Wheel Wash Buyer’s Guide

We’ve tried every method out there and had the benefit of visiting wheel wash systems all over the world to see what works and what doesn’t to ensure we can deliver the best value to our customers. The solution is not ‘one size fits all’ but there is a solution to every problem – here’s what we’ve learned.

First of all, to recommend the best value wheel wash for your project, we need to know:

• Expected peak number of wash cycles per day?
• What kind of debris is being washed off the wheels?
• Will you need to move the wheel wash system during your project?
• How long will your project last?

Shaker Grids

Shaker grids – a heavy duty grating that ‘shakes’ the wheels of the vehicle do encourage the loosening of attached mud and debris. Can be helpful in the right situations but are best used in conjunction with a pressurised system, here’s why: the best shaker grids are made of angle irons and the angle irons of a shaker grid open the vehicle’s tires and allow the water jets to flush the grime out. The two complement each other well.

Vehicle Speed

Whatever system you use, the more you can get drivers to slow down through it, the more effective it will be.
To build a system that will wash wheels with trucks rolling through in 3rd gear is technically possible but will cost a lot more than getting drivers to slow down and take another 20 seconds.

Tire Rotation vs Compactness

In order to wash tire treads thoroughly, the ideal scenario is to have the tire rotate multiple times across the washbay. However, with the average truck tire needing at least 3m to complete a full rotation, this means the wheel washbay has to be longer. For portable wheel wash systems this impacts compactness of the system making it more expensive to manufacture and to move between sites.

For this reason, a good portable wheel wash will remain compact and have downward pointing side spray bars to clean the tops of the tires despite not making multiple rotations. These downwards spray bars need to have good flow and reasonable pressure. If you’re looking at a system with less than a 10kw pump; it’s not going to move much dirt!

Manual Washing

Pressure washer or hose and get some enthusiastic soul to wash the wheels manually

Pros

• Sometimes cheap to setup
• Fine for short term sites

Cons

• Ongoing cost of someone washing wheels
• Personnel tied up who could be doing more productive things
• Requires something to wash on like a concrete pad (expense)
• Unless you put in a lot of infrastructure it is unlikely to be environmentally compliant
• Takes time and slows vehicles down leaving site

The Birdbath

A flooded basin that vehicles drive through in the hopes that the sluicing effect of the water will clean the wheels. Sometimes it kind of does. Variations include counter-current channels where water flows down channels toward oncoming vehicle wheels.

Pros

• Cheap on some sites
• Looks like it will work well, on paper

Cons

• Costs of setting this up properly generally outweigh simply getting a mobile wheel wash
• Generally doesn’t work as well as you think

Compact Mobile Wheel Wash

The most common automated wheel wash system
In this category we offer the Explorer Mobile Wheel Wash

Pros

• Can be moved easily
• Washes wheels quickly
• Lower capex than more comprehensive systems
• Recycles water
• Contains waste products

Cons

• Doesn’t have as much hitting power as our larger systems
• Needs additional water settling capacity for high throughput sites
• Because it is small and compact, it needs more top up water than other systems

Large Mobile Wheel Wash

The EarthWash is a modular system that can be expanded in size by adding washbay modules and more recycling tanks

Pros

• Remains portable
• Washes wheels quickly
• Great water retention/recycling ratio
• Contains waste products

Cons

• Takes up more space on the site than compact systems
• Higher capital outlay than the compact Explorer system

Modular Self-cleaning Wheel Wash

This type of system requires more setup than a mobile system but has a built-in conveyor to help clean out settled solids and can run a higher pressure pump due to the concrete apron’s ability to retain over-spray (if any). More on our offering in this category here.

Pros

• More hitting power than a mobile system
• Less manual cleanout than a mobile system
• Ideal for longer term sites with moderate vehicle throughput

Cons

• Requires some civil works to set up properly
• Has a higher power requirement

Modular Side-Discharge Wheel Wash

Sometimes making things simpler makes them better. This is certainly the case with these systems. Rather than wearable chains and complex treatment systems, dump all waste sideways into a settling pit. From here the solids can easily be scooped out by your onsite loader. The Fortress Modular Wheel Wash platform is the go-to solution for this.

Pros

• Modular design allows the system to be expanded/contracted as needed.
• No moving parts, cleanout is simply scooping out the pit
• Our recommended solution for best long term reliability on most permanent sites.
• Hot dip galv frame is long lasting

Cons

• Requires an onsite loader, bobcat or digger for cleanout.

Heavy Duty Wheel Wash

Designed for sites with high vehicle throughput and/or high amounts of soiling on vehicle wheels. These systems can be anywhere from 4 to 15 meters long (allowing more tire rotations) and have the power to shift a lot of heavy grime very fast. Water recycling is a priority as is vehicle throughput. More on our offerings here.

Pros

• Most thorough of automated systems
• Can remove a lot of mud
• High throughput of vehicles
• Long working life
• Custom designed to meet site/customer needs

Cons

• Requires more capex than other systems
• Takes up more site space

Large Custom Systems

With an in-house engineering design team, full fabrication workshop and decades of combined wash systems experience, we can build the solution that meets your exact needs – talk to us today about how