I concur with Darran.
There is no dragging the machine in & out of a van for me. (At 300 kilos) it is a forklift truck job but everything else around the machine has been set up so I can literally open the doors pull a hose to water, connect, turn on, fill up with water (to 200 metres away).
No filling the machine up, every couple of hours with an integral 70 litre fuel tank.
High pressure hoses are reeled (to 100 metres) and then additional clip ons - just pull connect lance and ready to go.
All lances are quick connect onto high pressure hose, all have bayonet connections - so the lance can be changed over, leaving the trigger fitted and machine running. all lances are split flow (for rinsing), all nozzles are quick connect. All lances have been made to suit my height, (tall).
30 inch FSC.
There's a 100 metre chemical hose reel. 100 metres pure water hose reel.
All other associated bits & pieces.
I cannot see how I can make my set up any easier on me but I have just done 2 months all over the country, for Tescos, Sainsbury's and others, finished on Wednesday and just putting together the RAMS for a 15000 - 20000SQM clean on a commercial site & I am knackered, absolutely exhausted.
Got some major back issues that are going to stop the business in 2021 but knees and hands are full of arthritis, fingers lock and I prise them apart - whether it has been exasperated by my works over the last 19 years is anyones guess.
Shoulders are both shot , riddled with Arthritis, certainly dragging 100's of metres of hose around and left to righting a lance for hours on end every day have not helped.
I'm 54 in April, a very big guy, fit (well that could be debated) and I'll keep going until the operation/s but to a degree I'll be glad it's over, thinking I'll be doing this at 60 is frightening, or starting out at 60 is not where you want to be.
Speaking to another 'professional', when we were working together a couple of weeks ago he said he would not want to be doing it at my age - felt old!!
The work is hard, cleaning a particular surface but it's all the additional bits that no one sees.
Clients only see the 4 hours of storefront block paving, the additional 5 hours of cleaning slurry from every single parking space hasn't even entered their head.
A viable alternative to my current situation has been found, is being set up, stock and required bits & bobs being bought, a website will be created shortly.
Maybe I excess in the work done, maybe clients have come to expect full throttle, maybe the expectation from myself to complete and get onto the next project as quickly as possible should never have been the standard set (finished a difficult shift at Leighton - Tesco live storefront & went straight to a Tesco in Sunbury on Wednesday but all of that happened - one problem - we all get old!
I'd be putting that 3k into something that is a million miles away from pressure washing & picking up marketing techniques for the new enterprise.
Given all of that there is no less passion for my industry than there was 20 years ago & you cannot buy the feeling of someone coming to the job and saying 'WOW' because they could not believe the difference in what you've cleaned.
Whatever you do I wish you well.
