1. The vehicle: dimensions, body material, and how it enters the bay
Give overall length, height, and the height of the highest washable point, plus the body and tank material. A feed tanker with a coated or aluminium skin is handled differently from bare steel, because pressure and temperature settings that are safe on one may mark the other. State the wheelbase and the width of the access lane, since feed trucks often enter farm yards and mill docks where the turning space is limited.
Describe how the vehicle is presented for cleaning: driven up a ramp, parked in a fixed bay, or held in place while operators walk around it. That answer decides whether the machine is fixed in one position or moved by an operator. If the truck must be washed in an indoor garage or in a narrow outdoor parking space, say so in the inquiry, because those are exactly the conditions that rule out a large stationary rig with a long hose run.
2. The residue you have to remove
“Dirty” is not a specification. List what is on the body: dry feed dust caked into seams, dried mash around hatch edges, mud and manure on the chassis and wheels, oily film around the hinges and locking bars. The difference matters because dry caked feed dust releases with heat and dwell time, while baked-on organic residue around hatches usually needs hot water and mechanical action together.
Also state whether the inside of the tank or hopper is in scope. The machines on the Cleaning Equipment Series page are described for exterior vehicle cleaning, interior work, and engine-compartment work, not as internal tank-cleaning systems. If interior cleaning is part of your requirement, raise it as a separate item so the supplier can tell you whether the standard machine fits or a custom solution is needed.
3. Water supply and drainage at the site
Confirm what the supplier can connect to. The Fixed Steam Cleaning Machine PowerDe HW02 detail page lists a tap-water inlet with a 4-point internal-tooth joint (1/2 inch), which means the site must provide a compatible water point. Write down the fitting you already have, the distance from that point to the washing position, and whether the machine sits on the same level as the inlet.
Send the drainage situation as well: a grated drain in the pad, a bunded wash pad, or no drainage at all. Sites without permitted wastewater discharge need a wash pad design before any equipment purchase, and this is a civil question, not an equipment question. Flagging it early prevents a machine arriving at a location where it cannot lawfully be used.
4. Power supply and how the machine will be moved
Provide the available supply: single-phase 220 V, three-phase, or battery-only operation in an area with no outlet near the truck. The HW02 page lists 220 V working voltage and 6 kW heating power, so an inquiry for that model should include whether your pad can carry that load continuously. Where no power is available, the battery versions in the same range are the ones to ask about, and the supplier needs to know the shift length before promising a runtime figure.
Say whether the machine must be driven to the vehicle or pushed along it. The range includes driving-style units and a hand-pushed unit, and the choice depends on how many trucks a shift washes and how far the operator has to travel. A fleet washing several trailers a day in one fixed position has different needs from a depot that washes one truck at whichever bay is free.
5. The mode you actually need: dry steam, wet steam, or hot water
Ask the supplier to justify the mode, not just the price. Dry steam carries heat with little free water, which suits surfaces where you want heat and dwell time without flooding the pad. Wet steam and hot water add volume and impact, which suits loose mud and thick residue. The mobile units in this range are listed with dry steam, wet steam and hot water modes, while the fixed unit switches between dry and wet steam, so if your workload is mostly heavy mud, say that plainly and ask whether a three-mode machine is required.
High-temperature steam is also the reason these machines are used where detergent use is restricted. Where a wash programme has to limit chemicals, ask the supplier to state what the machine does with heat alone and what still needs a cleaner.
6. Throughput and shift pattern
State the number of trucks per day, the length of a shift, and whether washing happens between loads or at the end of the day. A single truck washed after each trip needs a quick-to-start machine with short heat-up time and a tank that does not have to be refilled mid-job. HW02 is listed with an 80 L SUS304 tank and a footprint of 1,200 × 800 × 1,200 mm including handles — send those numbers to your site plan and check the pad space before ordering, rather than after the machine is shipped.
Include one detail buyers often forget: the wash sequence. Who holds the lance, who moves the vehicle, and whether one operator works alone. Single-operator working changes the hose length, the reach needed for the roof of a tanker, and the safety equipment required.
7. Biosecurity and hygiene drivers
Explain why the truck is being washed, because that determines what the quotation should include. A feed transporter washing to break disease transfer between farms needs a repeatable procedure: defined wash points, defined dwell time, and a record of what was done. A feed mill washing for presentation needs speed. A machine specified for presentation will fail a biosecurity audit, and the cost is discovered after purchase.
If your procedure requires a documented temperature step, ask the supplier what is published on the machine page and what has to be measured on site. Published figures are the starting point for your own validation; they are not a substitute for testing the wash on your own soil, on your own surface, before you commit to a fleet-wide order.
8. After-sales terms and site conditions
Ask the questions that decide whether the machine survives real use: which wear parts need replacing and at what interval, what happens if water is hard at the site, and what spare-part lead time applies to your country. Hard water changes tank and heater maintenance, and an inquiry that hides water quality produces a quotation that hides maintenance cost.
Finally send the operating language and the training arrangement. Safety features published for these machines include leakage, short-circuit, high-temperature, high-voltage and water-shortage protection; ask the supplier to walk through each one during commissioning, and confirm in writing what operator training and remote support are included.
A short brief you can copy into your inquiry
- Vehicle: type, overall dimensions, body material, highest washable point, access lane width.
- Soil: feed dust, dried mash, mud, manure, oil film — and whether tank interiors are in scope.
- Site: water point and fitting type, drainage, pad size, indoor or outdoor.
- Power: supply available near the wash position, or battery operation required.
- Volume: trucks per shift, shift hours, washing between loads or at end of day.
- Driver: presentation standard, or biosecurity procedure with records.
- Service: spare parts, hard-water treatment, operator training, spare-part lead time.
Send that brief with the site photos, and you will get comparable quotations instead of three different machines described in three different ways. For a wash bay that must serve trucks in a fixed position, start from the equipment range at PowerDe cleaning equipment, confirm the published parameters against your own water, power and pad measurements, and then let the supplier specify the machine against your data rather than against a generic assumption.
