Will this truckmount work for me?
Printed From: Carpet Cleaning Forum
Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Truck Mount Carpet Steam Cleaning Machines & Equipment
Forum Description: Discuss anything relating to truckmounts
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4767
Printed Date: 13/May/2024 at 4:56pm
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Topic: Will this truckmount work for me?
Posted By: cleanerg
Subject: Will this truckmount work for me?
Date Posted: 19/February/2008 at 5:39pm
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Hey there!
I'm a newbie here so let me thank everyone in advance for the advise. I'm adding carpet cleaning to my current service industry business. The client base will fit hand in hand, so I'm excited about the potential for growth!
I'm looking at buying a Prochem Legend - 4522 hours - 80 g. Waste Tank - 35 g. Fresh Tank - chemical storage rack - carpet wand - vacuum hose reel w/100' of vac. hose and solution hose reel w/100' of solution hose. They want $3999, is that reasonable. And will this be able to do good work for me for at least a year of pretty heavy use?
The plan is to learn this unit myself, then train a tech to take over the van. I know that sounds far more simple than it will actually be, but I know we can get the work to make iot worth the hassle.
I'm a newbie to carpet cleaning. I'm looking around all the forums, but other than that, if anyone has any words of wisdom for me .... I'm all ears and very, very appreciative.
Thanks for your help!
Mike
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Replies:
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 19/February/2008 at 7:48pm
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Just use the search on this site. Most of the answers are here. ------------- Inventor of the Teflon Wand Glide and the Turboteck Rotary Air Duct Cleaners for TMs. |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 19/February/2008 at 8:43pm
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Whats your location.. You might be competition.. Just do what Ken said.. So much info on this site.. Look around.. |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:16am
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Cmon guys there is too much useless info on the site it will take him years to get any answer. Ken I'm surprised you can post bullsh*t but when someone ask a question you can't answer it.
Answer: 4500 hours that seems a lot of a legend.. it'll most likely need some engine work if it hasn't had some already, but for 4 grand... it's not bad..just be prepared. A slide in is a very touchy machine to use, it will be hard to train someone on it so easy.
this machine might give you a year of good solid work...but breakdowns and repairs are just around the corner IMO. Get it but look for something better if business kicks off for you
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Posted By: baires
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:43am
| Hello Mike, for less than $ 7000 you must be prepared to go to the mechanic.... unless you know the seller and he can provide you all the maintenance papers for the truck. In this case my advice is don't go for the price, you pay cheap now and tomorrow a phone call to the customer "sorry we need to make an other appoiment". Good luck in this game. Pablo.- |
Posted By: cleanerg
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:48am
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Thank you very much Steamer. I really appreciate the answer. There is a ton of stuff on here and I've been searching, but like you said it's real time consuming, and I've got a million things to get done in the next 3-4 weeks here.
Any specific brand names I should be looking for as far as used truckmounts go? I would like to limit it to $6k. Is it possible to get a decent truckmount for this price that will hold up to heavy use for at least a year?
I've got an investor who's got the cash to do some serious marketing. We are hiring an outside sales crew for commercial accounts too. I expect this machine to be used very heavily, and it will be the main machine. So I need for it to be reliable. I would expect it will be running two shifts a day by May-June. Day for res. night for commercial.
If it only runs for a year ... I'm o.k. with that. Even 6 months would be o.k. but I need something reliable. What should I expect to be spending on a used machine that could take that much use? Do I need to go new? If I do that can likely be arranged, but I need to spend as little of my investors money as possible.
Again, any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I will use the search tool as well, but it's pretty tough to find the exact info I need.
If I need a new one, what's the best brand to get and how much caqn I expect it to cost me?
If anyone has a used unit for sale (without the vehicle only) let me know ... I may be interested, even if it needs to be shipped.
Thanks a million guys. I have a lot of marketing expericence. I also have plenty of experience buying and selling businesses .... so I'm happy to help with anything I can in that area!!
Mike
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Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 1:51pm
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That guy lives right down the street from you Mr.Steamer..lol
 No name.. No location .. What are you afraid of..?
 You might want to consider backup also.. Like a porty or 175 rotary on board.. You never know when they won't start.....
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Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 2:20pm
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even thoug he might..doesn't mean I would lead him down the wrong path.
I would say if you know you're going to have good business get a brand new machine...
The engine for a legend only cost 2500..... so that maybe the way to go too..
good luck
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Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 2:37pm
Of course not.. We are all Brothers right..?  .. If i was in your shoes I wouldn't buy a TM with that many hrs.. Man you better be good with a wrench.. that is alot of hrs of useage..
Buying new would be the smart way to invest.. Or a used under 1000hrs..
Don't forget ------------------------BACKUP UNIT..
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Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 3:33pm
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$7000 will make alot of payments on a new truckmount. Something to consider?? ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: baires
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 4:02pm
| Only.....If you have a good line of credit. |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 5:01pm
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He has an investor! ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: baires
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 7:25pm
| But his investor's budget is limit to 6k.- |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 7:37pm
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6K can get a new Scout.. OH YEAH..!
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Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 8:01pm
$400 to $500 a month will get you a very nice new truckmount with a tax write off. You can do it for less and still have a new unit. I my self never owned a new unit and was always repairing a unit. If I was going to do it over again I would buy a new unit. Down time costs money, breakdowns on the job just plain suck! Why would you want to spend your off time repairing or trouble shooting instead of building your business??  ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: Steaminpile
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 8:20pm
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yeah but I had a new unit that i worked on constantly lol
u never know
if you're not mechanical yet insist on a TM i'd go with a pto
and as far as employees running it.............i'd definately go pto ------------- A.K.A. Andy |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 8:22pm
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Sorry Andy but you had a sh*tty dealer ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: baires
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 8:27pm
| Well, let see, If you are talking about a new truckmount (Direct Drive) there is no way to thinking in that with this budget. Now if we are focus on slide-in units I can tell you some prices here in Calgary where I am located. Prochem Blazer new unit: with $ 3000 down, your monthly payments are around $ 550 on 36 months on approved credit and if you put $ 5000 down your payments going down to $ 365 monthly. And one step more is the truck. We don't now if he already have one to put de unit in. |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 8:56pm
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Nobody said anything about a pto unit, In fact if you think you are going to buy a truck and unit that is any good for $6000 you deserve what you have comming to you! I understood that he was talking about the unit itself. ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:03pm
| go for that used unit to start... just order a extra engine..and a back up pump... you'll be fine |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:27pm
| You'll be fine until you have to replace that new engine.. Man that is alot of work.. downtime.. Hope you know some good TM mechanics.. |
Posted By: FuzzSucker
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:49pm
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The real decision will come down to how handy you are and how willing you are to spend the time and money on repairs. If you have a garage full of tools you can't wait to use, buy used in the $3000 - $4000 (trust me you will use those tools at that price range). If you don't have the know-how or the will to fix a machine (not to mention a garage) and have a dealer near you that will service the machine under a warranty, I say buy a new "brand name machine" in the range of $10,000 - $12,000 (a starter machine). If you want a reasonable sort of guarantee that it will run for at least two years, and your a bit of a gambler, buy a new "brand x machine" in the range of $6000 - $9000. If you only have $7000 in the first place, I would say do a lease option on any of the options above and keep the money for advertising or worse case scenario money and lets not forget the vehicle. ------------- http://thepremierclean.com - http://thepremierclean.com | http://carpetcleaning-coloradosprings.com - Colorado Springs Carpet Cleaning |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:56pm
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Usually New you get 2-3yr warranty on the engine.. 5yrs on the wastetank and frame.. 1-2 on the pump and HX'ers.. After that its on your 1000's...
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Posted By: FuzzSucker
Date Posted: 20/February/2008 at 9:56pm
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One other thing to mention, if you do buy used, buy from an individual that has owned the machine for most of its life and has been in the business for a while. Large companies can have a hundred people working for them that used and abused those machines to death. Also with an individual you can call them if some problem arises, if they have had that thing for five or so years most people will be more than happy to give you a word of advice over the phone. ------------- http://thepremierclean.com - http://thepremierclean.com | http://carpetcleaning-coloradosprings.com - Colorado Springs Carpet Cleaning |
Posted By: cleanerg
Date Posted: 21/February/2008 at 10:55am
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Hey guys,
I can't thank you enough for the immediate relplies. There are more helpful than you can imagine.
A new machine is absolutely a possibility. I just have to justify to my investor that it is worth the extra expencem, and from what I hear it ilikely is.
I am completely new to this industry. I have absolutely zero experience with the emchanical workings of the truckmount machines. I will be learning quickly I'm sure, but if the thing goes ... I'm s.o.l.
Sounds like I can tell him 10-12k will get us a new truckmount unit that is a decent brand. For this price can I get 200-250 ft of hoses and my wand as well. Or will there be an additional cost for all of my supplies?
The vehicles are seperate from the money I'm looking to spend on the machine. So I'm not looking for both for 6k. Getting a line of credit on the machine will not be a problem. I'm just wanting to keep operating expences as low as possible without having any more downtime due to breakdowns than nessicary.
Thanks again all. Sorry about the no name or location ... not hiding anything ... I'm in Northern Colorado. Just haven't had the time to fill out the profile. It will be coming soon.
Mike
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Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 21/February/2008 at 11:51am
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Good point fuzz..
Like you said above cleaneng you will be working 2 shifts.. A new TM would pay itself off pretty fast.. And you will have a warranty and support for troubleshooting..
Buy new.. Its worth it.. Don't be afraid to take a risk.. You only live once man.. I did..............
It was a good choice..Good luck on your decision..
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Posted By: FuzzSucker
Date Posted: 21/February/2008 at 11:18pm
| SoCO here |