Just picked up this unit. 2021 tornado f3, Will mainly be digging for utility poles and splice pits. It’s my first one. Lots to learn
Dont stick the tips in the dirt
I’m registered and equipped to perform cargo tank inspections on those, but have never messed with one. I’d like to pick up a customer or two. Interestingly, here in the states, they are on a six month inspection schedule. Lots of them on the Kenai for the O&G operators. Only a couple in Anchorage. Nice looking rig!
Started my wrenching career on hydrovacs. They're decently ok to work on. Very little wear & tear on the chassis, most of the maintenance is on the vac side. Ran one for 3 or 4 days to learn how they work, hated every minute of it. Dirty and loud.
The municipality I work for has a Vac-All. I've noticed they've gotten popular with local contractors lately, several in the area are privately owned. The Highway Dept uses it to clean basins and culverts and they work with the water dept a lot excavating pipes for repairs, there's no risk of damage to the pipes. As has been mentioned the truck chassis doesn't see a lot of wear, most of the work is local but the vacuum unit is high maintenance and with their rate of use lasts about 10 years when either replacement or overhaul is required. My buddy is the chief mechanic in that shop and he says the worst thing for it is sucking up rocks, anything larger than fist sized will do damage, especially over time. Parts can only be sourced from the manufacturer and are very expensive and sometimes not readily available. They just ordered a new one to replace the current 10 year old unit.
I understand the rear hatch seal is a rather high maintenance item. How are those installed?
Rip the old one out, buff all the rust and crap out of the groove and tap the new one into the groove with a mallet.
There is risk to hydro vac destroying a utility depending on the amount of pressure used and tips you can cut thru pvc pipe if your not paying attention another thing is steel gas line coating usually get ripped of if you dont see it right away Good flash lights and a helper make the world of difference Learning when the machine gets plugged right away helps a lot as you can make the plug a lot worse If your 8 to 10 foot deep it's really easy to get the suction stuck if the ditch falls in it's not hard to get it it out just time consuming especially if you dont know Keep a change of clothes and rubber boots couldn't hurt
I have hired Hydrovacs to clear obstructions for pilings we are trying keep on exact locations. They work very well for that ,not cheap or quick when you have a pile driving crew standing by . I seen them go down almost 20'. Keep lots of fittings and pipe extensions for your pressure washer when your jetting ahead in hard ground,
Thanks for the replies. All good stuff. Keep it coming. I’m sure I will have questions when I get some time on it.
Any tools I should keep on the truck. To either get the job done. Or do repairs? I have a 9’ spud bar and a regular bar. Propane torch. I am planning on buying a sawzall, tool kit that has sockets and wenches. Anything else you would recommend?
Congrats CD! Thats a good looking truck. What are the specs on the Pete?
Has a Paccar PX9 with an 10 speed eaton auto shift
Duct tape. The outfit we had out in Colorado was always duct taping hoses together and had a case on board for leaks. I don't think I ever saw them break out a tool to work on it and I wouldn't want most of the operators to touch a wrench. They mainly jetted pipe for us in our water treatment plant or underground dewatering lines that would scale up.
I've wanted to get into the hydrovac business for the last couple of years. Looking forward to see how your business grows CD.
I hear the business really sucks..
Like being #1 in the #2 business? Now that business sucks.
I'm a sucker for a low hanging fruit. All jokes aside hydrovac trucks are in high demand in the Greater Toronto Area. Most large contractors have 4 or 5 of their own trucks running along with a couple of large fleets that service utility contractors. Damn pipe layers hardly ever have to touch a shovel these days.
My fiancee runs Gapvax units on Western Star chassis. She doesn't like the things much, but they pay the bills. Duct tape is common for repairs, as are cut-up soda cans.
We used to have Riley out of somewhere in NM do our vac and jetting work. After seeing what those guys have to put up with for half of what I was making as an underground pump mechanic I crossed that career field off my list. The units they ran seemed pretty decent though there was a lot of turnover. We almost never had the same guys twice, by the time they were scheduled to come back all the guys who had been on site had left for better money or more home time.
Vac truck operator from Australia here. What a rig! Tools I’d recommend getting are a pair of vice grips, adjustable wrenches. Pay attention to your water pump, particularly what its capabilities are. Then when choosing nozzles choose correct orifice size nozzle for what psi you want to be running. Unsure what grounds like in America but here in Australia I run around 4500 psi when service locating. Havnt cut through a service yet and it’s been a few years. Not sure if our pvc pipes are more durable then yours but people can be a bit hesitant or fearful.