DS5000 and I5000 car wash life

[rtcgolf]

Hello, I have a damaged I5000 ( about 24,000 washes) and the insurance will replace the unit but they think in has a life of only five years.

I am telling them the life is in cars washed and as a result, I am looking for people who have DS5000 or I5000 that can tell me their experience with the life of these units. Basically, I woud like to know how many cars, particularly a DS5000, will wash in it's life. the DS5000 was introduced in 1995.

Can anyone give me testimonials of the number of washes their DS5000 has washed and their view of the potential life.

Any info that may have bearing on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Help! RTCGOLF

 

[Diana]

Our DS 5000, was 9 years old, hit in the Summer of 2010 by a vehicle, the vehicle drove off. Sate Farm paid for a new gantry & installation (minus deducible) and for loss of business while it was down. They didn't ask for a number of washes. What insurance company do you have?

Have you called you D&S distributor? They should be able to help with unit life numbers.
Ours Dist. was Brian M. and he was able to answer all of the questions the insurance co. had.

 

[borumrm]

I really don't know how many washes our units have on them ... we have changed controllers in a couple of them. I can tell you that we have two 5000 that have been running strong since 1996...have changed the rails and wheels and chains due to wear but they are still washing several thousand cars a month. We have two more in service since 1998 and two more put in service in 1999. All going strong.

 

[rtcgolf]

Our DS 5000, was 9 years old, hit in the Summer of 2010 by a vehicle, the vehicle drove off. Sate Farm paid for a new gantry & installation (minus deducible) and for loss of business while it was down. They didn't ask for a number of washes. What insurance company do you have?

Have you called you D&S distributor? They should be able to help with unit life numbers.
Ours Dist. was Brian M. and he was able to answer all of the questions the insurance co. had.

Diana, thanks for the response. The insurance company is that of the fellow who ran into the gantry. However, your situation gives credence to the fact that there are lot more issues than just depreciation. Thanks, Rtcgolf

 

[rtcgolf]

I really don't know how many washes our units have on them ... we have changed controllers in a couple of them. I can tell you that we have two 5000 that have been running strong since 1996...have changed the rails and wheels and chains due to wear but they are still washing several thousand cars a month. We have two more in service since 1998 and two more put in service in 1999. All going strong.

Borumrm, I appreciate the information. It sounds like, with good maintenance, these units can run till they are obsolete, not because they fail.

Thanks for the quick response. Rtcgolf

 

[borumrm]

Well it sure seems like it. We do PM's on the units everymonth...so maybe that is why they are still going ..... it is getting harder to find some of the parts on the older units though...

 

[cleaning up mud]

Ours was 11 years old, it had been hit and repaired so many times, legs knocked off etc, we just replaced the gantry with a new I5000 gantry. So 11 years old and it would have kept on going but looked so bad we decided to replace it! It had over 100,000 washes on it.