Single HP Boom w/ Wall Mount FB Boom

[Bubbles Galore]

Current Problem

I am missing out on a lot of potential revenue with my bay height at a max of 10'2". The cable company used to wash their trucks at my wash until they got new ones that were about 3" too high. The 500+ site campground that is north of me doesn't allow campers to wash their trailers on their property. They must take them off site to wash them, and I am only about 3 miles to the south on the same road.

Current Situation

I have the D/H boom that has the HP boom and FB boom on the same central shaft. This setup prohibits me from being able to allow vehicles taller than 10'2".

Proposed Fix

I want to put up a single HP boom in the center of the bay and put up a wall mount boom to help rectify the situation. This should allow me to get at least another 12-18" of clearance.

I have "0" experience or knowledge about any other type of boom setups. I want to get a quality boom for both the HP and the FB. Before I just pick one, I wanted to see what everyone else had to say.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Allow me to simplify

What is a good HP boom?

 

[MEP001]

Our booms are made by Dralco. Kleen-Rite carries one made by JE Adams which is identical in dimensions and seems to be about as strong. Last I checked, both are around $300. It's by far the most common design of boom around.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Does it have the "springback" ability for when the hose gets caught on a mirror like my d/h boom? I definitely need that feature since a lot of customers use the wash as their own race track.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Would this one work?

http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-7284-kleen-rite-spring-boom-stainless-steel-x-brace.aspx

It has the X brace that with any luck would be able to mate well with the four studs I have in the ceiling.

 

[MEP001]

That's the one I had in mind - it's dimensionally identical to the old D/H booms, so unless you can change the way your booms are mounted to increase the bay height it won't change anything. The Dralco ones I mentioned even look identical to the D/H booms.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I guess I need to clarify some more: My current setup consists of a central shaft in the bay that holds both my HP boom(360 degree rotation) and my FB boom(359 degree rotation - very poor setup). If I were to change from my current setup to the one that I linked to above, that should give me a little over a foot of extra clearance.

Make sense?

 

[MEP001]

I think I'd have to see what you mean to understand - sounds like someone tried to make their own dual-boom setup and failed.

 

[Randy]

Pictures would be nice!!

 

[Gabriel]

Why not just call Kleenrite, ask the depth measurement of their single boom and measure what you have now. Bingo! The difference will give you the height gain of your bay.

 

[MEP001]

Why not just call Kleenrite, ask the depth measurement of their single boom and measure what you have now.

From what has been described so far, it's not the boom but the method in which it's mounted that's the problem.

 

[Randy]

That's why I asked for pictures. One picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Not a problem. I will snap some pics tomorrow and post them.

...I will check my hard drive and see if I have any I can post tonight.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

HaHa (insert maniacal laughter)

Sweet Victory!

Here is a link. Click on the dual boom and it opens a 1 page PDF that shows the exact setup I have.http://www.dilling-harris.com/html/content_page.php?content_id=25&nav_id=3&

 

[car washing systems inc]

What i did once for a customer that had the same boom and wanted more clerance in the bay, took the spider to a machine shop and had the shaft cut down and then rethread them, think the cost was about 50.00 each

 

[Gabriel]

I see the same solution. Take the measurement to see if it is enough to increase the clearance for your needs, then one at a time cut them off, rethread and replace the one boom that you want. Move the other to the side wall.

 

[Gabriel]

One other thing that I will mention. We have Ryko SS equipment and in the SS bay the boom is designed differently. The mount is in the Attic out of sight and a very short spindle sticks down through the ceiling. You might want to check to see what boom design they are now using if the cut off does not give you enough clearance.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Thanks for all the ideas! I would like to try and do this since from a cost standpoint, it won't be too much, but the return could be great!

Thanks