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Box Truck layout

Jim Chesmore

New member
I want to get a 14' box truck with side doors. I want to have a 5.5GPM hot water rig along with my fatboy bandit, reels and tanks.

I plan on getting it at the end of the season when I get some $$ saved. So my question is this, how do you guys have the equipment in your box trucks laid out.

Thanks for the help
 

Paul Kassander

UAMCC Associate Member
Put the water tanks in the back over the wheels, machines up front by the wall. I vented mine out through the roof and ran jumper hoses to the back of the truck with the hose reels back there.
 

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Jim Chesmore

New member
Put the water tanks in the back over the wheels, machines up front by the wall. I vented mine out through the roof and ran jumper hoses to the back of the truck with the hose reels back there.

wow, thats the complete opposite of what I had in mind. How did you vent through the roof, with one of those twist to open vents?

I was going to put the tanks up front, then have the machines over the wheels and the reels close to the back door. I only carry enough chems for the day and never carry water so weight is not that big of an issue
 

BigRuss

New member
All great ideas.

My best money making trucks have custom made pipe racks on the back of the 8' foot GMC Pickup's with 2 extra pipes to connect the front to the backs.

So it's basically a square set of racks that slide into the pockets as one unit, it takes 2 or more guys to put it in or out. Once they were in the truck they stayed there.

The front set of racks were designed to be removable. They slide into steel pins on the front bumper with the hardware mounted right at the frame locations. When you drop the front racks on the truck the back part would slide right over the top 8" upright part of the rack so all the pipes line up with each other.

Then I installed 2x12" planks about 6" over the ends of the pipes, not the length of the truck, but across. In the 4x8' plus area in the rear and covered the planks with rubber roofing, so all the gear in the back was somewhat protected. I also mounted the pipe scaffolding leg hardware in the planks so I could install two full sections of pipe staging on the front part and the rear part. I could go as high as 4 sections in two towers, and using outriggers I use the 20' foot Werner 2020 Aluminum planks to run the entire length of the trucks.

I would run 3 - 8GPM cold washers, one on each level of the pipe scaffolding and a guy driving as they were cleaning.

Rigging pipe staging on a full size truck with 2 sections totaling 17' feet long would allow me to use the 20' foot planks with or without the outriggers. If you use 2 2020 Werner planks, you can drop 4x8 sheets of plywood down to make a large walking area.

Because the trucks were able to drive along side commercial buildings we used 6' to 8' foot wands to pump out the work.

Even if you have a Box truck, you can still install the pipe staging base legs to the roof of your box trucks, then you can put one or two sections of the pipe scaffolding on the top of your trucks. You can do some fast commercial this way.
The trucks I used were not brand new but beaters that everyone jumped on the hoods, tops etc. I also had custom made springs 1 ton plus w/helpers so when I used the outriggers the trucks would not tip over from all the weight we piled up on them. OSHA never witnessed any of these rigs or I would have been in hot water.

One or two sections is OK, but 3-4 high starts to get hairy with my custom 4' foot outriggers and 200 lb. gents on them. The trucks were weighted with gear and never felt like they would tip over, but they would sway 3 feet when you are working at the top of a 4 section setup.

13k in 3 days is the most I made from a waste management job cleaning one building using the dual scaffolding rigged trucks.

have fun
 

Jim Chesmore

New member
All great ideas.

My best money making trucks have custom made pipe racks on the back of the 8' foot GMC Pickup's with 2 extra pipes to connect the front to the backs.

So it's basically a square set of racks that slide into the pockets as one unit, it takes 2 or more guys to put it in or out. Once they were in the truck they stayed there.

The front set of racks were designed to be removable. They slide into steel pins on the front bumper with the hardware mounted right at the frame locations. When you drop the front racks on the truck the back part would slide right over the top 8" upright part of the rack so all the pipes line up with each other.

Then I installed 2x12" planks about 6" over the ends of the pipes, not the length of the truck, but across. In the 4x8' plus area in the rear and covered the planks with rubber roofing, so all the gear in the back was somewhat protected. I also mounted the pipe scaffolding leg hardware in the planks so I could install two full sections of pipe staging on the front part and the rear part. I could go as high as 4 sections in two towers, and using outriggers I use the 20' foot Werner 2020 Aluminum planks to run the entire length of the trucks.

I would run 3 - 8GPM cold washers, one on each level of the pipe scaffolding and a guy driving as they were cleaning.

Rigging pipe staging on a full size truck with 2 sections totaling 17' feet long would allow me to use the 20' foot planks with or without the outriggers. If you use 2 2020 Werner planks, you can drop 4x8 sheets of plywood down to make a large walking area.

Because the trucks were able to drive along side commercial buildings we used 6' to 8' foot wands to pump out the work.

Even if you have a Box truck, you can still install the pipe staging base legs to the roof of your box trucks, then you can put one or two sections of the pipe scaffolding on the top of your trucks. You can do some fast commercial this way.
The trucks I used were not brand new but beaters that everyone jumped on the hoods, tops etc. I also had custom made springs 1 ton plus w/helpers so when I used the outriggers the trucks would not tip over from all the weight we piled up on them. OSHA never witnessed any of these rigs or I would have been in hot water.

One or two sections is OK, but 3-4 high starts to get hairy with my custom 4' foot outriggers and 200 lb. gents on them. The trucks were weighted with gear and never felt like they would tip over, but they would sway 3 feet when you are working at the top of a 4 section setup.

13k in 3 days is the most I made from a waste management job cleaning one building using the dual scaffolding rigged trucks.

have fun

do you have any pics of that rig??
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
I want to get a 14' box truck with side doors. I want to have a 5.5GPM hot water rig along with my fatboy bandit, reels and tanks.

I plan on getting it at the end of the season when I get some $$ saved. So my question is this, how do you guys have the equipment in your box trucks laid out.

Thanks for the help

Jim,
You can attach the hose reals underneath your box truck so you dont need a side door. You shoud come up one rainy day and check out one of our 14ft trucks. 8 gal min hot/cold unit with 325 gal tank, tool boxes ,racks its a sweet setup. Call me
Jim Vanhandel
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
jim,
you can attach the hose reals underneath your box truck so you dont need a side door. You shoud come up one rainy day and check out one of our 14ft trucks. 8 gal min hot/cold unit with 325 gal tank, tool boxes ,racks its a sweet setup. Call me
jim vanhandel

jim,
do not put the unit up front it gets way too hott and may catch fire.
 

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BigRuss

New member
Jim,

I will get some photos of the trucks so you can see them in action.

The pipe scaffolding has those pins you slide-in to hold the frames to the base legs that are bolted to the 2x12" planks.

Picture a "U" shaped piece of 2" steel pipe that connects to the top of the rear set of pipe racks by sliding on the 8" high piece of pipe on each side, and the rounded part of the "U" follows the front end shape of the truck. Then the welder installed two pipes down in the front of the truck right on top of the bumper frame bolts that hold the bumper on. He used a piece of 4" x 4" right angle iron that catch's the front/top bolt on each of the two pieces. And he welded two solid steel pins about 6" long on the angle iron with two holes drilled to bolt the racks on when you slide the entire front syatem on the truck. He also welded two extra pieces of steel 1/2" x 1 1/2" from the outside corner area to the sides of the front two uprights for extra support. When we first did it we could not open the hood for service with the front racks on, then we moved them so the hood will open while the racks were on.

The racks were the best design I ever came up with.

it was so cool to see 3 8-GPM rigs cleaning on a 20' long working area moving truck, instead of a scissor lift (8' feet wide).

I made the mistake and set up a new truck with the racks and it got trashed really quick. So now we get used trucks to set up this way. We also sprayed paint with the trucks and the plastic drop's did not protect everything. So used trucks are the way to go.

The next one I build will have welded pipe scaffolding base plates into the rack system, instead of bolting the base plates to the 2x12 spruce planks.

We never did any hot cleaning, only cold water on buildings. I have no truck cleaning experience.

These pipe scaffolding trucks would be killer for gents who clean trucks/big rigs. You could drive right along side the box truck on a 2 high section (Each section is 6' feet). We drove around in traffic with 2 full sections installed on the trucks, front to back, not 2 high. So it was one high and the height of the truck, say 6' feet. So from the ground to the top of the platform is about 12'. Standing on the top of the racks level, is basically right over the top of the cabin roof + 6". The entire front to back had the 2x12" planks on them permanently. So it was like 6' wide by 19' feet long from the back to the front.

I will get some pics tomorrow, I have some from a huge natural wood cleaning job and it had 3 sections high I think.


It would be hard to mass produce this type of rack system because the back section has to fit inside the pockets perfectly, to be able to get them in/out. We had to put the square pocket steel pieces in first, then place the four 2" pipe section on the top to weld it in place. Then once it was welded, we simply pulled it out. I made the inside 1 1/4" x 2" x 8" deep (Or whatever it is) steel go at least 6" inside the holes. Some people said I could just bolt a piece of steel to the top of the inside bed.

Photos are 10,000 words, soon to come. I'm so buzz'in right now, we partied all night.
 

Jim Chesmore

New member
Jim,
You can attach the hose reals underneath your box truck so you dont need a side door. You shoud come up one rainy day and check out one of our 14ft trucks. 8 gal min hot/cold unit with 325 gal tank, tool boxes ,racks its a sweet setup. Call me
Jim Vanhandel

now thats thinking out of the box (pun intended :biggrin: )

Jim, I'll give you a call and see what we can do, thanks

Russ I am lost without pictures
 

Daniel Hulbert

New member
James: Looks like a nice setup and neat to I agree be careful with hot water unit up front if you do place it there make sure you create some fresh air ventilation to keep air moving or like James said may cause fire.dh


jim,
do not put the unit up front it gets way too hott and may catch fire.
 

BigRuss

New member
I could not find the photos today so I made a few drawings to show you the general idea of how I rigged the trucks.


picture.php



album.php


When you look at the drawing of the truck with the pipe staging on the top, most people know there are 2 cross braces on each section. If we were washing on one side of the truck we would remove the one section on each, and only have the one cross bracing for each section. This way a worker can stand underneath the section and work while a guy is on the top werner 2020 plank(s) system. The 2x12 planks I installed over the 'bed end' of the truck had rubber roofing installed over the planks. This basically gave some rain protection for tools in the rear. We used 8 foot planks to wheel the washers in the back of the truck as a ramp.

If you use outriggers on the staging you really need a 1 ton spring truck. A 1/2 ton truck may sway left to right too much for me. The standard pipe staging outrigger is 24" out, I had custom 48" outriggers made by simply adding the extra steel to the originals. The 48" outriggers are great because you can get right on top of areas.

We even used the truck for outdoor concerts and we covered the entire tower for privacy. We were well up there with the Spot Light Show Towers , and used the outriggers for the grills. One of my best pals does the Sound contract and he got us great spots to park and enjoy the show. We used those inflatable Aerobeds to chill on. And we had our own security to keep people off the rig.

it kinda reminded me of the old days when I drove my dump truck to the drive-in movies with my girl, she was so mad I drove the dump truck but it wasn't until she noticed the queen bed in the back of the dump body then she was happy. I would park at the side of the drive-in and I turned around so the bed was facing the screen, then I tilted the bed up a few feet, it was perfect. I had high sides on the truck so nobody could see us. That was in the early 80s, the drive-in is long gone now.

There is still one open here in S Florida.

Enjoy the pics you gents, if you have an extra truck and you want to make it a great worker here are the plans.

All the best,
 

BigRuss

New member
picture.php



Thi shows the front racks slide over the back racks,the back racks have a 8" high post and a 6" out post, the place where to tie ropes for the ladders etc.

The front set of racks is in a "U" shape, but when you install the two 2x12 planks with the scaffolding leg bases, it makes the front racks easier to install w/2 people. I did not install the planks on the front permanently, I just put them down loose when needed.

Those trucks made me the most money, maybe it may help other people.
 

Paul Kassander

UAMCC Associate Member
In 17 years of washing the only unit I have ever had catch on fire was one that had the fuel tank over the engine and the guy filling it spilled fuel in the exhaust.

I vent my burners and exhaust out through the roof so there is always a positive airflow into the truck through the side door. You want to avoid having your machines beyond the back of the rear wheels if possible as that is the area that gets the most bounce when traveling down the road and there is a greater likelihood of damage to your unit.

I came up with the design of the tanks more over the wheels because the rear suspension is much stronger than the front and when the tank is full you will more than likely be down on the bushings on the front suspension, which is not really a good thing. Also check the weight rating of your tires 4 @ 2500# is better than 2 @2500#, another problem I discovered as I was blowing the bead on my tires.

The best placement I found was to put the tank about 3/4 of the way in front of the rear wheels. It will disperse enough weight forward to prevent lifting of the front end (steering) and provide the best driving.

Now if you are not hauling a lot of water you can throw that out the window and set it up for your convenience just try to avoid putting the machine past the rear wheels.
 
If you will be using side doors, and they will be difficult to find, they are invaluable to the wat you can set it up. I dont have pictures, but will post them later for you. I have a 16 foot box with two side doors and rear doors. The tank is 425 gallons doorway tank, it is taller than the round tanks but only takes up 30 inches of floor space. For an enclosed setup, the footprint is everything. I have the tank all the way up towards the cab and there is no pass through.I have two hotwater machines mounted facing out each side door and vented to blow out the door, no holes in the roof, no sealing issues to deal with. Shelving on either side which hols wands, ext poles, gutter brushes etc. On the floor of that side, I have two cold water machines as well as a surface cleaner. On the other side I have shelving for the chemicals, injectors, tools etc. The side that carries the chemicals also has the delevan mounted in the back with a roof mounted reel and the other side has the low pressure fill hose and two pressure hoses mounted. I carry checmicals for the day plus a bit more in case but there is plenty of room. This set up kicks ass and is very efficient, plus there is room for ladders (12' a frame, 8 ' a frame and 28' ext latter in the middle) when they are needed.
In am in north jersey if you wanna check it out, let me know.
 

Jim Chesmore

New member
right now I have my eyes on a 12'er and a 14'er. You would think that with the way the auto industry is these days that the dealers would be jumping at any potential sale, not so around here??

I would like to see your pics Mike
 
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