[Julian Williams]

Hi guys. Looking to purchase a wfp system for house to house use on housing estates where customers are reasonably close to each other.

I have no experience with wfp but It strikes me that the van mouthed system with hose and reel set up may slow you down as you have to reel in and out before moving onto the next house which takes time. Would I be better to invest in a static system at home with a tank and pump in the van feeding a trolley system container or would lots of 25 litre containers feeding a trolley system be a better bet. Thoughts on this would be appreciated. Cheers

[David Kent @ KentKleen]

You would be constantly filling your containers up all day long. Van mount with hose and reel is the way too go IMO

[Clever Forum Name]

I used a custom built trolley system with a built in hose reel.  Lightweight and very easy to use. I have a bilge pump fitted in my tank, so i can fill my 20L trolley in around 30 seconds. Used that setup for a good 3 years and it was fast.

Switch over to hose, and can honestly say i don't see the hype with hose jobs. If you have a few in a row then great. But most of the time a trolley would be quicker for me.

I am having to run off a hose, as I am converting to hot water. Hence the hose

[Julian Williams]

Cheers guys. I thought I would get conflicting opinions on this. I guess if done properly and professionally both systems would end up costing roughly the same, particularly if setting up large capacity tanks at home and in the van to help speed up the trolley system.

[Julian Williams]

Can anyone tell me how many litres of water you will use on an average house that needs all windows, upvc and conservatory doing. Would a 25 litre trolley do this in one go or would something like the 50 litre Pure Freedom trolley have enough to complete the job. Cheers

[8weekly]

No.

[Fin Clearview]

What's a van mouthed system?

[Pete Thompson]

There's a reason van mounts are so popular...

its becuase they are the best way of doing it.

Trolleys are ok, but sooner or later everyone goes onto van systems.  Ask anyone who started with a trolley, and they will all tell you they wished they just got a van system to start with and didn't fanny around with trolleys and cannisters etc.

From a non-window cleaners point of view I can understand the appeal of a trolley (ie no van needed, low outlay etc) but trust me van systems are better in every way.

[Julian Williams]

Cheers all for feedback. Very useful comments

[Clever Forum Name]

There's a reason van mounts are so popular...

its becuase they are the best way of doing it.

Trolleys are ok, but sooner or later everyone goes onto van systems.  Ask anyone who started with a trolley, and they will all tell you they wished they just got a van system to start with and didn't fanny around with trolleys and cannisters etc.

From a non-window cleaners point of view I can understand the appeal of a trolley (ie no van needed, low outlay etc) but trust me van systems are better in every way.

They are not better in ever way. I have a few houses on a
New estate being built. Parking is terrible and to get to the back of a
Terrace house it's around 85 meters of hose. Trolley system would win every time.

[DG Cleaning]

Sometimes I move the van 2 or 3 times a day.
100m of hose does a lot of houses

[Julian Williams]

My lack of experience with wfp systems is clearly showing as I would have thought that constant reeling in and out of a van system hose setup when operating in multi customer housing estates would be far more time consuming than a lighter dedicated trolley system with 50 litres capacity. But as most systems sold seem to be van based, it speaks volumes.

[AuRavelling79]

Since 2005 I have had:-

Trolley from estate car.
Trolley plus 175L tank, hose and reel from an estate car.
Van with 400L plus back pack
Van with 400L and 200L trailer (when I first went 2 man)
Bigger Van with 650 and separate reels.

As a single operator the van with 400L (2006 Doblo) was best by far.


The Parking issue.

Buy a small van (Doblo, Berlingo 800) with at least a 700kg payload (1 man). Put a 400L in it and:

Buy a back pack. Put it on a folding sack truck. Put them assembled (bunge or belt or gaffer tape will do (!) in your van. All in they will weigh about 25kg wth 18L of water in the back pack. Have a separate full 25L drum of pure.

The backpack and drum also help when you have had a heavy water day and you can run your tank dry and use the 25L to give you enough to finish the job and use the backpack to do another.

If you see yourself going 2 man domestic you will need at least a 650 and 1000kg payload. (Husband and wife part timers - unless she is a big ol' burd - might get away with a 500L and 900kg - old shape Pug HDi 2005 onwards/ transit connect)