So I’m in the planning phase for my new trailer. I want but an 8gpm machine but I’m having issues deciding on the trailer. If I go with 8 gpm I assume I need a large buffer tank…225ish gallon. If I’‘m going to haul all that water then I definitely need a dual axle trailer. The problem is that the smallest one I can find locally is 60"x14’. The price is good at $1600 + 200 for breaks but I don’t really want to tow a trailer that big through the narrow streets in my service area. It’s hard enough to find parking for my truck.
Alternatively I could go with a single 5ish gpm and probablly wouldn’t need more than a 50 gal buffer and I could put it on a single axle rated for 3500 lbs no problem.
In addition to the the PW and buffer tank I plan to mount my 12 volt roof system and a 50-100 gal tank chem tank to feed it. Also another smaller chem tank, I’ll prob go with 30 gal. There’s really no need to keep my roof tank full when driving but I definitely can’t spend 30+ min filling my buffer tank at a job so it needs to be full, or mostly full (I’m aware of the issues associated with half full tanks).
Most of the pre-built trailers I’ve seen are on single axles, even the 8gpm. So I’m curious as to whether a dual axle is really necessary. I would like to keep the trailer somewhere around 10 ft if possible.
I typically only carry 100 gallons of water in my buffer for my 8gpm machine and usually that’s enough. Personally, I like the thougnt of a dual axle trailer when carrying heavy loads just in case you jave a flat, you’re not completely disabled. I’m currently running a single axle but will be upgrading to a 7x14 dual axle enclosed trailer in the next month or so.
Cool thanks for the help. Do you have a 100 gal tank or do you just keep your buffer half full? How long can you work without your buffer running out? Most taps around here are about 5 gpm. So if I have an 8gpm machine I’m assuming I can only run it continuosly for about 30 min before it runs out.
I have a 225 gallon tank, just keep it half full. I just don’t like pulling much more water than that.
We usually never run out but sometimes if the spigot gpm is really bad then we’ll have to wait on water. Sometimes the water supply is so good we have to shut it off to avoid overfilling the tank. But 100 gallons usually is enough to show up with and have no water waiting times.
Yeah if your machine pulls 8 and spigot puts out 5, that means you’re losing 3gpm so you would have 33 minutes of trigger time with 100 gallons. BUT that doesn’t factor in all the time you’re off the trigger. It generally works out fine.
Get a Hudson float valve. I have a 275 gal buffer but keep it set at 100 while I’m working. When I get close to finishing I shut off the customer’s water and work off the buffer. Usually finish with about 50 gals or so. I don’t pull around more than 50 gals. I can adjust my float valve with a set of clamps to go up to 200 gals if needed. Just my 2 cents I ordered mine from pressuretek.
What’s your current setup as far as motor and pump? I think I figured out what my issue is. My carb is bad. Cleaned it and now I’m registering 4000 psi. Motor is still chugging but I ordered a new carb and tune up kit.
I think that’s what I’m gonna save up for. If you remember I have the gx390 and comet pump that was only putting out 2500 psi. I think I have remedied the problem. I’m gonna run this thing into the ground and hopefully get a unit like yours. But there is a HUGE market for roof cleaning where I live, I’m debating on that being my next move. Do you do roof washing?
not sure about what others think but i would apply some bedliner. i just put my first trailer together. it’s a 6x12 dual axle. the floor is wood plank. so i sprayed it with this bedliner stuff and it came out really nice. i haven’t used the trailer yet so i’m not sure about durability yet or if it’s gonna hold up. here is the link to the product i used http://linerxtreeme.com
Yes we do roof cleaning too and have a dedicated roof system for that which we also use for other things like dryvit/stucco etc…
We’re getting ready to invest in a 8gpm hot water unit soon.
If you’re going to be driving a lot on narrow city streets, I’d go for a setup in pickup bed. What a lot of guys work out of. You can get a lot of equipment in one, esp. a long bed. But a lot of the biggest guys in the country run out of pickup setups. Softwash systems and Powerwash store build some nice setups
