Mike Williamson

Sure, I may lose jobs from time to time because either the property owner feels the price is too high and chooses to call someone else. Sometimes I can still get the job by explaining why my prices are where they are, but some people just aren't going to listen and are going to look strictly at price. Either way, I stay busy enough with the customers who want qaulity over price. The lowballers and the cheap customers deserve eachother...who am I to interfere?

Doesn't affect me one bit. Could I charge more if everyone else was charging more? Sure, but that's the case in ANY business.

I'd agree here....If the truck were included, it'd be a hell of a deal, but that's not a super deal with the number of hours on the machines, etc. Plus, you'd have to buy a trailer, go get all this stuff, load it up, then get it all hooked up. The nice thing with a used rig (or a new one for that matter) is that it is all set up and ready to wash. Keep your eyes out for a good used trailer rig...even if you have to drive 1000 miles, so you've lost a couple days. At least you're getting what you want in a rig, saving some money, and not sitting around hoping something pops up in your area.

Yep! The machine and trailer alone were worth that, so I got all the accessories for free. Oh, and an Xjet. My plan at the time was to get a Home Depot machine, a whirl-away surfacer, some hose and a small 6x10 open trailer. Then this deal came along and I was able to arrange a short term loan from a family member for it all and I was in business! It's been a great ride so far!

Unless there's something exceptionally special about the skid unit, I'd say it's a good bit too high. I bought a similar rig in 2002 for $7500.00. The washer was a Tuff 5.6gpm hot water skid with 140 hours on it, 7x14 enclosed Haulmark trailer in mint condition, Reelcraft hose reels, several hundred feet of pressure hose, several hundred feet of Goodyear commercial supply hose, 500 and 225 gallon tanks, 24" steel eagle, and many spare parts, wands, tips, QCs, etc. For $14k, you can put together a heck of a brand new rig in the same sized trailer.

Here's the pics of your rig!

I don't think anyone is suggesting Lou go out and spend $36k on a rig. Of course it is possible to start a PW company with a very low startup cost. Much of it depends on what type of work you're going to be targeting, what the local requirements are regarding reclamation, where you're located, and how you're going to be able to store the rig. If you're going to be targeting commercial work like gas stations, storefronts, banks, etc, you're going to need a hot water rig. If you're going to be doing roofs, you'll need the right setup for that. If you're going to be doing new construction, you'll need the equipment for that. If you're in an area enforcing EPA reclamation laws, you'll need some type of reclaim equipment. If you're in an area where temperatures reach and stay below freezing for extended lengths of time, you'll either need an enclosed rig or an enclosed building to store it. If security is an issue, an enclosed trailer would be more needful. If you're doing work where water isn't readily available, you'll need a water tank. There's no way I run my business out of the back of a pickup. It wouldn't be more efficient, it would be terribly inefficient. For each job, there's a proper tool, and all those tools aren't going to fit in the bed of a pickup. I have a 7x14 enclosed trailer, and it's almost too small. COULD I get by with just a cold water washer, some hose, and a couple pails of chems in the back of my truck? Sure, but I'd not be able to do the quality of work that I currently do, and I'd be spending more time doing it. There are jobs I'd have had to turn down because I wouldn't have a way to haul water.

Great advice! Reply to this post, and a little ways below the window where you type, there's a button that says "Manage Attachments". Click that, and browse to the picture you want to post. Click "open" and then "upload". When it's done uploading, click "close this window" and then "submit reply" as you normally would. If you have any problems with uploading it, or with resizing it, email it/them to me at mikewilliamson@bellsouth.net and I'll post them for you.

Yeah, me too. He always seemed to have an answer for whatever question was posed. Yep, he was the guy with all the anwers when it came to equipment issues.

Haven't seen PaulB around in a while. And where's Rob Fitzgerald?

What's wrong with 1000 miles? I drove from FL to IL to pick up my trailer. As long as you have the opportunity to check things out before you drive off, all you've lost is 2-3 days. I'd rather do that than work off a cold water machine out of the back of my truck.

Good call! That, and the fact that he has no weapon.

Yes, pool chlorine has a shelf life. There's a thread on this board somewhere that Rod posted detailing tests that were done on pool chlorine's strength over time under varying conditions. It keeps for a good while, though I wouldn't keep it sitting around for months. Best to keep it in a dark area if you have to store it for very long.

Looks like a beautiful view! I remember the hassles of driving in the snow, I'm glad I don't have to deal with it here. Today was a clean up day for the trailer, mixed up a drum of soap, and time to get back after it tomorrow!

43 here now, supposed to be 40 tonight, and rain all night and all day tomorrow... I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas?

I don't know anything about the weather where you're at..I know out west where it is dry, -6 is much more tolerable than it is where it is more humid. I was outside in Flagstaff a couple years back in -6 temps in nothing but a Tshirt and jeans and it wasn't too bad. Here, I'm FREEZING if it is in the 20s and I have flannel on.

Tonight Dec 23 Mostly Cloudy 47° 10 % Fri Dec 24 Cloudy 55°/40° 20 % Sat Dec 25 Showers 55°/40° 50 % Sun Dec 26 Showers 59°/42° 40 %

Supposed to be in the 50s and raining here Christmas day. Then it'll warm up next week. :) As squirtgun said elsewhere, you can't shovel sunshine.

I haven't been to all of them in Utah, but Arches is my favorite so far...I could spend a week there and not get bored.

Looks like the beach/tropics in the winter is the winner so far..sounds like a bunch of Yankees voting to me!

Vegas is too crowded. I like Laughlin, and also there's a nice little town right on the NV/CA border on I-15, but the name escapes me at this moment...Just went and look it up... Primm, NV. Jean is nice too. In fact, I went to my first casino there in Jean, and walked out with about $500.00

Here's one that's a little larger for the 7-pole.

Disneyland is also best early in the year, and during the week. Weekends any time of year are horrible. We don't have any set traditions for our trips...we've spent a week in a cabin in the smokies a couple times, taken two-week trips out to the west coast, gone to the keys, New Hampshire/Vermont, and Arizona. This year we have a two-week driving trip planned in June. We'll leave Florida headed to San Diego, then north to Seattle, then west through Idaho, Montana, and eventually home from there. That's the nice thing about Florida...things actually slow down a bit in June and July.

You left out the larger pumps...3.8gpm is fairly common for roof cleaning.

Definitely! Shipping costs are higher, so supplies are higher, etc etc. The increases aren't dramatic, but they add up. If handled fairly and correctly, price increases probably won't be all that noticeable. Say my expenses for gas, insurance, supplies, overhead, etc has gone up $2000.00/year over last year...That's around $165.00 per month...If I wash an average of 30 houses/month, each homeowner is only going to see an increase of $5.50.