Portable wash bays

[SNOW JW]

Hi long time visitor but first time poster. Ok so I a trucking biz and also do some portable washing on the side pull behind pickup system. Here is my question our customers are mine based so it can be gangbusters for a year or three then nothing. Also land has gone sky high in the small town plus it’s almost impossible to even buy land but I already have land on lease and have room to spare. Another plus is I can put it on my step deck when summer season is over as our season is only 8 months out of the year.
So my ?? is I am looking for a portable wash bay system that will take cash and Credit Card and the large company would like to have a key card system and pay monthly. I have power but water will need to be brought in this is not a huge problem as I have farmer that has a well about 500 yards from the land and I can fill tanks every night or morning if needed. But would like to try a closed loop recycling system if possible to reduce my cost and keep my land owner happy that and water is $25 per 1000 Gal.

Most of the customers will be company dully pickup rigs. Allot of single pickups ¾ ton and the sort with some trailers pulling skid steer units ect. If I can get a large enough unit I could keep the unit busy almost full time with semi trucks if there is such a beast??I have looked at waste2water Inc. and Hydro Engineering Inc. but have not started to make the phone calls yet. Here is a link to the units http://www.hydroblaster.com/3pics50KTrackhoe.htm


So is there such a unit out there that will fit my needs?? Has anyone had any experience with any of these units?? Keeping a unit busy is not a problem but I need a unit that will keep my customers happy and something I can work on at night and weekends if and when it needs maintenance but I would like to keep the break downs to a minimum as I am busy working with my semi trucks during the day.

Any help would be great.

 

[Kevin Reilly]

Type in the carwashshow.com
The International Car Wash Association is putting on their annual show in Las Vegas in about 7 days...May 7-9. Look thru the exhibitors at the show and you may find your answer by contacting them if you don't get any answers here.

 

[mac]

Well good luck Snow JW, because you'll need it. I admire your business drive, but you need to take a hard look at what you are trying to do. And a lot of the reclaim salespeople at the show won't be of much help. Basically there is no reclaim unit out there that is going to supply you with rinse water quality at anything approaching a reasonable price. You will be washing dirty work trucks, hauling in clean water, and hauling out dirty water and pit mud. You had better find out now, before you spend any money, where you can legally dump this. You can blast the dirt off of a car or truck pretty easily, but to get a sparkling clean one will take more effort and equipment. There will be equipment manufacturers at the show washing cars with water using portable wash pads. That would be a good place to start. I am also skeptical that you will find any system that you can turn loose during the day that will require no personnel there. You can be sure that the first day you are working on your semis and are 100 miles away that something will break and require you to be there. With the basic equipment of a wash pad, entry system, air compressor, your water pressurization system, your waste water system, and possably water softener and RO system, you will be getting close to $100K, and because you are new to the industry banks will not talk to you. Please don't take this as some disgruntled musings by siome old fart, although it may actually be that. I have just seen too many salespeople in this business who would tell you how smart you are for coming up with this and take your money. You need to work with a local distributor who really knows this and can advise accordingly.

 

[Indiana Wash]

$25 per 1000 gallons?!? I thought you were talking about a portable car wash system not a portable recycling system. That pad is only a portable recycling system. Seems like a lot of money to save water.

 

[MudMoney]

Are you in Belgrade Montana? I was contact by Mt fish wildlife and parks last year about setting up a remote site so hunters could wash off the mud that contained noxious weeds as it is a big problem on the range land.I gave them afigure and problems they would run into,they thanked me for my time and shelved the idea.You should too.

 

[SNOW JW]

I am in MT but we run the biz a good ways away from Belgrade.

I think your advice is spot on so for now I have just been looking at buying some land and this will leave me with options down the road in a year or 2.

Will post some more ??s later on Thanks for the help and love the forum.