How do I spec a trailer?

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krzdimond

New member
I did a search, and while there are a lot of posts on the subject, I can't find the info I am looking for.

I am currently in a fixed location (my house) and lately I have been getting about 50% of my calls asking for mobile services, so I decided to expand. I have been looking for used trailers for the past 30 days- Craigslist, Ebay, the paper, etc. all to no avail, so today I started looking for new trailers. Must haves at this point are barn doors in the rear and a side door, other than that, I'm lost.



Here is my problem/question: How do I spec out a trailer? What do I NEED, should have, don't need, etc?



I am going to run a 90 gal tank that is 3HX3DX4W, 3.5K Gen set, pressure washer, compressor, etc. I went to 3 dealers in 2 states in the area and have looked at WAY too many companies: Pace American, Diamond, Wells Cargo, et al.... and have been told WAY too much information. 2 wanted to upgrade to 16" centers on the floor, while 1 wanted to go 12". Can't I just mount another 3/4" sheet of plywood on the standard 24" centers? All 3 want to upgrade to pressure treated floors and I want to lay vinyl, 5X8's cost as much as a 6X10, one piece bowed roof compared to standard flat. Brakes; no brakes.... I will also be running no more than 40 miles one way so is a "V" nose a waste?



What do I tell the dealer I want/need?



BTW, my tow vehicle is a 96 Roadmaster wagon with 5000lb towing capabilities.





Sorry for the long post, but I am at a COMPLETE loss.



I guess if I had to shorten this, the question would be: If you had a trailer made for you, how would you spec it out? And why?
 
why not switch to ONR and just detail from your car?

there are a lot of people that detail out of cars a LOT smaller then yours
 
I worked out of my car for the first year I was in business and it SUCKED!!! Constantly loading and unloading the car...... Thought about the ONR, but I did an interior job last monday and it was TRASHED! I am running an inverter that I installed for car shows and such, but it won't run a PC, or shopvac and I played HELL getting it clean. Imagine how embarrassed I was when I told the customer that I needed to take her van to the local car wash to vacuum it out.... (she was at work with no access to power or water)



There is also the PERCEPTION of what a "professional" looks like. Detailing out of the back of my car says "I'm doing this for beer money", not "I do this to pay my mortgage" (no offense to anyone here, that is what was told to me by a customer when I asked for referrals, and why I moved to my garage)





Not to promote, but, instead to give an idea as to what I do, here is my website: Kittredge Custom Detailing - auto detailing Savannah ga



I'm more in the paint correction than the quick wipedown and wax, though, I honestly haven't given ONR a try..... but might now.
 
krzdimond said:
I worked out of my car for the first year I was in business and it SUCKED!!! Constantly loading and unloading the car...... Thought about the ONR, but I did an interior job last monday and it was TRASHED! I am running an inverter that I installed for car shows and such, but it won't run a PC, or shopvac and I played HELL getting it clean. Imagine how embarrassed I was when I told the customer that I needed to take her van to the local car wash to vacuum it out.... (she was at work with no access to power or water)



There is also the PERCEPTION of what a "professional" looks like. Detailing out of the back of my car says "I'm doing this for beer money", not "I do this to pay my mortgage" (no offense to anyone here, that is what was told to me by a customer when I asked for referrals, and why I moved to my garage)





Not to promote, but, instead to give an idea as to what I do, here is my website: Kittredge Custom Detailing - auto detailing Savannah ga



I'm more in the paint correction than the quick wipedown and wax, though, I honestly haven't given ONR a try..... but might now.
Click to expand...



if you know what you are doing, then why would you have to go to the car wash to have it vacuumed out? did you not have a vacuum?

and what does not using ONR have to do with a dirty interior....confused! :nixweiss



tell your clients you need a power source to operate - that you dont want to listen to a generator all day long, and neither do they!

use ONR (no need for a trailer)

I have turned down work because the truck was brand new and extremely dirty with caked on mud. I use ONR! I told the guy I couldnt wash with my method and he said "why?" I explained and he understood and took the car somewhere else to have them wash it...well, instead of a wash on the truck, he had me detail it because the place scratched the piss out of the truck!



krzdimond said:
There is also the PERCEPTION of what a "professional" looks like. Detailing out of the back of my car says "I'm doing this for beer money", not "I do this to pay my mortgage" (no offense to anyone here, that is what was told to me by a customer when I asked for referrals, and why I moved to my garage)
Click to expand...



tell that person to F off! I am more professional and perform a higher quality job than some people with a fully enclosed top of the line trailer! If all you go on is a perception, and not results, you will throw away a lot of money! (just look at collinite 845 and the bottle it comes in!)

the loading and unloading makes you restock and go through your supplies on a daily basis, no chance for the "oh, I think I have it in there" Plus it only takes me about 15 minutes to load up all my supplies and drive away, not that big of a deal. Thats with filling up the 16gal water tank via 3.5 gallon buckets!
 
Toyotaguy, In the conversation that I had with the owner of the van, she stated the she "was a neat freak". I explained that i did not have power and she said that I would not need to vacuum, just remove spots. When I get there, it looked like she had lived out of it for the past 6 months:shocked I DID bring a small vacuum, but the van was too far gone for me to use it. I also used a small extractor for the spots. (Trusting the customer and lack of preparation was MY fault.) Paint correction is not even an option at this point.



When I detailed out of my car for the first year, I used the customers power and water. My 9amp Shopvac worked fine, but with my inverter, I can only run 4 amps, and the car has to be running for me to even run that much power:(



Anyway, You have given me another option that I hadn't even considered. 25 gal tank, ONR, a 1.5K generator and an electric pump should all fit in the back of the wagon (4X8 sheet of plywood will fit). I will still be self sufficient, and mobile at the same time. Opinions on this setup?
 
I really dont understand the point of a generator....well I know what it does, I just doing see why you need it IF:



you tell the customer you require



1. power hookup via 3 prong electrical outlet (100ft or less from the car)

2. Water hookup

3. shade preferable! (no shade, no problem, optimum polishes work in the sun)



I also dont see why you would need a water tank, I have 3 5 gal buckets with me and sure my Focus trunk is packed, but its also organized and Its very easy to unpack and pack back up.



my suggestions:



ditch the water tank and generator, require an electrical outlet and water hookup from your customers and problem solved. You will only be using roughly 3.5 gals in 2 buckets (1 clean water, 1 onr). The other bucket I use for dirty stuff like, MF Towels, or wet towels after drying with ONR etc....



Like Toyotaguy said, tell the customers that the generator is loud and you dont want to listen to it all day long and neither do they.
 
If you are planning on offering TRULY mobile service, you will need to be totally self-contained - water, elec, etc. We use a Honda generator - quiet, efficient and great quality. The Honda is a bit more expensive than others but, you have to have it! If you are talking about servicing customers while they are at work, or out and about, you need to be self-contained. You need to plan your trailer around the service you are going toprovide. If you are looking to provide just a wash, maybe you do ONR wash - you can show up on a bicycle with a bucket and the ONR products. Make your niche and build your business to accomodate the customer base you seek.



As for trailers, we use Haulmark 6x12. Side door is important, barn doors in rear, etc.
 
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