[drive surgeon]

hi all, i have been pressure washing for years but i need a on board water tank now. the trouble is i  have only got a renault kangoo van, its not big enough. its a struggle just getting the gear in without water. i usually just use the customers water but to try get contracts i need to have a tank.  i can t affrod to buy a big van so i thought about getting a trailer.  what type would be best? would my van pull a trailer fullof water or should i just half fill it and top it up at jobs?  i have not got a clue which type of trailer or tank would be best.   seen some nice box trailer on ebay for around £1000.  do you need a water pump? or will the tank give enough pressure alone.

[steve doyle]

I would imagine its the same for a trailer, but ive 1000tlr unbaffled tank in my van and it sloshes like mad half full, but its fine full up cos nowhere for the water to move to! so i tend to have it quatre full or completly full. You would also need some ultra heavy duty straps in case you were to crash, you dont want to end up wearing the tank!

There was a thread possibly on the window cleaning section about tanks and using land drainage pipes as a baffle by pushing and coiling them into the tank. I am yet to try this technique (sounds reasonable enough).

my machine will draw water straight from my water tank, so im not sure what you would need to do if yours wont. I think you can buy a water pump but maybe gravity will be enough, someone else will be able to answer this question though.

regards
steve

[trevor perry]

if you do get a trailer then you are better getting a twin axle one as a single axle can be hard to balance correctly with sometimes having a full tank of water and other times it being empty , if you do go for single axle then i would have the water tanks running down each side of trailer.
 as for needing a pump this shouldnt be necassary but i would advise using a one inch pipe from the tank to the intake of the pressure washer and with winter coming make sure this can be disconnected and pump bled dry at end of each day to prevent the water in pressure washer pump freezing and causing costly damage.
  hope this helps
          

[drive surgeon]

steve, when you say unbaffled tank what do you mean?     will my van pull 1000 ltr tank full of water?

[steve doyle]

My tank has no dividing compartments in it,

its like my wallet, a big empty vessel!

Its my understanding tho' im no expert, that a baffled tank has some sort or partitions in to stop the water sloshing around. its this sloshing that makes it difficult/dangerous to have in a van, let alone trailer. The idea of using drainage pipe to fill the tank is that it should do the same job as its got small holes in it, so allows the water to move around but only very slowly, but ive not tried this myself.


have a look on ebay is best way to see whats about, 600 ltr baffled tank about £200 i would of thought is ok for your van to tow, check your manual for towing weights, my 1000ltr tank is in a merc vito, i wouldent fancy going much smaller than that to be honest (suspension wear). but maybe ok on a decent trailer if you have the power?

 the other option which looks decent is a water bowser mounted on a trailer,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Trailer-engineering-plastic-water-bowser_W0QQitemZ260160045196QQihZ016QQcategoryZ9882QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

be quick only 3 hours left on this one, and £250 at the moment seems cheep enough, i would make sure there is a drainage valve or some way of emptying it so you can hook your machine to it if using a gravity feed rather than pump, there is a phone number for any questions.

steve

[drive surgeon]

cheers again , will keep this post up for more ideas. thanks.

[Mike jones]

You need to look into the towing capacity of the van, the manual will state this. Remember the towing capacity also includes the weight of the trailer.

[drivewasher]

AND 1000 litres of water weighs 1 tonne so any trailer single axle or double needs to be braked to be towed legally

[peternathan]

have you looked at a water bowser? these come with baffles and have brakes. when i started i had a big twin wheeled trailer and towed it behind my car. it can be a lot of hassle. remember you have to check your license to see if you can tow a trailer and you have to inform insurance.for what it would cost to set up it might be worth looking at a bigger van!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[drive surgeon]

thanks for the replies. will have to look into it all again. any more advice appreciated.

[drive surgeon]

thanks for the replies. will have to look into it all again. any more advice appreciated.

do you think the biggervan would be easier??