I am trying to get some perspective on a route to go for expending/professionalizing my current set up. I am a part time washer that runs my business as a non-profit business. I have an effective rig that load on off my truck using a tow motor that is stored at my friend’s barn free of charge I wash 5 months of the year in PA. I washed 20+ homes last year which kept me busy and I was able to raise 5K for charity. In my business model, I had a very successful year. My main problem is my rig is built from wood and looks like crap. It has a ladder rack and it meets all of my needs besides having to load on and off gets a little tiresome and sometimes a PITA. That’s the background story.
I have thought about building an open trailer which would make life a lot easier being able to just hitch and go (more or less). If I go that route, I lose my inside storage space and it will now sit outside. I am not worried about theft/vandalism where I am located. My main concern is that my rig will now be exposed to the elements full time. Yes an enclosed trailer would solve that problem, but I am not willing to put that money out right now not knowing how long I will truly stay in business given this is a time filler for me. I have thought about bins over the PW machine, tarps, etc… but am still concerned about it.
My other option is to rebuild my rig with metal, adding shelves for additional reels and putting the PW more over the outside wall of the truck (typical on/off rig design). Faults with this are some increased weight, time and effort to make, but relatively cheap made with recycled steel. But I keep my inside storage space.
Just wanted to get some other washer’s perspective if they have had the same concerns and how they mitigate the effects. I know I saw Infinity throw a tarp over his machine in one picture and his machinery is all exposed. Thanks everyone, blessings!! Keith
I build a wooden “skid” rack that lasted several years being completely outside 24/7. I started with it coming out of my truck bed during the week and just going into the truck bed any weekend that I had a house wash, but business eventually grew to where I never took it out unless I specifically didn’t want it in there (say a weekend where I needed the bed of the truck to haul 30 bags of mulch or whatever).
Everything stayed together, nothing flew off, nor did anything vibrate apart. It wasn’t the prettiest but it worked well for my needs and it didn’t prevent me from delivering a level of clean that I or my customers were satisfied with.
If you decide to build a small trailer rig with wood I’d imagine it’d stay together well for you, but whether it’s made of steel, aluminum, plastic, or wood it’ll be worth it to find a way to cover it during the off-season. Down here in South Carolina I could wash 12 months out of the year so I didn’t really “store it”. Look into renting an enclosed storage unit and deduct the cost of winter storage out of your proceeds if you are comfortable with that.
You could always just rent some covered storage. I keep my trailer stored at a storage facility when I’m not using it. I’m going to look at a shop for rent tomorrow but I’ve done this for the last year or so and it’s fine.
Explain it to me like I’m 5.
1 Like
I have an open trailer, sits outside all year long, I live on a mountain top in PA. I tarp the PW and the reels in the winter and remove most of the other stuff from the trailer and put it in my pole building. I keep my chems and soap in the basement (by my paint locker). In the spring I do maintenance on it, first thing I do is check tire air pressure as they tend to go flat over winter (it is also the last thing I do before putting it away fill the tires with air). Check to make sure trailer lights, tires, and brakes all work ok. Then I check the deck, sand and repaint if necessary. Check equipment, check hoses (all the ones that were disconnected), do a test run. Check for leaks then off to the races (not really). I paint first, because once you fire up your rig you could have a wet deck/wood, and in early spring without aids it can take a while to dry.
If your wood is getting trashed, you are not using the right paint or stain or doing the proper prep work. I wind up repainting more for aesthetics than I do because it is peeling chipping. Can’t pull up to a house to paint/stain a deck and have an eyesore behind the pickup. Now the metal racks and ladder rack get banged up, so they need sanded and repainted every year. Mainly for aesthetics, but some rust.
I don’t have the attention span to read all those words. However:
There ain’t nothing that weather has over you spraying sh and water all over your stuff on a regular basis.
Don’t use wood.
Stainless and plastic is your friend. You can get heavy duty reinforced plastic skids that are weather proof.
My stuff is open year round , I do grease up rust prone parts
Thanks for the tips Dirtyboy. I am in the Lancaster area now but lived in the Poconos for 10+ years when we first got married. I will have to do a reconsider and further prayer b/c this morning I practically made the choice to get an enclosed trailer from Appalachian trailer. They are in Manheim, PA and Ohio and are a direct to seller manufacturer and cut out the middle man. High quality at others baseline prices. It will let me just hitch and go and keep all of my shop on the trailer. What part of PA are you in?? Blessings!
1 Like
Thanks for the replies from everyone, this forum is filled with such good people!. @MuscleMyHustle, the short answer to your question is that 2 years ago I had a couple of days available in time and was really asking God how he wanted me to use that and my business was born. At the time, my “fulltime” work as a physical therapist was 3+ days/week. God has blessed me in more ways than I can write here and therefore I am giving back and using the blessings that he has given me. All my proceeds go to Christian charity organizations locally and internationally. Our church works closely with a recovery house. Whenever I do a roof wash, I subcontract with them (they have a construction business they own and and are fully insured) to by my ground sprayer, hose manager and ladder holder. It give me a chance to work with they guys, gives them some money in their pockets and the rest of that job goes to the Potter’s House donation. I have been in recovery 19 years now, so it is good to work with them. Covid took away part of my “fulltime” contract where I was working and so now I have 2 part time jobs but I essentially still get to make my own schedule so I have this opportunity to keep washing. That has been the biggest part of my decision on how to proceed with my rig not knowing what the future has in store. If I go back to full time physical therapy 40 hr/week set schedule, my washing days are going to be dried up so to speak, excuse the pun. I think that I have decided to just live my life as a PRN (contract) therapist. I get to make my own hours and it gives me flexibility in my life which is “priceless”. That is a long answer but only touches so far. I can never give back to the Lord what he has given me, I am just trying to do my part and the lives that my work gets to impact is priceless to me. That is also reflected in my business name Siloam Pro Wash. Read John 9 for the full story, but Siloam means “Sent” and that is what I believe I have been called to do. Blessings to all, be safe out there!
Keith
Appalachian makes a good trailer, get their contractor version for the best “bang” for the buck. Be mindful that trailer prices have gone up considerably in the last 2 years. I worked in Elizabethtown, Philly, Willow Grove, Altoona, State College, and many other counties. Where you are living at now is different weather from western parts of PA. You should be fine for winter. Just unhook everything (don’t forget the bypass it holds water), blow out all the lines with a compressor, and put antifreeze in your unit until it runs the green color solidly out the other end. You should be fine. I say this, but I haven’t started my unit yet this year, worked fine last winter. The trailer maintenance I have done for years.
There are a couple of winterization videos and threads on here, I think @squidskc had a good video and some guy from the south like maybe Tennessee (which I thought was funny).
You should really ask some guys like @Infinity and maybe @anon37135677 who live further north and have been in business far longer than I have.
I sanded down my trailer, caulked the cracks, let it dry, poured deckover, rolled it out, let it dry, put another coat. I had the same problem with my 14ft deck over the entire underneath of the axle was rusted out in the span of 3 years. Switching trailers has made my life a lot easier and the deckover holds on great. The only issue I’ve had is making sure I don’t let SH get on it and sit on it.
Your axle rusted out in 3 years? That is quite serious. Sounds like you either sprayed chems on it all the time and never rinsed it, or that you bought a trailer with chinese axles. The other thing is that it had surface rust on it, which is normal for outdoor equipment. If you look underneath of my truck that has sat outside for 6 years and drives through salt roads every winter you would see rust. It is inevitable no matter how often you wash it. When I am changing oil I normally rag most of the metal with a little used oil while my fat behind is underneath the truck, and it is still orange.
I hose down my trailer and truck before I leave a job. I am not washing my truck and trailer, just a quick hose down. I deal with winds a lot so there is almost always overspray somewhere, or I had to park almost on top of the house and it got hit.
