Low-Profile Vacuum/Jetting Truck Debuted at the 2013 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo

Low-Profile Vacuum/Jetting Truck Debuted at the 2013 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo
William McKee, left, Vacutrux sales manager, explains some of the advantages of the company’s new low-profile vacuum/jetting truck at the 2013 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo. (Photo by Ed Wodalski)

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The tunneltrux low-profile vacuum/jetting service vehicle from Vacutrux Ltd. – on display at the 2013 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo – especially appeals to pumping contractors who need a double-duty truck to fit into tight spaces, says Derek Potma, customer service specialist with Vacutrux. The combination unit mounted on a 19,500-pound GVWR cab chassis was an option many hadn’t previously considered.

“There are a lot of guys who do pipeline maintenance. They’re in the plumbing business and do jetting, but not a lot of them have vacuum,” he says. “They say they don’t use it all the time, and when they do, they’ll hire a vacuum truck for a couple jobs a year. Most of them, when they think of a vacuum truck, they think of a big sewer cleaner unit. The fact that this truck is pickup size, it really makes people think they should have their own vacuum truck and not just do the jetting only.”

The black-and-yellow-lettered vacuum/jetting truck owned by Claudio De Carli of Toronto caught the attention of Expo guest Kris Noble from John Noble Septic Service in Creemore, Ontario, Can., who was searching the show floor for new ideas. “I’m always in the market for a truck,” he says. “I can see all the different designs and options at the show and go home and figure out how I want to build it.”

DeCarli, owner of Metro Jet Wash, says the low-profile truck, designed for cleaning catch basins, sumps and grease traps in underground structures, has helped his company increase profits and production.

“We really like the full tailgate for unloading at the dump site,” he says. “It reduces time, allowing for more work hours and less time at the dumping station. We also like the onboard remote. All the components are exposed for easy servicing. It has all the features of a larger pumper truck but very compact.”

Featuring four-corner air ride technology, the body lowers to 76 inches from the top of the cab, or 72 inches on a lighter chassis, says Richard McKee, sales manager for Vacutrux Ltd.

“You can lift and lower this truck to get into underground garages. Instead of parking a big industrial vacuum truck on the road and running in 300 feet of hose, you can dispatch the smaller truck. It’s more efficient in the city.”

McKee says the truck received a lot of interest at the Expo, which led to follow-up calls and sales. “On the industrial side, there were a lot of big owner/operators who run fleets of hydrovacs or big industrial vacuum trucks and systems, but also the septic and sanitation guys who might have one industrial truck that could use a smaller GVW,” he says. “It was interest from all different types of customers.”

The truck’s remote control, which operates from up to 300 feet away, enables the operator to engage and disengage the PTO, vacuum pump rpm and load valve as well as the pressure pump.

Mounted on a 2013 Ford F-550 chassis (Dodge available), the truck is powered by a 6.7 liter Power Stroke engine with automatic transmission. Measuring 84 inches cab to axle with 165-inch wheelbase, the vehicle has a 720-gallon, two-compartment galvanized steel baffled tank (600-gallon rear debris/120-gallon front water), 16-inch flat-top hatch, fully opening hydraulic rear door, 3-inch low-profile primary check valve, secondary moisture trap and oil-catch muffler. Other features include front telescopic hoist cylinder, tank vibrator with variable-speed control, top rub rails, checkered-plate tank protection and stainless steel hose trays.

“We constructed the tank out of prime carbon steel and hot-dipped galvanized it [for corrosion protection],” McKee says. “The fenders are constructed of stainless steel.”

The vacuum/jetting system has a Wallenstein 753HRVAP vacuum pump that delivers 350 cfm at 15 inches Hg (1,000 rpm), hydraulic drive package, Giant 10 gpm, 2,500 psi high-pressure washer, electric switch and hydraulic drive package. 800/305-4305; www.vacutrux.com.



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