Trailer Jetters vs. Van Pack & Skid-Mount Jetters: How to Pick the Right Setup

If you’re planning to invest in a sewer jetter, you’ll probably end up looking at three choices: Trailer jetters, Van Pack jetters, Skid-mount jetters. The good news? All three can clean pipe well. The question is which one makes the most sense for the kind of work you plan to do.

Some contractors spend most of their time on residential service calls, while others are growing their businesses chasing commercial contracts, grease lines, municipal work, or preventative maintenance programs. There’s no wrong way to do it but knowing your plans helps you make a better choice in a jetter.

Start With the Kind of Work You Do Now and in the Near Future

Before you compare specs, think about the jobs you run every week and what business you think you can build. If most of your work is residential drains and smaller commercial lines, a Van Pack may be all you need. If you plan to regularly clean restaurant grease lines, cut roots, and handle larger commercial systems, or if you want to work with the town, you may need the extra capacity and power of a skid-mount or trailer jetter.

A jetter is a big investment, so the real question isn’t what you’re cleaning today. It’s what you want to be cleaning a few years from now. Where you want your business to go.

Jetter Type	Typical Pipe Range
Van Pack Jetter	2″–18″
Skid-Mount Jetter	2″–18″
Trailer Jetter	2″–18″

It might help to ask yourself some questions. 

How Much Time Will You Spend Jetting?

Some companies use their jetter once in a while, while others have it running every day. If you’re mostly handling shorter residential jobs, a Van Pack can be a great fit. It’s compact, easy to maneuver, and gets the job done.

It’s also a smaller investment, and that makes a difference in how long it will take to pay for itself. If you cannot keep the jetter working, it’s just going to take longer to pay for itself. So the Van Pack makes sense.

But if you’re spending most days cleaning commercial lines or working maintenance contracts, water capacity starts becoming a bigger deal. Because eventually every jetter will run out of water. If you have the work, you want the capacity to keep going.

If you can keep the jetter busy and turn multiple jobs in the day, you probably won’t be happy with the Van Pack, and you need to choose a skid or trailer to really earn business.

Where Do You Plan to Work?

Your service area can have a lot to do with the right setup. If you’re working in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, parking decks, or tight urban areas, a Van Pack or skid mount can get to places where a trailer has trouble.

There are benefits to a Van Pack:

• Easier parking
• Smaller footprint
• Equipment stays protected inside the vehicle
• Quick setup
• Lower cost of entry

A skid-mount gives you some of the same mobility as a Van Pack, while adding more water capacity, power and customization options. 

A skid-mount turns a fleet vehicle into a mobile jetter, but that’s it. Operators choose a skid mount when they want a dedicated solution to jetter, usually for the biggest jobs. Going the skid mount route means buying the truck, too, as it is unlikely it will work with something in the existing fleet.  If you have enough work to keep that jetter busy all the time and you don’t mind committing a truck to the job, a skid-mount is a great solution.

Trailer jetters need the most room, but they’re the most balanced option. A trailer offers the same options as a skid-mount, but because they’re removable, you’re not forced to commit a truck to the jetter. With a trailer, you get to keep a working truck free and all the storage it would normally have – including when you go on a jetting job. You take it in the field when you need it, on whatever truck you want. It’s the most flexible of the options.

Everything is bigger with skid-mount and trailer jetters compared to Van Packs.

• More water capacity
• Longer run times between refills
• Easier to handle larger commercial jobs

When it comes to features, a trailer jetter and a skid-mount jetter do almost the same things. The difference will be mobility and truck commitment. 

Water Capacity Can Be the Difference in The ROI

Experienced operators end up talking about water. A machine that has to make frequent stops to find a refill source isn’t making money as fast as it should. But a machine that stays in the field longer keeps the crew productive.

That’s one reason trailer jetters and skid-mount jetters are popular with contractors doing commercial and municipal work. The larger water capacity allows crews to stay on the job longer and spend less time stopping to refill.

More water usually means less downtime. Less downtime usually means more revenue. Larger pipes simply need a lot of water to flush out, and it can drain a tank fast. 

Quick Comparison

Feature	Van Pack	Skid-Mount	Trailer
Pipe Range	2″–18″	2″–18″	2″–18″
Water Capacity	100-200 Gallons	375 – 750 Gallons	375 – 750 Gallons
Residential Work	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Commercial Work	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Municipal Work	Limited	Excellent	Excellent
Future Growth	Moderate	Excellent	Excellent

Are You Buying for Today or Tomorrow?

This is a tough call. Some contractors buy a machine that’s perfect for the jobs they’re doing right now. They buy the machine they know they need. Then six months later they land a bigger contract and realize they’ve already outgrown it.

You should ask yourself:

• Do you want to expand into large commercial work?
• Do you want preventative maintenance contracts?
• Do you want municipal work?
• Do you want to build a dedicated jetting service?

If the answer is yes, it may make sense to buy for where you’re headed instead of where you are today. That said, if you ended up buying a jetter that you have outgrown, there are trade-in options! You are not stuck. The Harben JetRegret program is a good example. Harben will give fair-value for any jetter, any brand and put that towards a new jetter.

So Which One Is Right for You?

Again, it really does depend on what you plan to do with it. A Van Pack can be a great choice for residential plumbers who need a compact, easy-to-use machine. A skid-mount is a good choice for a dedicated truck and crew, ideal for a municipality or a busy contractor who services the city. A trailer jetter can give you the most flexibility and room to grow, especially if you’re planning to pursue commercial, industrial, or municipal work.

At the end of the day, the best jetter isn’t necessarily the biggest one. It’s the one that helps you take the jobs you want, serve your customers well, and keep your crew working.

Think beyond today’s work. Buy for where you want your business to be in 3 years. If you do end up with JetRegret, Harben has a solution for that, too, with our trade-in program.