[ady]

looking at getting a truckmount ,and for your moneys worth I see the woodbridge range seem value .
 I have also looked at the prowler ,prochem and hydramaster  but I HAVE ALSO READ YOU NEED A 45 ROOTS BLOWER ?
   If there are any woodbridge t/m users out there or any of the above  users i would be very gratefull for any feed back as this is a big commitment financialy .
    I love my extracta excel but my work load has increased and im sick of  hoying all the gear around , the setting up ,buckets of water etc     ady

[Joe H]

Its a pity some of the guys with a lot of TM experiance can no longer post on here.
However some are still about and will help you.

What do you run now?

Alltec is missing from your list - make good machines.

What has been said consistently in the past is
yes look at the machine and its spec, very important obviously
but you buy the machine once, you then operate it for many years
so after sales service is probably top of the list
couple with that but less important is the nearness of any support when things go wrong.

I have a TM and find benefits over the portable I still have.
Like you the bucket work with a porty is a pain, but obviously you still have to handle the hoses and more often then not MORE hoses because you may not be quiet as near with the TM van.
Its great not having to empty the dirty water into a bucket then down someones loo,
but you still have to dispose of it, I get home, have to raise a sewer drain on my drive, get a hose out to empty the dirty water tank, and because there is not much fall between the drain on the dirty water tank and the driveway I have to empty the hose as well.
On  a TM you have a n engine, a large pump, a blower, a heatexchanger, fresh water pump, more electrics like starter motor, battery. All of these need more maintenance then a portable.

Lots of pluses and lots on minuses.

Benefit I find though is on the job - the efficiency.

If I was buying new I would have to weigh up carefully what market I was targetting to detrmine what size of machine iI needed to do my market.

Right now, if I was to be buying new, I would look at a low end Hydramaster (318 or 321), or the Prowler. Prowler has the price advantage and will do all domestic jobs and more then adequate for lot of commercial. Hydramaster always gets good comments for after sales service.

Just take your time in choosing.

 

[murky]

I used to be portable but since buying my TM have noticed a real difference in work, no more lugging buckets and machinery around peoples places. Wouldnt be with out it now.

Maintenance is an issue, my Spitfire broke down on Saturday, throttle spring came off right in the middle of a job, had to go back and get the porty, rats! It took me a whole day to strip and put it back together, it works (so far). You have to keep on top of the maintenance.

There used to be 2 TM'ers on here, Red Carpet and Phil Marlow (I think) both bought the same machine from Woodbridge on a special offer they were doing. Red's machine constantly broke down it was constantly in for repair, I think he nearly took them to court, it was a pile of cr@p according to him. I gather Marlows machine never let him down at all. 

I have used Woodbridge now and again found them OK but they dont have a good name for quality of service.

I have a Spitfire and I like it, I had it serviced at HM after the drive donuts shredded on a job, they told me how to run it etc, it ran ok for 3 weeks and they went again!!!!!!!!!!!

I rang them and they said bring it back and we'll do it for you, theyre in flamin Cornwall!!!!!!!!!! 600 mile round trip!!!!!!!!No chance. Took it to Altec got it fixed and never been a prob since. So my opinion of HM's service is not very high. But  their machines are very good.

My advice would be to look for a well looked after 2nd hand machine that you can get fixed locally if your not mechanically minded.

[Joe H]

Ady, there is a Woodbridge for sale on ebay at the moment. Not many hours on it.
Have you seen it?

[jewell]

Ady, i have had a Woodbridge Pro 25 now for 2.5 years i have had a few minor problems all sorted same day, the machine gets used everyday and has worked hard with no breakdowns.

I have found these machines very reliable and the guy who's machine kept breaking down is the one that put dirty water into the system so you cant blame Woodbridge for it breaking down. We have been looking into purchasing a second machine now because of our work load, i wont even bother looking at other machines as i am more than happy with what i have already got. Another guy in Plymouth has 3 woodbridge machines and 2 of them are pro 25's so there must be something right with them as he is also happy.

You get good and bad service everywhere and nobody is perfect all the time but i find that John Elmore at Woodbridge is straight and a decent guy to deal with, before you make any decision on buying a machine do as i did and get them all to do a demo, that way you will see for yourself and can make your own mind up with out anybody being biast about the makes of machines.

[clinton]

Looks in good condition the truck mount on ebay joe.Ady the prowler in my opinion is a great step up from a portie.If i was going to upgrade and may in the future i would go for a prowler.
Not only will it give you the power but also the option on some jobs to take it off your van.

[nevil]

I used to be portable but since buying my TM have noticed a real difference in work, no more lugging buckets and machinery around peoples places. Wouldnt be with out it now.

Maintenance is an issue, my Spitfire broke down on Saturday, throttle spring came off right in the middle of a job, had to go back and get the porty, rats! It took me a whole day to strip and put it back together, it works (so far). You have to keep on top of the maintenance.

There used to be 2 TM'ers on here, Red Carpet and Phil Marlow (I think) both bought the same machine from Woodbridge on a special offer they were doing. Red's machine constantly broke down it was constantly in for repair, I think he nearly took them to court, it was a pile of cr@p according to him. I gather Marlows machine never let him down at all. 

I have used Woodbridge now and again found them OK but they dont have a good name for quality of service.

I have a Spitfire and I like it, I had it serviced at HM after the drive donuts shredded on a job, they told me how to run it etc, it ran ok for 3 weeks and they went again!!!!!!!!!!!

I rang them and they said bring it back and we'll do it for you, theyre in flamin Cornwall!!!!!!!!!! 600 mile round trip!!!!!!!!No chance. Took it to Altec got it fixed and never been a prob since. So my opinion of HM's service is not very high. But  their machines are very good.

My advice would be to look for a well looked after 2nd hand machine that you can get fixed locally if your not mechanically minded.

I took the Hm coupler off mine and bought a differant sort. seems fine. the rubber insert still wears out but when it goes altogether the blower still turns, just sounds a bit rough.

I don't have any experience of any other brand other than HM, but I can tell you that my ancient  Spitfire 4.0 just keeps on going. I don't think it can be killed off. 

[John Gregory]

I've the pro mount 20 had it for about 18 months its got 500 hours on the clock the machine has let me down twice , 1st  time temperature sender unit dont think that was dear , just had to replace the water pump at a cost of £330 plus vat

hope this helps

john

[john rees]

Hi Ady,
          I started off with a second hand Extracta cx then after a few months I bought an excel but I could not work efficiently enough on commercial jobs so I bought another one so I had 2 on the go for pubs and the like, I still struggled even with two of us working, so I eventually I bought my first truckmount from the states, the difference in cleaning and time saving was unbelievable I went for a dual operator t/m and didn't bother with a starter t/m, after about a year I bought another t/m with the extra income the first one earned and have 2 on the road at the moment.
           Both my machines have kohler engines and as long as you make sure you service them and change the oil regularly they will last you years you dont have to adjust the valves as they have hydraulic valve lifters and are self adjusting.
           The only items I've had to replace in about 8 years is a voltage regulator and an air actuator total cost about £60, and a couple of 12v water pumps to feed the truckmounts. I wonder how many vac motors and water pumps I would have gone through in the same time? I still have my both excels with the scrubba tools and I've used them twice in that time once because of roadworks outside a letting agents office, and once to work in a prison as they wouldn't let me leave the doors open to run my hoses in!
            If you have the work I would say go for it. The one on ebay at the moment looks a good deal too.

            All the best
                              John
            
          

[murky]

Where is the one on Ebay, cant find it anywhere?

[Fred Gullan]

Hi Ady,
I have had a prowler for over about a year and a half now. Its not as powerful as some of the larger Tms but is a world away from a portable. I upgraded from a Powrflite perfect heat which is an excellent machine that I still use for difficult access jobs.
The main difference is time saving, that is not having to dump and refill. Once you get used to "hose wrestling" set up is easier and faster  too. I would highly recomend the upgrade to a prowler or other tm. as the difference in power is also very noticable.
The reason I opted for a Prowler is that is that it is a relatively simple machine and esier to self maintain and fix and as I live in Scotland a long way from  other TM suppliers, that was a big consideration.It can be removed from the van in minutes if you need the van space for another purpose or if the worst comes to the worst stuck on a pallet and sent to Newcalstle.
The after sales and advice from John Kelly is great too , he is a very accessible guy and always willing to help.

regards

Fred

[spencer davies]

We have a Hydramaster Maxx, which is superb, the Hydramaster after service has an excellent reputation.

I am not so sure about Woodbridge's though :


S

[Darren O]

Are they no were in Scotland that can service truckmounts i was thinking of getting one in a years time but the service isues put me right of.When anything goes wrong with my portys i go straight to prochem as iam not realy mechanicly minded.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Why have it serviced by someone with a bit of knowledge when John Kelly will take it from a pallet and do it properly?

Imagine taking a silk rug to a domestic cleaning company, let the professionals do what they do best.

Shaun

[mark shannon]

Fred how noisy is the Prowler?

[derek west]

if your worried about money, go for a spitfire or better still the new boxxer 318, good service good back up and a hell of a discount if your an expert at haggling like i am.
i'd recommend hydramaster any day but then i am biased.
derek

[clinton]

John how was it importing your t mount from the states?How much did it work out in pounds john?

Fred was also going to ask the same question as mark about the noise from the prowler?Just some posted on here a while back that it was noisey

What size van do you need for the prowler? cheers clinton

[john rees]

Hi Clinton,
                It was a few years ago, well before the fuel price increases  but it worked out about £1000 to fly each t/m over but that included everything hoses, reels, water tanks,wands, shelving and other bits and pieces, it was well worth it though as it worked out about half the cost of buying in the u.k. before the shipping and duty costs were added.
                all the best
                                 John

[clinton]

Thanks john

Think its the same now with nearly 2 dollars to the pound so its a case of about just over a grand or so to import it maybe

Just thinking of an upgrade next year maybe so keping my options open.

cheers clinton

[Fred Gullan]

Mark

The Prowler is noisy ie.  people know there is work being done somewhere. I have never had a complaint about it only interest. Never had any experience of other Tms so can't compare . Seems to be the blower that generates most of the noise but its not intolerable. It does take a bit of getting used to but I can honestly say that no one has ever mentioned it. If you have a sign written van then its definitely an advert.

Cheers

Fred