How close are you to a qualified (real) truckmount mechanic?

[Mikey P]

Independent or at a supply shop?
How much per hour?
Do they perform warranty work?
Readily available or a long wait?

or do you do it all yourself, and if so would you consider doing repairs for others as your main source of income?

 

[Bryce C]

I'm about 50 minutes from Shane @ New England Steam Clean in CT, and I'm about the same distance from Butler in Ludlow MA. I just spoked with Shane on the phone recently. Nice guy. I'll head over there and check out his facility at some point. Seems like they have a bunch going on over there. Seems like a comprehensive supply house too.

Despite having a sweet growing relationship with a similar organization further away that I'll continue to do business with remotely, I'll probably buy a couple things from Shane here and there to have a relationship and an in when I need parts or service on a machine in short notice. I'm pretty handy and will learn to fix most everything myself in time though.

 

[Dolly Llama]

or do you do it all yourself, and if so would you consider doing repairs for others as your main source of income?

did all my own
I'm fine to bust my knuckles on my own stuff (vehicles/bikes/mowers 'n stuff) but I wouldn't want to be a full time mechanic in general





..L.T.A.

 

[BIG WOOD]

My guys are about 2hrs away.
They're Independant and supply
Yes they perform warranty
And the wait time is about 1day

With all that said, I do it all myself, because I can't just drop what I'm doing and drive 2hrs one way anymore. I did in the past when my business only had one truck. But now that I have a backup, there's no need.

Would I consider doing repairs for others? Yeah, why not? if the money is good... I'm certain there's a couple extra tools I need and a class to take to get some updated knowledge, but if the money is there, I"m not gonna leave it on the table

From all the bits of knowledge I've learned while working on all 6 of my machines over the years, being both successful repairs and learning from the mistake of repairs needed from my misdiagnosed work on them, I think I'd enjoy doing it

 

[SamIam]

2 places 40 to 50 minutes away, 90% of the time they can get it right away. One stocks pretty much everything.

People may not like Mitch, but he has inventory.

 

[Mikey P]

he has inventory

Chinese glides, anyways...

 

[SamIam]

Chinese glides, anyways...

Yeah he pissed off the new owner at green glides I hear!

Something about the glide not fitting a wand and his meat head couldn't figure it out.

 

[Mikey P]

Yeah he pissed off the new owner at green glides I hear!

Something about the glide not fitting a wand and his meat head couldn't figure it out.

yup, his meathead filed a complaint to my card processor instead of sending it back.

 

[Living The Dream]

I can do almost any repair myself. The only thing I would really need help with is electronics, but my current TM's are carbureted and pretty simple. My next machines will be Steamaction units and so far they seem to be pretty simple as well, and I think Sammy can talk me through anything I will need.

We do have a retired qualified mechanic about 60 miles away. He will help out on occasion if needed.

As we grow, my 5 year plan is to have a in house mechanic that will maintain equipment.

 

[icleancarpetz]

One call, guy picks up the phone anytime and day. If late in the day or night and does not pick up, he’ll return the call later.
He drops everything to help the little cause he understands how important it is for the little guy to keep food on the table.

Guy so busy he cant keep up. Other companies bringing him work cause other shops are not as good tm mechanic.

Me, i do most of the repairs etc. if beyond my scope, one call away my guy is on the spot.

Cant imagine working on most tm on the market today. Way too many controls wires pipes like a new car.
Me, stick to simplicity. Life is less stress this way.

 

[Wing It]

We use The Cleaners Depot which is 5-10 minutes from where we store our vans. I am sure they charge a lot per hour, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of having our machines sit idle broken down. They usually drop everything for me to diagnose the issue. Whether or not they can repair it right away depends on the day. Bribes never hurt when I need favors. They know and speak with butler mechanics on my behalf frequently.

 

[hogjowl]

As you already know, TCS is 3 hours from me. Dixie Steamway, I guess they’re still around, is 2.5. There’s supposedly a supplier an hour away, but his “website” looks like something Cermak’s old sister-in-law built, and I think you have to call before going so they’ll be there … maybe. I used to make the round trip to Atlanta several times a year, but now I do all my own repairs. TCS knows nothing about Cleanco’s, I don’t know why they sell them. I’ve seriously considered opening a supply business here in the past, but now that help is so hard to find I’m just too old for that hassle. Plus dealing with the idiots this industry attracts would make for a horrible life.

 

[Cleanworks]

I have a couple not far. About $100 per hour. I do most of my own maintenance.

 

[sassyotto]

I do all the monthly maintenance. Have a chart with #hours/dates, etc

Annual maintenance is done by Jon Don Chicago about 3 hours away. Been taking my TM there ever since Ive had them. They do belts, fuel filter, plugs, pumps and then check everything else. Im a carpet cleaner and not a mechanic and dont pretend to be one. Its worth it because I dont have to worry about breakdowns during the year.

in addition, I replace things BEFORE they go out. Solution hoses and fittings every year, vac hoses every 3 years (winter in Wisconsin is tough on plastic) fuel pump, plug wires, transfer pump, and water pump every 5 years.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

My distributor here in OKC, Professional Cleaning Supply. The main store is in Tulsa. James Langley owns it and his brother Tim runs the one here in OKC. Good guys. Certainly need to make an appointment, but I just drop mine off because I can. Don’t pay attention to hourly rate, but they are very fair. Most of their products are private labeled Gorilla as in the Trucks too.

 

[Living The Dream]

Independent or at a supply shop?
How much per hour?
Do they perform warranty work?
REadily available or a long wait?

or do you do it all yourself, and if so would you consider doing repairs for others as your main source of income?

Didn't Tim from Gray Matter start some mobile mechanic business?

 

[Mikey P]

Didn't Tim from Gray Matter start some mobile mechanic business?

sorta

 

[hogjowl]

Welp
that clears that right up

 

[Mikey P]

Welp
that clears that right up

ask him

 

[hogjowl]

Why?
I didn’t care in the first place
$40/room
No credibility

 

[Mikey P]

I dont care either...

 

[Living The Dream]

sorta

From what I gather on social media is that a large percentage of carpet cleaners are not mechanically inclined. Most fail to perform routine and preventive maintenance.

I would think mechanics would be in demand?

 

[Mikey P]

From what I gather on social media is that a large percentage of carpet cleaners are not mechanically inclined. Most fail to perform routine and preventive maintenance.

I would think mechanics would be in demand?

They are, remember the (active) cleaners on social media only represent 10% of the industry.


I got something in the works....

 

[Brian H]

How close? A couple of hundred feet I think. It depends on where he is at any particular time.

 

[Mikey P]

How close? A couple of hundred feet I think. It depends on where he is at any particular time.

What are the responsibilities does he have and was he factory trained by Butler?

 

[Brian H]

Our head mechanic also maintains the Moore's system as well as the facility. Factory trained? I didn't know that was a thing. Besides, it would be a waste of time for him. He has worked on the Butlers for over 20 years and he learned from our late former head mechanic who had worked on Butlers since we first got them in 1980s.

When making modifications, the people from Butler have been known to consult with us first.

 

[Mikey P]

Our head mechanic also maintains the Moore's system as well as the facility. Factory trained? I didn't know that was a thing. Besides, it would be a waste of time for him. He has worked on the Butlers for over 20 years and he learned from our late former head mechanic who had worked on Butlers since we first got them in 1980s.

When making modifications, the people from Butler have been known to consult with us first.

Apparently anybody wishing to do so that owns a Butler can spend days or weeks with them learning the system at their facility

 

[Papa John]

I'll avoid the frustration and do my own repairs.