Official Hydramaster Truckmount review thread

[rob allen]

We hear a lot about all makes of Truckmounts but rarely here about Hydramaster.

1) How dependable?

2) Price?

3) Resale value?

4) Vacuum?

5) Heat?

CDS
Boxxer
Titan

 

[OxiFreshGuy]

We have two of the CDS ones, according to the owner here he would never buy them again but in the time I've been here (4 months) they haven't had any issues. They are also 4 and 5 years old

 

[SRD]

I have a CDS in a 2015 E350 since 2015 when it was installed new Ive had roughly about 5 minutes of down time with it since 2015 due to a blown main fuse 50 cents and 5 minutes or less to fix it. The only down side to a CDS is heat capture in my opinion which Ive remedied by adding a eurotec diesel burner to it right after the solution leaves the machine I can run up to 300 degrees if need be lol. One of the best designed and most dependable machines made today.
My 2 Titan 575s have performed flawlessly great vacuum great heat an no downtime in over a year that ive owned them, with the exception of when the van one of them was in got totalled lol
As a side note Hydramasters warranty and actually following thru with that warranty is second to none in our industry in my opinion.

 

[ccclean]

I owned a 421, it was bulletproof and I neglected it.

 

[Jim Davisson]

98 CDS 4.7 in a 98 Dodge with a 360, extremely dependable. $2600 in parts to upkeep in 20 years (wore the van out twice around it). Price was high compared to a slide in at the time and never considered resale value when I bought it or even now (it's getting redid over this winter for a backup van). Vacuum was always good, but a few tweaks made it an excellent single wand rig. Heat was fine, but again a few tweaks made a pronounced improvement.

At the time of purchase it was similar, but slightly less than a Butler in price with a much better layout. The old Butler with PEGS 1,2,3 was a space hog and had side door hose reels that suck, but Butler had and still does have the best components, fittings and maintenance friendly layout of any TM. If I was to buy another PTO it would be a Butler or the Hydramaster X-Drive, especially since Dennis is back to work for them.

 

[ACP]

I would get a CDS but probably not over a butler

 

[rob allen]

I would get a CDS but probably not over a butler

Why? Superior heat and vacuum??

 

[OldCarpetVet]

I personally can't speak for them, but my old friend, Mike Vernon, owner and creator of Hardball Chemical Company swore by the Spitfire. Loved them and he told me that's all he bought. Of course I'm going back 20 plus years ago, so.....What ever that's worth today.

 

[snyder's carpet]

We have a boxxer 318HP and its bullet proof....no problems, great heat, vacuum, ect....

 

[wandwizard]

Boxxer 421 bought new in 2002. It's been pretty reliable. It has decent heat and vacuum as long as you don't go too high on your jet numbers. I just switched my Bentley back down to 015's from the 02's it came with. I felt I was losing too much heat with a 10 flow wand. It's only rated for a 4 flow wand and does keep better heat with my old 2 jet PMF that I still like to use sometimes.

The B & S engine w/o any doubt caused me the most downtime of all other things put together. Still, the original engine lasted me a full 16 years. I just replaced it last September with a 23 hp B & S at https://shop.truckmountforums.com. Tuthill Blower has been excellent and I'd give it 5-star ratings all day long. One front seal in 16 years and other than that I keep the oil checked and done. I could only wish everything was that reliable! Comet pump excellent for the price. They're not Cat pumps, but very good for their price point.

Suggest keeping at a bare minimum a spare Dema Solenoid, thermal relief valve, and some fuses just in case you blow one. Besides that, it needs a water softener or you WILL have trouble and LOTS of it unless you're one of those lucky people with really soft water in your area!

 

[rob allen]

I personally can't speak for them, but my old friend, Mike Vernon, owner and creator of Hardball Chemical Company swore by the Spitfire. Loved them and he told me that's all he bought. Of course I'm going back 20 plus years ago, so.....What ever that's worth today.

That's odd Rich because everyone I ever knew who owned one called the Spitfire the shitfire.

 

[rob allen]

We have two of the CDS ones, according to the owner here he would never buy them again but in the time I've been here (4 months) they haven't had any issues. They are also 4 and 5 years old

I rarely, if ever, hear anything bad about a CDS. Almost bulletproof most say.

 

[OldCarpetVet]

That's odd Rich because everyone I ever knew who owned one called the Spitfire the shitfire.

Don't shoot me - I'm only the piano player.

 

[ACP]

Why? Superior heat and vacuum??

I just like the full butler package, everything from the hose reels to the water tanks etc. Its nice and complete you dont have to do much thinking about it just total turn key system.

 

[OxiFreshGuy]

I rarely, if ever, hear anything bad about a CDS. Almost bulletproof most say.

The preventative maintenance on the equipment here has been sketchy at best, which makes the Blue Wave and Thermal Wave impressive they've lasted 10 years

 

[bcs]

Over the years started with 3.2 Spitfire upgraded to 421 upgraded to 427 upgraded to Titan 875.Only one i ever had problems with was the 427.875 was discontinued so parts over here in NZ would become a problem.Sold the 875 and now have Everest 650 which is a great unit however i would have continued with Hydramaster if they had put out another large TM to replace 875

 

[Mama Fen]

We have a boxxer 318HP and its bullet proof....no problems, great heat, vacuum, ect....

To be fair, Larry, you maintain your equipment better than just about anyone else I see here.

Well, maybe Jim. But then again, he builds his own stuff, too.

 

[rob allen]

Ran into my local. He said what bother shim is the use of Briggs and Stratten engines so he only recommends the CDS and says its a great unit. He said if he had to choose a slide in he'd use the Boxxer XL. Not familiar with it though.

 

[SRD]

Titan 575 @RobAllen doesnt get any better than kubota

 

[Mama Fen]

Ran into my local. He said what bother shim is the use of Briggs and Stratten engines so he only recommends the CDS and says its a great unit. He said if he had to choose a slide in he'd use the Boxxer XL. Not familiar with it though.

To be fair, we see a large large LARGE number of HydraMaster units in this area, of all shapes and sizes and conditions. The B&S engines functionally don't seem to have any more problems than the Kubotas do, as long as they are maintained properly and aren't under max demand all the bloody time.

The problem is, when they get neglected (as many do), B&S are a wee bit quicker to complain and have temper tantrums than other brands. So I'd say the problem inherent in those engines isn't exactly the engine itself - it's just that they're not built with a particularly large margin for neglect.

And a lot of guys buy smaller TMs due to cost, then push the units to perform at max capacity for extended periods of time. Save money up front, lose money over time in wear and tear on the unit. Kinda like running your Honda Accord at 110 mph every day because it says you can on the tach.

As for resale value - that depends as much on how well the machine is kept (is it clean, does it run right, has it been maintained?) as on what kind of machine it is. If it's in a raggedy van with rusted-out fenders and a bungee cord holding the door shut, prepare to get dickered down hard. Current models should retain their value well, as parts are immediately available across the country. Discontinued models may be a harder sell.

Being heat exchanger units, you're not going to get 280 degrees out of them, so don't try. Even the Titans max out at 265. Vacuum, however, they perform very well - I watched an XDrive just about yank a guy's pants off when the hose flopped too close to his leg.

Overall, I'd say the HMs are less "froo-froo" than Legend (Sapphire/Prochem) but very functional, durable machines when taken care of. We see the bad side of ALL machines in our shop. Balancing the number of HM repairs with the number of HM units running in the area, their total breakdown ratio is very low indeed.