Buying a Used Pressure Washer Trailer

Hot water or cold, and when hot pays for itself

Cold water moves dirt. Hot water cuts grease and oil in a fraction of the time and with less chemical. If you wash fleets, kitchens, equipment or anything with grease, a hot unit pays for its burner in the first season. If you wash decks, siding and concrete, a cold unit is cheaper to buy and has nothing to go wrong.

What a turnkey rig includes

• The pressure washer: 4 to 8 GPM at 3,000 to 4,000 PSI is the working range, belt drive preferred for daily use.
• A water tank, usually 200 to 525 gallons, so you can work where there is no spigot.
• Hose reels for pressure hose and supply hose.
• A trailer rated for the loaded weight. Water is 8.3 lb a gallon, so a 325 gallon tank is 2,700 lb of water alone.
• Sometimes a surface cleaner, chemical tank, and a generator or lighting.

Burner and coil inspection

• Fire the burner from cold. It should light within seconds and burn clean with no white smoke.
• Watch the outlet temperature climb and hold. Slow heating points to a scaled coil.
• Look at the coil for soot, scale and weeping. A coil replacement is one of the costliest repairs on a hot unit.
• Check the fuel pump, filter and the burner's electrode and nozzle.
• Ask when the coil was last descaled and whether the unit ran on softened water.

Pump and unloader

• Pump brand: General, Cat, AR and Udor are the common names and all are rebuildable.
• Pull the trigger and release it. The unloader should cycle cleanly and pressure should return without hunting.
• Check the pump oil for milkiness and the manifold for leaks.
• Pulsing at the gun usually means a valve or a check in the pump.

The trailer

• GVWR against the loaded weight of the rig with a full tank.
• Tires, bearings, brakes, lights and a breakaway system that works.
• Frame and tongue for cracks and rust, especially where the tank sits.
• A clean title in the seller's name and a VIN plate that matches.

Used versus building your own

Building a rig from a used skid, a tank and a utility trailer can come in under a used turnkey rig, but the plumbing, reels and mounting take a weekend and the result is harder to resell. Buy a built rig if you want to work Monday.

Common makes to look for: Hotsy, Landa, Mi-T-M, Hydro Tek, Pressure-Pro, Easy-Kleen, North Star and Sirocco-built rigs.