Building a Wash Rig Around Your Fleet: Burner, Pump, Tank, and Reel Configuration Guide

Quick answer: A fleet wash rig should be specified around four things: the dirt you're removing (which sets temperature and burner size), the surface area per day (which sets GPM), how far you are from a water source (which sets tank size), and how many operators work at once (which sets reel count and pump capacity). Specifying from the fleet backward prevents both overspending and undersized equipment.

Start With the Fleet, Not the Machine

Before choosing components, document:

• Number and type of vehicles (trucks, trailers, heavy equipment, buses)

• Typical soil: road film, diesel soot, grease, mud, livestock waste

• Washes per day and time allowed per unit

• On-site water availability vs. mobile work

• Whether wash water must be recovered

Burner Selection

Heat breaks down grease and oil far faster than pressure alone. Most fleet work runs at 180–200°F.

Burner Type	Best For	Considerations
Diesel-fired	Mobile rigs, remote sites	Most common; highest heat output
Gas/propane-fired	Fixed wash bays	Cleaner exhaust indoors (with venting)
Electric-heated	Indoor, low-emission sites	Lower heat rise; high power demand

Burner output must match GPM. A burner sized for 4 GPM will not hold temperature at 8 GPM.

Pump and Flow

For fleet cleaning, GPM matters more than PSI. Flow rinses soil away; pressure loosens it. Most fleet rigs run 3,000–3,500 PSI at 4–8 GPM. Belt-drive triplex plunger pumps running at lower RPM hold up best under daily duty.

Tank Sizing

For mobile work, size the tank to your longest job between fills:

Tank gallons = GPM × minutes of spray time per job × 1.2 (safety margin)

Example: a 5 GPM rig spraying 60 minutes needs roughly 360 gallons.

Reels and Multi-Operator Setups

• Single operator: one 150–200 ft reel

• Two operators: dual reels plus a pump and burner sized for combined flow

• Add a separate low-pressure chemical line if you apply soaps before washing

Plan for Water Recovery Up Front

If you wash on customer sites, recovery equipment (vacuum, berms, filtration) is far easier to integrate during the build than to add later.

FAQ

What PSI do I need for fleet washing? Typically 3,000–3,500 PSI, paired with 4–8 GPM and hot water.

Is hot water necessary for trucks? For grease, diesel soot, and road film, yes. Heat cuts cleaning time significantly.

Can I add a second operator later? Only if the pump, burner, and plumbing are sized for it. Plan it during the build.

Ready to spec your rig? Text us or call 800-897-7515 for a custom configuration built around your fleet.