Hi all, I'm here more to read than chime in. For the most part I don't know squat about truckmounts. Hopefully I can learn something from this board. I had a rotary/porty set up in the 90s. A few years ago I got a VLM set up. I'm 80% happy w/ it, but there's just times when I want the high heat. I have a portable steam unit that saves a fair amount of my jobs. That unit is effective for spots here & there, but way to small to be doing a whole house w/ it. I'm pretty good at knowing before I even start which jobs I'll need the heat on, so on those jobs I might as well bring in the heat from the beginning & do the whole job that way. Plus when ya factor in I use 30 gallons of water to wash pads w/, I might as well use that water to clean carpets & not have to do laundry when I'm done. Right now I do CC part time. I have a decent job for a single guy & could live just fine w/ my job as my main source of income + CC & poker as supplemental incomes. I might be taking on a mom & her two kids though, so if I was to do that I'd need a bit bigger house, bit better income, & more conventional hours. That's where CC Full Time comes into play. I'm currently looking at Bob Savage's unit if I go the truckmount route. It's an electric unit I know, but it seems to fit what I need. I live in Michigan & have to park my van outside during winter. From my understanding, the parts that would freeze can be brought inside. I'm also a mechanical moron & supposedly those are easy to fix if something goes wrong. I'm not getting a TM until next spring, but more just doing the research now. Hopefully others who've used this unit will chime in w/ their experiences. Best of success w/ this board, Danny
Danny, I would suggest checking out you local distibutor. Especially if you do not have mechanical experience. Steve
If you are going to own a truckmount you need to empower yourself with some mechanical knowledge. I highly recommend that you learn how your truckmount works and how to do at least some basic troubleshooting. Being able to diagnose and repair even the simplest problem(s) will save you alot of time and money and more importantly...downtime. As Steve said, definitely touch base with a distributor in your area and begin a business relationship with them; if it is a good distributor, they will spend the time needed to answer your questions and get you into a machine that fits your needs. On a new machine it is important to buy local so that the dist. can assist you with warranty issues. Chris
I would consider a dealer who carries more than a single brand of truckmounts. This makes it more likely that he can find a truckmount that fits your needs rather than pushing to sell the unit he has on the floor. Some dealers also include the first few years of routine maintenance at no extra charge with a lease or purchase. They are glad to have you back in the store every month or two, it assures there will be no issues when it comes to keeping your warranty in force and is a great stress reliever for those who are not mechniacally inclined (like me.) Scott Warrington
Also many distributors are crooks. They overcharge on the most basic of things. the key is learning your machine and not having to deal with distributors. Leaves more money in your pocket.
Easy there Nick, lol. There is a place for us all however if a disty does not perform then by all means learning a lot on your own is good. If he performs well then he is entitled to a profit imho. Robert Allen.
I agree Rob. My first tm Bridgpoint of new mexico screwed me good. Then I ffinally got the machine working right. HM SPITFIRE. Took it for a hx repair and they put it all back to the non functioning breakdown everyday achine and wanted to charge me 3800 dollars.
Well Nick, I guess if everybody bought their truckmount parts and cleaning chemicals at Home Depot like you do then we wouldn't need distributors right? And to say "many distributors are crooks" is just an ignorant and uncalled for generalization. Come on man...you are better than that.
Chris , that was kinda low dont you think ? Basically , with a few words you try to charachter assasinate Nick and the quality of his equipment . While I dont prefer a slide in , Nicks main premise and sales point of his machine is it being simple . No bells and whistles . the other feature is the non proprietary parts . Most anything you need ( short of blower and pump ) can be found at Granger , Motion industry , Napa , or any industrial Supply house. Just because you dont agree with the concept that simpler is better , Nick has many end users that are satisfied and appreciate the fact that Nick was able to help them get into the industry without going in over their heads. In case you dont understand this , take a gander at Jon Dons used TM website or JWC Inc . Loads of new Truckmounts that owners couldnt afford. While I dont agree that ALL distributers are crooks , I dont believe that is what Nick said . He said MANY , and he was talking from his own experiences . I'm sure their are many others that could share similar experiences . James Cooper
James, It wasn't low at all and I never said that Nick said ALL dist. were crooks; maybe you should read my post closer and see that I quoted "many". And who said I didnt agree with "simpler is better" James? I never said that; how did you gleen that from my post, James? I suggest that you not put "words" in peoples mouths. Before you judge me you had better know me and know what my customers think of me. So Nick can, as you say, character assasinate distributors, but I cannot fire back? I happen to really like Nick and I think he is a good person; so I would suggest that you find out what the hell you are talking about before you go running your mouth and making stupid allegations about people you don't even know. Chris
Chris , you accused Nick of making generalizations - he merely said MANY and not ALL . And you cant character assasinate a distributor unless you specifically name names , just like you did . But honestly , if you say the home depot remark was a compliment , I guess I'll have to take your word for it. I am a friend of Nicks , and I cant imagine Nick or anyone here would confuse those comments as being friendly - but maybe you guys have that kind of relationship where you knock his professionalism and he says your a lawnmower repairman posing as a Truckmount expert . Sorry if I jumped the gun and got it wrong . I guess Nick will be calling me and jumping my **** for running my mouth .
DannyD, I'm here in Michigan, too. If ya ever need any help on anything at all, go ahead and shoot me a PM or give me a call. I don't have any experience with electric TM's, but find that parking my gas powered TM in an unheated garage with a small heater placed in the van is sufficient to keep it from freezing up. Sorry that there was a hint of negativity in some of the posts here in your thread,:argue: maybe some guys dont realize that your looking for help, not their drama! If you just ignore them, sometimes they go away.:biggrin:
Chris. I did not say all distributors. I meant some distributors. Chris lets face it. Does everone need a distributor ? NO As for my machines they are what they are. POwerful and inexpensive. Why should I buy piece of brass from a distributor who will chare me 22.00 when I can get something from home depot or grainger for 2.99 Right there shows you many distributors are crooks. I buy my chemicles from Larry cobb not home depot. If A guy can turn a wrench he is better off buy EZ,Duane Oxley,Cobb, TCS, than a prochem. If you can not turn a wrench by all means pick a distributor near you to fix it and buy a overpriced namebrand machine. You know Chris .. YOU AND I should not let what happened between me and allen get between us. So lets just let it stop here and stay friends . One day I may need you to do a install and one day you may need a engine or blower at cost. Not marked up by a distributor. nick
Aaron , your absolutely right - but sometimes you see a friend take undeserved shots and I chose to defend him . I guess if I felt it was wrong I should have clicked on the report button and let admin deal with it. Sorry James
Well James, I am done addressing you because obviously you don't read my posts slowly enough so you can understand what I am saying. Nick, whatever happened between you and Allen is between you two; I just called you out because I thought your comment was unfair to alot of people. As I said before, I realize that you said "MANY" and not "ALL" distributors. The problem with buying parts from local sources is that the fittings etc. MAY NOT be rated to the types of heat and pressures that our machines generate. Just because a distributor marks up a product 30-40% does not make him a crook. That mark-up allows a dist. to stock the products you may need to run your business. A dist. can help a cleaner in many ways but I do fully understand that sometimes a dist can be a total peice of crap. For instance, I installed an El Diablo yesterday for a guy who drove all the way from San Antonio, TX because he didn't feel the dist in his area gave a crap about him. Don't you make a profit on your machines Nick? Does that make you a crook? And what exactly do think a "fair" mark-up is for a dist.? And by the way, I get blowers and engines at cost because I am actually a dealer for several manufacturers. The bottom line is that having a good local distributor in your corner can make your business run a whole lot smoother. Go back and read my original post DannyD, I told him to learn his equipment and do the small things (at least) himself; I dont expect anyone to rely totally on a dist. We're cool Nick..no hard feelings on my part.
Sorry I misunderstood you , the first time I read the post you said Nick bought his parts and chemicals from Home Depot . I'll just take your word for it _ I got it wrong.
