Scott Stone

Old Folks!!! :p

First of all Jeff. No real education?? you are dissing my devils... Often times it is not the guy that is fast out of the chute that is done. He will burn up and die quick. It is often the guy that puts one foot in front of the other, learns a little bit at each job and keeps on going. That is the guy that knows it is going to take work and is willing to put out the continuous effort. Now, you will have to excuse me, I am short on employees and have a bunch of Belly DUmps to wash...

Why do you guys have to pay for additional insureds? I have never been charged for them, and do not get this. I call my agent, and she sends out the paperwork, and that is the last that I hear of it. Scott

Larry is a good guy. Do a test on the pump and see if it proves out. You can also check the general website. This does not sound like a Delco thing to do. There must be more to the story. Scott Stone

I always send any questionable payapl e-mails (read ALL) to Spoof@paypal.com SO far I have not had one that was real. Scott

Hmmm, I have been telling my wife I was going to do this...:lgmoneyey

C-Tech owns Landa, Karcher, Tuff, Spray Mart, and a few other companies. I do not think that Alkota is one of them though. The Tuff's are pretty much Landas, although some of them have an old style frame. If it is a Karcher, there is no telling what they might be manufacturing now... Scott Stone.

Wel, I might as well join in here. I don't play well with others. When there is a job, I expect everyoen to have the same rules, and not some to get preferential treatment, because of their physical attributes, and their willingness to share...;) I was working for a large public utility, and had been married about 2 years, when they announced a down sizing. I already was hated at, and hated my job. I did not fit in. I wasn't willing to make the allownaces that everyone else was. Plus I think that they were mad that I did not want to make their coffee for them, at a union job, no less. When the announcement came down, I was told that out of a company of 10,000, I was the lowest in seniority on the union side, due to a previous downsizing a year or so before. That was not a comfortable position. They then told me that I would get a severance package if I took a voluntary layoff. That worked out to about $35k. I am not a rocket scientist, but I know that the next severance would not be voluntary, and there would be no money with it. I took the money and ran. While I was working at the job, about 6 months before the layoff was announced, I had bought a pressure washer and was startign a detail business. I am a lousy detailer. I enjoy it. I can do it, but I am not really good at it. When I got laid off, I took a year off, because I decided that I could wash trucks. And I did. It was not enough to support my family and I, so I had to go back to work. No big deal, I delivered milk at night, and washed during the day and on the weekends, and life was good. This let my wife stay home with our now two children, and the bills were met. I did that for 5 years, got a few promotions, and found out that my senior manager had preferences that were not me. (I see a trend here) He actually wrote me up for doing my job too well. (I have a copy of the letter, and it was a disciplinary letter) He wanted me to spend all day sitting in the office with the other guys that had my same job title. I figured that somethign needed to change, and I did. I got another job driving a truck. It gave me more freedom, and no more 115 hour work weeks. I drove that truck for a year. I landed a couple of LARGE accounts. (at least at that time) and quit a year later. The only reason I lasted a year was because I gave my word that I would work for them a year. So I have been a dumb truck washer ever since. Scott Stone

I sure hope that you have a business plan. It will help you a lot and keep you focused on what you are doing, and where you want to go. Scott

I am really kind of strange in how I approach this. I am okay one on one, and I am okay in large groups. Put me in a party, and I just might as well sit in a corner. I don't do well there. It drives my wife nuts, or at least did. After 18 years shew is used to it now. She is the total opposite. SHe can speak anywhere anytime, and people love it. She is a party girl. Scott Stone

We use quickbooks, but we handle all of our payroll ouorselves. It is just more efficient for us and allows us to have tighter controls. Scott

Uhm, they weren't cowboys, they were Sheep herders.:lgbugeyes Something wrong with that.:lgangry: As for the BBS, it is excellent. Scott

Nope, you all are wrong. DI water causes Hydrogen embrittlement in the pump. If you take a pump apart after having run DI water through it for a while, the brass will be red. This is because the DI water robs the head of metals because water wants those metals. It ends up making the brass parts really brittle. It wil often take a couple of years though, so I don't worry about it. It also attacks heater coils and will put pin holes in them, along with rust. This is bad, especially when you are washing cars because your pressure washer will spray out black water, which is filled with rust. when it drys you will have little brown spots all over the cars. Scott Stone

Uhm, I haven't heard of either one of those pickups. Are you located in the US? As for my opinion, I would go with what seems really popular in your area, mainly because that is going to be the vehicle that is typically most reliable, and has the best parts of availability. Scott

Well, there you go. That is my opinion, but I do different types of work than most people onhere. Scott Stone

I'm really hard to buy for. I did end up with a new new truck. 2006 F-250, fire engine red and loaded. Good thing I needed to build the fleet... Scott Stone

Last year we did about 180,000 worth of work that was not pressure washing. I am hoping to do more than that this year. Almost all of it was attached to current contracts, and in line with my contractors license. What it boils down to is, if it is in the scope of my abilities, and what I consider my expertise, I will do it, for a price. Works for me. Scott Stone

I also carry an umbrella policy for $1,000,000. Our attorney recommended it to us, considering our situation. This is long with Health, Auto, general liability, workmens comp, life and all of the other stuff. I think that our MONTHLY insurance bill is about $2500 a month for our business. Scott

I have four trucks. a 2006 F-250 with the 6.0. Brand new and arrest me red. I love it. One week and 1200 miles later, it is great. 2001 Excursion 7.3 diesel lost a tranny at 52000 miles, and brake problems that seem to be resolved. Still the ultimate cruiser, and it is a family car. 2000 F-250 7.3 diesel. 170,000 miles, and I have replaced a water pump, cam position sensor and brakes. All in all, absolutely trouble free, especially considering this was my main tow rig for 170,000 miles. It is still a great truck. 2004 F-250 with a 5.4 gas engine. Still a reliable truck, and is a good ride. I almost forgot my 92 toyota. This truck with 170,000 miles on it has had more problems than my 00 ford, but it may have had a harder life. I have done clutches on it more than brakes. (No, I never drive this truck) It is getting retired to a life of 16 year old son leisure here pretty quick. My son is looking forward to it. It still looks almost new. It is obvious I am a ford guy. They are what I have had excellent luck with, and I prefer the diesel, for whatever that is worth. Scott

Scott, Evil minds think a like... The rubber boot comment was the first thign that came to mind when I saw the pic. Good thing thew guy didn't have a bigger machine, it would have tossed him from that ladder. Scott

If i blow a hose in the middle I toss it. In my experience, if it blows once it is ready to blow the whole length. So I might as well toss it and save myself the frustration. Scott

I pay the big bucks for my rubber boots. I have big calves, and so standard boots dont work for me, because I have to split the sides. I have had a couple of pairs of boots that were as comfy as Tennis shoes. Try www.muckboots.com or Cabelas or http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=126088-10&UID=200512140933112815934891 These are not $20 walmart boots, but they are Really comfortable. Scott Stone

Where to start :shrug: I have seem some of the contractors that are members or have been members of the PWNA. Some of them are good operations that actually are trying to perform the best quality work for the dollar, others are companies that you had better keep your hand on your wallet when you are shaking their hand, and the only reason that they joined the PWNA is because they wanted to see what they were teaching their members, and hoping they weren't giving away too much information. Now to Everetts point of it being filled with reputable contractors, some are, some aren't. I do think that being a member of the org lends an air of respectability. It would be an even bigger bonus if the Org actually did something to promote itself, instead of appearing to be out there to make money by selling classes...But since I only suspect things, I won't go there. Scott Stone

I don't have a slow season. One of the benefits of Arizona. My wife is making Disneyland noises again. :shrug: Scott

See Scott, No one wants to touch it. Do what we talked about. ;) Scott