After long hours of pumping septic tanks for his business, Chad Sims appreciates returning to a comfortable shop where he can park and work on his trucks.

The 60- by 96-foot steel building with a 16-foot ceiling in Mount Vernon, Ohio, helps him baby his trucks — and a few toys.

He had used his parents’ shop next door for nearly 30 years and decided to invest in the new wood-frame, steel siding (inside and outside) shop in 2014.

“My main reason was to wash the trucks inside — especially during the winter. The floor is heated from a boiler unit that keeps it warm. The floor is epoxy coated for durability and to help keep it clean,” he says.

Clean is important to Sims.

“I take pride in how our trucks look, and multiple customers have said that’s why they called us. They say, ‘I see your shiny trucks all the time going up and down the road,’” he says.

The front half of the building is for maintenance. He washes his trucks with an electric pressure washer and water runs down the drains through the center of the building. For other maintenance, he has pipes for air running through the building and four hose reels for air tools and to pump air into tires.

When finished with maintenance, there’s plenty of room of room to park his three trucks in the back. Because of the building, his newest truck — a 2020 Peterbilt 348 with a 4,200-gallon aluminum Amthor International tank and NVE 4310 blower — may not be exposed to salt and snow for many years and could last much longer. He plans to park it for the winter and use his two older trucks to protect his new investment.

A 2003 Peterbilt 330 with a 2,400-gallon aluminum Kary-Mor tank and Fruitland RCF500 pump is his first choice for winter. A 2012 Peterbilt 337 with a 2,400-gallon aluminum Amthor tank and Fruitland RCF500 pump is his other option. All appear to be in new condition because of the extra care he gives them.

Besides his work trucks, the building is big enough to shelter a couple of things Sims keeps for leisure time. There’s a motorhome the family uses for trips, which Sims also uses when he works as a spotter at NASCAR races. He got the idea for the epoxy-coated floor from race shops.

“I like the cleanliness. You can wipe oil right up with no stains,” he says.

“The building definitely helps our business as it makes it a lot easier to do our regular maintenance on the trucks,” Sims says.

Having an efficient, comfortable place makes the hours of washing those trucks until they shine worthwhile.