[Simon Gerrard]

This is a subject that I find fascinating. Why do some carpet cleaners stick with electric machines and not upgrade at the first opportunity to a Truck Mount?
Before anyone jumps down my throat for asking the question, let me qualify my position.
I started this business over thirty years ago, at first on a part time basis and then professionally with a Prochem Steameasy 400 and a little later a CheyenneIII, twin vac and that along with a rotary scrubber saw me through to my first national contract with Etam Ladies Wear. We used to combination clean shop carpets up and down the country using only portable machines. My first Truck Mount was a Prochem 100A,16 hp Briggs & Stratton engine with  a diesel fired burner, costing £7,500 + vat which was an absolute fortune back then.
Obviously everything I had done up to that point had been acceptable to my clientele but with the advent of the Truck Mount my business changed dramatically in almost every department. Quality went up. Drying Times went down. Cleaning times went down and my repeat and referral work shot up, why? Because people began to trust me as a committed professional and I had never had that sort of respect from my customers before. And I found that telling prospective customers about Truck Mount cleaning my conversion rate from quote to job went through the roof. Likewise I found that people told more of their friends about their carpet cleaning experience and the huge machine we’d used and soon I was getting pre-qualified, ready to buy people ringing me wanting to know when I could fit them in.
I am not suggesting that you cannot do a good job with a portable, because obviously you can because I built my business on them, but would my business be where it is today if I’d stayed with portables, absolutely not. By contrast there are people around today who have made very successful businesses with portables, Ken Wainwright is a prime example of that and I am sure that it was as conscious a decision for him to go down that road as was for me to go down mine.
The truth is there are few and far between portable operators who don’t in their heart of hearts aspire to own a TM and I wonder what it is in their minds that stops them from making that leapt when an entry level TM still costs on £7500, in some cases less, which is peanuts in comparison to what there is to gain for the outlay of so little money.
I’m not trying to start the age old TM versus portable argument, or being elitist or deliberately controversial but I just wonder...why?

Simon

[carpet guy]

Good post Simon

If someone says Black I often, just to stimulate debate will say White, or at least Grey

The problem on an open forum like this, is, there have been a few T/M owners who found it necessary to insult 40 years younger I and condemn portable owners.

I'm sure many would love to make the leap, but don't think they can afford the outlay and others who have their personal reasons for sticking with their tried and tested method, others still who try to be different.

If I were 40 years younger, I'd certainly consider a t/m.

[*paul_moss]

Simon, I think that there are a lot of cleaners that just have carpet cleaning as an add  on to other business or try it because its a nice little earner or just do it on a part time basis. I bet there are 1000,s of carpet cleaners out there but not that many full time and totally commited to it as a business like the guys that frequent this forum. I see them every year local to me come and go or a general cleaner will have a co at carpets and upholstery and then realise how hard or technical it can be.
As regards for truckmounts I would say once most cleaners can afford one or can get hold of one at a reasonable price  , then go for it and dont look back. I had a conversaion with another cleaner on this forum the other day regarding this he has been cleaning many years and has a top of the range porty but is concidering moving up to a truck. I just know if he does do it that in 6 months time he will tell me, he would never use a porty again.

[Straker Cleaning]

I see the advantages of being able to do so many calls in a day but most of the big jobs, where i would benefit most, will not allow TM due to noise  :

[Neil Grainger]

For me its just down to the fact that when I am busy I can earn very good money with my portable, and to be honest its not that hard filling and emptying the waste and clean tanks a few times a day is it.

Certainly see the advantages of a Truckmount to generate business because of size and noise but I just dont need it to earn good money.

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Simon

Truckmounts are the best tool in the box. Absolutely no doubt about it.

The person I am now is someone who works to live. In the past I lived to work.

I have no ambition to be the UK's Carpet Cleaning Wizard cleaning every carpet I can put a wand to. I just want to earn enough to maintain my standard of living. Take Holidays, ride my bike, then retire.

I have for many years now been of the view that to purchase a suitable T/M, and a suitable van to go with it, you're looking at a ball park figure of £30k. Bearing in mind that I have no desire to expand the business, or to do more jobs in a day, that sort of figure cannot be justified within my business plan. So it's a no brainer.

But do you know what? My mind is changing  As I get older, the body tires more easily. The body can sometimes hurt at the end of the day. So perhaps I can justify a T/M.

The HydraMaster range looks very nice. The Sproutfire 3.2 is a waste of time IMO (too small) The 421 is all the performance I would ever need, but a 427 is water cooled and with oomph to spare But I'd have to borrow money again for that sort of set up.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[mark shannon]

Simon what is your opinion of the Prowler 15hp is it as good as a entry level Truckmount or better ?

[gwrightson]

Chris,
arnt portys noisy when they are inside?

big jobs, porty must be inside !! Yes !!

in reply to simons question, portys earnt me decent money, and I consider I did a good job.......I stood my corner in the t/m porty debates, even though I knew t/ms could earn you more money, leave carpets drier etc etc. Having worked alongside M. halliday I could see all the benifits of a t/m ,so yes simon In the back of my mind I was always thinking along the lines of a t/m.
Pleased i did , only today a regular noted How much faster the set up and completion was. I charged her same price as last year, her comments " I expected it to be a little more " No, I said its only taked me a fraction of the time, to which she replied " thats good I dont have to hang around for so long with it been so fast "    
So , The benifits are not only the usual ones put up ,on here but the custy is pleased it doesnt take so long

Now i know what sort of responce I will get to that last comment  

Not knocking portys, just giving my veiws.

geoff

[Simon Gerrard]

Ken,
Great reply as always.
A second hand TM might be a good option.
As you say, £30k is a lot of money and that sort of sum of money can put people off very quick. But there are some very good second hand units available from time to time, Brian Willis is selling a Maxx 450 Diesel in a Sprinter van for £8k. OK neither van nor machine  are new but for £8k on the road with all the benefits that a TM can offer I'm surprised he hasn't been mobbed.
Lee Grundry sold a van and Maxx 470 for £10k recently so there are opportunities for people to make the leap for really very small sums of money when you consider that both machines above will give their owner the ability to take on any job, big or small and be able to clean them in single or dual wand and have the capability to do well over £100,000 of cleaning per year.  That's one hell of a lot of benefits for a measly £8 - £10k.

Simon

[Simon Gerrard]

Mark,
To be honest I have only ever seen one at an exhibition so I can't comment.

If you're considering moving up to a TM you have to base your buying decision on your business needs and where you want your business to go in the next five years or so. It is in my opinion utter folly to buy a Truck Mount purely on what you think you can afford because that may well mean that the TM you buy won't have the technical capabilities to take you where you want to be.
If you want to do do domestic and commercial work then you have to ensure that the TM you buy can cope with both types of work and I would suggest that the Prowler may come up well short of the mark when it comes to commercials.
I think Steve Gunn has a Prowler, maybe you should ask him. Failing that give Brian Willis a ring as a Maxx 450D will take you anywhere you want to be.

Simon

[MICHAEL_GAYTON]

the trunk mount runs on fuel sits on 50 to 60 gallons of treated water which sits in a van which then uses more fuel
because of weight.Its not about how good t/m are  its always COST.

PS yes i have had two t/m in the passed cub xl /boxxer.but i like using the customers water and elec small overheads clean carpets happy customer

[Simon Gerrard]

But Truck Mounts print money!
Yes, sure they cost a grand or two but where else can you set up a small business for under twenty grand and have the earning capacity of the best part of £100k?

Simon

[davep]

100k..   

Working 48 weeks a year thats £2100 per week.. 

Say 6 hrs cleaning a day makes £70 per hr over a 5 day week..

Need to raise my prices!

[Straker Cleaning]

Portys are noisy but when working in big building, it is easy to localise the noise, not so easy when parked in courtyard with reverberating noise all around........ Parliament is one place i could utilise the capacity of a TM but the noise is a no no and the security issue of having hoses through open doors is a factor (windows with hoses hanging out is also a no go )  :
Rarely need to empty or refill my Speedster during most jobs and even on biggest, only one refill needed.......... and i can do with the exercise 

[MICHAEL_GAYTON]

most cleaners earn half that on average,there is still the cost of out lay,which you need to earn back.
running costs

[spencer davies]

My Hydramaster is probably one of the best investments we have made for sometime, we did six jobs today, with ease, I wouldn't have got through them all with our Speedsters, although one job had access problems and we had to use a porty.

The quality of job and drying time is unmatched in my opinion, we have owned a Scorpion in the past too.


Regards




S

[Peter Blackburn]

Hi Simon,

You are forgetting that the people who work within this industry have very little money and mostly do it alongside a paying job.
There are exceptions though and I know for a fact that some people can make a full time living from Carpet and Upholstery cleaning, maybe not a good living but a living never the less.

As for people paying £15,000 for a truck mount, forget it! The demise of carpeting in this country has lead to many packing up, even as part timers.
Why would people pay £15,000 for a truck mount then enter an uncertain industry that mostly eats money. You could earn £15,000 a month fitting hard wood flooring, contact and domestic.

Peter

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Simon - can I ask, on average, how many occassions have you found that you cant use a truck mount on a job, because of access, parking, trailing hoses or noise issues ?


Steve

[Mike Halliday]

£100k  : :

i know a lot of T/M owners  its a very small number that earn anything near that amount.

Peter obviously you live in a different world to me because In my world what you've said bares no relation to reality

'people who work within this industry have very little money and mostly do it alongside a paying job'

'people can make a full time living from Carpet and Upholstery cleaning, maybe not a good living but a living never the less.'


where do you get this load of crap from? , Peter Blackburns big book of bullpoop

[Simon Gerrard]

Steve,
Honestly....never.
There are people though who work in London and other big cities where parking is a huge problem.
Simon