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  • More To Offer

    The Gas Wash C-store model integrates up to 4 profit centers in one with fuel sales, a convenience store, car wash (Mini, Express, or Flex), and possible affiliate coffee shop or restaurant.

  • Increased Volume

    More services attract more customers and ensure long term growth across all services. Gas sales drive consistent traffic and promote car wash frequency.

  • Efficient Management

    The Tommy Flight deck allows as few as two cashiers and a teller to simultaneously operate the fuel service, convenience store, and wash - minimizing operating costs.

Best Car Wash Business Model

Building Design

This design takes our takes our signature Tommy style and carries it through the Gas C-Store Wash to create a consistent look with a very welcoming, modern flair.

Modern Car Wash Architecture

Primary Tower

The primary tower serves as both a hallmark feature of our design and also houses a critical innovation we call the flight deck. The tower is optimized as a control center for the entire facility with strategically designed doors and windows to promote easy operator access, visibility, and management.

  • Flight Deck Design

    Flight Deck

    The flight deck allows easy access to the most labor-intensive areas of the wash with doors that open directly to both the wash tunnel and entrance lane, so you can always reach the pay stations and customer loading area in moments. You will also find a full employee bathroom, manager's office, and owners' suite.

  • Car Wash Controller System

    Line Of Site

    Easy line of sight is an important but often overlooked element for properly managing and operating a car wash. The flight deck features an angled panoramic window for vision of the entire tunnel, and our glass-wall construction makes it easy for even a single operator to keep tabs on the entire facility.

  • Point of Sale

    Point Of Sale

    We use a hybrid point of sale system that makes both automatic tellers and a manned lane available. This lightens the load on staff who are still available to take payment, answer questions, and assist customers at the pay window or loading area.

  • Car Wash Owner's Office

    Owner's Suite

    A favorite feature for many, the owner's suite overlooks the wash tunnel from the second floor of the primary tower. You will find around 250 sq. ft of quiet office space that can be furnished to your preference. This is a separate space from the manager's office, located below, and provides a comfortable area for meetings or office work.

Car Wash Storage System

Secondary Tower

The secondary tower is built slightly smaller than the primary tower to differentiate all 4 sides of the building, but serves an equally important function as a storage center. Chemicals, parts, and supplies all have designated storage spaces and the tower includes a second level mezzanine area for seasonal marketing supplies and equipment.

  • Storage

    For easy service and supply the storage tower opens to both the wash bay (specifically the blower room) and the vacuum area on the exterior of the building.

  • Chemical Storage

    The bulk storage and chemical pod system contained in the secondary tower allows for excess soap and cleaner storage, so your wash can work longer between deliveries without the need to cut back on services.

  • Branding

    We have two separate styles for our express tunnel, including a Dealership design and a Neighborhood design, and both are available in red, blue, and neutral color schemes. The towers also offer superior fascia square footage for large custom signage and advertising.

Car Wash Canopy

Pay Station Canopy

The building comes standard with three pay lanes and a wide canopy system. We supply everything from the canopy itself to the lighting and menu signage underneath. These channel letter signs point out cashier, auto cashier, and unlimited club lanes, however all lanes can accept payment for all services, including memberships.

  • Cashier

    The cashier answers any customer questions and can assist in sales of prepaid washes or club programs. This lane includes an RFID reader for club member processing.

  • Auto Cashier

    The auto cashier terminal takes cash, credit, and barcoded vouchers, and is the perfect point of sale for on-the-fly club membership sales. The lane is also equipped with an RFID reader for club member admittance.

  • Unlimited Club

    The 3rd lane, marked for unlimited club members, includes a fully functional auto teller that can take cash or credit. This terminal can renew their memberships and keeps the line short for your members and frequent customers.

Clear Modern Car Wash Roofing

Acrylic Roof

Now, 13 years since our first clear roof installation, we've taken European technology and used it to transform the wash environment. What started as hypothetical experiment resulted in a clear wash bay in our Muskegon, MI location. After installing over 25 clear roofs with great results we decided it was time to standardize our system to reduce the cost of construction. By fixing the dimensions and fine-tuning our engineering we've brought acrylic roof costs down to compete with traditional roofing materials without sacrificing our signature look or performance.

  • An Efficient, Open Environment

    Tommy car washes are designed to offer a low-stress experience with lots of space, light, and color. Other car washes cannot compete with the comfort customers experience as they sail through a Totally Tommy Tunnel.

  • Natural Lighting

    Townships and cities love that our buildings are designed to be green and exploit natural lighting during daily light hours, reducing the facility's energy footprint and saving you money.

  • Less Maintenance Than Other Roofing

    Acrylic is sturdy and relatively inexpensive, and endures the test of time longer than concrete or metal roofing which can break down in the extreme humidity of a car wash.

  • Temperature and Ventilation Control

    The building incorporates an optional roof vent that opens down the center of the wash bay to release heat on hot days. An optional material called Heat Stop can also help keep the bay cool in direct sunlight without blocking natural light.

  • Canopies

    The building incorporates a 10' canopy over the entrance and 5' canopy over the exit to signal transitions as the customer enters and exits the wash process.

Vaulted Windows Along Wash Bay

Microbrew Look

Customers love their cars and hesitate to trust them to 'black hole' carwashes. We signal that our design is safe and well-engineered by opening up our tunnel car wash with full-length bay windows and large entrances. We call it the microbrewery effect and it gives you the chance to showcase your wash and stainless steel arches for every future customer who drives by.

  • Full Length Windows

    Our window design features high windows for a panoramic view in and out of the tunnel, relaxing claustrophobic customers during the wash and making oversight and facility management easier.

  • Seamless Windows make Cleaning Easy

    Our unique mullion design puts the bulk of the building's frame outside, leaving a low profile inner frame. This eliminates ledges for a seamless surface, so that your window cleaning can be finished in under 15 minutes.

  • Show Off Your Equipment

    With the Tommy Express Tunnel you will have one of the finest automatic car wash systems in the world, backed up by proprietary technology from the best car wash equipment manufacturers in the country-so show it off! Showcase your facility and let people look in to drive your results.

Full Length Carwash Windows

Vaulted Side Walls

Our vaulted side walls break the shoebox mold, giving you a unique style that supports your brand and separates you from the competition. Once your customers try a Totally Tommy Express Tunnel, other auto washes just don't compare!

  • Break the Mold

    Just because boxy automatic car washes are everywhere doesn't mean they are well-loved. Outclass and outcompete those mini car washes of the past with our signature system and style.

  • Simple and Functional

    Our designs may be unique, but that doesn't mean they're complicated or difficult to maintain. We've worked hard to use standard components wherever possible to reduce the complexity of our design and lower maintenance and upkeep costs.

  • A Bold Franchise Look

    Shoebox washes don't capture people's attention or respect. Our buildings are bright, colorful, and command attention, driving increases in your wash's capture rate and customer loyalty.

Automatic Car Wash Equipment

Dry Backroom

In every car wash there are electronics and other equipment that cannot handle the high-moisture content of the rest of the wash. Our dry backroom securely consolidates the electrical gear and equipment that can't get wet in one close, in-house location.

  • Car Wash Dry Backroom

    Main Floor

    The lower level of the dry backroom stores electrical services, pump station equipment, and the reverse osmosis unit as well as daily cleaning supplies and parts shelves.

  • Car Wash Systems

    Mezzanine

    The mezzanine level holds the reverse osmosis water tanks, air compressor, and optional hot water heater, all easily accessible via a low profile ladder and railing.

  • Car Wash Advertising

    Advertising and Branding

    The expansive surface area on the towers and dry backroom walls allow for larger branding and advertising space so that you don't need to rely solely on roadside signage to attract customers.

Car Wash Entrance and Exit Design

Entrance & Exit

The starburst pattern built into both the entrance and exit lend an iconic, showroom-shine effect to the car wash and its result. The circular theme carries throughout our Tommy Equipment and helps relieve any sense of customer claustrophobia during the wash.

  • Dual Conveyor For Tunnel Car Wash

    No Correlators Needed

    The Tommy Transporter is a tremendous improvement over old-fashioned roller systems. We never scratch a wheel or intimidate a customer by jolting them around as they line up. Loading is as simple and low-stress as pulling into an average-sized garage and shifting in neutral.

  • Carwash Loading Module

    Self Loading

    A Tommy facility saves operators an average of $62,000 per year thanks to automated loading. The process is so natural that customers quickly self-train and rarely require assistance, in large part thanks to our bright, all weather instruction screens.

  • Electronic Car Wash Loading Module

    On-Screen Assistance

    Self-loading systems require clear, responsive instruction in order to reduce error and guide the driver in to the tunnel safely and efficiently. Our entrance module provides clear and specific wording to do just that, focusing the customer's attention in one place as they load.

Fuel and Car Wash Control Center

Centralize Your Operation

The Totally Tommy Gas C-Store Wash is built around a modified version of our flight deck that also serves as the cashier station inside the convenience store. This setup provides streamlined control and observation of the wash and loading areas while also giving operators a great view of the fuel stations as they provide cashier and customer services—a cost-saving system we've perfected over the past 45 years.

  • Increased Responsiveness

    The gas station cashiers are strategically placed in a line with the car wash loading lane, so that staff can share different roles and quickly spot trouble and intervene if a customer needs assistance.

  • Powerful Showcasing

    Unlike your average gas station car wash, the Totally Tommy Gas C-Store Wash setup has the interior of the wash connected and visible through large glass windows behind the cashiers in the convenience store, beautifully showcasing the wash to every customer who steps in.

  • Customer Trust

    Black hole automatic car washes are everywhere but that doesn't mean they work well or have been particularly successful. With a Tommy Express, Mini, or even Flex attached to your Gas and C-Store you'll have a high quality, attractive wash that adds value and builds customer loyalty.

Gas Convenience Station C-Store

Coffee or Restaurant Franchise

When it comes to coffee runs and quick meals, customers form strong loyalties and are more willing to trust and visit brands that they know and recognize. While we've opted for unbranded fuel in our Tommy Gas setup, we have found that partnering with a well-known franchised coffee shop or restaurant has a fantastic impact on sales and capture rate.

  • Wash Fuel Food Drive Through

    Drive Through Convenience

    Our layout is modified to include an additional drive-thru for a coffee shop franchise or another profit center like ice cream, pizza, or fast food service.

  • Car Wash Convience Store

    In-Store Seating

    We designed our convenience store layout to feel warm and open so customers don't feel like they are eating in a gas station. We include a fireplace, TV, and lounge furniture for a modern coffee shop feel.

Site Layout

Site layout is a breeze with a Tommy Car Wash! We have 8 distinct layout options to suit different lots with respect to orientation and flow of traffic, so your wash looks good and functions smoothly whether you are on a busy corner or mid-block lot. Tommy Car Wash Systems can also provide a full 3D model of the facility as it will appear on your particular site for you to share with investors and contractors as part of the construction and planning process

Quality Car Wash, Holland MI

Site Layouts

Every car wash site is different and changing designs to fit different roads, highways, intersections, and lot orientations can make car wash design costly and time consuming. But not with Tommy Car Wash Systems! We've spent time planning out the optimal drive and building layout for every common street and corner placement and we've made sure that our design looks fantastic and welcoming from every angle.

Xpress Car Wash, Shreveport LA

An All-Sides Design

If we wanted our design to go worldwide, in all kinds of lots, climates, colors, and cultures, we needed a design that would look good from every side. With the Totally Tommy site lineup we have designs that look great just about everywhere, no matter which direction the customer is coming in from.

  • Car Wash Main Tower

    Good Side

    Customers often see this angle, which we call "the good side," as they enter from a secondary service drive in the back of the wash, or if the facility is built with frontage along a highway.

  • Car Wash Entrance Design

    Other Good Side

    This side we refer to as "the other good side". Customers view it from the road at certain intersection layouts or along highways where an entrance is again located along a service drive.

  • Car Wash Storage Tower

    Really Good Side

    Customers approaching the facility from a standard direct entrance will see this dramatic view of the wash exit, with special attention drawn to the storage tower above.

  • Car Wash Exit Design

    Best Side

    This is the view of any customer on approach to the point of sale area. The towers stand at different heights with different footprints, creating a unique and stunning visual field across all four corners and helping direct visitors to the pay lanes located below the highest architectural point.

Loading and Point of Sale For Car Wash

Point of Sale Visibility

A great car wash needs a highly visible, intuitive point of sale and loading area that customers can approach without confusion or hesitation, and our Express Car Wash designs make it happen.

  • Carwash Paylanes

    Visible Pay Lanes

    Our standard three-lane setup divides traffic to keep customers moving and the points of sale are well-marked by signage, the main tower, and custom canopies.

  • Car Wash Loading Turn

    Customer Stacking

    The loading turn naturally buffers customers after the payment process, comfortably spacing vehicles as they enter the conveyor during peak hours, no supervision needed.

  • Construction Plans For Car Wash

    Entrance & Exit Slopes

    The D.I.D.O. or Down In, Down Out principle developed by Tommy incorporates precisely graded slopes to ease motorists into position during car wash loading and unloading.

  • Entrance & Exit Signage

    Left In, Right Out

    Consumers are used to drive-throughs that feature left hand turns, so we centered our design between a comfortable right side entrance lane and left side vacuum area.

High Performance Car Wash Site Plan

Curb Appeal

There is an extreme WOW factor that comes with our tunnel's look and scale, and that wow factor translates into a significantly improved capture rate and better ROI.

  • Elevation

    We believe that it is always best to build at least (and not more than) 12 inches higher than street level to elevate the property's visibility and improve drainage during heavy rains.

  • Flow of Traffic

    Traffic flows smoothly in the right and out the left, just as with all major fast food restaurants, banks, and other drive-up services. This simplifies navigation for your customers and prevents bottlenecks.

  • Berms & Beams

    We create berms in the landscape to lend a sense of height and depth to the facility, resulting in a warmer and more complex feel for customers navigating through their wash.

High ROI Wash Design

Overview

We've built over 250 washes, but our Gas and C-Store models have been some of our most successful, hands down. Expect very different cost and land requirements depending on which type of wash you choose to build with the c-store and fuel station, with our Flex and Express models requiring the greatest cost and space and our Mini requiring a smaller space and a lower cost.

Here are a few things to expect:

  • Est. Cost (Excluding Land)

    $3 - $7 Million

  • Tunnel Length

    130 ft. for Flex / Express.
    70-90 ft. for Mini

  • Number of Employees

    5 - 10

  • Cars Per Hour

    Express/Flex: 130 - 180+
    Mini: 70 - 90+

  • How Long Before Growth

    1 - 3 Years

  • Land Requirement

    1.5 - 2.5 acre

  • Weather and Location

    Car Counts Fluctuate with Seasons and Weather

  • Build Time

    9+ Months

  • Approx. Building Dimensions

    120' x 130'

  • Stainless Steel Lifespan

    30+ Years

  • Detergent Supply

    Order HERE

  • Vacuum Stations

    Order HERE

Tommy Car Wash Systems
581 Ottawa Ave. Suite 300
Holland, MI 49423
USA
  • Main: (616) 494-0771
  • Sales: (616) 494-0411

© 2017 Tommy Car Wash Systems. All rights reserved.