Take Pride in Your Rig to Show Customers You Mean Business

As a committed pumper, you're driven to succeed. You best make sure your truck is on the same page.
Take Pride in Your Rig to Show Customers You Mean Business
Clint Stevenson of Advanced Septic hauls hoses to pump a tank in Homosassa, Florida. Photo By Alan Youngblood

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As the owner of Advanced Septic in Crystal River, Florida, Brandon Buckingham is all about professionalism — as emphasized by the latest addition to his company’s fleet: a gleaming, custom-built vacuum truck.

Buckingham bought a 2009 Freightliner chassis in fall 2016 and had Engine & Accessory Manufacturing outfit it with a 4,000-gallon aluminum tank and a RCF870 Fruitland Manufacturing pump. The extreme-duty pump generates 512 cfm of vacuum power, which gives Buckingham the muscle to perform additional work outside of pumping septic tanks — jobs like cleaning wet wells, digesters and sewer lift stations.


Here's a shot of Buckingham's truck, which embodies the professionalism Advanced Septic offers its customers. —Photo By Alan Youngblood


“It’s great to be able to pull that much vacuum,” he says. “If we’re working on a super-big lift station, we can even relay-pump if we have to, the way fire trucks do (to pump water). We put multiple trucks in a row and the Fruitland pump is large enough to relay-pump and fill all the trucks all at once.

“We take the vacuum out of the first truck (the Freightliner), which creates negative pressure throughout the system,” he says. “In effect, it’s all like one big tank. We don’t do this very often, maybe once or twice a year. But it’s a great way to pump faster and avoid making 10 disposal runs if you were using just one truck.”

Buckingham opted for a 4,000-gallon tank to minimize the need for disposal runs between cleaning septic tanks. “It really cuts down our overhead costs,” he says.

The truck also features an automatic Allison transmission, air-ride suspension, power windows and door locks, and other creature comforts. “We ordered pretty much every option you can get with a big truck.”

Moreover, the truck is always clean, promoting a professional image. “It’s our showpiece,” he says. “These big trucks are pretty much moving billboards, driving around all day. The better it looks, the more professional we look.”

To learn more about Brandon Buckingham’s septic service company, look at the August issue of Pumper.



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