If it is, I'd take a air mover to help ventilate the place. You can never be too cautious.

 

[CanYouHemiNow]

All's well that ends well. We dropped the tire pressure to about 20 lbs and with 80 gallons of water and some weights in the back we slipped right in with an inch to spare. Kept the exhaust in mind but a nice cool breeze seemed to blow it all out of the structure. Nobody died and my new van didn't get a scratch. A very successful job even though it took ALOT longer than I thought it would.

Oh yeah, switched out the jets on my wand for twice the flow. That tamed the heat spikes on the new Amtex and we had plenty of steam for the whole job. Thanks Jay and Greenie.

 

[-JB-]

FLOW! FLOW! FLOW!