Gutter Size & Profile:
They have made a combo 5"/6" K style gutter machine for well over a decade. It is well built and has been very popular, but is a waste of money. Most gutter contractors who have this machine rarely if ever convert it over to the other gutter profile and wind up getting a second gutter machine to run the other size gutter. I advise you start off getting just a single K-5 gutter machine for several reasons. I can explain those reasons here, but it is best for you to get some experience using my gutter machine before ordering your own.

It is possible to fit both a 5" & 6"machines side by side on a single trailer bed, but that is a lot of weight to haul around loaded with gutter coil and whatever else you have stored in that trailer, so it is best to put them on separate trailers if you can.

Note: When it comes to function, the only relivant difference between a 5" or the larger 6" gutter is how long before it starts to over flow in a heavy downpour when the outlet clogs up: 5-minutes, instead of just 3-minutes? This is really not irrelevant if you think about it. Sure, size matters, but you and your clients are paying 25% more for a wider gutter coil and have to suffer seeing a much larger gutter on their house, with no real functional advantage. The size of the outlet makes a more functional improvement than the size of the gutter.

How Long can a Gutter Machine Last?
I still have my first and only gutter machine, which I still use on a regular basis since 1994. Just a couple years after New Tech Machinery was established. These pages are not to sell my gutter machine or trailer, since that would put me out of business for several months while I wait for a new machine and build a whole new trailer. I've had my gutter machine for 30-years now, without any major service in all that time. On thouter shell of the trailer I had replaced all the exposed painted steel screws with stainless-steel screws that hold the outer shell panels on back in August of 2005. Not that I needed to. I just decided to upgrade it.  Having my machine kept out of the elements since it was new has kept it in good working order, which is the advice I generously went out of my way to offer you here on this other web page:
http://dmr-gutters.com/gm/ 

Trailer Size & Decking:

As you will see on these several web pages I have designed our gutter machine trailer to be sturdy, yet as light weight as possible, so it can be pulled up hill by just a Honda 3.5 liter V-6 engine.  Light weight is imperative to be able to make it up steep hills, as well as having decent gas mileage, but it needs to be very sturdy to handle jarring bumps on the road and high winds. A 50mph headwind at 60mph = a 110mph wind force.  The Gutter machine with one full 400# aluminum coil weighs around a ton plus the trailer weight.  So you have to pull that trailer weight with your vehicle loaded down with ladders and tools, so you are looking at a good 7,000# to 10,000# in all including your vehicle weight.

The trailer also needs to have a special access hatch in the roof, so the fork lift at the wholesale supplier can load the 400# to 600# coil onto your machine's spool or cradle. They do not make standard trailers with this in mind. It is good to keep it low height as possible, so that you do not need to use a ladder to remove the screws to open the hatch, as well as minimizing the wind drag and weight. Also, considering the height limitations of a forklift. The hatch needs to withstand freeway speeds while keep out the rain, be simple to open, and light weight as possible, while being very sturdy.

The trailer should be a double axel with one axel having an electric brake assist. It does not need to be longer than 12' plus the trailer tongue. A 10' long trailer floor seamed too short, but there should be no need for a 14' trailer. A longer trailer adds a lot more weight and makes it that much more difficult to manage in traffic or find parking in tight nieghborhoods and parking lots. It should have at least a 5' width between the wheels with the steel frame built out to the outside of the wheel wells for the shell support; for a 5.5' to 6.5' interior space sideways. It does not need to have a wood deck under the gutter machine its self, so it is best to not get a trailer that is already decked. A 2x4 deck in a light weight cedar or redwood is best for the floor of the trailer around the machine footprint, which will be lighter than a typical pine deck. A marine-grade plywood can be used. Those boards may be a little more costly, but over just the next couple years you'll have saved more than the cost difference in fuel.

Beside the benefit of saving fuel, less trailer weight means less impact force if you were to get in an accident. Hopefully that will not be a problem, but in all reality it might. Also, less trailer weight is going to handle a lot better; being more safe and stable driving on the freeway. Especially when cornering. If the trailer outweighs the vehicle pulling it; a fifthwheel set up is advised, which is what you would need if you are putting both machines in one trailer. That setup could be more costly than getting a second trailer for the other machine.

Vehicle Connection:
I prefer the type of hitch seen on these pages and you will need a tongue lift to get it on and off the towing ball. It is best to have the vehicle set up with a full set of clearance lights, back-up lights, separate turn signals, brake lights, and an electric brake controller with relays placed on each circuit to keep from melting your vehicle's electrical switches (which actually happened to me early on). I had the wiring professionally installed, but the steering column started smoking and fried my switches, costing me over $300 to have it replaced. I ended up having to rewire it all myself with the added relays.

You should also have a transmision cooler professionally installed in the vehicle(s) that will be towing it.

Most used gutter machines are only worth their weight at the scrap yard, which is around $100 to $150. Perhaps more if you take the time to dismantle and separate all the different types of metals in it. Then you might get $300 or so, but that is a lot of labor, which would take at least a full day, if you work swiftly.

I do not deal in used machines as they are not usually worth fixing.  I do not know any business that buy used machines and tries to recondition them for resale, as there is not enough money in it.  A new gutter machine may not be cheap, but there is no advantage to getting a used machine, other than the temporary benefit of not waiting for your new machine order to be filled.

A used machine will most likely be a rust bucket, and need to be fully rebuilt, which costs several thousand dollars and more time out of service.  That is if you can find a competent technician local to you that knows what he is doing to fix it, which is very rare. There is also the likelyhood that replacement parts for it are no longer available.

Here's an example:

$4.5k initial purchase cost for a used machine that seems to work
+ $500 for delivery, if local to you
+ $2k or more for shipping cost to and from the manufacturer to be rebuilt + $3k rebuld cost with the new replacement parts, if they're still available
= $10k, or the cost of a new machine, possibly more and still looks like crap.

Shipping it back to the manufacturer for repair and realignment would be not much of a savings over buying a new machine. They may report that some of those older parts are no longer available as well, so you would be stuck with an unusable machine.

Most gutter contractors will mount their machine on the back of their pick-up truck, leaving their machine exposed to the elements, and it become riddled with rust within just a couple years. There are also dangers that I listed below. Good gutter machines may have a few stainless-steel rollers, but the bearings are not stainless-steel. Nor is the main frame. The motor will most likely need replaced or rebuilt. Some of the custom parts (if they can be found), are very pricey, which could cost you more than the difference of a new machine, not including the time required to do all this research and rebuilding it. That is even if you can find someone who can do all this in a timely manner.

If the machine is not in very good shape or out of alignment, it will dent the painted sheet metal with crumpled sections, if not just cracking and scratching the paint surface. Or worse yet, it is common that it will no longer form the gutter in the right shape in a straight line, and even have the sheet metal constantly bind up and jam.  I have seen used gutter machines advertised for as much as $5k to $6k, but that does not mean they are really worth more than their scrap metal value. 

Wouldn't you rather just have a care-free new machine with all new parts and the latest technology?  Realize how downtime will cost you a small fortune.  It is like how driving an old beat up work vehicle normally cost more to a contactor than the payments for a new rig.  Every day it is out of service, you loose over $500 in lost productivity.  It will also hurt your referrals and sales to be running shabby equipment. Image matters a lot more than you might imagine and people do talk (online).

Maintenance of a good gutter roll-forming machine that has been kept out of the weather is hardly ever needed. The drive chains may need oiled every year or so, depending on how much it is used. I have maintained my first and only gutter machine, that I got from New Tech Machinery back in 1994, that I still used frequently to this day. That's over 30 years now.

Keeping your expensive machine in a covered trailer is best to keep it clean and dry. Nessled inside a trailer it would suffer a lot less road vibration from staying at base camp most of the time, while not being needed at the job site. This will help prolong the lifespan of a gutter machine. Left on the bed of your truck, coming along with you every day, that extra travel time can wear on it and alter the delicate settings of a machine, which shortens the life of the bearings as well. This also saves thousands in fuel expenses, as well as wear on your work vehicle hauling it around. The fewest trips you make with your gutter machine is very benificial.  Such as bids, supply runs, or just finishing up the job you had already started.

Another important detail to consider is how having this heavy machine with you also makes driving far more difficult to have that extra weight, so your stopping response time is compromised.  With the added weight of the machine behind you will also add to the impact in case of a head-on collision, which would be much worse and cause more damage to you and your rig, as well as any other cars in close proximity. If the bolts holding it down were to sheer-off, vibrate loose, rust out, or just rip out of the thin sheet metal bed floor on impact; this 1,500# counter weight would be driven right into the back of your cab to mame, if not kill both you and your coworkers. Hopefully this will never happen, but your risk is greatly increased for these reasons.

I've developed a system where I only bring the trailer out with me less than 1 out of 100 trips I make with my work rig. You do the math.

What Will a New Gutter Machine & Trailer Cost?
A new gutter roll-forming machine costs around $6k to $14k, depending on features, including sales tax and or freight. You should not need more than one gutter machine/profile. The K-5 style is a good gutter profile to start with. If later on you are doing so well that you can afford to offer a different gutter profile and have plenty of space to store them, swell. It should be no financial hardship at that point. I belive you would well to offer better parts and put more into a quality installation, than to offer clients a larger gutter profile they do not need. You will loose a lot more future jobs by doing shoddy work, than the lack of gutter profiles you have to offer.

Downspout Machine?

I believe no Gutter Contractors have invest in their own downspout/elbows forming machine, because it would costs 10X more than a gutter machine. It will also require a great deal of warehouse space for the longer machine, special size coils in all the different colors, and storage for lots of boxes of downspouts and elbows. Gutter Contractors need to buy the specific colored downspouts with matching elbows as needed, and return unused parts to that local warehouse if they are still in excellent condition, which can be resold as new. Left over parts can pile up and become way too hard to sort through and clean off the dust to use on another job several years later. Most Gutter Contractors either return them or scrap them. Your call.

Gutter Machine Trailer?

A good double axel trailer would run you $3k to $16k, depending on how much labor you're willing to invest yourself.  If you do more of the work yourself, like installing the deck and building the upper shell, you can save a lot of money, and perhapse have a custom trailer that suits your needs better. If nothing else, it is a good way to exorsize your design and build skills. You may wind up rebuilding it better later on, but that's all good practice. Making a light-weight sturdy structure that can take a pounding on the road and withstand high winds is a challenge.  Don't be a cheap-skate here. Remember how this is most likely a lot less than a fully pre-fab inclsed trailer will run you, and still a much smaller investment than most any other start-up costs for a new small business. It should also save you more $ in just the first year on fuel by using better materials than what is found in a typical premade box-trailer. Maybe even build an all aluminum frame over a pair of axels.