TM v Portable

« **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2005, 05:48:24 pm »

i must say that portable is alot, easier no parking problems, no worrying about kids falling over the pipies. dont have tol leave front door open, so dogs cant escape. i reckon portable is 100 times better for domestics, perhaps tm better for comercial. only just.

« **Reply #3 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:13:16 pm »

Have you had any experience of using a T/m sherlock??

« **Reply #4 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:37:23 pm »

yes and it was horrific

lost loads of jobs could not get near to terraced houses,could not get near to high rise flats without getting clamped. maybe its the type of area you work in. open space is needed

« **Reply #5 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:43:04 pm »

Nah Lad, ah wurk utp North wi got nor flats an lines upt here. Wot yer saying is tha had thi problems wi parking an sor on, not wi T/M.

« **Reply #6 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:43:33 pm »

What

« **Reply #7 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:45:20 pm »

Wots up thi Holly carnt tha read Yorksha ??

« **Reply #8 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:46:54 pm »

do they have running water up north yet john?

« **Reply #9 on:** May 30, 2005, 07:48:49 pm »

Coors wi av running warter it cums arta even.

« **Reply #10 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:16:55 pm »

Nick

Glad John’s picking on Sherlock and not me this time as my neighbour who comes from his neck of the woods and translates for me is in the States!

Sherlock

Have yet to lose work by having a TM may have walked away from a few the same applies to the porty! One should questions and my case interrogate customers about parking and then if impractical make a judgement decision

Think Ian went a bit ott on hoses all setup/packing up when one and bit of my hoses would do!

Len

« **Reply #11 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:24:29 pm »

after deep thought over the last 60 seconds. i have come to the conclusion all truckmounts should be banned. ruining our ozone, contaminating thruogh extra use of petrol/diesel. ban the lot of them.

« **Reply #12 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:26:16 pm »

eyup Len as nubdi teld lad abaht not avin bends in oses so not to loys vacuum??

« **Reply #13 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:28:14 pm »

since I've been using tm's(about 3 years now) I have only used the portables once!I do quite a lot of work for letting agent's and using portables was a dead loss.....mainly due to getting to the job and finding out there were tokens needing to be fed into the electric meters before you could use the power, not too bad when it's a fiver but horror when it's about £100 and your told put it on the bill!and I really don't miss tripping the fuses either!the cleaning is much better,drier,quicker and much hotter when needed using the TM's. I bet most TM owners have portables in the garage that they use very very rarely? I wonder how many portable owners have a TM tucked away in the garage but would rather use the portable?

john

« **Reply #14 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:36:21 pm »

i think its horses for courses John :

« **Reply #15 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:43:56 pm »

or truckmounts
" for a true deep clean"

Lee G

« **Reply #16 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:46:09 pm »

John F

You S.O.B you know you have me at a disadvantage my translator is out of the country! Picked up only on two Len and question marks what’s a vacuum?

John R

Just wait till you have to use their water supply and they’re on a meter!

Len

« **Reply #17 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:48:25 pm »

deep clean maybe? but true

your having a bubble mate

(notice the wink before you reply)

Nick "The Hitman" Holman

« **Reply #18 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:48:46 pm »

of course! like last friday I was working in the sticks, a nice big house and about 10 minutes before I got there the customer rang me to let me know that the power had gone off and thought she had better let me know because it could be off for hours as the power people couldn't find the fault?now if I had a portable I woudn't have been able to do it,

« **Reply #19 on:** May 30, 2005, 08:54:44 pm »

Correct but thats got to be rare man, ive had two propertys in 14yrs with no power and only tripped the fuses once in 14years used a saftey breaker plug thingy after the first time

Nick

« **Reply #20 on:** May 30, 2005, 09:02:38 pm »

thats really good! wish the letting agent's were like that here!

« **Reply #21 on:** May 30, 2005, 09:04:12 pm »

I dont do letting agents i leave them to the truckmount boys

« **Reply #22 on:** May 30, 2005, 09:14:13 pm »

lol! can be a nice filler when you can't park on the job you were intending to do!

« **Reply #23 on:** May 30, 2005, 09:48:40 pm »

hi lads

is that eclipse ian as in that van

« **Reply #24 on:** May 30, 2005, 09:51:17 pm »

« **Reply #25 on:** May 30, 2005, 10:16:22 pm »

The Eclipse would out perform a Bane that operates in the same way, but where do you get the water from?

I know you can buy water tanks but then the size of the van goes up. I appreciate that the eclipse has 3 vac motors and realistically have you ever been to a house that has only 1 socket? but what happens when the vac motor goes? a vac blower is more reliable but like most things in life it's how you look after it.

Shaun

PS I looked at Cross America when Mark(y) Roberts 1 st posted on cleantalk about 3 years ago and weighed up the pros and cons of a high powered porti to replace my Banes but decided to go petrol after I saw Glynns and Lee Gs TMs.

« **Reply #26 on:** May 31, 2005, 07:48:42 am »

If you have laid out the heavy investment required for the full T/M set up I don't think you.re likely to admit that you might have regrets.

I have trialled T/Ms and weighed up the pros and cons before coming to the conclusion that, you need to target the market ,to suit the machine, which I'd regard as very restrictive and compromising.

To overcome this situation, you will require to have a portable, or restrict your activities.

Also, the setting up / clearing away time for portables is considerably less and the ability to park at the location virtually every time is a major bonus.

The concept of having a powerful portable which can be either left in the van, or takin closer, when necessary has to be the most attractive option.

When I did this I used a CFR , BUT THERE ARE NOW SEVERAL EQUALLY POWERFUL PORTABLES AVAILABLE.

Also, there is the option of ' auto fill ' and ' auto empty ' making the portables even more attractive.

However, at the end of the day , it's personal choice and we will never all agree, on chemicals, cleaning methods or anything else..............

ahappy days

r m

« **Reply #27 on:** May 31, 2005, 09:27:13 am »

Quote from: therapist on May 31, 2005, 07:48:42 am

Also, the setting up / clearing away time for portables is considerably less and the ability to park at the location virtually every time is a major bonus.

Why?

Not being a TM owner, I thought the opposite was the case! No filling/emptying, hoses on a reel, no machine to load on/load off.

I appreciate that a TM owner still has to refill/empty at some stage plus general maintainence, but why is a 'porty' quicker to set up? $:-\$

« **Reply #28 on:** May 31, 2005, 10:00:37 am »

Hi Guys

The Eclipse is avalable auto feed and auto dump

Best regards Nick

« **Reply #29 on:** May 31, 2005, 07:50:24 pm »

Never had any regrets in buying a TM if I did I would say so! Would I sell and go back to only a portable even the more powerful ones a big NO! But may upgrade in time the Ninja. I did choose van very carefully!

I only know of one cc that jumped in and brought a TM first time out, that took some guts my hats off to him; but I think the rest of us started with porties and progress though the fields of what’s out there to improve cleaning and efficacy no more no less and as you say it’s down to personal choice in all what we do!

In no way am I advocating that any one go out and buy a TM!

Len

« **Reply #30 on:** May 31, 2005, 08:25:15 pm »

The main reason I bought my first truckmount was so I could spend more time with my 6 year old daughter(single dad and all that)the idea being that the time saved would enable me to spend more time with her and give grandma a break, I soon found that when using the truckmount the attention that it was drawing to itself was bringing in much more work than the portables ever did! so now I'm running 2 truckmounts and my sales have increased 4 fold when compared with the portables!never do I want to go back to cleaning black tops in pubs with 2 portables all that filling and emptying!why make a job harder for yourself?at least I can do a nightclub now in the morning and be home to collect my daughter from school at 3.20pm! wouldn't have done that with the portables.
John

« **Reply #31 on:** May 31, 2005, 09:18:24 pm »

The majority of portable owners dont have truckmounts because they cant afford them ie. havent got the work for them.

A truckmount is faster, easier and probably just as cheap to buy as a portable over time although they do need £3 or so an hour to run.

When you have so much work that your knackered every day then youll get a truckmount.

Mark

PS. I have a portable.

« **Reply #32 on:** May 31, 2005, 11:39:41 pm »

I think John just hit the nail squarely on the head describing the type of work most suited to t/ms,ie, pubs, clubs, etc........but that kind of work is pretty scarce for some of us.

One of the main reasons I stuck to portables, was lazyness, from the early days the phone rang and it's never really stopped.

Were I 30 years old rather than 60, I might view things differently, I certainly approach life in a much more philosophically and relaxed way.

As I mentioned previously, the market in which you decide to operate should determine your choice of equipment and there's plenty info' flying around on this board to help.

If in doubt send P/ M s to individuals and as long as you're not on their doorstep you will get advice, based on experience.

good luck

r m

« **Reply #33 on:** May 31, 2005, 11:46:48 pm »

I, Lee G, D Ingram, Shaun, Steve knight, Tim Alford, John Flynn ,Dave Lee ,etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
use TM's for ALL jobs, fron the smallest rug through to the largest commercial jobs.
It IS faster re: set up and shut down/closing off than ANY portable. It is also more powerfull than ANY portable.
Those who knock , are only preventing themselves from growing their business. A TM is also a POWERFULL marketing tool.

« **Reply #34 on:** June 01, 2005, 12:25:10 am »

Not sure that anyone is knocking, just stating their preferences and in my case, after 22 years I would still go for a portable, but a powerful one, with 400 to 500 psi which I've used with success, but in most jobs have dropped to 150 to 200psi.

From a purely practical point of view, the terrain and the proportian of flatted properties in this areaand the increasing difficulty imposed by local authority planners, constantly adding to restricted access areas around town just makes it nearly impossible to work with T/Ms.

I'm in the West of Scotland, incidentally, and the population of 50 square miles around me , is only about 3 million

I understand the marketing power of T/Ms, but I'll stick to customer satisfaction, as my main marketing tool.

best wishes
r m

« **Reply #35 on:** June 01, 2005, 06:10:06 am »

how do delivery trucks get to all these 'restricted access areas around towns'

I said once before, when ever we get a TM v Portable debate the same old answer come along. Its getting boring, everyone defends and gives reasons why the machine they use is the perfect answer to modern carpet cleaning.

you can't convert non-believers

Mike

« **Reply #36 on:** June 01, 2005, 07:26:23 am »

Re, delivery vehicles, you should know, as well as I do, that there is only restricted access for a short time in the early morning and after 5.30 at night. And these restrictions are getting worse.

Of course the same arguments keep repeating, they always will as long as you think ' you're dad's bigger than my dad 'and transfer this to life in general.

Mostly, it's T/M owners who are claiming to be the ' top dogs ' and the others, who are defending their corner, also you should bear in mind that other systems also exist and the all have their place whether you, or I think the're crap, or whatever

DEBATE IS GOOD FOR US ALL, IT STIMULATES THOUGHT WHICH SOMETIMES RESULTS IN CHANGE.

As your other neighbours and our old allies say, VIVE LA DIFFERENCE.

Bon jour

r m

« **Reply #37 on:** June 01, 2005, 09:42:55 am »

I have an Eclipse, which chances are is the best portable on the market, I honestly believe the eclipse provides enough power and heat etc to perform virtually on a par with a TM.
Carpet cleaning makes up about 15% of CTCS's work load, which equates to a job or two per day on average so the investment needed for a TM simply wouldnt be viable which is why a porty suits my business, I imagine truth be told this is the case with alot porty users, few can afford to leave 20k sitting in the yard doing nothing!!! Had carpet cleaning been the bulk of our work load then the cost of a TM would be justified.

Paul

« **Reply #38 on:** June 01, 2005, 11:19:59 pm »

Hi guys

What you are going to see is more maid services carpet cleaning, and i would like to hear from is a lady what she thinks about the TM v Portable.

The two ladies that have used mine love it and say its easy, And i think they would say the same with a TM. why because they dont have the who got the biggest chat, (as they have not got one

)

Its a point that I am making when buying what do you want to get it for? For me its about value and not being in debt. My 7k setup investment will return, i hope at least 50k over two years and i can buy new again at the end of the two years. (not Van)

i was talking to someone that has 30k invested in one van and TM. if over the two years we earn the same then i up on him. (Just an example)

After what i have been hearing on the news with the votes on the EU and the fact that the EU is going to try with the help of the unions in this country make us work 40 odd hrs a week, and yes that selfempolyed as well. so if i was you i would start to look to take help on, as thats what its all about. we work less hours and in their thinking more jobs. its not working for them, thats why they want us to join the hard times they are having.

the up side for us is if they get their way. carpet cleaners will be in greater need as people will clean than replace carpets.

Respect

ian Harper

« **Reply #39 on:** June 02, 2005, 10:21:02 pm »

Here we go again, t/m v's Porty, well..............
I use a t/m which I bought with money earned by my porty.
I do mainly domestic, only not been able to do 1 job in 18 months.
If I only earned 50 k in 2 years I would give up and go get a proper job.
my t/m cost about 15.5k inc lots of other bits, which I wanted but could have got by without. My t/m will last 5 to 10 years, if I keep it that long, will probably change along with van in 2 or 3 years time.
Some customers would not have any other type of machine, but most dont care as long as the carpet is clean and dries within a reasonable time.
There are some nice porty's about now, but they still need 2 or 3 power leads, are NOT as powerful and you do have to lug them around.
Having said all that if you work in a city centre then you really have no choice but to stay portable. Personally I would find work elsewhere, too much hastle driving and parking, let alone cleaning.

« **Reply #40 on:** June 03, 2005, 05:30:40 am »

the numbers where only an example, plus this is an add on business for me

thnks

respect