Your opinion on Trailer

Waterboy

Waterboy

New member
Just wanted to check with you guys and find out what your opinion is about this trail/small rig setup.

http://www.powerwashdirect.com/honda_13hp_trailer.htm

I live close enough but out of GA where it's manufactured so I can avoid shipping cost (1.00 per mile) and taxes by picking it up.

I like it due to it being new and can give me some room to upgrade later on if when I need to.

Any suggestions are welcome
 
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Here is the problem I have with that setup. Do you plan on adding a hot water machine any time soon? If you do you can add another 500 lbs. to what the other 13 hp machine costs. How many gallon water tank is that? I am guessing at around 300 or so. That means full it weighs close to 2500 lbs. If you had a hot water machine at 625 lbs. and a full-tank of water you are at 3125 lbs. That is a 3500 lbs. axle on there. Now you have the water tank itself, your hose and hose reel, any tools, wands, and the weight of the trailer itself, all the chemicals, etc. If that is going to stay just a cold water rig then you will be ok but if you switch to hot water then you will need a tandem axle trailer. I have a 7.5x16 foot trailer and I am running out of room. I carry two 275 gallon tanks, my hot water skid and two cold water machines, I have two tote box like what you see on that trailer you are looking at, 300 feet of high pressure hose and 600 feet of 3/4" supply hose, 30" surface cleaner, safety cones, water cooler, tons of chemicals, pump up sprayers, my propane tank(which I wish I would have never gone to propane), and I have a rack above my trailer for carrying two ladders and my two extension wands. On top of that I need room for a water softener. I still carry my wands, brushes, scrapers, squeegees, and other stuff in the back of my truck. The point I am trying to make is be-careful buying a small trailer. I have a enclosed 6x12 trailer I don't use because it got too small. I use that for my scaffold. If you think in the future you might add hot water to that rig then the weight will be too much . My trailer holds 8000 lbs and I push it to the limit. I try not to drive with my tanks all the full but I still must plan the weight on if they were. Plus you should get brakes on that trailer. I did not see anywhere where if it said it had brakes or not. I know in Michigan it is law to have brakes on a tandem axle trailer. I don't know what the laws reads in other states. I would still want to get brakes if you are hauling 3500 lbs. If you need to make a panic stop without trailer brakes it can be scary. Then you will also need a brake adjuster(I forgot what they are called) thing in the cab. It is something that mounts under the dash that you can use to adjust the trailer brakes with. You talked about upgrading. What were your plans if you were to upgrade? Don't get me wrong I do think it is a good price but not if you are wanting to go hot water. On top of that where would you put a surface cleaner? Is that a direct drive unit or a belt drive? I think I may be able to buy everything separately and come out cheaper.
#1 I can get a 13 hp 3500 psi 4 gpm machine for $1200 and that will be a belt drive. It will come with the 50' of hose, wand, nozzles, and injector.
#2 That hose reel I can get for $215 it would be made by the same company and it would hold 400' of 1 wire hose. The base would be another $50
#3 The tote they show on there is only $30 at the local Home Depot.
#4 The tank I am guessing shouldn't be more then $250. I am guessing on that price.
All that equals $1,745. That means if you could find a trailer for $1,155 less then you would be saving money. I don't think a 5x10 single axle trailer is worth $1,155. I bought mine for just over $2,000 but mine is tandem axle and is 7.5x16. You would have 50 sq. ft. of room and I have 120 sq. ft.
I don't mean to be so down on it but when I am out buying stuff I like to hear the downside to things. It helps make your decision better. The salesman or ad will only tell you the upside. I am just trying to be objective. Let me know more about what your upgrading plans were and I can maybe help you out more.
 
Robert,

My opinion is that you need to find a local shop to get your machine from. Try talking to some local pressure washer guys and find out who they get their machines. When I was shopping for my machine I found one shop that did about 80% of local pressure washer sales and repairs. The main reason I got my machine from that shop is that with only one machine you don't have a back up. So if anything breaks it will happen at the worst time. A local shop can usually get you back in business quicker.

As for not paying sales tax you will still pay when you go to get a trailer tag. I know this first hand, the county I bought my trailer from had a lower tax rate than the one I live in and I had to pay the difference when I got the tag!

A good place to look for pressure washers and trailers is Bargain Trader On-line I hope this link works for you. just type in pressure washer or trailer as your key word and pick out the state or region. I have found lots of good deals on equipment here.

http://www.bargaintraderonline.com/adsearch.html

Rember that if you are relying on one machine to make you living. If your machine is down or in the shop you can't make money! Better to spend a little more now and not have problems later.

Let me know it you need any info that I have learned so far. I recently added pressure washing to my lawn care company.
 
Steve - Thanks for reply, a lot of good points you brought up. I should have given a little more info on where I am starting.

Unfortunately I am limited on the towing capacity of my truck, 4cylinder Nissan Frontier extended cab w/ topper. Not much in the way of power.

You are right on about the upgrade problem I would have in future. I called the guy that builds them. He was nice guys and gave me a break down of what I would be paying if I choose to get all the equipment aside from the trailer.

Here are the prices for buying the equipment separate.

Whatever your trailer cost plus
$1099 machine without electric start (direct drive)
$180 for the reel, base and elbow
$125 for the hardware to bolt everything down and to plumb the tank to the machine
$22.99 for the whip hose
$92.50 for 4500 PSI Superjet hose 50ft
$65 for the toolbox
$338 for 225 gallon tank with the bands
$33 for the water hose
$179 for freight cost (estimated)
Total without trailer $2134.99

Some of these costs seem a bit high and I could probably do better. I asked him to tell me what the cost would be for belt driven and get this he told me that if I got 8 months out of direct drive pump then I could replace for less then the upgrade cost for belt driven. I talked to him for half hour and he seemed like he wasn't trying to gouge me.

But my options are this for now or work out of the back of my truck

Bill - Yeah I agree on the local shop Bill. I am lucky and have a nice guy about 5 miles from house. He only deals hot water w/ trailers so I would have to be ready to dump 6-7 thousand just to start.

Good Idea about the Bargain Trader. After looking for about a week I finally found it online. They have about 3-4 possible trailers if I wanted used but I am leaning more toward buying new. I actually found this guys ad online in bargain trader

As far as taxes go I will have to pay on the trailer when I get back and register it but I will save on the equipment.

Another thing I am going to do is get small 2.5 gal 2500psi and put it in Garage if something happens. Might not be best plan but will have small back up.

Here is pic if all goes well and thanks for info guys
 

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Ron p/robert.

robert please ans. me some questions.
#1 Why do you need a tank?
#2 Why would you want a trailer with a perminet mounted unit that SHOULD be a unit on wheels?
#3 What is it you want to wash useing homeowner type equipment?
#4 Do you have a local equipment rental place or a home depot that rents equipment? If yes why stock a little wash unit when they will rent you a better one? Why buy one and sit on it when home depot sell's them everyday?
Go to home depot get there best wash unit[$1000]
A toolbox[husky] for the truck bed.[$225]
Get one of those plastic box hose reel[box type] $40.
Extra hose[both garden and pressure]
fuel can
Skip the high pressure hose reel untill you start making money.
If you need to make up a small tank to help suplement a slow spigot. Make one from a 55 gal drum.
Put everything IN the truck.
Keep an eye out for a used trailer.
Home depot offers a discount for the first time you use their credit card and you dont start making payments for 6 months.
What more could you ask for?
If the unit breaks in the first 90 days just return it.
In 90 days you should make enuff to step up to a much better rig then the one your looking at.
This is just my opinion.
That 55 gal drum can be emptied after each job so you dont carry the weight with you. Most houses will have plenty of water to run 4 GPM.
 
A couple things I'd like to point out. First, they stole the wheels off the machine! One of the few benefits to running a cold water machine is that they are portable...However, this one is bolter to the trailer so you can't wheel it somewhere the trailer can't go. With only 50' of hose, you'll be doing a LOT of wheeling. That's the other problem, only 50' of hose. I think it isn't a good deal at all....You could put this together yourself a good bit cheaper...for the money they want, you could put together a cold water rig that is actually functional for doing this as a business. Most of the "features" they give you are standard on a Home Depot 3600psi (more pressure than you'll be likely to need) 4gpm (not enough gpm, but you'll pay for more). Things like low oil shutdown, downstream injectors, nozzles, wands, easy start valve, thermal releif valves come standard anyway...They're not selling you anything you couldn't put together with a trip to Home Depot and your local trailer place. As theGUNNman said, this is what you could put that package together for, minus the trailer:

Cold water direct drive home depot 3600psi 4gpm machine with wand, 50' of hose, and downstreamer - $1000.00
(If you HAVE to have 4000psi, you can get a 4000psi 4 gpm machine at SAM's for the same money)
Hose Reel $130.00
225 gallon water tank - $250.00
Tote Bin - $20.00

That's $1400.00. That leaves you with $1500.00 to find a trailer with. It also saves you the trip from Sarasota to Georgia. If you DO buy this, make SURE you don't have to pay GA sales tax if you pick it up. You'll still have to pay FL sales tax when you register it in Florida, I'm assuming that applies to trailers as it does to cars.

For $1500.00 you can find a nice enclosed trailer, as you said you wanted, or you could find a trailer like what they're offering for a good bit less than $1500.00. In fact, on ebay there's a NEW 5x8 enclosed Haulmark trailer for $1350.00 that expires in 16 hours

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2402044261&category=10368

Item number 2402044261 on www.ebaymotors.com

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I think you could do a heck of a lot better for the money you want to spend. This is what I'd do if I were you:

Belt Drive Cold Water machine - $1200.00
300 feet of hose - $239.00
(2) 400' hose reel with base - 263.00 each - one for high pressure, one for garden hose
235 gallon tank - $250.00
NICE used open trailer - $500.00 or less (ebaymotors item 2402013628)

That's $2715.00 you'd be spending, saving you $185.00 AND giving you a heck of a lot better equipment....

Just my two cents worth.

I mean, who cares if it is a new trailer, as long as it is in good shape? Heck, you can paint it if it needs it...a few cans of good black enamel paint, and you're in business!
 
Whatever your trailer cost plus
$1099 machine without electric start (direct drive)
$180 for the reel, base and elbow
$125 for the hardware to bolt everything down and to plumb the tank to the machine
$22.99 for the whip hose
$92.50 for 4500 PSI Superjet hose 50ft
$65 for the toolbox
$338 for 225 gallon tank with the bands
$33 for the water hose
$179 for freight cost (estimated)
Total without trailer $2134.99

You could save $100.00 on the machine AND get wheels and a cart with it. You could save probably $100.00 on the "hardware" to bolt everything down with, since you really only need something to hook the tank straps to...the washer doesn't need to be bolted down. He's ripping you off on the hose and toolbox. The hose you can get at espec for $45.00, and the "toolbox" at Walmart for $20.00. I just hate to see you dump this kind of money into a rig and then have to turn right around and spend more money getting to the point where it will actually do the job for you. I'd tend to agree with ronp, what do you need a tank for? I like his idea about using a 55 gallon drum. Anyway, again, just my two cent's worth.
 
Water Boy,

I wasn't going to post cause I think everyone is pretty much pushing you in the right direction.It looks like you're on kind of a tight budget though.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on a 2.5 gal machine,unless you plan on pumping chems with it oneday.It's like buying a VW Bug as a back up if you own a trucking company.Your machine will break down it's a fact.What can you do then

1- maybe you will be ready to upgrade by then
2- Home depot Lowes etc credit card grab a 13 hp right off the shelf
3- Sams club $1000(decent machine)
4-(best case scenerio) You make some money,you put a portion of it away and upgrade before your current unit breaks down and make that one your back up
5- in a pinch you can rent one while yours is being repaired,hotsy even lent one of my friends one while they trouble shot his(in hopes he would like it and buy it,he did btw)

Bottom line is don't buy something,that you may need, and sit it in your garage that you can pick up off the shelf at any given time(even on weekends).If you did buy this machine already return it if you can you don't need it.If you used it,clean it up.

Good Luck
John e-mail me (cleanitrightnow@aol ) if you like. I was in your shoes once.
 
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