My wife likes the truckmount 😆

[Bryce C]

And so do I! Now how do I keep this thing running? I've studied the manual, especially the maintenance section. I've ordered replacement belts for the pump and blower, as well as the appropriate oil for the water pump and blower. I already have the appropriate grease for the driveshaft and gave it a full greasing. I will keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance as per the manual's recommendations. Also it seems van maintenance like 1500k to 2000k oil changes and coolant system maintenance is important. I started a checklist in the van, ticking the boxes of what I have done with the engine hours and vehicle mileage marked next to them...

I have setup a pretty decent mobile toolkit too. But!!! There are a like a dozen different types of hoses and a hundred types of fittings in this thing. Not to mention the more expensive pumps, clutches, valves, etc... Aside from wand valve replacements, spare regulator valve, and male and female quick connects... Any recommendations as to what to carry with me for replaceable parts to be prepared for repairs while on the road? I was going through the manual parts catalog and was just going to order every small thing I could until I realized I'd spend thousands doing that. Maybe I should anyway I have a 2013 CDS 4.8. Any tips are much appreciated :]

 

[Mikey P]

Get friendly with your local Parker hose supply that can make all those different types of hoses on a whim..

 

[Mikey P]

Keep spare plungers and high pressure and low pressure rings for your pump stored


Keep an extra Harwell switch or learn how to repair them, that's the high water shut off inside your waist tank most likely


Fix drips is they occur, not next weekend

Change the oil every 75 hours


And don't worry about the rest it'll all work out..


Oh and don't let it freeze not even close

Please don't be that guy that puts a heater in there in the winter and just crosses his fingers that the power doesn't go out

 

[Bryce C]

Keep spare plungers and high pressure and low pressure rings for your pump stored


Keep an extra Harwell switch or learn how to repair them, that's the high water shut off inside your waist tank most likely


Fix drips is they occur, not next weekend

Change the oil every 75 hours


And don't worry about the rest it'll all work out..


Oh and don't let it freeze not even close

Please don't be that guy that puts a heater in there in the winter and just crosses his fingers that the power doesn't go out

Change what oil every 75 hours: the blower oil, the pump oil, the van oil? Seems like those need service at much different intervals...

I was thinking about shutting it down and winterizing it December, January, and February and reverting to our portable setup in our heated and insulated trailer for those coldest months. Then using an electric heater with a Marcell wireless temperature monitor that sends alerts to my cell phone in the van when it drops below 40 degrees in October, November, March, and April...

 

[Dwain Ray]

And so do I! Now how do I keep this thing running? I've studied the manual, especially the maintenance section. I've ordered replacement belts for the pump and blower, as well as the appropriate oil for the water pump and blower. I already have the appropriate grease for the driveshaft and gave it a full greasing. I will keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance as per the manual's recommendations. Also it seems van maintenance like 1500k to 2000k oil changes and coolant system maintenance is important. I started a checklist in the van, ticking the boxes of what I have done with the engine hours and vehicle mileage marked next to them...

I have setup a pretty decent mobile toolkit too. But!!! There are a like a dozen different types of hoses and a hundred types of fittings in this thing. Not to mention the more expensive pumps, clutches, valves, etc... Aside from wand valve replacements, spare regulator valve, and male and female quick connects... Any recommendations as to what to carry with me for replaceable parts to be prepared for repairs while on the road? I was going through the manual parts catalog and was just going to order every small thing I could until I realized I'd spend thousands doing that. Maybe I should anyway I have a 2013 CDS 4.8. Any tips are much appreciated :]

Here's what i carry. It tends to be a bit extreme but im regularly 4 hours round trip to my shop. All the parts fit into 3 ammunition bioxes with the exception of the of the belts. I have a few wrenches and screwdrivers handy at the machine. The big folding tool kit sits behind my driver's seat it was a 129.00 well spent every tool has a place.i carry a complete extractor set but in reality you only need about 3 or so sizes

 

[hogjowl]

Get active on the Hydramaster owners FB page. It’s dead… bring it to life.

 

[Mikey P]

sorry, I thought you bought a Slide In..



Keep a spare GMC van in the back...

 

[Dwain Ray]

Change what oil every 75 hours: the blower oil, the pump oil, the van oil? Seems like those need service at much different intervals...

I was thinking about shutting it down and winterizing it December, January, and February and reverting to our portable setup in our heated and insulated trailer for those coldest months. Then using an electric heater with a Marcell wireless temperature monitor that sends alerts to my cell phone in the van when it drops below 40 degrees in October, November, March, and April...

I check all belts,hoses,fitting,general condition inside covers of machine, grease blower ,clean wastetank & wipe down outside of machine every 100 hours. every 500 hours i also change blower,pressure pump and waste pump oil. My pto drive shaft has sealed bearings so i have no driveshaft service except replacing bearings whenever they start to vibrate approximately 2000-2500 machine hours i replace Serpentine belt at the same time. As far as the van checks go each and every morning i open the hood check oil,coolant, brake and power steering fluids and i peek at the Serpentine belt in addition, each time i move the van i glance at where it was parked for fluids on the ground (that is a good habit to get in to if you don't already do it especially with pto's, they operate unattended sometimes for hours) most leaks can be found early that way, before they become big problems as far as fluid changing goes my Van's computer tells me when to change motor oil but with the older ones i changed engine oil every 3000 miles & 5000 on vehicles without pto's tires are rotated and brakes are checked at that time chassis & ujoints are lubed every other oil change. transmission and rearend fluid 25,000miles power steering &brake fluid every 3 years or when maintenance is required. Coolant hoses replaced every 5-7 years silicone hoses last much longer. Thats what i do but then i do have my own facility for that and not paying someone to do it . I generally get 16-20 years outa a van and 11k+ hours on machines. If there was 1 thing outa all ive said so far i consider most important that would be always look back where your van was parked for fluid leaks that one simple habit not can, it will save you several thousands of dollars in major repairs

 

[Bryce C]

Thanks for the tips guys. Dwain, your the mechanic man for sure. What the heck are all those belts for?! My van has a serpentine belt, and my tm has a blower and pump belt. I do like the simplicity!

I see a float assembly for a water box, fuses, relays?, a switch, some vac hoses, a variety of solution lines, and a boat load of brass and stainless fittings, O rings, and way more. I suppose every time I need a part I'll buy two, and some day I'll be half as prepared as you are! Epic.

 

[Dwain Ray]

Thanks for the tips guys. Dwain, your the mechanic man for sure. What the heck are all those belts for?! My van has a serpentine belt, and my tm has a blower and pump belt. I do like the simplicity!

I see a float assembly for a water box, fuses, relays?, a switch, some vac hoses, a variety of solution lines, and a boat load of brass and stainless fittings, O rings, and way more. I suppose every time I need a part I'll buy two, and some day I'll be half as prepared as you are! Epic.

I spent 6 years in the coast guard working in engine rooms. One thing that you learn quickly is that if you don't have the part you need when you need it you and everyone else on that ship could die. I spent a November, December, and January in the beiring sea where i witnessed that first hand . That life lesson has stuck with me ever since.The belts are my machines it has 2 B belts to drive the blower and an A belt for the pump And Serpentine belt for the engine. I carry 2 sets each incase i damage or contaminate one during installation ( old habit) my machines fittings are all stainless . The stainless fittings in spare parts are left over from the build. All the brass is spare parts from a decommissioned machine. To stock all stainless is very expensive and unnecessary so i keep the brass for the unlikely event that a stainless fitting fails i can repair it till I can order the proper stainless fitting and schedule a time to exchange it . Also all hoses are double clamped so wherever there's a hose clamp there's a backup already installed

 

[Dwain Ray]

Since taking all those pictures in order to avoid black death i up graded all the hoses in my machine from regular 100r soulition type hoses to 3/8" stainless braided teflon hoses with 1/2 jic stainless female fittlngs. In the past when black death was detected all the hoses had to be replaced because it was all but impossible to find the one that was bad. as a bonus i was able to reduce my spare hoses down to 3

 

[Bryce C]

Amazing. I like your style Dwain. I can imagine how time in the Coast Guard was formative. I'm sure it feels good to have things well built and to be well prepared. 4 hours round trip is a lot of driving for typical work, is that for residential or commercial cleaning, or both? You just in a remote area?

I've struggled massively the few times I have snapped bolts. You mentioned that you carry an extractor set and that you only typically use 3, what style of extractor do you find works really well? Also what is black death in solution lines? You're inspiring me, as money and time provides I will slowly be upgrading my machine for durability.

 

[Dwain Ray]

Amazing. I like your style Dwain. I can imagine how time in the Coast Guard was formative. I'm sure it feels good to have things well built and to be well prepared. 4 hours round trip is a lot of driving for typical work, is that for residential or commercial cleaning, or both? You just in a remote area?

I've struggled massively the few times I have snapped bolts. You mentioned that you carry an extractor set and that you only typically use 3, what style of extractor do you find works really well? Also what is black death in solution lines? You're inspiring me, as money and time provides I will slowly be upgrading my machine for durability.

To tell you the truth i don't know what size screw extractors you'll need because i have sets. One in each van and 1+++at the shop and i grab the smallest that'll fit and work up if necessary. On the van there mostly used to extract broken brass fittings. If ya drops the wand and snap off the quick connect you can remove the broken end grab another piece a little teflon tape( in spare parts of course) and your back in business. Black death is what we refer to when a hose degrades from the inside. If you cut the end off a soulition hose youll see the black inner hose that carries the soulition. What happens is youll be running fine thinking the universe is treating you well and you pull the trigger on the wand and a black licorice colored water suddenly comes spraying out onto the carpet ( Murphys law says itll only happen on an all white carpet with your customer standing next to you) anyway thats black death that inner hose has deteriorated from time/heat/chemicals . It'll clean up if you get on it immediately but can be at the least embarrassing and time consuming to find the hose thats the problem. So in my machine I eliminated all the hoses that had that inevitable problem and now my machine hoses are teflon lined so when black death happens in my case its eighter the hose i connected to the machine or a hose on the wand in using much simpler to deal with on the job as far as my travel goes i live on the rugged northern California coast 141 miles north of san Francisco. 1 road runs the the length once i leave fort bragg theres only 1 traffic light for more than 90 miles south and none for 50 miles north but the coast is dotted with small towns i seldom go more than 5 miles inland but i travel from Westport to the north to Timber Cove to the south. Mostly all residential I do not charge travel fee but my price per sqft goes up geographically. in fort bragg/Mendocino area i charge .50 or .55 per sqft 100.00 min in timber cove i get .70 or .75 per sqft 400.00 min (2 house min also) im not makin a killing but its a good life