Large Vehicle Wash Systems

[DiamondWash]

I just had a record day with Amazon and FedEx with their Sprinter Vans so far 84 washed in my 3 Self Serve bays started at 1 p.m and is still going strong at 6 p.m being Amazon just built a new distribution station down the road from me they are now actively looking for a place to wash their fleet and I'm the only wash in town to accommodate them (for now), at almost 9ft tall these cannot fit in any IBA so it would have to be a drive-thru style either fully touchless or hybrid.

 

[soonermajic]

Mac's extended Istobal Flex 5 can't do that?

 

[OurTown]

Mac's extended Istobal Flex 5 can't do that?

He says it does but these vans are a hair under 9 feet tall and that machine specs out to 8' 6". The Ram Promaster vans that Amazon also uses are under 8' 6" though.

 

[mac]

I’ll see if I can post a picture with this. The Istobal I have washes up tp 9’-8” tall. I got the hybrid for those vans with racks on top. Does either friction or touchless. This might be hard to believe but sometimes the factory will not quite be sure and just read from a brochure. You have to use an off board blower with it. Does regular cars just fine too. Come on down if you want to see it. You can fly into Punta Gorda on Alliegent pretty cheap. And did I mention the high here today will be 80?

 

[mac]

Forgot to add to count your blessings about Amazon being so close. I charge $15 for the big ones.

 

[DiamondWash]

I wonder if WashWorld could make the Profile able to wash taller vehicles I have seen it done with the Razor

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=125215186029526

 

[AnalyticWash]

I’ll see if I can post a picture with this. The Istobal I have washes up tp 9’-8” tall. I got the hybrid for those vans with racks on top. Does either friction or touchless. This might be hard to believe but sometimes the factory will not quite be sure and just read from a brochure. You have to use an off board blower with it. Does regular cars just fine too. Come on down if you want to see it. You can fly into Punta Gorda on Alliegent pretty cheap. And did I mention the high here today will be 80?

What do your wash times look like? I have never been impressed with throughput from any Istobal machine I have ever seen. I have not seen the Flex5 in action though.

 

[mac]

I have the three brush machine and offer a basic and deluxe wash in both friction and touchless. My basic is around 5 min and the top is around 7 minutes. The five brush machine takes a little over 2 minutes off of the time. You bring up a point that I have pondered over for many years. Say you had a machine that could do a top wash , wax, and dry in one minute. I think a lot of customers would feel cheated and you would have a hard time getting $15 for it. My auto is the most expensive wash in town for an IBA. I priced it knowing some would think it too pricy, but when they get in they feel like they got a good product for the money. I am not washing 50 to 80 cpd, but still net a decent return, and the machine doesn't get worn out. This model works for me but I can see your point. When I was selling these if people mentioned slow wash times I told them to buy two machines. That's not meant to be a joke. A friend of mine has four of these and does quite well.

 

[washnshine]

Say you had a machine that could do a top wash , wax, and dry in one minute. I think a lot of customers would feel cheated and you would have a hard time getting $15 for it.

Interesting. The tunnel/express customers can’t adopt that mindset since every wash takes the same amount of time. Maybe this is a more common thought for IBA customers since they often are installed at locations with self serves, where “more money equals more time” is the case.

 

[washnshine]

Forgot to add to count your blessings about Amazon being so close. I charge $15 for the big ones.

Mac - how is the size of the vehicle differentiated at the paystation so that they are charged $15?

 

[Roz]

Istobal is slow in comparison to a Razor (almost twice the time for same wash package), however it does clean cars nicely and with little in the way of chemicals & water. Razor has much better owner controls than the Istobal (especially remote controls). We have a Razor 4 and a Istobal M22 - customers seem to be split 50/50. on the use with some customers locked (mentally) into one or the other and not being flexible when we need to close a IBA for service.

 

[mac]

Wasn’t clear on my post. I don’t charge more for the big vans but most choose the top package.

 

[mac]

Rob you brought up a good point. When I was actively selling machines I traveled to hundreds of washes and talked to wash customers a lot. I was always amazed by some responses. Even in places with a hedious machine there were some customers who loved it. As operators we look closely at the mechanics of the machine, while customers go by the feel of the wash process.

 

[BenBranam]

You might talk to Brad Quay at D&S Car Washes. It's what he does.

https://dscarwash.com/

 

[DiamondWash]

Well, today FedEx wanted to try to help me raise my WashWorld Razor with their Sprinter Van while I was at lunch, unfortunately, it didn't work and now so far it looks like I'm replacing the gearbox, and motor assembly may be more when the service tech inspects it tomorrow.



It's not high enough let's raise it some more, floor it Harold!!!!

 

[soonermajic]

DANGGGGG

 

[Kramerwv]

Man we had a church bus do something similar last year - somehow giving it some gas must seem reasonable as you hear scraping on top of the vehicle. Luckily their insurance paid and we were only down about 3-4 weeks. Could’ve been a disaster. Hope yours is as easy to fix as possible.

 

[Bud's]

In central MN the delivery trucks get washed at night in the warehouse. I wonder how long paying a driver and paying retail price to wash will last before they start washing in house like they do here?

 

[Waxman]

I'm thinking of installing a rigid height restriction sign as a barrier to entry for overheight vehicles when I install my new equipment. I would rather replace a damaged double 2'x 8' than a gearbox on my machine!

 

[OurTown]

I'm thinking of installing a rigid height restriction sign as a barrier to entry for overheight vehicles when I install my new equipment. I would rather replace a damaged double 2'x 8' than a gearbox on my machine!

^This!^