What is a Truck Mount and Why Should I Care?

A truck mount carpet machine is can you believe it?! A carpet machine that is mounted permanently to a vehicle. In my case my truck mount sits in a canopy on the back of my Hilux Ute tray. Photo attached below.

A lot of other carpet cleaners getting around will have it mounted in a van. 

These machines run on either petrol or diesel. Therefore they have an engine much like your car. In the near future we will also have affordable battery powered electric options. But we’re not quite there yet.

The difference between a truck mounted carpet machine and say, a portable machine simply comes down to the power they can produce. The result being a much deeper and thorough clean, faster drying times and a more efficient flushing action. In short they produce the best results by far.

Portable machines will plug into a 10 amp outlet of the household. This means they are limited in the power they can use before tripping the meter board.

The operator can get around this by running more power through a generator. But typically portable machines are designed to plug into a standard wall out let. And thus are limited in the amount of power they can produce.

Not to dismiss the value of a portable machine. There are some top quality portable carpet machines that do a fantastic job. I personally have two. I use them when needed. Often for commercial applications that the truck mount carpet machine simply cannot reach.

Picture a high rise apartment complex, or a shop inside a shopping centre. I can still produce top quality cleans with these machines. It just might take me a little bit longer than the truck mount. And these are high end portable machines not a cheap hire from the supermarket!

So why not just hire a portable machine from the supermarket? Well basically although they would have their uses in some situations as a cost effective option. They are at the lowest end of the quality spectrum. You really get what you pay for when it comes to carpet cleaning.

In short there are 3 factors that will effect the quality of the clean and the end result;

Suction: The type and grade of vac motor in the machine will determine how much sucking power the machine has and how effectively that pulls the water, chemical and filth from the carpet or upholstery.

Water Pressure: The amount of PSI the machine can produce. A higher pressure will be able to clean deeper than a lower pressure.

Heat: Any portable carpet machine operator advertising as a “steam cleaner” is simply false advertising. Truck mounts (due to the power they can produce) can reach water temperatures over the boiling point and thus procuring “steam”.

Although in reality most operators will run at somewhere between 70-80 degrees, which is still very effective. Portable machines simply can not heat the water to these temperatures with the limited power they have available.

This article was written by Simon from Coastal Carpet Cleaning, if you would like to get in touch for a quote or to arrange a service please contact us today. For live updates follow us on Instagram or Facebook