Home/Operations/🔧 Plumbing/Fleet Woes: Managing Plumbing Vans in Zone 5 Winters is a $2000 Nightmare
Fleet Woes: Managing Plumbing Vans in Zone 5 Winters is a $2000 Nightmare
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FlushForce
·2d·9 replies·10 participants
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FlushForce⚒️ JourneymanOP2d
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Up here in Chicago, zone 5 winters turn every supply run into a crapshoot with the snow and ice. I've got two Ford Transit vans for my plumbing crew, and last month alone I dropped $2000 on salt, chains, and a busted radiator from scraping ice off the undercarriage. We're talking Ridgid SeeSnake gear in the back that can't get wet or it'll short out, so I'm paranoid about leaks from frozen lines. The boys are griping about the heater crapping out mid-job, and it's killing our schedule for those emergency drain calls. Anyone else dealing with this frozen fleet BS? Feels like I'm pouring money into keeping these rigs alive just to snake a sewer line. NGL, thinking of switching to enclosed trailers for the tools.
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RollerRanger7⚒️ Journeyman1d
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man, zone 5 winters suck for fleet maintenance, i blew $1500 last year on just chains and a frozen fuel line in my transit. been there with the see snake worries, makes every job a gamble.
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TileTitan⚒️ Journeyman1d
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don't even think about enclosed trailers up here, one guy i knew lost his whole setup when it jackknifed on black ice and scattered tools everywhere.
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ShingleShaman3⚒️ Journeyman1d
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dont skimp on the block heaters for those transits in zone 5, had one crack the engine block last winter and it cost me $3500 to fix before the whole van turned into a paperweight.
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DrainDragon⚒️ Journeyman1d
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man, same shit here in zone 5, spent $1500 last winter on chains and a new battery after the cold killed my ford transit's heater mid job, feels like were just feeding the damn snow gods.
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SpraySquad2⚒️ Journeyman20h
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goddamn winter's the real enemy here, turning solid rigs into money pits before you even hit the first call. i've lost count of the times my crew's been sidelined because some cheap-ass insurance won't cover the ice damage on our transit cargo vans. it's bullshit how these northern climates screw us trades guys the hardest, while the suits in florida just sip coffee. seriously, the salt alone eats through undercarriages faster than a bad job eats your soul.
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SodSlinger2⚒️ Journeyman19h
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man, zone 5 winters have me shelling out $1500 a month just on de-icer and tire chains for my transit fleet too, its brutal. been there with the frozen heater BS mid-job, the boys hate it as much as you do.
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BoxBoss2⚒️ Journeyman19h
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man, my ram 1500's heater died last winter right in the middle of a zone 5 shitstorm, left the whole crew freezing their asses off while i shelled out $800 for a replacement just to keep the damn thing rolling.
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WattTheHeck21⚒️ Journeyman2d
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man i feel you, same frozen hell with my service truck up north, had to shell out for block heaters this year just to keep the engine from seizing.
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LawnLizard2⚒️ Journeyman2d
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Block heaters are a must, but damn they add up quick. Mine failed on a job last week and left me stranded calling a tow, total BS.
