Help with Cleaning Semi-Trailers

MILLEER

New Member
Hey Pro's! I just landed an account that has 100+ semi-trailers. They are looking to get 10-15 washed per week. Here's what they need, (1) top and bottom rails cleaned with an alum brightener, and (2) all sides washed (we brushed). They will pay $20 per trailer, but the problem is, it took about 35-40 minutes per trailer. Here's what we did (1) brush bottom rail and rinse, (2) brush top rail and continue down the side, two panels at a time. Customer is "very pleased" with our cleaning job (Good!). What are some techniques used by anyone out there to cut down the time? Is there some brushless techniques/methods? Please help. Any and all comments are appreciated.

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E. Miller
Miller Mobile Power Wash
 

Ethan

New Member
Two - Step Two - Step Two - Step Two - Step

Two Stepping is appling an acidic surface (#1)prep from bottom to top and coming directly behind it with an alkaline based cleaner (#2) from bottom to top then rinsing from top to bottom.

When these two chemicals are applied one on top of the other it causes an endothermic reaction which lifts road film off without brushing. No need for aluminum brightner because your #1 will take care of your rails and if you are using a good #2 diesel soot and bugs are taken care of.

The average person (one man) can two-step a 53' van in 15 - 18 min. without brushing.

It is also called twin cheming by another company (any guesses) but the major difference between the way they do it and our system is they use a down stream injection system and we use upstream to apply the chemical under high pressure and control everything from the gun. Start and stop the machine and turn both chemicals on and off without walking back and forth to the unit.

It isn't anything new as a matter of fact it has been around since the seventies. Blue Beacon two-steps and so do alot of other contractors. If you are looking for a fast, economical way to clean trucks and trailers get a two step and throw away that *$@#!*& brush.
 
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hotwaterwisard

Guest
Why can't the aluminum brite be used as step one and soap as step two? Acid followed by alkali.

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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa
 

Ramon

New Member
Originally posted by MILLEER:
Hey Pro's! I just landed an account that has 100+ semi-trailers. They are looking to get 10-15 washed per week. Here's what they need, (1) top and bottom rails cleaned with an alum brightener, and (2) all sides washed (we brushed). They will pay $20 per trailer, but the problem is, it took about 35-40 minutes per trailer. Here's what we did (1) brush bottom rail and rinse, (2) brush top rail and continue down the side, two panels at a time. Customer is "very pleased" with our cleaning job (Good!). What are some techniques used by anyone out there to cut down the time? Is there some brushless techniques/methods? Please help. Any and all comments are appreciated.


We use 24-48" brooms to brush trailers Aluminum Brightener is expensive and much more dangerous and takes longer to do. Myself and one person brushing can do 6 53' trailers per hour all day long and you will never get them as clean without ever brushing. If you wash 10 per week out of a hundred it comes to a wash every ten weeks they need to be brushed and then brighten the aluminum.
Ramon
 

ameri-clean

New Member
We use the two step method to clean trailers. 99% of our business is trailers and trucks. We have tried down stream injection and it is just to slow!! With the two step system we can wash a really nasty trailer in 15 minutes. I am hoping that my new wireless remote will speed us up even more(I know I have not commented on this yet,have been real busy, promise to tell you all about it after church tonight!!)Anyway, our customers are very satisfied with the results. The only time we have to brush is 1. some new trailers have a film on them that you have to brush off one time 2. if we are out of extra heavy detergent and a trailer comes in that was pulled by a tractor that had an injector go down. We have tried different methods and have found two step the most cost efficient way to go. Good luck.
 

ameri-clean

New Member
P.S.- I wouldn't use aluminum brightener. It is expensive and turns the rails white. Instead we use an acid based surface prep. Yes, I know alum bright is acid based but the surface prep is milder. It does a great job too.
 

whiplash

New Member
IVE HEARD ALOT ABOUT THIS 2 STEP AND WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO SEE AND FEEL IT TO BELIEVE IT!We wash tractor trailers everyday, and have a very good reputation BECAUSE we BRUSHevertthing on the rigs, sure there are shortcuts and as far as aluminum brightener, we couldnt get along without it(2 55 gallon drums per week) if you respect it it will work for you mix it strong, sure it will turn alum white mix it right, and you can wash a 53ft trailer in 15 minutes it can clean oxidized paint fast sure works great on wheels and tanks before you polish them i have 8 employees and WE all know what can happen but you have to have a LITTLE common sense and also someone said that blue beacon uses 2 step, well in the truckin language blue beacon is the streakin beacon does that tell us something? i wish there was an easy way to clean a truck without brushing it but i havent found it yet when you clean your windshield do you use a brush or bug sponge?

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Ethan

New Member
Originally posted by Rob Blair:
Hi Ethan,

About your upstream method, are you acually pushing your acid through your pump?

Hi rob,

Yes, the acidic surface prep is applied thru the pump at high pressure. I know what your thinking; that is unheard of-putting acid thru the pump; this guy must be nuts. Well i'm not nuts (yet) Two stepping has been around since the early 70's and there are machines out there that have 2000, 3000, even 5,000 hours that are still in service today that run acidic surface prep thru the head of the pump.

What's the trick you ask? Well, there are no tricks. Only quality. First of all you need a CAT pump to handle the chemical. They are the best on the market and anyone worth their salt will tell you the same. Second of all YOU MUST USE REAL TWO STEP CHEMICALS MADE BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHATS GOING ON. IT's That Simple.

Acidic surface prep is not an alum brightner. Typically Alum Brightner is a very harsh product and is reductive to any surface it comes into contact with. Acidic surface prep is a much milder chemical designed to cause an endothermic reaction and still be powerful enough to brighten the rails of a trailer. We make it two ways . One is a HF solution and the other is a phosforic solution which is safe on glass and will not turn alum white after repeated use.

Hope this answered your question, if not post again. I love this board
Ethan
 

Ethan

New Member
Originally posted by whiplash:
IVE HEARD ALOT ABOUT THIS 2 STEP AND WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO SEE AND FEEL IT TO BELIEVE IT!We wash tractor trailers everyday, and have a very good reputation BECAUSE we BRUSHevertthing on the rigs, sure there are shortcuts and as far as aluminum brightener, we couldnt get along without it(2 55 gallon drums per week) if you respect it it will work for you mix it strong, sure it will turn alum white mix it right, and you can wash a 53ft trailer in 15 minutes it can clean oxidized paint fast sure works great on wheels and tanks before you polish them i have 8 employees and WE all know what can happen but you have to have a LITTLE common sense and also someone said that blue beacon uses 2 step, well in the truckin language blue beacon is the streakin beacon does that tell us something? i wish there was an easy way to clean a truck without brushing it but i havent found it yet when you clean your windshield do you use a brush or bug sponge?


Let me clear up one thing. Streakin Beacon got that name because of the employees who do not give a ^@$% about the work they do. Not because of the products they use. Blue Beacon is a dirty word in our industry but the fact remains they made more money last year than most of us did, so they must be doing something right
 

Ramon

New Member
amon
Originally posted by Ethan:
Let me clear up one thing. Streakin Beacon got that name because of the employees who do not give a ^@$% about the work they do. Not because of the products they use. Blue Beacon is a dirty word in our industry but the fact remains they made more money last year than most of us did, so they must be doing something right


They call them Streakin Beacon around here as well. Acids are a necessary evil needed to brighten rails and paint. I prefer to brush because if my soap splashes me in the arm I don't have to worry about it eating my bones. A very close friend of mine is a chemical engineer for NASA. He assured me that HF is one of the most dangerous acids in the world in any dilution. One mistake can be fatal look at the the owner of Soap Warehouse. I would rather brush most of the time and not risk myself or my employees lives. We have just taken a commercial from Blue Beacon for this reason I agree their employees are the cause of it. The phosphoric acid is much more user friendly in my opinion.

Ramon
 

ameri-clean

New Member
Whiplash, I wish you could see it. I also felt the same way until I used the two step. Now I wouldn't be without it. We wash tractors and trailers every day and rarely have to brush. We are the most expensive washer in our area but our customers pay for quality. They like our work. It takes us an average of 13-15 minutes to wash a trailer and about 20 to wash a truck.We have been using HF (I am a chemist by the way) surface prep. It is mild but can't use on polished tanks. Just switched to the phosphoric, verdict not in on it yet. I just got it and have not tried it. It is supposed to be safe on polished aluminum and glass yet still effective for general two stepping. Will let you know what I think of it.
 

Ramon

New Member
I have tried the phosphoric and like it much better. However I have not found anywhere that I can buy it cheap enough to use regularly. I like to keep the rails bright as well. How do you two-steppers deal with oversparay going from truck to truck? I am not totally against two-stepping it is just that it seems easier to brush tractors. Maybe I have not found the proper chems. People who two step around here seem to lose accounts fast maybe you guys know something we don't. Everybody around here brushes.
Ramon
 
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hotwaterwisard

Guest
You are right about the Quality of the chemical but the pump being a Cat has nothing to do with it. The quality of General is the same. Cat way over charges for their parts. The Chemical does not react to the parts differently if they are made from the same materials. If you look at both pumps and compare apples to apples you will find the same matreials used in the packings the head the plungers the connecting rods the valves, everything. The chemical is the difference not the pump!
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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa
 

Rob Blair

New Member
So Wiz, you have looked at the inside of a lot more pumps than I have. What do you think about running acid through the pump? Going to be out of state for a week, starting today, hope there are 10 more posts on this subject by the time I get back. This subject always stirs much emotion, 2 step vs. brushing. Am always trying to learn something in this area of washing trucks and have never seen anyone upstream acid. That would certainly raise eyebrows in this neck of the woods, but hey that doesn't mean it's wrong. Have a good week, see ya........Rob
 

whiplash

New Member
hello americlean sure am anxious for your reply on that phosphoric youre talking about our problem is big shiny trucks lots of chrome POLISHED ALUMINUM and most of the time the driver is watching us, you know that some of them treat their truck better than their families were always looking for a better way, this 2 step sounds good for FLEET trucks but not for o/o,s is it cost effective and do you still have to brush stacks and chrome after wards? thanks whiplash

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Ethan

New Member
Originally posted by hotwaterwisard:
You are right about the Quality of the chemical but the pump being a Cat has nothing to do with it. The quality of General is the same. Cat way over charges for their parts. The Chemical does not react to the parts differently if they are made from the same materials. If you look at both pumps and compare apples to apples you will find the same matreials used in the packings the head the plungers the connecting rods the valves, everything. The chemical is the difference not the pump!
icon8.gif



Wizard, I'm not saying that General Pumps are bad at all. We use Generals on every piece of hot water and cold water equipment we build. What I'm saying is the Cat pumps handle the chemical better, It's a fact that I can back up.

If you look at the Major Players in the two step industry they ALL, EVERY ONE, WITHOUT A DOUBT USE CAT PUMPS. If you doubt me Call Chemex, call Largo, call Red Arrow, call Beaver, and they will all tell you the same thing. Cats are better in the two step application.
 
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Craig/PowerWashUnlimited

Guest
Gotta agree with Ethan, Cats are hands down, the best...

Craig
 

ameri-clean

New Member
The chemicals we use to two step with were developed for two step, so maybe they do work better. We wash alot of O/O. Going to find one that is getting ready to have his polished tanks repolished before I try this new acid on one!! Tried it on some fleet trucks today and it did pretty good. Not as good as the HF but I guess you have to weigh your options. We almost always brush stacks, even with the HF. Them things are tuff!
 
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hotwaterwisard

Guest
I work on Cat and General Pumps. I know that they are both great pumps. Take a look at the companies that have been around since the Dinosaurs walked the earth,Alkota Electromagic, Jenny Clean, Landa, Witco, Malsbury, None of the old timers who started this industry use Cat Pumps. Honda has priced it's self out of the market as well. Why, Because they cost more for the same performance. The Japaneese have the wool pulled over your heads. They make things at a low cost and sell them for a high profit margin. Look at Lexis they make those in the Toyota factory. Do you really think they are better than Mercedes?

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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa
 

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