Van or Trailer

[jacksonrussel]

I am looking into getting into the carpet cleaning business. However, I am undecided on which way to go. I am looking at getting a truck mount but would rather mount it in a cargo trailer that is strong enough for 100 gallon water tank and the carpet cleaning machine plus all attachment and hoses. Has anyone done this and if so do you have any suggestion?

Jeff
Tecumseh,MI

[Dan Dan]

buy a rotovac package...

a few months ago i kicked this around and i purchased a starter package from rotovac. it's portable and i'm very happy with this. i suggest to look on their website and check it out....good luck!

[Donald]

Start with a van or trailer

I have cleaned carpets for over 25 years and have tried truck mounts, portables, vans, extended wheel base vans, box trucks, diesels trucks, and the rotovac system.
All the different systems have multiple advantages and disadvantages.
The main difference between trailer users and van users is the amount of work they do. Full time carpet cleaners do not like pulling trailers. It is harder on the vehicle, uses more gas, and hard to get parking in down-town locations or other heavily populated areas. The advantage is you can use your personal truck to pull the trailer when you have work and use this same truck for personal or family use.
The most popular carpet cleaning vehicle is the GMC or Chevy one ton extended wheel base van. If you try to save a couple of thousand dollars and purchase a standard wheel base you will regret it when your business grows.
Box trucks are the ultimate carpet cleaning truck for owner operated use only. Lots of room to grow into performing water extraction servicesThe biggest disadvantage is if you grow and start using employees, your employees will wreck your tall truck into trees, basketball courts, drive-through, car washes, and gas stations. If you own a diesel engine (best for great miles per gallon), your employees will put gasoline in it and run the engine until the engine has to be replaced.
I am not a big fan of trucking water on the service vehicle. This is expensive and heavy. The only advantage of trucking water is if you do lots of vacant homes and apartments. Even so, less than one percent of your jobs do not have water on site. Trucking water requires a 3/4 or larger truck.
I am not a big fan of the Rotovac as mentioned many times in this message board. This is an way over priced wand for what it does and you can achieve the same results in less time with a 15 inch floor machine for less than $400.