Truck Washing

a couple of truck washes in florida
detail the inside of the cab
something i am always interested in

 

If your opening it in the Oilfield you'll want to put in a high pressure wash outside with something like a firehose to knock off all the mud before they come in your bay.

 

Most of us prefer a hand wash with brushes and such. Every machine wash I've had has done a terrible job except for the sides of van and reefer trailers. How does a clean truck allow you to carry more weight, unless you are simply referring to ice buildup in the winter? I typically pay $40ish for a tractor wash from the Beacon, and $60 to the guy that comes to my yard and does my truck, but he does a far better job, and details the frame.

 

Unless you are catching folks coming out of the oil fields and such I don't think mud is that much of a weight issue for most drivers. I know many mines actually have VERY high pressure wash bays to clean equipment and such, got to watch those puppies at work at a mine I was delivering to down in Texas. Those nuts even took the little half-ton work trucks though there... I was waiting to see fenders and stuff come flying off! Not sure if they have those in any of the oil fields out there, and I doubt they do here in PA. Maybe at some of the terminals. Ice/snow can be an issue, but I don't know of any companies that would actually pay for a truck wash to remove it vs having the drivers get back there and knock what they can off. Now, removing snow/ice from the tops of trailers would be more worthwhile so if you have the space maybe install something that could do that for a small fee.

 

Your first research needs to be local, state, and federal regs and permits that will be required. Waste water permits, recycle requirements (if any), type of chemicals that are/are not allowed. Maybe things are loosy-goosy in ND, if so you may be able to get it off the ground, but in other states, the requirements and permit costs quickly turn off truck wash aspirations unless you have a lot of money, safety history, and/or connections.

Edit: From a cursory search it appears North Dakota may be pretty lax in their regs and requirements in comparison to other states.

 

Instead of focusing on the specifics of the oil field only think about the big picture. Hell if you invented a high speed tank polishing system I'd run to ND just to get my tanks polished. Usually takes 4 hours per tank to get them to my liking doing them myself without sanding. And I do know of a few guys that have their chrome stainless and aluminum polished month...to the tune of about a 1000-1200 per polish.

 

I need to find a guy who will can to the yard and do the truck for $60

 

Most weeks we have to have 2 wash outs a week. Washing the truck depends on what the weather dose, but most of the time it's once a week.

A lot of times I'm sleeping when we get a truck wash (team driving) so I don't like strangers cleaning the inside of the truck.

I have not been in a newer automated wash, but the old ones did not do very good with ice buildup under the frame or on top of trailers.

Bathrooms... Make them easy to clean and keep them clean. My wife drives 30 miles out of the way for our wash out just because there bathrooms are clean.

I'm looking back at what it cost us.
Wash out (trailer) $35
Reefer/dry van $40
Cab (with sleeper) $35
Reefer engine wash $10
Spray wax / Clear coat stuff truck with trailer $18
Engine/chassis degrease $35
Snow/Ice/Mud removal is charged by the man hour. I can not find what it cost.

I do see that we get 10 to 15% discount if we get a wash out, trailer, and truck wash.