Well...Mr Butler Truckmounts...

[FB7777]

I think I would have bought a Butler if my son hadn't come to work for me. If I were going to be alone until the end, this would have been my last purchase. I figure I have 15 more years.

Behind the wand?


Or above the frost line?

 

[Kellie Hiler]

I am the opposite; I'm stuck on D/Ds, slide-ins scare me, or the idea of one day it just won't start (and that day will come) plus a direct drive just will last for so long. I have a Cleanco dealer 14 minutes from my house and a Sapphire dealer 5 minutes from my house, so each of those are viable for me. I haven't priced units lately but with the dollar valued more than 27% over the loonie I'm sure you could get a great price on a Cleanco right now. BTW,my Pro1200 stopped running on a job today, or I should say my GM van stopped. It started up again but now it is at the local mechanic's (Goodyear dealer) for servicing. Probably needs a tune-up$$$$.

That's one of the things that scares me. If something goes wrong with the van, you are down. I had a van that started having serious tranny issues so I took the unit out and in one day it was in a new van and back up and running. And the other van was sold within a week.
A buddy of mine has had to replace his drive shaft a few times on his and while I've heard they are getting better it just scares me.
The one thing I do love about DD is all the room in the van. I would kill to have that extra space!

 

[Russ T.]

You'd love a DD Kellie. The biggest companies who don't have time to monkey around generally use them. Hagopian has like 35 Butlers.

You pull up, put the emergency brake on, and push a button.

It's that awesome.

 

[mirf]

I like the direct drive better. No matter how well it ran yesterday I start the slide ins before they leave the shop. The DD just drive away.

 

[Russ T.]

Just slightly over maintain the van and you're good with a DD.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

You'd love a DD Kellie. The biggest companies who don't have time to monkey around generally use them. Hagopian has like 35 Butlers.

You pull up, put the emergency brake on, and push a button.

It's that awesome.

I guess I have just always been fortunate with my slide ins being very reliable and easy to start. Yes, I have to give it time to warm up but have only ever had a hard time twice. Once due to the battery being drained because the key got left in the on position by a tech so I had to jump start it via my van battery, the other time was a fried wire.
Turn the throttle and choke to the middle position, turn the key and bam, she starts right up.
I really have a lot to think about, because as soon as I am able I do plan on getting a brand new van and machine, which will be my first ever brand new. I really want to make sure it's going to reliable and powerful. I'd like something in the 570 range power wise...but again I also really do want the extra space and cleanliness factor which do make the DD appealing.

 

[Russ T.]

Butler
Cleanco
Sapphire

I'd give each a good look before deciding.

You'll make the right choice for you!

 

[Russ T.]

Even if it's the 570

 

[bob vawter]

Don forget the Steam Genie cuz even a gurl can fix anything that might happen....

 

[Spurlington]

I had a Cleanco disguised as a Prochem direct back in 2007 ish. It was a demo unit with 200 hrs and 30K-ish mi. While the shaft, bearings and clutch were going (not sure which order), the machine tried starting on its own while driving. My guy was in the middle of the job when the clutch seized. Couldnt drive it away because the belt shredded and even if I put on another, the clutch was still seized. Had to have it towed. My clutch was bad, bearings were damaged as well as the shaft. Anytime I had an issue with the slide in TM, I could still drive away.

 

[Pioneer Floorcare]

I had a Cleanco disguised as a Prochem direct back in 2007 ish. It was a demo unit with 200 hrs and 30K-ish mi. While the shaft, bearings and clutch were going (not sure which order), the machine tried starting on its own while driving. My guy was in the middle of the job when the clutch seized. Couldnt drive it away because the belt shredded and even if I put on another, the clutch was still seized. Had to have it towed. My clutch was bad, bearings were damaged as well as the shaft. Anytime I had an issue with the TM, I could still drive away.

Any time you have bad trouble with a DD you should be able to cut the extra belts on the motor and drive away

 

[todg]

How much are those cleanco pti units anyway? My guess is they parallel butler...

After thinking about it...I'm looking for a direct drive that can drive to my next job (on it's own an do all the work) and me sit at home with a big fat cigar...

 

[Russ T.]

Next Gen Direct Drive!

 

[hogjowl]

I don't have any idea of the facts related to the Prochem direct drive. Not even sure if it was actually a Cleanco unit or not. I can tell you this though. I am certain that whoever made that unit was probably frustrated after Prochem came in and tinkered with it to "improve it". Sapphire "improved" the White Magic DD too.

Can you say "service bulletin" three times without getting angry?

 

[Spurlington]

Any time you have bad trouble with a DD you should be able to cut the extra belts on the motor and drive away

My set up was with 1 belt only. Another time the belt shredded I drove less than a mile to shop and it seems like it was about to overheat and of course no power steering.

 

[Spurlington]

I don't have any idea of the facts related to the Prochem direct drive. Not even sure if it was actually a Cleanco unit or not. I can tell you this though. I am certain that whoever made that unit was probably frustrated after Prochem came in and tinkered with it to "improve it". Sapphire "improved" the White Magic DD too.

Can you say "service bulletin" three times without getting angry?

Yes it was a Cleanco for sure .. I had to get the shaft directly from Cleanco in Cananda which took an additional 2 weeks due to customs according to the repair shop.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

I had a Cleanco disguised as a Prochem direct back in 2007 ish. It was a demo unit with 200 hrs and 30K-ish mi. While the shaft, bearings and clutch were going (not sure which order), the machine tried starting on its own while driving. My guy was in the middle of the job when the clutch seized. Couldnt drive it away because the belt shredded and even if I put on another, the clutch was still seized. Had to have it towed. My clutch was bad, bearings were damaged as well as the shaft. Anytime I had an issue with the TM, I could still drive away.

 

[Russ T.]

I've had a bearing go in my clutch twice in the last couple years. The first time I panicked, and ordered a $300 clutch from KC.

I had it ready for my local mechanic to install but he seems to be willing/able to rebuild the old one for me and reinstall for @ $120.

I can tell when it's going to go because it develops a whine.

He told me to hang on to the new clutch just in case.

 

[Jimmy L]

Yeah Russ I ordered a clutch from KC too. $300 was a rip off. Now I have the Pitts clutch number and can get one half price online.

 

[Russ T.]

Yeah Russ I ordered a clutch from KC too. $300 was a rip off. Now I have the Pitts clutch number and can get one half price online.

I couldn't find it online. If you've got a link, I'll try to return the Cleanco one! The guys at the mechanic shop laughed when I told them I paid $300 for it.

 

[Spurlington]

I can tell when it's going to go because it develops a whine.

Yes a whirring whine .. I do remember that happening. I also had a similar noise when my rear end was going bad in a previous van.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Yes a whirring whine .. I do remember that happening. I also had a similar noise when my rear end was going bad in a previous van.

When my rear end goes bad it's not exactly a whirring whine, but more like a low growl.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

When my rear end goes bad it's not exactly a whirring whine, but more like a low growl.

 

[Spurlington]

When my rear end goes bad it's not exactly a whirring whine, but more like a low growl.

Ahh .. thats gas Kellie .. eat less beans !!

 

[Steve Lawrence]

It's taken me 6 years to get most of the bugs out of my GMC. (Butler unit has been mostly fine.)

 

[Kellie Hiler]

See, that's just it. There are pros and cons to both types of machines. To me, the only con of the slide in is less space in the van which is huge for me, I like organization and space very much. I do miss our extended van that we used to have.

 

[hogjowl]

The cleanliness of a direct drive is wonderful. No soot, no oil and no night crawlers looking through your van while your two stories up cleaning at night.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

The cleanliness of a direct drive is wonderful. No soot, no oil and no night crawlers looking through your van while your two stories up cleaning at night.

Yeah....that is a huge bonus right there. Especially now that I'm working alone .

 

[mirf]

Also when you get that employee going out by themselves more reliable.

 

[shadygrady]

My experience with shaft-drives tellsme that the shaft bearings are a precursor to clutch failure.