my next truckmount may be a major brand

[hogjowl]

Exactly my point.

 

[hogjowl]

Something that is well engineered can be very complex yet intuitive and easy to operate (like the IPhone in your hand). Well engineered things don't appear to be complex, which means that unless you're an engineer, you probably won't appreciate the thought that went into a design....

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

There is a point at which "well engineered" becomes over-engineered. That point is directly correlated with the point at which that machine becomes difficult to work on.

TCS is sitting right at the apex.

And has been for over 30 years.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Over- engineered is just code for i dont want to spend the money.

 

[hogjowl]

Short sighted, knee jerk comment. I've had both. I know poor cleaners with Vortexes and Butlers and rich cleaners with simple units. And visa versa.

You must be really young.

 

[Jim Martin]

There is a point at which "well engineered" becomes over-engineered. That point is directly correlated with the point at which that machine becomes difficult to work on.

TCS is sitting right at the apex.

And has been for over 30 years.

depends on the definition of "Over Engineered"...............what is difficult for some may be easy for someone else..and just because someone does not understand it...does not mean it is over engineered........the biggest things that I have seen is more safety added into machines....to keep the entire unit from grenading when something goes wrong...
that is nothing but smart engineering.......

 

[ruff]

Marty, Sorry to bring you back to the subject I raised.
I don't care if the machine is over or under engineered. All I care about is:

• How frequently (preferably infrequently) it breaks down.
• How many hours you can put on it that is fairly trouble free.
• How long does it last.
• How much maintenance does it need?

The rest for me is pretty much fluff.
If the machine is a dependable work horse, I am willing to pay more for it and it is well worth it for me.I don't have the talent, the wish for, or the time to crawl under the hood. And I don't enjoy it either.

So if TCS machines are good on all of these issues, in my book they're great and worth every penny.

My CDS sees the shop about once a year for maintenance, and that's about it. + The occasional repair (very rarely). 12 years old and made me plenty of relatively trouble free money. To me, that's what its all about.

 

[Ray Burnfield]

I haven't met a carpet cleaner that is a good mechanic yet.
If I did meet them I would tell them that cleaning carpet makes them money. Like you said, "You don't have time to crawl under the truck.
If they have a shop reasonably close----bring it to them.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

View attachment 3995

 

[Lee Stockwell]

1st pic posted from phone, I'll learn how to turn it around. He was in a hurry and a bit annoyed that I stopped him to take a picture.

Justin swapped a Nissan from a 405 in about three hours, including all plumbing and wiring, and setting it back in, last week.

We are usually too busy to even THINK of taking it to a dealer 2 hours away.

 

[Ray Burnfield]

Wow!
Is that your shop to fix your Truckmount?
I don't even have a hoist in my shop.
What's your labor rate?

 

[JS41035]

To be fair though. I'm awesome.


....

 

[JS41035]

Btw dad when do you sleep? At least I'm at work watching someone else clean.


....

 

[Ray Burnfield]

Justin,
I take it you work for your dad. Your dad is a lucky guy.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Justin has his own business, we work together better that way, and better on the taxes as well.

Yes, the hoist is sweet.

 

[JS41035]

Yeah since I was walking. Taught me to run a 175 when I was nine. Always let me help and praised me even though I now realize we slowed him down. Good ole bane days. When your nine a bane seems awesome. Hehe. Honestly the engine swap was easy as it was from a spare 405. Changing all the little stuff gobbles up time. Yank it out with a cherry picker use the hoist to swap engines. Stop pose for pictures.


....

 

[JS41035]

Labor rate is painfully FREE.


....

 

[Ray Burnfield]

I hope my customers all have daughters that don't like to wrench.

 

[dgardner]

View attachment 3998

 

[Spurlington]

• How frequently (preferably infrequently) it breaks down.
• How many hours you can put on it that is fairly trouble free.
• How long does it last.
• How much maintenance does it need?

The rest for me is pretty much fluff.
If the machine is a dependable work horse, I am willing to pay more for it and it is well worth it for me.I don't have the talent, the wish for, or the time to crawl under the hood. And I don't enjoy it either.

A good standard to follow when choosing your next girlfriend ... Haha

 

[ruff]

I haven't met a carpet cleaner that is a good mechanic yet.

Let the multi-talented Stockwell family be the exception to prove the rule.

Not the original intention, however: Thank you Paul for pointing out that universal truths can be applied in all areas of life .

 

[Spurlington]

You're welcome .. couldn't help myself .. it was the first thing that came to mind as I read it .. it must reflect my past experiences


Not only is it a rare combination for some one to possess great mechanical and cleaning skills but also a good cleaning and business skills combo .. I'm a great carpet cleaner but suck at running the business .. if I had better business skills, I'd probably be most successful ..

 

[hogjowl]

Marty, Sorry to bring you back to the subject I raised.
I don't care if the machine is over or under engineered. All I care about is:

• How frequently (preferably infrequently) it breaks down.
  
  My TCS units almost never break down, if your definition of a break down is one where it breaks and leaves you stranded. That happened to me a couple of months ago when both blower belts blew and I can to the office to get a replacement set and realized I didn't have a freaking replacement set. What a freaking dumb assed move! I normally keep a spare fuel pump on hand, a set of replacement belts and that's it. The fuel pumps will go out on you in the blink of an eye, about once every two years, or so. Takes about 2 minutes to change one out. The belts go about every three to four years. Takes about 10 minutes to change out. The only "major" think on these engines that you sometimes have to deal with is valve cover gaskets and head gaskets going out. When they go on you, you aren't dead in the water. You just see leaking oil or you hear hissing air and you start to notice your engine performing poorly over time. You always have plenty of time to schedule the repair.[/COLOR]
• How many hours you can put on it that is fairly trouble free
  
  Normally, I can expect somewhere around 2500 hours before I start noticing an oil leak from my valve covers and have to replace them. Somewhere between 2500 hours and 5000 hours, you ARE going to blow a head gasket or two. Minor repair that takes no real time. The rest of the time, you're just going to deal with piddly little things like cleaning burner rings, changing oil, filters and plugs.
  
  
• How long does it last.
  
  Almost all of anyone heres natural life. You will replace your original engine within 5 to 8 years, normally and will have to have your pump rebuilt somewhere during that time. Other than that, the van itself will let you down before any major component of the TM does.
• How much maintenance does it need?
  
  Change the plugs, filters and oil every 50 machine hours. I don't keep up with hours, so I change all these things when I first notice the oil turning dark. Works out to be, for me, about once a month. Once a year, I drive over to TCS and have them change my blower and pump oils (I certainly could do this myself, but I always go to TCS because I need a chemical run). I will have them change out my waste tank gasket while I am there. (Easy to do yourself as well.) I have them check my belts and tweek this or any of that they find and I am out the door in under two hours.

The rest for me is pretty much fluff.
If the machine is a dependable work horse, I am willing to pay more for it and it is well worth it for me.I don't have the talent, the wish for, or the time to crawl under the hood. And I don't enjoy it either.

So if TCS machines are good on all of these issues, in my book they're great and worth every penny.

My CDS sees the shop about once a year for maintenance, and that's about it. + The occasional repair (very rarely). 12 years old and made me plenty of relatively trouble free money. To me, that's what its all about.

The only way I would consider purchasing a CDS is if I were either running several crews, or the unit was only going to be used by me. I have discussed my reasoning related to this on several occasions and I am sure you read every work in breathless anticipation, so I will not bore you any further with that information.

 

[Art Kelley]

The only way I would consider purchasing a CDS is if I were either running several crews, or the unit was only going to be used by me. I have discussed my reasoning related to this on several occasions and I am sure you read every work in breathless anticipation, so I will not bore you any further with that information.

Well dang Marty. you sound like a shade tree mechanic. That's all well and good,... for you...., and I suppose I would do that song and dance if I ran a slide in. But I prefer the simplicity of the pro1200. I wouldn't like giving my machine a head job every two years. I don't touch my machine for five years at a time, and we're talking thousand hour years on the machine. But I am spoiled; I have Modernistic 7 minutes away from me, and they have replaced a Cat pump when I accidently drained the oil (by pulling on a chemical suction hose), and replaced the Suterbilt blower and driveshaft on my old TM in very short time. 3 minutes to the west of me is a Goodyear dealer who happily repairs my Chevy Express when any little thing pukes out.
Ultimately, buying a truckmount depends on your particular circumstances, your mechanical skills, or lack thereof, and of course having the customer base to support using such an expensive system when you could do the work just as well with a portable system.

 

[hogjowl]

Yes, Art. When you run a slide in unit, you simply must be prepared to do a few repairs and/or maintenance procedures on it when necessary. Luckily for us carpet cleaners, we all tend to be the type who can do these things ... farmers, rednecks and gear heads and such. If we were all smart guys, we'd all be in another business.

I "hear" guys like you saying they go five years without ever turning a wrench on their van driven units quite often. I don't believe any of it. However, I DO believe a direct drive system is less demanding in the maintenance department. That is why I say that if I ran several vans on a regular basis I'd run CDS's.

 

[Art Kelley]

I "hear" guys like you saying they go five years without ever turning a wrench on their van driven units quite often. I don't believe any of it.

Believe it baby. How do you think Butler can get away with having zero local customer support? To me, that's scary. I guess Butler owners just dump them and get new after five years.

 

[GreenTechAgain]

Were all your problems really the machine, or was it a lack of maintenance by the prior owner?

Don't get me wrong I am happy with my machine. It just had a hell of a break in period andI relize that while yes I saved some money in the beginning it did come at a cost. Its running great now and kicking ass Dnt get m wrong Im not writing a thread to bash the small manufacturer I am posting a thread on the merit of doing business with a major manufacturer. I am still pleased that I got the unit because all the parts I can get localy ad ts an open style unit so I can do a lot more service y self. I just wonder when it comes to putting a fulltime second truck on the road if I will go with the consistency of a bigger brand.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Were all your problems really the machine, or was it a lack of maintenance by the prior owner?

previous owner??
I believe he bought it brand new

..L.T.A.

 

[GreenTechAgain]

I mis-read what he wrote. I thought he bought it used.

previous owner??
I believe he bought it brand new

..L.T.A.

 

[Bjorn]

any one can have issues with any new machine that may not be the fault of the manufacturer some times components go bad we don't make them engines can have problems after builds that are not the fault of the manufacture. The important thing you get the problems worked out regardless of who or what made the equipment