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Worst weather you've ever serviced units in?

Luis A.asked 0 viewsGeneral DiscussionService visitWinterizationTruck accessWeatherRural

Last week I had to pump our ranch's standard unit during a hailstorm that came out of nowhere. The wind was trying to tear the door out of my hand, and I was getting pelted while wrestling the hose. It was a muddy, cold mess. The vacuum truck could only get within about 30 feet of the unit because of the soggy ground, so I had to drag the hose through the muck. It got me thinking about what other drivers have put up with.

What's the worst weather you've ever had to do a service visit in? How do you handle a unit that's stuck in deep snow or a real bog?

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Sam O.Portland, OR

The worst weather I serviced a unit in was a Portland ice storm that left a solid inch of glaze on everything. My driver showed up for our weekly service visit when our only bathroom was gutted, and the standard unit was frozen to the driveway. He chipped the door open with a shovel, then used a pick to break up the ice inside the holding tank so the vacuum truck hose could pull waste. He told me operators add brine to tanks in winter to prevent freezing, but extreme cold still locks them up. For deep snow or mud, they extend hoses or use a portable pump if the truck can't get close. That day, he had to park on the street and run extra hose because our driveway was a skating rink. He said missed service calls in bad weather still get billed if the unit is inaccessible, so now I always shovel a path and salt around it before he comes.

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