Fleet managers who ask the right questions before buying washing equipment or truck wash chemicals save thousands of dollars in maintenance costs. The difference between a strategic purchase and a potentially expensive mistake? Ask your fleet wash vendor these 11 questions.
Some fleet managers don’t realize that not all equipment and chemicals are the same. You need to pick the right ones for the type of driving and the distance a vehicle’s route takes, the washing location, the type of materials on the surface on your tractor-trailers, and even the merchandise they haul.
Whether it’s about specialty chemicals, proper pH levels, dilution ratios, or water pressure requirements for each product, here are the 11 questions you should ask every chemical or equipment vendor before you purchase their products.
The Real Cost of Wrong Vendor Decisions
Last year, a major food distributor with a fleet of 3000+ trailers came to us because their wash system wasn’t working. But we quickly found out that not only was this because their vendor didn’t offer regular maintenance of their truck wash, but the chemicals they were using might have been actually damaging their vinyl graphics.
Here is what they said after we helped them fix their old system and switched to the right chemicals for their fleet:
“All of our systems are non-HCS systems. I feel comfortable with Hydro-Chem [Systems] updating or taking over,” their fleet manager said. “When we think of what would be a better way to wash our fleet, we would look to Hydro-Chem [Systems] to do that.”
Some other common problems we’ve heard include:
- Equipment mismatches that damage paint and chrome
- Hidden costs for undercarriage maintenance
- Chemicals that don’t seem to work
- Limited or no support when things go wrong
Equipment Questions That Protect Your Investment
- “What PSI and GPM are safe for my specific vehicles?”
Too much water pressure damages paint. Too little wastes time. Professional vendors should know the optimal range for different vehicles and types of cleaning equipment. They should be able to help you use the equipment you currently have, and offer suggestions to make it more efficient and effective. But in general, the ideal water pressure should be about 1500-2500 PSI. If they’re suggesting you go higher, make sure you test it on a less visible area of your truck.
- “Is this equipment built for daily commercial or industrial use?”
Red flag: Residential-grade power washers sold as commercial ones. Look for commercial-grade pumps, motors, and components designed for heavy daily use. We often recommend Landa or Hydro-Tek pressure washers, but there are many other brands that offer great machines..
- “Do I need a water softener? What about RO or DI water?”
While this is largely dependent on where you are washing your vehicles, this is still an important question to ask your vendor. While water is in the ground, it picks up a lot of minerals that cause your soaps and detergents to lose their effectiveness. One way to address hard water is with a water softener. Purchasing this early can help you avoid clumps of soap and minerals that require more soap to be added. Sometimes, even city water can be hard or have high levels of TDS that can make detergents be less effective. Even your rinse water could potentially leave spotting.
- “Is there a warranty on the equipment, and how quickly can I get replacement parts?”
Every piece of equipment will eventually break down. The question is does your vendor offer any warranties or have local parts available? Are parts available elsewhere quickly?
Chemical Questions That Prevent Damage
- “Are these chemicals safe for all my vehicle surfaces?”
Aluminum, chrome, and painted surfaces need different considerations. For example, we offer a pre-soak detergent called Knockdown. It’s designed for polished aluminum, to make sure you don’t dull that shine. But if you had a non-polished aluminum trailer, you might want to use our Shockwave product, as it’s a little more aggressive.
While both products might be a low pH step one, the chemistry involved is different, and you want to make sure to tailor your products to the type of surfaces you’re washing.
- “What's the proper dilution ratio and how does that impact cost-per-wash?”
There is no substitute for having a great relationship with a knowledgeable vendor. Dilution ratios are based on a number of factors, including things like dwell time and water temperature but also the type of equipment being used and the type of grime on the surface. Work with your vendor to help get it close to the ideal concentration, otherwise you could end up with a lackluster clean, or you use too much detergent and your cost-per-wash skyrockets.
- “How do these soaps work in different conditions?”
Detergents and chemicals work in all seasons, summer and winter, but its effectiveness will depend on many factors. Detergents tend to become more “sluggish” when the temperature drops. You’ll want to blend them to be a bit stronger and use water that is around 100° – 130 °F, which allows you to use less soap.
In hot conditions and higher temperatures, you can dilute your detergents a little further, and use cool water to reduce the chances of soap drying or even browning or whitening a surface.
Business Questions to Help You Maximize Your Investment
- “How well will this work for fleets like mine?”
Food and beverage fleets might have different needs than general freight or livestock transportation. Ask for references and case studies from your industry. We worked with a local private fleet to get their truck washing down from a few hours to around 20 minutes - for a high quality hand-wash. Grand Ledge Public Schools were able to get their bus washing time down from 30 minutes to 2 minutes. But if you have a poultry farm and have to adhere to biosecurity rules, those numbers might not be as relevant to you. Always check that the references are relevant to you.
- “How do you compare to your main competitors?”
Vendors should always welcome this question. Hydro-Chem Systems is unique because we're one of the few companies that excel at providing a full solution, including manual washing equipment, fully-automated wash systems, in-house formulated chemicals, account managing, and mechanical service for both our equipment and competitor equipment. This means we can help tailor the entire washing process to your needs and have a broad range of knowledge when it comes to troubleshooting and finding solutions.
- Who takes care of little things like tweaking dilution ratios or checking soap levels? What kind of after-sales support do you offer?
You might have help on-site with your existing employees, but oftentimes your labor costs are best spent elsewhere. Our regional account managers meet on a regular basis in-person, and face-to-face. They work to dial-in and tweak your dilution ratios and soap levels to make sure your system is performing the way you want. Even if you’re outside our region, we have national account managers who offer a hands-on approach, taking care of you and your system with regular check-ins, not just for a sales call.
- “What service and maintenance do you provide?”
Some fleet wash vendors don’t offer much when it comes to maintenance of their systems after you buy them. We often get requests to help maintain fleet washing equipment from other companies, including pressure washers and automated wash systems. Whether it’s an annual preventative maintenance agreement or a general service call, make sure you have support. As time passes, parts wear down, items break, and situations always change.
Protect Your Fleet From Sub-Par Partners
A proactive fleet manager can use these questions to qualify vendors and anticipate the level of service they can expect from them. Any supplier worthy of your business will welcome tough questions because they have real answers.
For those who want to learn more about the science of fleet washing, check out this blog. It’s an easy-to-understand look at how properties, concentrations, and fleet types determine the effectiveness of various detergents. It will also help you start to fill in the blanks from some questions above, so you can be prepared to talk about fleet washing anytime you get a question.
