Many people who wish to build a truck wash, as it can be a lucrative business indeed. Yet how do you choose a location, where competition is light, traffic is not and weather and terrain benefit you? Well these is a way, now then let me take you thru the decision process of how to choose a good location by showing you an example.

Our company had looked at this particular location and later chose not to build there, but it is a good exercise in thought and location decision making indeed. Read this as a stream of thought, as that way it will give you the most ideas and the over all concept.

We have seen a need for quite sometime in Rufus, OR and/or Biggs, OR where HWY 97 meets the 84 FWY. There is traffic from Kennewick, Pascoe coming into the Dalles and Portland, which is very dirty also coming in from the Boise, Nampa area and up from Winnemuca, Reno or from Salt Lake. Traffic has been increasing over the last few years and Portland cannot handle the train traffic due to the size of the Port and the land available for additional expansion of rail track. Also in the Winter few trucks moving across the country to Seattle or Portland wish to go over the grade at Snoqualmie on 80. Traveling 80 takes you over two treacherous summits often requiring chains, whereas 84 along the river does not. Stanfield catches every direction, but Biggs is a good location too.

The only truck stop of any size is the Pilot at exit 188 and then in the outskirts of Portland on the 84 at exit 17. Leaving nearly 250 miles to 380 miles from any truck wash depending on the direction of over the road travel. Pilot has no truck wash there and the little tiny privately owned truck stops do not either. This is a terrible void and is part of the reason for all the dirty trucks coming into Portland. Portland only has three truck washes.

One on exit 17 is only open 6 am to 6 pm missing nearly all the nighttime traffic, and Blue Beacon is jammed at the Jubitz Truck Stop and JKL Truck wash, next door to Blue Beacon as in 20 feet from building to building, is an automatic rollover RYCO half and half unit, which few would approve of. Blue Beacon uses HF on all trucks and whoops, there are some real OSHA issues and aluminum dulling problems with that. If anyone out there wants to join this team from Kennewick, Biggs, Dalles, Portland, Rufus, Stanfield, Hermiston, Pendleton or Umatilla we would be interested in immediate action.

This should help you in considering all the criteria necessary when choosing a good location for a truck wash. By systematically addressing all these types of issues you should be able to pick an excellent spot for your next truck wash; so consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/