Who buys an Electric Truckmount?

[Dolly Llama]

. I also cut my van repair costs by 2/3.

how's that, Art??
You have to haul the equipment to the job site somehow whether lectro vacs or gas TM

are you one of the VERY few that counts van repair costs as being related to power the pump and blower?
I agree it should be, but most don't account for that because there's no way to say an engine water pump or tranny failure was "directly" related to the driving the TM


as far as the hybrid , it does look industrial compared to the plastic portys bolted in a van.
But I still question the virtues of running a large GAS engine to power a LARGE generator to run lectro vacs , when it could be used to spin a blower ...which is indeed 10 times more expensive than an electric vac, but with minimal care will last 20 times longer than a vac motor .
Not to mention generators aren't "bullet proof" either .
So the jury is still out as to whether or not TM repairs and down time are all that much different over the life of a good gas TM




lectromounts certainly have a place in the market...but they ain't there yet as a viable alternative to the everyday full time operator


..L.T.A.

 

[Art Kelley]

how's that, Art??
You have to haul the equipment to the job site somehow whether lectro vacs or gas TM

..L.T.A.

My Chevy Express IS part of the carpet cleaning machine, a very big and problematic part. Once it went off warranty at three years (and I will say within weeks of that date) I started the cycle of replacing (or I should say my local Goodyear dealer did the work) each and every under hood part except the motor itself. Every****ingthing. An average of at least $3000/yr in repairs. The direct drive system beats hell out of the van.

 

[bob vawter]

come on Art....
was U usin' a calculator.........

or jus counting wit yor fingers...................?




















sorry Art.......
i jus couldn't hep mysef!

 

[ruff]

My Chevy Express IS part of the carpet cleaning machine, a very big and problematic part. Once it went off warranty at three years (and I will say within weeks of that date) I started the cycle of replacing (or I should say my local Goodyear dealer did the work) each and every under hood part except the motor itself. Every****ingthing. An average of at least $3000/yr in repairs. The direct drive system beats hell out of the van.

My transmission went a week after the warranty. Murphy is a bitch isn't he?
And yes the PTOs are hard on the van's engine and transmission, not so much on the van's other parts as a slide in since it weighs more.

Still, most PTOs will give you quite a few years of very little repair. That's why the Snows sell them after 5-6 years. Though they put a lot more hours on them than us O/O mortals. So, we should get more than that.
My experience of needed repairs through 23 years with PTOs has not been anywhere as bad as what you're describing though. Did you get a lemon?

 

[bob vawter]

And yes the PTOs are hard on the van's engine and transmission

from my experience.......the vans engine is only using 10% maybe 15 % capacity where as
a small engine is working at 90% to 100% capacity......

 

[ruff]

Bob, I am the least knowledgeable on this board regarding anything mechanical.
My mechanic who is really good and super experienced, claims that van's engines are not designed to work for hours in park. They are designed to run on the freeway.
Sounds logical to me, but what do I know?

What' s your take on it?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Cooling while traveling would be the only difference would it not?

MAYBE you just need a good ETM?

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/bfs/3705880783.html

 

[Dolly Llama]

Cooling while traveling would be the only difference would it not?

direct drive owners seem to have more tranny probs on average than slide-in owners.
same for water pumps

heat related??...i donno
Every van I've owned went over 200K miles and I've never cooked a tranny.
never changed fluid or filter either
nor have I ever replaced a water pump


..L.T.A.

 

[Mikey P]

well until that 400 CFM ETM comes along, I would recommend one of these as a backup or for high rise work.

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showth...le-500-psi-and-your-choice-of-heat-or-3rd-vac

 

[bob vawter]

Dumb people don KNOW that they are dumb....cuz
WTF would be dumb ON PURPOSE...


it's jus a matter of not knowing is all........all the time I ran Direct Drive i NEVER had a trans go out...and believe me i put a LOT of hours on them.....
i know that this will not sound so good....
but speaking for all the PTO people.......we think yous slide in guys are broke dick hacks......

god did i jus say that?

 

[Mikey P]

Having had a Butler and a Vortex I think different.

 

[bob vawter]

Having had a Butler and a Vortex I think different.

well FIRST Mikey....everbody knows that you can't run a trans PTO that many hours...they jus not made for it ...
and secondly the Butler was prolly above yor mechanical skill level.....cuz they gots all them stupit on and off switches.......

 

[Mikey P]

my team is going to the playoffs.

 

[bob vawter]

i THINK we're one pt out......three games ta go...WE won tonite!

do you even OWN a circuit tester mikey....
do you know what one looks like....?

 

[Mikey P]

Who needs a circuit tester when I have Jim Martin on Speed Dial.

 

[ruff]

Every van I've owned went over 200K miles and I've never cooked a tranny.
never changed fluid or filter either
nor have I ever replaced a water pump ..L.T.A.

Damn. Talk about beginners luck!

Is it the shoes, Larry?

 

[pablomoreno]

Nice Discussion.

I sold my trusty Fox Tm in November and installed an early all stainless steel Savage 1 electric TM in the sprinter. I traded for it several years ago, and primarily used it on a cart in secure computer companies. I cleaned 46000 sf in one facility one week in 2010 with it. It has two Lamb 117500-13 fans in it that produce right at 300 cfm at the machine with 140" lift. I use a pumptec 356 pressure pump and a LG#3 heater. It dropped over 500 lbs of van weight giving me about .5 mpg better milage. It has been an interesting experience using it daily. I generally use a MYtee AHP booster at the front door, which also has auto pumpout. Cfm measured at the front door is right at 400 cfm at 12.2" hg. I mostly clean high end residential with it and larger commercial which generally I'll use a Cimex, Brush Pro, Whittaker or dual speed Rotary on. The slightly longer setup time is offset by less maintenance, running costs. For an eclectic old man...like myself, this is more than enough machine. My clients are happy and still give me tips even though I'm charging fron .45-65 sf. I ran a decent sized Fox long enough...15 years...to appreciate what i was trading off. This machine requires the porch booster to equal the cfm at 100' I could get with the Fox cranked up. That's ok though. It takes 1/3 the time to maintain and costs under $30 a week to run. There's a bit more profit on each job.... not a bad thing.