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Trey Gibson Posted: Mar 23, 2006 08:34 AM	Truck Vs. Trailer Which do you prefer and why? We currently use trucks but are looking at trailers for the next one. Trucks are self contained and you obviously don't have to have a vehicle to tow them around like a trailer but on the other hand if the truck breaks down then your whole rig is incapacitated.
Posted: Mar 23, 2006 09:56 AM	Hi Foamer1, I don't normally post here...I just posted here with a Q about respirators for my husband. I happend to see this post and it caught my eye because we just switched over from a truck to trailers last year. I must say that it has been really great with very few problems. Of course, my husband would be able to answer your question better than I since I am not the one hauling the trailer around! However, I have heard him state that it's much nicer when you have a long job in which you can just drop the trailer and leave it on site and drive the pick up home. This saved us enormously in the gas bill dept. The box truck was a fuel guzzler. Also, they can drop the trailer at any time when they need to run our for materials/supplies or food - no need to disconnect the whole rig to go get lunch (not that they would go through all that anyway!) :) We have had a few residential jobs where the trailer was bit of pain to get on site, but we have never had an instance where it was impossible. The worst thing about the trailer is the impatience of the people driving on our road when he's backing it in at night. They just can't wait - lean on the horn, foul language, the finger...the whole bit. It's really funny how ppl can't wait the 30 seconds it takes him to back it in! Good luck - I bet you'd be happy with a trailer set up!
Posted: Mar 25, 2006 07:21 AM	i use a gooseneck with a truck to pull.. hey if the truck breaks down i too am stuck till repaired or i find another truck with the gooseneck hitch.. i have a luv/hate with the gooseneck.. it is pretty long when it is all hitched together,,, and with the center articulation(hitch) it can make decline to incline entry access a bit of a bitch...mine would drag the assend of the trailer many times and i was twistin the bumper some each time..so..6" blocks over the axels to give me additional clearance (21" ground to frame, although the axels are a 6" lower) many of my jobs are customs and they always seem to be in the darndest lots..they all seem to like the remote "colorado mining trail" driveways into these shacks..so access is an issue with this long girl...and sometimes if you get in,,it can be tough to turn around on site..so good planning before you declare your entry is a must...(i stuck 2 extra springs on the pickup,,each side,,and mounted the ball about 6" behind the axel,,this really gives me the ability to jackknife this girl into some tight areas...with the extra springs it doesnt squat the truck..) my other rig is a small step van that pulls a tandem axel genset/compressor trailer...i luv this girl,,but she is uggggggllleeeee..(they say image counts)but i have had to bring her out of the mothballs for difficult access jobs...the pickup can even get the tandem trailer in better than the stepvan when it is loaded up..so it is versitale and small profile.. considering a box for the next truck,,will follow the stepvan format..short (probably 14' box) pulling the powerhouse/compressor unit.. your rig is your key to being able to work..a good preventive maintanance program is a must to have it go down the road safely and dependably... spend the money on a good wrench,,and use him...
Melvin Chandler Posted: Mar 25, 2006 09:57 AM	I purchased a 3/4 ton crew cab Dmax/alli last year thinking I would get into pulling dump trailers, flat bed trailers, and a spray rig. I recently priced out a 28' gooseneck. I'm looking at about $11k plus more for me to custom rig for the equipment. I'd love to purchase a box truck with a lift gate. I have an old 14' on a van frame/cab. That may be good for local stuff but I'm going to have to hit the road. Does anyone have suggestions for length of gooseneck? Graco priced out a 28' so that is what I priced. I think that may be a bit much. I won't be purchasing a generator initially but plan on picking one up and installing in the front end of the trailer. Any tips on buying a trailer and assembling a rig? Thinking about using a local trailer manufacturer (homesteader) for warranty/service reasons. Any other brand suggestions?
Trey Gibson Posted: Mar 25, 2006 11:26 AM	We built our rig from the ground up and considered leaving off the generator and just using shorepower. We ended up putting the generator in and I am very glad. Some builders have their boxes so far away from the house and they never have the right connectors so you would have to carry around an assortment of breakers. 28' sounds a little excessive. We have a 17' box truck and while we will get a bigger truck next time,maybe a 20', it works fine.
Posted: Mar 25, 2006 02:23 PM	my gooseneck is 30' tail to front tip (vee front) it is 20' on the floor,,with just over 7' up on the neck. i made 2 compartments..power house and processing ... buy heavy axles.. get it up in the air for clearance..the longer the trailer the more important this is.. do it right and get a genset. dont forget to think about intake/ventilation for the mechanicals..
Melvin Chandler Posted: Mar 25, 2006 10:03 PM	any particular manufacturer for a trailer? I know Haulmark is a pretty popular brand. What's a good generator? Northern lools to have the best prices on 40kw units but they say "stand-by." Will those work? What about single vs three phase? Seems like the first words out of equipment distributors is 3 phase but they always go back and say single will work fine. I understand that 3 draws less amps but isn't always available as shore power.
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Mar 26, 2006 09:44 AM	Northern is a good source for gensets. Haulmark & Cargo Mate are decent trailers. make sure you get one 90" high if you are going to be using drum pumps. You will need the height to extract the pumps without hitting the ceiling. Our trailer is a 30' tag trailer. We had a gooseneck prior to that. Next one will probably be another gooseneck. They ride nice. It is good to find a quiet generator if you can. 75b or less is ok. 3-phase is good for the machine and the compressor. Make sure you have a 220 single-phase panel in the production area. This will allow receptacles, heaters and lights etc to be installed. Very few foamers ever complained that they had too much room in their rig. Usually just the opposite. Line-x polyurea on the floor is nice. Sherwin Williams makes a great epoxy (Armorseal 650), but polyurea is still a litle better in my opinion.
Melvin Chandler Posted: Mar 26, 2006 02:55 PM	Can you purchase the Line-x materials to run thru your rig? I have Line-x in my truck and love it. I've been told I can spray it from an E-30. There's probably some other sources to pick up the same type mixtures. Any suggestions?
Melvin Chandler Posted: Mar 26, 2006 02:55 PM	Anyone spray the polyurea on roofs and trucks?
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Mar 27, 2006 03:08 PM	We have been spraying VFI's hybrid polyurea on roofs and love it! Take an older EPDM roof and spray 40 mils of silver polyurea on it and it becomes a seamless roof again. We spray about 80-100 mils on the seams. We have also used it over foam, and on metal roofs. Works very well. Cures in about 40-seconds. gcw
Melvin Chandler Posted: Mar 27, 2006 09:50 PM	Olger, What product do you like best over a foam roof? Silicone, acrylic, or polyurea?
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Mar 31, 2006 10:19 AM	VFI's 540 Polyurea works well over foam (Hybrid polyurea). IPC's Acrylink G works very well too. It is an acrylic. Very nice product. Silicone wears pretty well, but is extremely fussy to repair. Nothing sticks to it except more silicone (and sometimes not even that). It is also soft and vulnerable to bird damage. We've tried a lot of coatings over the years. These work very well. gcw

Author

Comments

Trey Gibson

Posted: Mar 23, 2006 08:34 AM

Truck Vs. Trailer

Which do you prefer and why?

We currently use trucks but are looking at trailers for the next one.

Trucks are self contained and you obviously don't have to have a vehicle to tow them around like a trailer but on the other hand if the truck breaks down then your whole rig is incapacitated.

Posted: Mar 23, 2006 09:56 AM

Hi Foamer1,

I don't normally post here...I just posted here with a Q about respirators for my husband. I happend to see this post and it caught my eye because we just switched over from a truck to trailers last year. I must say that it has been really great with very few problems. Of course, my husband would be able to answer your question better than I since I am not the one hauling the trailer around! However, I have heard him state that it's much nicer when you have a long job in which you can just drop the trailer and leave it on site and drive the pick up home. This saved us enormously in the gas bill dept. The box truck was a fuel guzzler. Also, they can drop the trailer at any time when they need to run our for materials/supplies or food - no need to disconnect the whole rig to go get lunch (not that they would go through all that anyway!) :)

We have had a few residential jobs where the trailer was bit of pain to get on site, but we have never had an instance where it was impossible.

The worst thing about the trailer is the impatience of the people driving on our road when he's backing it in at night. They just can't wait - lean on the horn, foul language, the finger...the whole bit. It's really funny how ppl can't wait the 30 seconds it takes him to back it in!

Good luck - I bet you'd be happy with a trailer set up!

Posted: Mar 25, 2006 07:21 AM

i use a gooseneck with a truck to pull..
hey if the truck breaks down i too am stuck till repaired or i find another truck with the gooseneck hitch..
i have a luv/hate with the gooseneck..
it is pretty long when it is all hitched together,,, and with the center articulation(hitch) it can make decline to incline entry access a bit of a bitch...mine would drag the assend of the trailer many times and i was twistin the bumper some each time..so..6" blocks over the axels to give me additional clearance (21" ground to frame, although the axels are a 6" lower)
many of my jobs are customs and they always seem to be in the darndest lots..they all seem to like the remote "colorado mining trail" driveways into these shacks..so access is an issue with this long girl...and sometimes if you get in,,it can be tough to turn around on site..so good planning before you declare your entry is a must...(i stuck 2 extra springs on the pickup,,each side,,and mounted the ball about 6" behind the axel,,this really gives me the ability to jackknife this girl into some tight areas...with the extra springs it doesnt squat the truck..)
my other rig is a small step van that pulls a tandem axel genset/compressor trailer...i luv this girl,,but she is uggggggllleeeee..(they say image counts)but i have had to bring her out of the mothballs for difficult access jobs...the pickup can even get the tandem trailer in better than the stepvan when it is loaded up..so it is versitale and small profile..
considering a box for the next truck,,will follow the stepvan format..short (probably 14' box) pulling the powerhouse/compressor unit..

your rig is your key to being able to work..a good preventive maintanance program is a must to have it go down the road safely and dependably...
spend the money on a good wrench,,and use him...

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Mar 25, 2006 09:57 AM

I purchased a 3/4 ton crew cab Dmax/alli last year thinking I would get into pulling dump trailers, flat bed trailers, and a spray rig. I recently priced out a 28' gooseneck. I'm looking at about $11k plus more for me to custom rig for the equipment.

I'd love to purchase a box truck with a lift gate. I have an old 14' on a van frame/cab. That may be good for local stuff but I'm going to have to hit the road.

Does anyone have suggestions for length of gooseneck? Graco priced out a 28' so that is what I priced. I think that may be a bit much.
I won't be purchasing a generator initially but plan on picking one up and installing in the front end of the trailer.

Any tips on buying a trailer and assembling a rig? Thinking about using a local trailer manufacturer (homesteader) for warranty/service reasons. Any other brand suggestions?

Trey Gibson

Posted: Mar 25, 2006 11:26 AM

We built our rig from the ground up and considered leaving off the generator and just using shorepower. We ended up putting the generator in and I am very glad. Some builders have their boxes so far away from the house and they never have the right connectors so you would have to carry around an assortment of breakers. 28' sounds a little excessive. We have a 17' box truck and while we will get a bigger truck next time,maybe a 20', it works fine.

Posted: Mar 25, 2006 02:23 PM

my gooseneck is 30' tail to front tip (vee front)
it is 20' on the floor,,with just over 7' up on the neck.
i made 2 compartments..power house and processing ...
buy heavy axles..
get it up in the air for clearance..the longer the trailer the more important this is..
do it right and get a genset.
dont forget to think about intake/ventilation for the mechanicals..

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Mar 25, 2006 10:03 PM

any particular manufacturer for a trailer? I know Haulmark is a pretty popular brand.

What's a good generator? Northern lools to have the best prices on 40kw units but they say "stand-by." Will those work?

What about single vs three phase? Seems like the first words out of equipment distributors is 3 phase but they always go back and say single will work fine. I understand that 3 draws less amps but isn't always available as shore power.

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Mar 26, 2006 09:44 AM

Northern is a good source for gensets.

Haulmark & Cargo Mate are decent trailers. make sure you get one 90" high if you are going to be using drum pumps. You will need the height to extract the pumps without hitting the ceiling.

Our trailer is a 30' tag trailer. We had a gooseneck prior to that. Next one will probably be another gooseneck. They ride nice.

It is good to find a quiet generator if you can. 75b or less is ok. 3-phase is good for the machine and the compressor. Make sure you have a 220 single-phase panel in the production area. This will allow receptacles, heaters and lights etc to be installed.

Very few foamers ever complained that they had too much room in their rig. Usually just the opposite.

Line-x polyurea on the floor is nice. Sherwin Williams makes a great epoxy (Armorseal 650), but polyurea is still a litle better in my opinion.

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Mar 26, 2006 02:55 PM

Can you purchase the Line-x materials to run thru your rig? I have Line-x in my truck and love it. I've been told I can spray it from an E-30. There's probably some other sources to pick up the same type mixtures. Any suggestions?

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Mar 26, 2006 02:55 PM

Anyone spray the polyurea on roofs and trucks?

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Mar 27, 2006 03:08 PM

We have been spraying VFI's hybrid polyurea on roofs and love it!

Take an older EPDM roof and spray 40 mils of silver polyurea on it and it becomes a seamless roof again. We spray about 80-100 mils on the seams.

We have also used it over foam, and on metal roofs. Works very well. Cures in about 40-seconds.

gcw

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Mar 27, 2006 09:50 PM

Olger,
What product do you like best over a foam roof? Silicone, acrylic, or polyurea?

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Mar 31, 2006 10:19 AM

VFI's 540 Polyurea works well over foam (Hybrid polyurea).

IPC's Acrylink G works very well too. It is an acrylic. Very nice product.

Silicone wears pretty well, but is extremely fussy to repair. Nothing sticks to it except more silicone (and sometimes not even that). It is also soft and vulnerable to bird damage.

We've tried a lot of coatings over the years. These work very well.

gcw

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