[dave0123]

Oh and i know what you mean by the water moving the vehicle due to sloshing water.. i remember just putting my handbrake on just enough to stop you usually but the water would move you forward very slightly on each rock..


Didn't have it for long but i will never forget it haha

[Paul Coleman]

Spruce, many thanks for your informed reply. You have confirmed a few of my concerns and highlighted several more that I hadn't considered in respect of the trailer system.

We have a Citroen Dispatch that is under utilised at the minute but it has a payload of just 815 Kg so might be suitable for a 400 litre RO system (assuming two users up front). This is still our other option and may be viable although for two users this would be way under capacity.

Is it possible to fill the tank whilst at the same time drawing from it? I'm just wondering if maybe we could connect to a supply whilst working on site.

If there is a viable water supply on site, you could fill and draw at the same time.  However, it would need to be a very fast RO to keep up with you. A 40" RO might manage it though a twin 40" would be more likely to keep up.
If it's just for the odd job, have you considered resin only?
Also, if it really is a lot of hassle to set this all up, would subbing out really be so bad.  It would mean taking a reduced profit on the actual job but you would be free to manage other parts of your business while the subby did his stuff.  It may even be more profitable.  Of course it would need to be someone you could trust to do the job properly without going behind your back to your customer.

DI not make sense as it is a large commercial job, building to approx. two weeks solid work per month.[/color][/b]

Subbing is still a consideration but it is more the reputation of my company I would worry about than work being stolen as we work via contracts and I would in turn set a contract in place between me and the subbie.

I did sub a small window and conservatory job out three years ago and we were called back to a couple of the windows. Let's just say that I was not happy and decided then that I'd not be doing that again.

Only subbed one windows job out since and this was a build clean on a complete new hospital wing where the customer requested we use their own window cleaner. A long story as to why but I agreed on the undersatnding that any issues were between the custy and the WC.

So, subbing more of a last resort at the minute.

Fair enough.  The size of the job wasn't clear before.
I do appreciate people's reasons for not wanting to use subbies except as last resort.

[Paul Coleman]

Spruce, many thanks for your informed reply. You have confirmed a few of my concerns and highlighted several more that I hadn't considered in respect of the trailer system.

We have a Citroen Dispatch that is under utilised at the minute but it has a payload of just 815 Kg so might be suitable for a 400 litre RO system (assuming two users up front). This is still our other option and may be viable although for two users this would be way under capacity.

Is it possible to fill the tank whilst at the same time drawing from it? I'm just wondering if maybe we could connect to a supply whilst working on site.

If there is a viable water supply on site, you could fill and draw at the same time.  However, it would need to be a very fast RO to keep up with you. A 40" RO might manage it though a twin 40" would be more likely to keep up.
If it's just for the odd job, have you considered resin only?
Also, if it really is a lot of hassle to set this all up, would subbing out really be so bad.  It would mean taking a reduced profit on the actual job but you would be free to manage other parts of your business while the subby did his stuff.  It may even be more profitable.  Of course it would need to be someone you could trust to do the job properly without going behind your back to your customer.

Hi Paul,

You are right with what you say, but if they start off in the morning with 400 litres full, they would really just need to top that up on site to give them a couple of hundred liters more for a full days work. If they went home virtually empty, they would certainly have enough time to completely fill a 400l tank with a 4040 overnight. They wouldn't need an RO that would keep up with them through the day.
Of course if they were on a water meter at home/depot, then maybe it would be better for them to go home with a full tank in the evening as well.  
Spruce

OK gotcha.  A 400 litre start would be a big help 

[AuRavelling79]

Some good stuff here guys.

An idea - put a 400L in the van (if it's got the 110HDi engine it will be fine) you have - perfect for weight and 2 men and gear. Have a "cheap" 400kg trailer with a 250L tank on board that you can use behind it and other vehicles when necessary.

[Spruce]

Some good stuff here guys.

An idea - put a 400L in the van (if it's got the 110HDi engine it will be fine) you have - perfect for weight and 2 men and gear. Have a "cheap" 400kg trailer with a 250L tank on board that you can use behind it and other vehicles when necessary.

Hi Gold,

That is also another option. Ian has a 1.9d (815kg Dispatch - 90% of the vans Citroen sold were 1.9d's. There were a few 815kg TD's in the very early days, but they then upgraded the 1.9TD to a 900kg van, staying with that with the introduction of the Hdi engine and through the 'facelift' in 2003/4) but that will be ok for towing as well, albeit a little slow.

If he goes down the route of using his customer's water supply to supplement his daily requirements, then the most important consideration is going to be where those taps are that he can use. If the water supply is at an inconvenient place, then he may have to consider a small trailer, or even bigger trolley systems, such as a 125l tank on a 4 wheeled gardiners type trolley that can be transported to site in the back of the van and manually pulled around where needed. We also don't know what his site is (guess it could be a hospital   ) and if so are there any external windows that can only be got at going through the main buildings?

There are so many variables that only he can answer - and many he will only find out about once he starts the contract.

[Clive McDonald]

I had a 400l trailer.It was a nightmare.

Spruce's post was a brilliant summary.Especially cul de sacs, and uncoupling on even the slightest slopes.

But......

You said it was a commercial job.

Point one, the trailer would be okay for this.
point two, the tank reel etc could be re used in a van later.


A tank cost about £200, a pump board £230, a hose and reel £200