Top 7 Things to Avoid When Maintaining Your Pace in Fleet Truck Washing

If you own a mobile truck washing business, then you will be cleaning fleets of vehicles in the company yard of the firm that you have the contract with. There are some things you need to know if you hope to make money doing this, because it is all about production and efficiency. After all, you are giving the company a fleet discount, and you may be washing each truck or vehicle for a very low price, but you hope to make it up in volume due to the economies of scale.

Before retirement, I had franchised a mobile truck washing business around the country, and I'd like to give you some tips in improving your efficiency and maintaining a fast pace when cleaning fleets of vehicles. You must understand the money is in the time and efficiency, not in the per unit wash. Okay so let me give you some good solid tips for you to think about;

1. Use a high pressure hose that is light, but doesn't easily kink
2. Make sure debris stays out of your fresh water tank
3. Make sure no dirty wash water goes into any storm drain
4. Don't let the brushers get too far ahead of the rinsing man
5. When cleaning box trucks, do all the rear ends first
6. In cold climates be careful not to allow ice to form
7. Don't get too close to the decals

Your high-pressure hose should be lightweight so that you don't throw out your back trying to move it around, but it also needs to be double steel braided so it doesn't kink easily. When filling up your water tank you must make sure that the garden hose you use doesn't have any gravel around it, because that gravel can get inside the tank, and often it gets through the filters and into the pump. When this happens your pump's pressure will go way down, and then you have to take apart to get the grit out, which takes a lot of time.

You must also remember that you must do environmentally friendly washing, and use the correct methods, never letting water that's dirty go into a storm drain. When you are washing you'll have a crew of many people, and you have to make sure that the people brushing with the soap don't get too far ahead of the person rinsing, otherwise the soap will not come off, it will dry on, and you have to re-wash those vehicles to prevent streaks.

When cleaning box trucks I recommend that you do all the rear ends first, because they are all the same and you can do them quicker that way, then go ahead and wash the rest of the vehicles in a line. In colder climates you must be careful not to allow ice to form, and take a little road-salt with you to sprinkle all the puddles so you don't slip and fall. I once had an employee cut themselves very badly when they slipped and tried to grab a piece of the truck that was near them, and an old rusty bolt sticking out cut and sliced them open - many stitches big scar, expensive hospital bill as I recall.

Lastly, remember those decals with the company logos on them don't do too well when a hot-water pressure-washer nozzle is directly upon them. That pressure and power can rip the decals, and your customers will be very angry if you do that, the decals aren't cheap. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, http://www.truckwashguy.com/ and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,222 articles by July 22, 2011 at 2:22 PM is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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Top 7 Tips In Designing a Mobile Fleet Truck Washing Rig

Okay so, prior to retirement I ran a mobile fleet truck washing business, and it grew after we franchised. Of course, along the way we made a number of terrible mistakes, some of the most unfortunate mistakes we made had to do with the efficiency, equipment, and the general layout of the mobile washing rigs. Rather than relive those mistakes, perhaps I should explain the importance of having a solid plan before you put together a mobile truck washing rig, in case you are considering on getting into this business.

Now then, below I have listed some important tips in designing a truck wash rig, and these are things you need to think about before you go much further;

1. Budget Costs
2. Calculate Rig Size
3. Know the Weight Limits
4. Consider Water Tank Capacity
5. Figure Out the Equipment Power Needed
6. Estimate the Most Efficient Location for Equipment
7. Determine the Most Profitable Type of Customers You Will Seek

Look, anyone can build a super beautiful truck washing rig with diamond plate, polyurethane paint, tricked out rims, and spend $50,000 the process. That wouldn't be difficult, and there are many equipment vendors that will be glad to take your money, or better yet they'd like to sign you up on a lease, because they probably get a percentage of that as well. Nevertheless, you should consider your available capital budget and stick with that.

Next, you need to consider the vehicle that will be towing the trailer, and how much it can take. If you get a trailer which weighs too much after you fill it up full of water, you may go through brakes, and a new transmission not to mention several rear ends in the process. Don't ever forget that water weighs 8.2 pounds per gallon, so if you have a thousand gallons of water, you're already looking at 8200 pounds before you put any equipment on the trailer, not to mention the weight of the trailer itself.

Okay so, now you need to consider the firepower. You could get a 10 gallon-a-minute machine putting out 4500 to 5,000 PSI and at a heat of 180-plus degrees for the water. But that would be overkill, and you need to remember your budget. Also, you need to remember the type of customers you will have also. How big are their fleets, how dirty are their trucks, and how many people will be working on your crew. You should design your rig in such a way to service your most profitable customers in your market mix in the most efficient way.

Indeed, if you have any other questions, ideas, or case studies on this topic then please shoot me an e-mail. Over the years I've designed and engineered at least 50 different rigs for washing fleets of trucks, trains, boats, aircraft, and cars. And like I said, not all of them worked out as well as I thought. I hope you will consider all this and think on.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,222 articles by July 22, 2011 at 2:22 PM is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

View the original article here