Ton truck,,what size bed

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
<FONT COLOR="Blue">
Is anyone useing a open 16ft. bed on a ton truck,if so how does it handle the load.I need to carry 550gal. supply tank and around 100 to 130gals. of chemicals,one hot and one cold washer plus tools,wands,ect.</FONT c><FONT COLOR="Brown">I do not want a enclosed bed because of the hight.I have a place close by that builds truck beds anyway you want them and I was wondering if anyone was useing a open 16ft.bed,what would you or would you change anything.Like lowering the bed down over the rear wheels a little so it wouldn't be top heavy.I know the gas tanks on todays trucks needs so much pressure,would it hurt anything to plumb a fuel line from washer to the main fuel tank on the truck??</FONT c><FONT COLOR="Red">Is where anything else I need to know before I make a decision...........................thanks</FONT c>




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When In Doubt,,,,Think It Out.
 

Scott Stone

New Member
I have a two ton truck that has a twelve foot bed that I have everything on. In the past I have had a one ton flatbed with 450 gallons of water, a hot water washer, a cold water washer, three hose reels and a 35 gallon chemical tank. It grossed out at about 13,000 LBS. Make sure the tank is mounted as close to the cab as possible. I like two tanks so that I can use one to recycle if I want. Right now one of my trucks is a two ton that has a twelve foot flatbed. it has two 325 gallon tanks mounted on it. It works really good and is easy to work from. Make sure that you have room for tool boxes mounted under the bed for various stuff, tools, pumps, vacuums, extra brushes etc. On second thought forget the brushes. Any way for stuff that you might need. In my opinion, a 16 foot bed is more than you need.

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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
The one ton when loaded,did it hold the load ok or did it look like a wet rooster with its trail down?Is the 12ft. bed big enuff or do you wish it was 14ft.?Most of the time I do not get out of a 4 to 6 mile circle,only when I'm doing farm eqt. and most of it is in close.Would like the one ton "IF" it could handle the load,stopping,wear on tires,brakes and wear on truck(trade in).Boy I'm glad I ask cuz I was fixing to go with a 16ft,my trailer is a 16ft. and there is no room for what I have on.
What do you think about plumbing the fuel line to the fuel tank on truck?

<FONT size="1">If you don't tell know one I'll tell ya something,,,,,</FONT s>


<FONT size="1">I carry a few brushs just in case my pretenting doesn't work.</FONT s>
blackeye.gif


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When In Doubt,,,,Think It Out.
 

Scott Stone

New Member
<FONT size="1">BIG BOY. Your secret is safe with me;)</FONT s>
Mine had bad springs on it, so it drug a little bit. The truck was really tired. I would think that a truck in good working order with good springs would work great. I would go witht the twelve foot bed. After the twelve foot bed experience I even reduced my trailer size to twelve feet. If I need more room I can put it in the pickup bed. I have a bracket between the tanks and the headache rack where I put my wands and brush poles. The brushes can be put in the tool boxes. <FONT size="1">So no one knows your secret.</FONT s> I keep a five gallon bucket on the truck of powder to mix soap if I need it. I also have two tanks that I plumbed together so that I have the choice of using both tanks for washing, or I can use one tank for washing and one tank for recapture. It works pretty well. With a twelve foot bed I have an RK-21, a small cold water washer, three DI bottles, a 35 gallon soap tank, three hose reels and a generator. I can also fit a 55 galon drum on the truck for the vacuum recovery system if I need it. It is tight, but that means there is less useless junk on the truck. 14 foot would probably give you a little more breathing room. A single 500 gallon tank will also give you more room. <FONT size="8"> Hey everybody, BigBoy brushes</FONT s><FONT size="1">oops, I slipped</FONT s>

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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Dan S

New Member
Hey BIGboy......
i have a 1 ton box trk. but i put extra springs on the back-- 3 extra one's as a matter of fact. and it carries the load great. i only have 425 gal of h2o .a h20 pump, a landa skid,4 -55 gal. of soap, generator ,air comp, tool boxes,wands,300' of hose on 2 dif. reels...
on top of the 425 gal. tank i built a loft...( if u will }..and on top of it i have a vice, sur-flo pump/ hose...
and i forget what else .
did u notice i DIDNOT MENTION BRUSHES LOL.......
one of these days i'll snap a pic. of it so you can droul all over your keyboard.........

and a heater mounted inside on the wall.(propane)

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ISN'T LIFE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LORD !!!!!!
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
<FONT size="6">Scott glad you didn't tell nobody cuz when I growup I want to be to be to be a truck washer.</FONT s><FONT COLOR="Red">

Thanks Dan for being nice and not telling where ya keep your brushes,lol.</FONT c><FONT size="4">

On the trucks do you lease or look for program trucks,I've always bought but leaning toward leaseing for tax purpose.</FONT s><FONT COLOR="Red">

Quit skipping one of the q'tions
laughing.gif
what about the fuel line,if it will work and I don't see why not,I wouldn't haveta worry about fuel in the washer,has anybody ever tried it?</FONT c>

O O O another(2)Q'tion Scott,the DI,is it plumbed into your supply tank or washer?and do you use DI on fleets?

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When In Doubt,,,,Think It Out.
 

Scott Stone

New Member
The fuel thing, I would not do it, if it were me. I would rather have a seperate tank manufactured and put on the flat bed for it. There are some fuel tax savings benefits to it because you can differentiate between the truck and the pressure washer. It saves me about $2500 a year. Better my pocket than theirs. I also don't think that it would be the safest alternative. If you are dead set on doing it, I guess it would work. Just put a tee in the line so that the machine can suck the fuel out. If there is a fuel pump mounted in the tank of the truck I think that you will out of luck. It will do two things. First it will block the pressure washer when it is sucking, and then When you want to wash the machine could be flooded because of the higher pressures of a vehicle fuel pump pushing passed the float valve.

I can get a new tank made for $350 so that is what I would do.

The DI water is plumbed into my water tanks. You have to remember that the water here is really hard. Something 800PPM. That is so hard that the water starts spotting before it is even dry. So yes, I use DI water on everything. I also run it through my heater and just figure the parts replacement is a cost of doing business.
I do have a float ball in the tank to shut off the water when it gets too full. I don't want my precious DI water running all over the ground.



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Any statement that I make about equipment, processes or your hair color is my own personal opinion. I usually base it on personal experience. If you disagree with me you are free to reply on both the BBS and by e-mail. If I am totally off base please explain why on the BBS so that we may all know why;)
Bus. Phone 480-834-3434
Cell Phone 602-509-9741
 

Dave Olson

New Member
Hello Bigboy,

We have a '69 Dodge (should see a picture if it uploaded! Here is the url http://www.tps-inc.com/dodge1.jpg This chassis currently has a 15 foot enclosed FRP box on it. We also have an 18 foot aluminum flatbed that could be put on instead of the box. Let me know if you would like more information.

This chassis has a 25,000 GVWR. We had the box that is currently on our Red truck on this Dodge. The chassis still has the old LP tanks on it.

Your question about fuel lines. One of our units (Hotsy 5800 Series)has a diesel engine and burner. We have a saddle tank (50 gallon) mounted to the chassis and we have a small fuel pump push the fuel up to the unit (both engine & burner). We use off road K-1.

Dave Olson

Dave I put the picture in. For some reason the upload didn't work. Dan F.

<IMG SRC="http://www.tps-inc.com/dodge1.jpg" border=0>


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Tidy Powerwash Service, Inc. P.O. Box 781, Catlin, Illinois 61817 Phone 217-427-5557, Fax 217-427-2632 We are a commercial cleaning contractor serving East-Central Illinois and West Central Indiana since 1984. http://www.tps-inc.com/preswash.htm

[This message has been edited by Dave Olson (edited December 19, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Dave Olson (edited December 19, 2000).]
 

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