I currently have an 06 F-150 and a 5x8 enclosed trailer.
In the trailer I have my complete roof setup, my machine, three hose reels, a 40 gallon buffer tank and everything else I need. I’ve maximized the space in it real well and still have plenty of room.
But… I’m sick of hauling that trailer around. It’s also a liability as far as theft goes even though I keep it locked down 5 different ways. BUT… everything is always locked inside and out of the elements.
The Ford is only used for the business. I want to ditch the trailer and fabricate a skid this winter to mount it all in the truck. It’s a short box but if I plan it right I’ll be able to make it work. Plus, the truck can be parked in the garage at night or at the warehouse in the winter.
A lot of pros and cons in either direction. I’m having a hard time figuring out if I’m taking a step forward or a step back.
All I can think about is how great it would be to just have the truck only. Maneuverability and, better gas mileage. But, all of my gear is out the open.
Or ditch both and get a van. I get ****ed at myself when I over think things like this as it’s something I don’t usually do.
Search for my van video I posted up. It is all safe and secure and out of the elements. I love the van other than the fact that you are in the same space as the chems, gas and machine it’s great and if you really wanted you could build a wall to separate it. I don’t even notice the smells anymore now that I put my Flettner roof vent in.
My next van will be a 10’ box van like U-Haul uses and it is a sealed cabin.
There is no perfect setup. I had vans,pickup trucks(Dually’s, diesel/gas and even a shortbed f-150)a flatbed truck, box trucks & open and closed trailers. They all served their purposes. I can tell you the plus and minuses of each.
A shortbed pickup will run out of space before you know it. You’ll end up putting ladder racks on it then maybe a shelf and you’ll still end up running out of space. If your inclined to keep the truck then I would look to buy a bigger trailer.
The one thing I learned all these years is you always need adequate space to store your equipment for the jobs you do.
I’m with you! I love the van since I live in a small city with a bunch of one way streets… But my trailer is dedicated to my roof pump set up and will probably always stay that way unless something big changes
I personally like my trailer because I don’t do pressure washing every day and I like to be able to unhook and set everything aside quickly. Not to mention I get better gas mileage without the trailer.
Some nice things about a trailer is you can leave it at a job site all locked up, you can use a different vehicle to tow it if your truck has to go into the shop or you need your truck for other purposes and it’s great to use for storage when your equipment is not in use such as the winter months.
There’s alot of great things with box trucks, vans etc but for me we never found that perfect setup because there’s always some type of different type work or job you get into down the line where you wished you had that trailer, truck or van. Fun thinking about what’s best here for your business
Because we do so many different types of Powerwashing there was never a “1 size fits all” for us. I forgot to add that I had a bucket truck for 10 yrs and that baby was golden. Ever since I sold that off we are forever getting bldgs to clean so I have to continuously rent lifts.
Unless you are a certain job specific type of company there is always some piece of equipment that you will need at any given time.
My business model may be different then most so I only talk from my experiences
Good point. It is nice to leave a job for lunch or whatever and not have to reel everything back up to go.
Last winter we stored all of our patio furniture and lawn equipment in it, then stored it. The guy I rent shop space from for my other business hooked me up on indoor storage for the winter.
I switched from a minivan with a 4x6 trailer to a sprinter van a couple months ago and I love it. I have a pure water tank, roof tank, sh tank, buffer tank, two sprayers, 5 reels, a ladder, poles, wands and tons of shelving for tools and staining supplies. The burner/hot washer is still on the other truck though. But I can do everything residential I need to and its all enclosed and gets 21 mpg. The one downside is I can’t drop the sprayer with an employee and run around doing quotes…the van stays where the work is being done.
Yeah, we’ve had a couple issues with our injectors siphoning house wash mix out of an open fitting onto the van deck, and that’s one of those times that you know is going to corrode things you can’t see even after flushing with water and a neutralizer. But we’ve since come up with a manifold that has ball valves so as long as we remember to shut everything off, it shouldn’t happen again.
FWIW, When I picked up SH in 55 gal from a commercial distributor, they wouldn’t load it unless the person was in an area completely separated from the SH per their rules or DOT. They wouldn’t load it into a van with a “porous” divider.
My supplier hasn’t had any issues with the sprinter. Our bulkhead is technically still porous, but it is steel with acrylic sheets covering the main “window” things (the areas with all the holes punched out so you can see through). I still need to seal off a couple areas in the corners I guess.
