[paul wright]

mmm that all depends on how u use a portable,ive used a truckmount for while and hated it , but its horses for courses as they say

[martin19842]

hi there

mark,

so your a plastic surgeon, i thought you were on good money, whenever ive bumped into you guys, its about £500 a day.

or am i wrong.

and the way that the developers are throwing up properties, i thought there'd be more than enough to go round, we use plastic csurgeons on kitchen repairs.

regards

martin

[M.Acorn]

Portable for me ,do so many jobs that you would not get a truck mount near....Getting quite a good client base now doing more commercial work who all want calls back a year down the line...Although the commercial jobs i do always seem to take ages to pay up.Just got the payment for a job i did on the 21st of nov calling them at least twice a week since..
I can do about 3000sq ft with my porty in a day taking it easy could do bigger if i pushed myself and worked more than 8 hours..
Spending 1600.. on yellow pages a year plus yell.com plus thompson..and the other internet link type things finding the net is not really that good for me although my site has been up for 4 years and not had a revamp as yet , it`s on the cards...
there is a lot of competition round here also,but i am reasonably busy and earning more than i did working as a head chef !
my quality of life is much better and work a lot less hours for the money and have more spare time to pootle in my studio making music and trying to get my scirocco prepped for track day fun....So i would go for the same machine again i think it`s been pretty reliable and i am happy with the results and so are my customers...

[carpet guy]

Good variety of posts on this subject. In an ideal world where all houses are on reasonably level ground with good access and no restrictions on water usage and there was a high volume of high end work, it might be best to have a truckmount, if you could not only afford to buy one, but continually generate the volume necessary to sustain the overhead.

We do not, however live in an ideal world and only 20% of operators will work in the higher priced end because that is how it is.

It doesn't exclude operators who opt for portables , rotaries, encap's, from being high earners, far from it, in fact, many will run much more profitable businesses, so, whichever set up you go for, it depends on YOU, rather than the tools you use.

Big isn't always better, ability and application will always deliver over flash and brash.

[davep]

For the lads that have gone from a porty to a truckmount..  What is the main benefit?  Is it doing jobs quicker?  Are there any downsides, like cost of running?

Ta,

Dave.

[paul wright]

for me  i can clean as fast as a truckmount  as i dont hav to empty or fill water,so i save lot money as oposed to a truckmount as my over heads are small compared to a truckmount, but i only do domestic,big comm jobs is were a truckmount comes into its own

[maxcarpets]

But you wont be able to walk or run with a broken back Neil.

[davep]

What do you use Paul?

[prodry]

Wages/Drawings
Advertising
Diesel
Phone Charges
Cosumables
Truckmount

My truckmount is the sixth largest business expense for me. Its financed, so it's 100% tax deductable.

I could save a few pounds if I didnt have it, but my workload would increase so for me personally its a no-brainer. I did a complete empty 3bed house today in under 1.30 hours. Would have taken twice as long if not more with my porty.

Starting up it is difficult to get a truckmount and decent van without using a chunk of your own money, finance or no finance. But at the end of the day you need to view it as a tool and my father and grandfather always said to me buy the best tools you can afford. I couldn't afford a TM when I started but I bought one as soon as I could and now have two.

Anyone starting up, I would recomend a reasonable portable because if you find that it is not what you thought it would be you can sell it on ebay and get a good part of your money back. 

[M.Acorn]

While on the T/M subject whats the smallest van i would get one in with all the other stuff included hoses,chems,hoover etc ?
currently have an astra van don`t suppose i could squeeze one in there could i ?
Has no side dorr so might be an arse to get at it i suppose

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

While on the T/M subject whats the smallest van i would get one in with all the other stuff included hoses,chems,hoover etc ?
currently have an astra van don`t suppose i could squeeze one in there could i ?
Has no side dorr so might be an arse to get at it i suppose

the smallest ive seen is a fiat scudo

[paul wright]

the best van for carring a small truckmount or portable is a dihatsu extol perfect,   great height twin side doors

[maxcarpets]

As Neil said a T/M is only worth it if you have the work for it. If you only do 1 or 2 jobs a day and you are happy with results, stick to porty!

Justin

[carpet guy]

Don't know if you're serious Paul, but I have a little Suzuki, similar size and spec to the Diahatsu which I've alo used.....amazing space inside and with the sidedoors a lot more going for it than most would imagine.

There's room for two portables and a lot more, pretty sure it would take a Prowler, with all hoses etc.

I've carried a Ninja, 100 feet of hoses, wands, buckets, drier, smaller Karcher, plus hoses, two 40 litre plastic containers, containing chems, and other odds and ends.

The 1300 petrol engine does about 60 mpg and as surprisingly agile.

Also gains access to "impossible " places and parks with ease

[Buster Ingram]

Interesting reading Guy's but unlike me none of you are starting again from scratch. I can hear you all thinking what's he going to choose, truth is I ain't sure. I know one thing though I'm not going to put a T/M with a 45 blower in a Fiat Scudo again sod that  for a laugh. To give you a clue I have bought my old van back I sold 3 yrs back my old faithfull Hyundai H100. Me and that old girl went any were and did most things as my old mate Sheffield Shaun will vouch for.
Not sure wether I'm going to use a burner again but who know where the mood may take me.
Stay tuned for my further developements or strain your eye's looking south for the blinding flashess while I experiment.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

That machine has never looked so good, if I had it I'd make smaller tanks to reduce some weight, the burner was very effective but I'm sure a man of your capabilities could make heat from somewhere else (fit a toilet to the drivers seat and become Eco)

oooooo that Dave Ingram he's a lovely man, a very lovely man, a very very lovely man, a very very very lovely man, a very very very vary lovely man

Nice to hear your dulcet tones again.

Shaun

[Paul_Ashworth]

Have you got a new website Mr ashmore ??

[carpet guy]

And video conferencing on the forum ?

rob

[Buster Ingram]

You would'nt be getting around to asking me for something Shaun :

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Dave I'd like 6 numbers in order so I can retreat to that sunny place called Doncaster the centre of the Earth

Shaun

PS what do you guys think of my new site?