[dazmond]

in a few months ill be getting a van and as i will be DI ONLY i was thinking of getting a cheap trolley system and a few 25 lt containers and maybe upgrading to a van mount at a later date.

if i run out of water i can always use the custys outside tap(with their permission of course!) and carry on working.

can you buy the resin canisters/trolley in one?ready to fill up straight from the tap into the containers via resin and hey presto!pure water?

sorry if i seem a bit thick but i have no experience of wfp only 16 years of trad!!

any help on this would be greatly appreciated and what trolleys are out there!

regards

dazmond

[dazmond]

or do you think id better going straight for a van mount system? : :

[matt]

i started out with a trolley

i then got a tank in the van to pump to the trolley and most said " get a reel and just use the van mount"

i did

i tried it

i still find the trolley easier and less stress

[paul rulton]

im with mat on that all day long m8 bring on the trolleys

[Ste M]

i had a backpack and used it first for a few months to make sure that wfp was right for me and the customers, since going full van mount wfp i would hate to go back to my backpack, i just walk around with my pole and pull the hose behind me, its so much easier not having to fill up or carry the backpack around thats its unbelievable, a lot of my work (over 80%) is compact so this also helps as i only have to park up once or twice and the fact i have a 100 metre hose means i can do most of my work really fast and efficient, i still use ladders for access though

ste

[dazmond]

hi ste i think ill save up a bit more and go straight for a 400lt van mount when i get my van!it does sound like a lot of lugging around heavy containers and wheeling trolleys!

maybe i should get a cheap backpack/DI/POLE for starters just to try it out on a few custys and then it ll prob come in handy for the odd job when i go fully van mount!!

decisions, decisions!!

[Ste M]

daz are you going the windex show? i bought my backpack and then a few weeks later i went to plackpool to the show there, you wil get to have a go and speak to other wc's face to face as well as suppliers. I think if i had gone to the show first then i would of gone straight for the van set up. i cant see me every having to use my backpack again to be honest mate as there is no job that i cant do with my van set up

[barry mallett]

wouldnt be seen dead pushing a trolley round custys gardens. youd look a right numpty and like an amateur . get a van mount loks pro and dead easy

[cleewindows]

totally disagree trolleys are great aslong as you buy a good one,also you can double up as van system when safe to do so,but i know a few people sued for having there pipe running accross paths and people have tripped up.
also you can lock your van up!!!!

wouldnt be seen dead pushing a trolley round custys gardens. youd look a right numpty and like an amateur . get a van mount loks pro and dead easy

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

totally disagree trolleys are great aslong as you buy a good one,also you can double up as van system when safe to do so,but i know a few people sued for having there pipe running accross paths and people have tripped up.Thats an interesting problem some will encounter. Do you have details of the circumstances as the only ones I am aware of are with clear hose when the HSE said they should have had the forsight to use yellow
also you can lock your van up!!!!

wouldnt be seen dead pushing a trolley round custys gardens. youd look a right numpty and like an amateur . get a van mount loks pro and dead easy

[cleewindows]

im unsure what hose they had but they were taken court also a couple were telling me thye get many complaints about the hose running accross paths and drives,i can understand why as i think it is very dangerous and shouldnt be done.
 Also you might be able to lock van but you have to cut holes in your doors which weakens vans and takes value off the van!

[gto]

how long do you get from a trolley, the ones i have looked at only have a 17ah battery, one says 6 hours.
i would hope for a bit more than that.

[gary999]

have used van mount and trolley both found irritating
hose draping evrywhere and getting caught up on everything
and trolley was even more irritating lifting in and out of van
hauling up steps etc.

its a personal choice ,for me backpack all the way i pick up and put
down as needed minimunm hose needed easy access to all properties.

[williamx]

I first started out using a trolley system which worked ok, the major problem though is if you only have 1 or 2 customers to do, the set up time can be irriatating, you then have the problem when you have more than 3 customers, because you have to kept on going back to your van to fill up.

A van set is a lot easier, both for the single customer and the whole close.

I have also used a backpack, but I found this was too much hassle with putting it on and taking it off, but last year I brought a backpack from window cleaning warehouse which you can carry instead of wearing on your back, this I found is an excellent piece of kit.

I personally would recommend a van mount system with a backpack for the houses where you have to go though the house to reach the back windows.


Trailing hoses can be a H&S problem but if you run the hose down the kerb side of the road and only go over the shortest point of pavement, you can then place warning signs of the danger of trailing hoses.

You also have to take into account that on a first wfp clean, you are going to use more water than you will when you have been cleaning these windows a few times, this will also be the case even if you have "trad" cleaned them in the past, because on the 1st clean you have to remove all of the dirt and grime that is in the airvents and framework.

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

got the same set up mate backpak on a homebase folding trolley great mate u can use as a bkpak or wheeeel it about

[dai]

A lot will depend on the nature of your round. I arrived on one estate this morning, and didn't move the van until I left at 4pm.
My trolley system carries 2 x 25 litre containers and has 30 meters of hose on it's reel, it's as good as any van mount, I couldn't do this job with a van mount unless I had 200 meters of hose on the van, they are terrace town houses backing onto a marina with no vehicle access.
That hose reel means I don't have to take my trolley round the back on most of my houses.

[ftp]

I've got a 650litre back pack. I don't move all day. 

[dai]

I've got a 650litre back pack. I don't move all day. 

I'm not surprised.

[matt]

A lot will depend on the nature of your round. I arrived on one estate this morning, and didn't move the van until I left at 4pm.
My trolley system carries 2 x 25 litre containers and has 30 meters of hose on it's reel, it's as good as any van mount, I couldn't do this job with a van mount unless I had 200 meters of hose on the van, they are terrace town houses backing onto a marina with no vehicle access.
That hose reel means I don't have to take my trolley round the back on most of my houses.

i park my van ( with my 400 L tank in it ) and it doesnt move all day, i return to my van and fill up with my 2 sub-pumps ( it takes about 3 mins )

i do use the van mount sometimes, if its a very big house or commercial that i know will take more than a few barrels of water, to be honest i hate how the hose gets caught on EVERYTHING, i know with my trolley i can park it uner the middle window of front and back and i can do all the windows, just a 15 M hose and thats it, no catching on things

i couldnt work with a van mount all the time, it would do my head in with the hose catching on everything AND going through cat poo, its not for me

[dazmond]

thanks for all the replies lads!my round is varied i have 2 estates where i clean roughly 160 3 bed semis some with conservatories.a block of granny flats,various 4/5 bed houses,bungalows,5 small commercial,a few very large stand alones,converted barns etc.323 custys at present.

i think ill get a backpack/DI/POLE first when i get my van then upgrade to a 400lt van mount.

im not going to windex this year but id be interested in going to one of these trade shows one day!gonna wait till ive got my van and a bit more dosh!gotta stop going on holiday!ive told the missus i need to invest in my business!!