truckmount vs portable

Hi guys. Well I going into my third year cleaning using a portable(sandia 500 with heat) which i have had great results with but really getting tired of lugging up and down stairs. I have read a lot of forums here are the discussions over portables vs truckmounts. Well i finally had a chance to take a look a a used unit that was hooked up in a trailer. First of all the demo was with 50 ft of hose and solution and i could not believe the difference in heat and suction it had compared to my porty. It did have 150 ft in the trailer but i didn't think it would make much difference in the performance so i didn't ask for a demo on that.

Like the questions.  I to am in the debate of tm vs portable.  The messages I keep getting is that the newer more powerful portables are just as good and more cost effictive since we all know gas is going to go back up.  So more maintance issues and higher gas prices can be more offset by purchasing another portable.  I am looking at running two portables out of a trailer to the jobsite, one dual surface high pressure (IE Mytee M-12) and one with standard settings and probably heat for carpet but have considered a bucket heater as well.  Other options are to get an auto fill and pump out with a water tank in trailer so as to allow set up of machine at front door with less need to move it around jobsite.  These days you have to make every penny count and the colleges/mentors I know that have truckmounts are all talking up portables now as the future of cleaning. 

I have to agree. I have been in business for 20 years and up until 1 month ago had used a high powered electric portable machine that was permanently mounted in my vans. It ran a 120000 btu gas heater, 500 psi hawk pump, had auto fill and dump as well as two 1100 watt vac motors and another 4 1100 watt vac motors in two booster boxes. I could easily use 180 feet of 2 inch vac hose and had more heat than many petrol driven truckmounts. When I needed to run 90 feet of hose ( most of the time ) I would only hook up 4 vac motors. Repair and maintenance were minimal, in fact it had been 5 years between visits to my service tech. Weekly bill for the lpg was around $10 - $20. Too many guys get into the Tim the Toolman mentality when it comes to equipment and end up with gear they dont really need and some can't really afford. I am keeping all my old gear as it will end up in a second van and the only reason I have finally bought a petrol driven truckmount is to avoid having a big tax bill. The Aussie government has just introduced an incentive scheme to help business by giving us a 50% rebate on the purchase of new equipment. Dont cry foul guys my new Prochem costs $38000 over here. A little bit more than you can buy one for I'm guessing. In any case the quality of the job comes down to the ability of the operator NOT how much his equipment cost.

Edited by RIP IT - 16/July/2009 at 2:07am

I was also well and truly over laying out and rolling up power leads.