Introducing myself / need feedback

[sturgisjr 14]

Hello all, I have posted a few times on here but never really introduced myself. I figured if I was learning from you all and researching on this business, you all deserved to know who I am. I am going into the wood restoration business and have most everything set up with insurance, equipment and supplies, advertising, contracts and such. I am starting my advertising this month and hopefully will be in business by the end of this month to the first week of June. Although, I have done decks as a homeowner with my dad, this has been a new and unheard of business venture until 2 months ago and have discovered a deep interest in this and feel confident in pursuing this line of business. I am located in Upstate NY and live among the finger lakes. Lots of Deck jobs I hope to land!

Anyway, as you know, I have most everything set. Only thing I need help with for the time being is as to what vehicle I should start with. I do not own a Truck or a Van. My budget is limited and when I say limited, I mean limited. I was looking to pursue a cargo van that will be equipped with a 200 gallon water tank, pressure washer and other miscellaneous equipment and supplies. Would this be a good start? Or would a truck and trailer be my best solution? I am looking to purchase a used of either vehicle. Obviously because of my limited budget, it cannot be an enclosed trailer if I go with the truck. If I get a truck, can all equipment be set on the bed without use of a trailer? Another thing is... would a water tank REALLY be neccessary? Or can I just use the onsite supply of water?

Any help and feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have learned a lot through this site as well as others in just 2 months and am still learning.

Brian

[RyanH 14]

I don't do decks nor wood restoration, so I can't give specific recommendations on what setup would be best, but as a general rule you should consider the conditions under which you will be working. If you go with a truck and trailer, will you feasibly be able to get into and out of the driveways of your customers, or will you have to park on the street because of the size of your bulk? If you had to park on the street, how much "running around" would you have to do to adjust your hoses and nozzles when you switch from one chemical to another? Dragging your equipment to the deck itself? With a truck and trailer, would you have to have two licensed vehicle tags (as opposed to one for a van)? Try to sketch out the things you know for a fact you will need and see if you can fit them into a van in a manner that will allow you to easily reach your equipment. Do a little research on the sizes of some of the equipment (water tank dimensions, footprint area of your pressure washer, rough estimate of how much space your hose or reels will take up, ladders, etc.). If you can put together an idea of how much space you need to make it work, you can make the decision between a regular van, extended cargo van, truck, trailer, etc.

I know others on here will be able to give more specific information based upon their own setups, so hopefully you will be able to get a more accurate idea of what will work best for you. As a side point, I wouldn't think your water tank is necessary. Unless you are doing a deck on a new construction home, you should assume that water will be available. It's not a bad idea to keep a few gallons around for rinsing out your equipment, though (or just a few buckets you can fill up on site).

Good luck!

Ryan H>

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Brian,

Welcome to the The Grime Scene. There is nothing wrong with putting equipment in a truck bed, but you may run out of room fast. Also the wieght factor of what you put in is a consideration to think of.

What type of washer do you have? You may or may not need a tank, depending on your unit, and water supplies in your area.

The use of a van can get quite stinky from chems and fuel. A good venting system will help, but may not eliminate the problem.

[sturgisjr 14]

Thanks for your replies.

I will be using the Ex-cell ZR3700 from Home Depot with Honda GX390 engine. It does 4 gallons per minute. Just out of curiosity, after reading around about power wash businesses using water tanks, what avenue specifically in the power wash industry would require the use of a water tank if not for wood restoration?

I may have an opportunity to purchase a '98 Ford F150. Would this work to have my equipment and supplies in the bed of the truck (without the use of a water tank)? Under what conditions would a water tank be needed in this line of work? The area where Im from... along the lakes which I am targeting has public water. Away from there, unless you are in a city or town, there is a majority of wells.

Thoughts?

[Firedkm 14]

Thanks for your replies.

I will be using the Ex-cell ZR3700 from Home Depot with Honda GX390 engine. It does 4 gallons per minute. Just out of curiosity, after reading around about power wash businesses using water tanks, what avenue specifically in the power wash industry would require the use of a water tank if not for wood restoration?

I may have an opportunity to purchase a '98 Ford F150. Would this work to have my equipment and supplies in the bed of the truck (without the use of a water tank)? Under what conditions would a water tank be needed in this line of work? The area where Im from... along the lakes which I am targeting has public water. Away from there, unless you are in a city or town, there is a majority of wells.

Thoughts?

If my memory serves me right the above machine is a direct drive unit. If that is the case and you do decide to go with a water tank, make sure you mount the tank higher than your power washer.

I also would not recommend using a direct drive unit and a water tank. a direct drive pump is not designed to suck water out of a tank. You really would be better off with a belt drive unit. a belt drive unit was designed for sucking water from a tank.

I realize you allready bought your unit and your pretty much stuck with it. In the future when you decide to buy another consider getting a belt drive.

I do mainly residential work as in house washes, decks and some flat work. I do not use a water tank and rely on the customers hose bib for my water supply. In my area there are a lot of people with wells and only once I had a problem. I had to ask the lady of the house to please wait to do her laundry untill I was done doing her deck. Then I was fine with the water supply.

As for a vehicle its a matter of preference. I have a small Ranger truck and a 6x14 enclosed trailer. I started out in the bed of my truck, then to a open trailer, then to the enclosed trailer. Getting the enclosed trailer for me was the best thing I did for my business. I leave eveything I need in there, its lockable ans I am not stuck on the job site as some people are set-up in a van. I really like to eat lunch a place that specailizes in hot wings. I can just unhook the trailer and go to lunch or leave my helper on the job and go do an estimate if I have to.

[Henry B. 4]

From the information you have listed about your machine and what you want to do you would be fine with just a pick up truck. You won't need a tank, reels or any of the extra stuff most of us have as you start up your company. Just a good set of ramps and your machine. I would carry a 50' length of garden hose in case they don't have on but that's about it. Just make sure you tell them to turn the water on before you go out to do the job.

With a small machine like that you can store it in your garage in the winter as long as its heated so it won't freeze.

If you have any other questions feel free to give me a call anytime, I would be happy to help you out and tell you other ways you can make some money.

[CCHSNC 14]

One thing to remember is without a tank you wont beable to let your machine run for more than a few seconds without water cycling through it. I would suggest getting a 15 gallon tank, plumb it and use it as a buffer. It is also good practice to get the desired psi you should use different tip sizes so you won't need to touch your unloader. It would be good to get a shur flo setup for appling chems too. Using a pump up tank is for the birds. Good luck!