New Trailer

[Mark 8262]

In January I was just about to get a job and become a part-timer now I just got a new trailer (well it's new to me). I went from a 6 x 10 to a 6 x 16. I have worked real hard to build up my business after loosing most of it at the beginning of the year due to the economy. In August I had my best month ever. I'm not rolling in money, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel

I had all this on a 10 foot trailer
6 gpm 4000 psi hot water machine
4 gpm 4000 psi hot water machine
24" steel eagle surface cleaner (had to keep in the van)
21" mosmatic surface cleaner (had to keep in the van)
275 gallon tote
300 feet of pressure hose
300 feet of water hose
traffic cones
2 15 gallon drums of chlorine
5 gallons of degreaser

I still have to mount my hose reels


It is so much nicer to have the extra space.

 

[chrishartje]

Congratulations, Mark
Keep up the hard work!:thumbup2:

 

[Richard Fleming]

I am moving my equipment from a 6 x 12 trailer to a 6.5 x 16 trailer....everything is ready just been lazy about doing the swap. I have an Alkota skid and another Alkota cold water washer.......plus a 500 gal tank. I strap my Big Guy to the tongue of the trailer when I take it to do flat work.
When I move everything over I will be adding a hot box (I already have it) to the cold water unit. May wait till winter to do the move!

 

[Christopher]

A lot of us have metal plates welded to the trailer top rails so we can mount hose reels there, nice and easy to get to. Just make sure that the top rail is strong or get it reinforced.

Sounds like you are doing things right and growing your business. Keep up the good work.

 

[El Flojo]

Good job! I myself am looking in to buying a 99 chevrolet 3500 16' flatbed truck dually. the truck is deisel and runs good. the guy is asking $3200.00 cash for it. not sure if its a good idea though. the other option would be to get a new trailer with 2 5klbs axles on it and 6'5" x 16'L pipetop for $600.00 brand new and deagrease a big johndeer tractor. I kinda need the truck but was looking at putting 2 PW on the rig with a 525 tank,+ 1 55 gal chem tank with pump.??????????? sory dont want to hijack but too lazy to start my own thread after a 14hr hot azz day.

 

[Christopher]

Good job! I myself am looking in to buying a 99 chevrolet 3500 16' flatbed truck dually. the truck is deisel and runs good. the guy is asking $3200.00 cash for it. not sure if its a good idea though. the other option would be to get a new trailer with 2 5klbs axles on it and 6'5" x 16'L pipetop for $600.00 brand new and deagrease a big johndeer tractor. I kinda need the truck but was looking at putting 2 PW on the rig with a 525 tank,+ 1 55 gal chem tank with pump.??????????? sory dont want to hijack but too lazy to start my own thread after a 14hr hot azz day.

Like the debate of trucks vs. trailers always goes on and on and on.

I have been wanting to get a flatbed truck because it will get into places that it is hard to get a trailer into and just about anyone with a license can drive a pickup with/without a flatbed on it where most people out there do not have experience pulling a trailer.

Both of those sound like good deals.

Get a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle and put truck on one side and trailer on the other and write out the positives of each then do the same thing on another sheet of paper for the negatives and that might show you the best option for you.

I want to get a 14' pipe top rail trailer with 6000 pound axles to hold 2 hot water rigs, tanks, hose reels, etc... but have enough extra strength so you don't bend an axle hitting a speed bump, potholes, etc... like I did the year before last.

5000 pound axles are great but what is the empty weight of the trailer itself? Do all the math and try to leave some extra weight so nothing happens to the axles if you are close to capacity.

The last pipe toprail trailer I looked at was about 2100 pounds empty with 5000 pound axles so you had 7900 pounds to work with.

Figure 1000 pounds for each hot water skid (coil full of water) then what about the diesel and gas in the tanks?

500 gallon tank will be about 4165 pounds with water then the tank about 150 pounds so figure about 4315 pounds total.

Figure the hose reels maybe 125 pounds each with hose (200') more or less.

Figure out the math so far: 7900
- 1000 hot water skid
= 6900
- 1000 hot water skid
= 5900
- 4315 water tank full of water
= 1585
- 125 pressure hose reel
= 1460
- 125 pressure hose reel
= 1335
etc......

 

[FoxCPM]

Like the debate of trucks vs. trailers always goes on and on and on.

I have been wanting to get a flatbed truck because it will get into places that it is hard to get a trailer into and just about anyone with a license can drive a pickup with/without a flatbed on it where most people out there do not have experience pulling a trailer.

Both of those sound like good deals.

Get a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle and put truck on one side and trailer on the other and write out the positives of each then do the same thing on another sheet of paper for the negatives and that might show you the best option for you.
etc......

I am in process of building a PW setup on a flatbed. The truck is f-450 7.3l diesel power stroke, with capacity 6000 pounds front axle and 11000 pounds rear axle. The flatbed is 16ft. by 8ft. We are expanding our services primarily for commercial work, but lately since all the property managers have become so cheap and hard to deal with, we will try some residential work as well. So far I have purchased a 325gal water tank and 35gal. chem. tank. I regret that I bought 35gal instead of 100-125gal., because I have plenty of space. Starting front to back: first line: 325gal tank, second line: 35gal tank (later I will upgrade with bigger one), Delavan Fatboy chem pump and a chemical hose/reel, third line: PW machine 5.6GPM 3500PSI hydro-tek, fourth line: supply water hose/reel, 2 reels/high pressure hoses.
The truck has a heavy duty hitch that allows additional trailer.
This truck is a monster and can carry and pull a lot of weight with no problem. The issue is that is so hard to maneuver compared to the Isuzu NPR sweeper trucks we have. I had the idea to keep low clearance and no trailer in order to be able to get into covered garages (a lot in our area), but I don't think this truck will be easy in the tight curves between the garage floors. The clearance is another issue (around 8ft with the tank).
I've been waiting for the PW unit which somehow got lost from the shipping company. That pisses me off, but I cant draw the whole picture without it , so I am still waiting so as our customers (...
Here are some pics of the truck (the water tank is on already, but no pics)
PICS

 

[crfguy168]

Good job Mark!! That skid is not near as shiny as when I first saw it, LOL

 

[Christopher]

That is like the truck that I would like to get.

How much did you get it for?

Unless you are having to haul water or have water supply issues, you can get by with a smaller tank, it is just a buffer so the skid does not run out.

For the parking garages you can always pull a smaller trailer with a water tank if needed to keep the height of the truck down but the skid.....that might be a problem. You might have to take it off for those parking garage jobs and put it onto the trailer temporarily.

Just get some long jumper hoses to connect from the skid to the hose reels on the truck, when done, just disconnect the jumper hoses and throw them into the trailer (use plugs/couplers on the hoses and hose reels so you can disconnect them and connect them quickly.)

 

[FoxCPM]

That is like the truck that I would like to get.

How much did you get it for?

Unless you are having to haul water or have water supply issues, you can get by with a smaller tank, it is just a buffer so the skid does not run out.

For the parking garages you can always pull a smaller trailer with a water tank if needed to keep the height of the truck down but the skid.....that might be a problem. You might have to take it off for those parking garage jobs and put it onto the trailer temporarily.

Just get some long jumper hoses to connect from the skid to the hose reels on the truck, when done, just disconnect the jumper hoses and throw them into the trailer (use plugs/couplers on the hoses and hose reels so you can disconnect them and connect them quickly.)

I got it for a great deal. The truck is 1999, 130000 miles, brand new tires, excellent condition. It had some fuel problems. The seller thought that it was injectors problem (common for these trucks) and didnt want to pay any money for repair. I took the risk and it turned out the truck just needed new fuel filters and diesel tank flush. It runs now like a monster ).
I was thinking to upgrade later on with a reclaiming system after we earn some experience and pay off the investment, and still be able to keep all the good stuff on the flatbed truck.
Oh, forgot to mention, paid $4000 cash + $400 for oil change, all filters change and fuel tank flush. The same truck with 200000miles is selling at the local commercial dealership for $10800 .

 

[Christopher]

You got a real good deal on that truck!

That is great that it just needed some filters and flushing.

My dad has a similar truck but V-10 gas engine with standard transmission but it is a quick truck!

He had a steel box made onto the bed so it is a chipper truck and he has put about 5 tons into that box before so I know that frame can hold a lot of weight for pressure washing equipment.