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Post Info TOPIC: NEW Trailer Build w/pics


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NEW Trailer Build w/pics
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OK, I am finally starting to work on my ROOF CLEANING Trailer Rig. I have been very busy and have not had time to work on it, sorry for the delay. I hope this build and pics is useful info for someone out there. This is just the start of what I got done today, I only had a couple of hrs. I will keep updating as I work on it and work toward a completed ROOF CLEANING rig. This is just a starter rig for me and will eventually make its way to my 6'x12' 3500lb GVW trailer with brakes.

The plan for this trailer (5'x8' 2000lb GVW) is to have the following features:
- 6.5hp air compressor and a Versa Matic Air Diaphragm pump for applying the LOVE on the roof.

- 13hp PW unit with ball valve and #40 tips for Soft House Washing, and Surface cleaning concrete as UP sells to  ROOF CLEANING.

- 250 gal. tote to mix the LOVE in and Drawn from the TOP(soon to be replaced with 150 gal. Snider leg tank)

- 60 gal. Snider tank to hold the straight 12.5% SH from the 55gal drum

- 26 gal. unloader/float tank for PW w/1" Hudson float valve

- 200ft 5/8" Kuritec hose on a Summit 18" hose reel to supply the LOVE (mounted on drivers side)

- 200ft 3/4" commercial water hose as feed for PW and fill hose for 250 gal LOVE tank (mounted on back behind tank)

- 50ft 3/8" air line on Northern Tool hose reel for blowing out lines, filling tires, running air tools (mounted on passenger side on the front of the "shelf")

- 200ft 3/8" HP hose for PW (mounted on drivers side)

- A "shelf" over approx. 1/2 the trailer for the air compressor, pump, gas cans, chems, tool box, and Misc. items

- Ladder rack on the Passenger side of the trailer


The Matl. used for this "Shelf" is 1 3/4" square .125 thick wall, and 2" angle .125 thick
- Pictures 1 through 4 are of the trailer as It has been used currently for PWing

- Pictures 5 and 6 show the "Risers" 22" long and "Mounting Plates" 4.5" long for the shelf, and prepped for welding

- Pictures 7 and 8 show the "Riser" assembly that will be Bolted to the trailer as opposed to welding it, just in case changes need to be made in the future

- Pictures 9 and 10 show the "Riser" assembly rough fitted before mounting and welding of supporting cross members for shelf floor

- Pictures 11 and 12 show the air compressor and Versa Matic pump

I will update this thread when I have some more progress completed and Pictures to post. Please chime in guys and give me some "Constructive" criticism and ideas if you have any that can help me out.

Chris

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- Pictures 11 and 12 show the air compressor and Versa Matic pump

Chris

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Chris,

Take my thoughts with a bit of salt. ALL for your best interest.

I recommend you get another trailer for this build as you are already overweight.

Also, if you use this trailer you can make it more stout by adding a piece of square tubing along EACH side of the single trailer coupler already in place and create an "A" frame. Brace the frame and tie into the underneath of the trailer and stiffen up the side to side motion you WILL get from the SLOSHING EFFECT that WILL occur from the water and chemicals movement in the tanks.

Also, trailer brakes are not an option they are now REQUIRED in most states. Check with your local DOT.

Take your trailer with everything on it to your local WEIGH Station and have it weighed , then do the MATH on the weight with FLUIDS and you will get a LOT BBETTER picture of where you stand with your build and how it will ride done the road.

Water is 8.33 galllons per gallon so if you fill that big tank and then fill the 65 galllon tank and then carry the gas tanks and the other tanks PLUS the weight of the trailer.

DOT may stop you. Also secure the tanks with aircraft cable and drill and put steel eyelets thru the trailer. Just my observation.

Wife and kids want DQ ........have to go before they close.

I will observe more and post later if this will help you?

 

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Lookin great to cover all asspects, keep in mind ANY hazmat over 1000 lbs mut be placard, if dot stops you- he could assume that ALL your tanks are chemical and reach down deeeeep in your pockets. some fines start @$500 per offense. CHECK with dot before you spend a lot of time with you excellent idea's that you have going at this point. 
PS. may consider mounting hose reels on the under side of your roof to keep out of
way and get best use of them. keep up the good work 


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Dave,
Thank you for your input and wisdom. I know if you have input on a subject that it is Always for the best. This is the kind of feedback I was hoping to get from the members here. I will weld in the braces as you suggest, this is a great idea. I will probably use 3" C channel for that, I will have to see how it will fit.
As far as weight is concerned, I do NOT intend on filling the 250 gal. tank. I have a few of these as I used them for PW'ing and carried these on my 16' tandem trailer. I expect to carry 60gal SH in the Snider tank and 60-80gal. of LOVE mixed in the big tank. Just enough for one roof a day. I know about the sloshing as I carried 500+ gal. of water on the 16' trailer many times. I want to use something other than the straps to hold down the tanks. you mentioned aircraft cable? Do you have a source that you use to purchase this? I will also do a Google search and see what I come up with. The weight calcs as follows:

320lbs - Trailer
70lbs - 250 gal tank
44lbs - 60 gal tank
15lbs - 26 gal tank
160lbs - PWer
140lbs - Air compressor
120lbs - Shelf/Bracing
140lbs - Fluids LOVE/SH
42lbs - 5gal. gas can
50lbs - Hose reel cart (3/4" hose)
42lbs - 3/4" hose
50lbs - 200ft hp hose
32lbs - 200ft Kuritec
40lbs - hose reel 1
40lbs - hose reel 2
16lbs - Air hose reel
7lbs - Air line
52lbs - 24' Ladder

1380 lb. total leaves me 620 lbs for misc. items or "headroom"

I bought this trailer in 2005 to haul some equipment, and have barely used it. It has been sitting here at the house, and I needed to re-purpose it.

I will be going to a larger trailer next season. I plan on building that through the winter months, and maybe sell this setup come spring.

If you have any more input on what I have posted or any of the future posts, please post. I know you have many years experience in this field, and I respect everything you have to say, good or bad. Thank you for taking your time to review this build, and I hope that between my build, Pictures, Descriptions, and your input this can be a very valuable thread for new guys looking to build their own rig. Thanks Again Dave.

Pics are 6 1/2' x 16' tandem, and 6'x12' single axle both with brakes

Chris

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Hello William,

Thank you for your input. I will look into my DOT requirements in SC. I only plan on carrying just over 100 gal at a time, not the full 250gal. If I have problems with DOT because they see the Big tank, and give me any problems, I will go to a smaller tank. I just have a few of these large ones around the house.
You mentioned mounting the hose reels "mounting hose reels on the under side of your roof"
what did you mean? Thanks again for the input, it is greatly appreciated.

Chris

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Chris,

If you can part with these trailers, I suggest to put these tralers on ebay and sell them.

Then I would go with a TANDEM-  2 each-3,500lb. axle 6x12 Trailer with brakes on BOTH AXLES if you plan to use a trailer purpose built for roof and pressure cleaning.

This will be the best of both worlds. Long enough to put all the tanks on that you want and need. Short enough to be much more managable in tight spots. Stout enough for a 7.5k GVWR load properly distributed.

The new trailers are mandatory with a 12v powered breakaway system for stopping the trailer if it ever became detached from the tow vehicle.

Also the reciever needs to be able to allow the trailer to ride level and yours allow the trailer to lean back. Not good and technically illegal.


Also, if you can weld and it looks as though you can I would weld a smaller lightweight rear panel for keeping loose items on your trailer from sliding out the back, while, allowing it to be removable and at least 3 to 4 in height so you can have a sign on it that can be sen by those people behind your vehicle.

On one side promote your brand and have asimple statement telling those that see your sign you safely clean and treat shingle, tile and concrete roofs. Less is more in this case. Just hit the key points and a ph#.

On the inside of the small stakepocket rear panel I would put the wording "Roof Cleaning and Treatment IN PROGRESS" and list your Ph #

When you are on your way to a job people will see your advertising on threa of the trailer. When you get to the job turn the sign around and lean it up in front of a tree or make a couple of stakes and get this sign off the ground but still pointed out from the yard you are working on so neighbors and friends of the H.O. can see you.

As far a mounting your hose reels, I would get rid of the rear gate and lighten up the trailer a bit.

I would go with Titan Reels, Aluminum with a Stainless Steel 1/" 
Manifold.

Mount them on passenger side by putting one side, on the edge of railing and making an upside down "u" frame to suport the back of the reel.

I would update the trailer coupler at some point sooner rather than later and go with a 2" or a 2-5/16" Coupler.

These are some more of my observations.

Good job, your on your way, Chris!

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SP Cleaning wrote:

Dave,
Thank you for your input and wisdom. I know if you have input on a subject that it is Always for the best. This is the kind of feedback I was hoping to get from the members here. I will weld in the braces as you suggest, this is a great idea. I will probably use 3" C channel for that, I will have to see how it will fit.
As far as weight is concerned, I do NOT intend on filling the 250 gal. tank. I have a few of these as I used them for PW'ing and carried these on my 16' tandem trailer. I expect to carry 60gal SH in the Snider tank and 60-80gal. of LOVE mixed in the big tank. Just enough for one roof a day. I know about the sloshing as I carried 500+ gal. of water on the 16' trailer many times. I want to use something other than the straps to hold down the tanks. you mentioned aircraft cable? Do you have a source that you use to purchase this? I will also do a Google search and see what I come up with. The weight calcs as follows:

320lbs - Trailer
70lbs - 250 gal tank
44lbs - 60 gal tank
15lbs - 26 gal tank
160lbs - PWer
140lbs - Air compressor
120lbs - Shelf/Bracing
140lbs - Fluids LOVE/SH
42lbs - 5gal. gas can
50lbs - Hose reel cart (3/4" hose)
42lbs - 3/4" hose
50lbs - 200ft hp hose
32lbs - 200ft Kuritec
40lbs - hose reel 1
40lbs - hose reel 2
16lbs - Air hose reel
7lbs - Air line
52lbs - 24' Ladder

1380 lb. total leaves me 620 lbs for misc. items or "headroom"

I bought this trailer in 2005 to haul some equipment, and have barely used it. It has been sitting here at the house, and I needed to re-purpose it.

I will be going to a larger trailer next season. I plan on building that through the winter months, and maybe sell this setup come spring.

If you have any more input on what I have posted or any of the future posts, please post. I know you have many years experience in this field, and I respect everything you have to say, good or bad. Thank you for taking your time to review this build, and I hope that between my build, Pictures, Descriptions, and your input this can be a very valuable thread for new guys looking to build their own rig. Thanks Again Dave.

Pics are 6 1/2' x 16' tandem, and 6'x12' single axle both with brakes

Chris



Also, Chris.

Just a short sidenote.


I noticed in this rundown on weights, individual items and total amount charged.
You did not include the liquid weight that is accordance to the amount of fluid in the tanks.


All Good.

 I am just trying to have you acheive the best knowledge to work with...one step at a time.

 



-- Edited by Roof Clean USA Georgia 229-227-0000 on Friday 3rd of July 2009 02:19:56 AM

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Did you figure your liquid weight?   Water by itself weighs 8.34 lbs. per gal.



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FYI chris with 60 - 80 galllons of LOVE you should be able to do 2 average houses up to 2k each.

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GreatWhiteTechnologies wrote:

FYI chris with 60 - 80 galllons of LOVE you should be able to do 2 average houses up to 2k each.



Good input on this build by all involved.

Generally you are accurate in your tank calculations, Pat.

This is ALSO all dependent on what delivery system you are using.

To say 60-80 gallons will do 2 average homes with a 2 gpm 12v system is one thing but with a 9 GPM pump or a 13 gpm pump it may be more like an average of 50 gallons per home at a square footage of 2k sq. foot under air.

More GPM has a quicker application but in untrained hands can use a great deal more cleaning material per job. 

Of course most here know roofs are not calculated by square foot by roofing contractors but by Total Roof "SQUARES".

Also, the amount of LOVE (roof cleaning agent) is also determined by pitch and how "cut up" the roof is as well as the age of the roof and length between cleaning and amount of offending stain. 



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Guys, thanks for all the great input. You are going to save me many headaches.

I have to apologize for my mistake. I broke my own rule, no always, always, always double check anything you do with numbers, and triple check if it will make a permanent change to something, ie: milling, drilling, turning, welding etc.

Anyway, the weight calc did include the fluid, but..... I had 140 lbs. I meant 140 gal. x 8.33lbs =
1166.2 lbs. this definitely blows the weight limit out of the water.

Also I meant all hose reels to be mounted on the passenger side, and ladder rack on the drivers side. I was very tired when I wrote the post, but no excuses, I messed up sorry. no

So while I was working last night I listened to what you were saying, I gave it some thought and made some major changes for this trailer rig, as you can see from the pictures. I took the large tank off the trailer, and mounted the 60 Gal. in its place. Now I will only have 60gal of love on the trailer at once. 60x8.33=499.8lbs. big difference. I will be adding two 15gal. totes to carry extra SH to mix on site if need be, and this will be 249.9lbs.

- The 15 gal. totes will be held in place by a welded "corral" one on each side to keep weight evenly distributed.
- The PW will be moved over closer to the air compressor, and mounted to the trailer, not just strapped in.
- The two 5gal buckets will be held in place by a welded "corral" one is for chem down streaming, and one is for clear water to clear out system after chem injection.
- Back Gate will come off, and a 6" removable will be fabricated.
- I want to replace the orange straps holding the 60 gal tank in place. (Any Suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated) I looked up aircraft cable, I assume this is the same as steel cable, but with a higher tensile strength? I found that every one that sells steel cable called it aircraft cable.


320lbs - Trailer
44lbs - 60 gal tank
15lbs - 26 gal tank
160lbs - PWer
140lbs - Air compressor
750lbs - Fluids LOVE/SH
42lbs - 5gal. gas can
50lbs - Hose reel cart (3/4" hose)
42lbs - 3/4" hose
50lbs - 200ft hp hose
32lbs - 200ft Kuritec
40lbs - hose reel 1
40lbs - hose reel 2
16lbs - Air hose reel
7lbs - Air line
52lbs - 24' Ladder

1800 lb. total (With all tanks full) leaves me 200 lbs for misc. items or "headroom"

I should have stated before that this was a starter rig, on a budget. I originally was going to build a 12v setup on this trailer (probably ideal for it's weight limitations). I had budgeted $1000. Then after reading all the good, bad, and ugly about the LOVE delivery systems, I was sold on the air compressor/air diaphragm pump setup.

I know this trailer is not ideal for this delivery system Plus the PW equipment, but with the current changes, I believe this will work well. I will be making the changes that were suggested by Dave Westerman. Hose reels on rails, gate off the back, signage and marketing "slogan" additions, bracing the front of the trailer.

Dave, I am on a budget and am working with what I have at the time. I will be changing the setup for next spring. I called my trailer supplier today to find out the pricing on a 6.5'x12' tandem with a two axle brake setup. They were closed due to the holiday. cry I will be going to this trailer as you suggested, and I would like to work with you on getting that one built. Please keep giving me feedback on this build, I like your ideas, and your keeping me out of hot water with some of my mistakes. disbelief

I can not part with the other trailers, as the 6'x12' is used for another business, and the 6.5'x16' is used to haul our dirt track race car, and also used when I have to move heavy loads.

Right now I am in a good position, all money generated from this business will be turned right back into it. so by the end of this season, I will be able to build the IDEAL setup for my needs in the ROOF CLEANING business.

Pat, That is good info, I should be able to easily do 3-4 roofs when I have the trailer tanks full. Thanks man I appreciate the help.

Thanks everyone for the input, and I will be doing some more work tomorrow.

Chris




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Here are some more observations.

On the Harbor Freight Compressor, some have noticed a few problems with the quality. That is to be expected obviously, as the cost is relatively low.

I would get a backup iginiton module and an extra on/off swtch as a backup and put them away for safekeeping in a tackle box or clear lure holder. They are pretty chep at Wal-Mart and serve as great accessory storage for tips, nossles, QC's and other small parts.

As far as aircraft cable you can get this or Galvanized metal cable at TRACTOR SUPPLY or do an Ebay search for aircraft cable and galvanized eyelet bolts and you will find good prices.

Make sure to buy stainless parts when you are building your rigs, unless you plan on selling them so after as Chris is planning to do.

If you are building a roof cleaning trailer or other hybrid trailer setup, ALWAYS use the best parts you can afford to use the FIRST time, if you are planning to keep it and use it.

Stainless bolts or at minimum Galvanized, will out last zinc, cadmium, or other standard coatings or plating on these fastener parts.

You may consider putting an outrigger off each side of the back of the trailer to hold the Safety cones you will need if your trailer is going to stay on the road most times and you will pull(unroll) from the Passenger side, to the job.

Remember that even though you are going to "upgrade" to a better rig (Been There done that) you want to have this rig last or maybe become your backup trailer as you grow so you always have a roof ready rig up and running?

Along those lines, continue to make an effort to help the new guys out by continuiing to post your pics and experiences as you have so far.

And remember, Chris, More often than not, you get what you pay for.

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Guys, Here is a link to a site that sells the 15 Gal. CLOSED HEAD PLASTIC DRUMS - HDPE.

I got mine from a self serve car wash. Stop by one sometime when you see the owner/manager working and ask if they have some you could have. Free is always good biggrin If not you can buy these from the above company, or do a search for CLOSED HEAD PLASTIC DRUMS or HDPE, you may find a better deal.

These are very thick walled, and strong. They are ideal for carrying extra chems, and they take up only a small footprint on your trailer/truck as they store vertically.
I will post more pics and progress as I go. I will spend some time tomorrow, but not much as I will be with the family most of the day.

Happy 4th everyone.party.gif

Chris





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Hey Chris. Just reading about your rig and noticed one thing note metioned by anyone! DOT Regulations in most states must not exceed 80% of total gross value!!  

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