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Stop the Spread of Weeds With a Portable Vehicle Washer

A portable vehicle washer developed by MTDC can be used to remove weed seeds from vehicles and heavy equipment in remote locations.

The MTDC portable vehicle washer is a closed-loop system that uses a high volume of water under high pressure to remove dirt, fragments of vegetation, spores, and weed seeds from vehicles. The system recycles and filters the wash water, eliminating the need for a continuous supply of water.

The washer's major components consist of a high-pressure/high-volume diaphragm pump powered by a 25-horsepower Kohler engine, with two 175-gallon settling tanks, two bag-type filter systems, a 550-gallon holding tank for supply water, an industrial containment mat that catches the used wash water, and miscellaneous sump pumps and plumbing parts. The entire system is mounted on an 18-foot, tandem-axle trailer that can be pulled by a ¾-ton pickup truck.

Wands are used to wash most of the vehicle. Operators should concentrate on the wheels, wheel wells, bumpers, axles, suspension parts, and inside of the wheels where mud and seeds can collect. Additionally, vehicles drive over an underbody washer when driving onto the containment mat and over another when driving off to help remove debris from the vehicle's undercarriages.

An illustrated report, MTDC Portable Vehicle Washer (0434–2819–MTDC), describes the system's development. An operator's manual, MTDC Portable Vehicle Washer System Operator's Manual (0434–2826–MTDC), also has been prepared.

For more information on the portable vehicle washer system, contact Andy Trent, project leader (phone: 406–329–3912; e-mail: atrent@fs.fed.us).

To order the report, MTDC Portable Vehicle Washer (0434–2819–MTDC), contact Cailen Hegman, MTDC publications (phone: 406–329–3719; e-mail: cahegman@fs.fed.us).

USDA Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management employees can view the report on the USDA Forest Service's internal computer network at: http://fsweb.mtdc.wo.fs.fed.us/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04342819/pdf04342819dpi72.pdf.

Others can view the report over the Internet (username: t-d, password: t-d) http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04342819/pdf04342819dpi72.pdf.

USDA Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management employees can view the report, MTDC Portable Vehicle Washer System Operator's Manual (0434–2826–MTDC), on the USDA Forest Service's internal computer network at: http://fsweb.mtdc.wo.fs.fed.us/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04342826/pdf04342826dpi72.pdf.

Others can view the report over the Internet (username: t-d, password: t-d) http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04342826/pdf04342826dpi72.pdf.

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