[Shaun Gill]

I bought a 2 pole GrippaRack storage system in 2016 for my then new van and wanted to upgrade to a 4 pole version as that van is now fitted with a 3 man system.

Bearing in mind I already had a 2 pole version, I was sent an invoice for £146.23 for just the extra parts to upgrade it... I was about to go ahead with the order when I realised that Grippa we’re going to charge me £12.99 Plus VAT each for four rubber lined munsen rings... (£1.50 each from plumbers merchant).

These four items alone totalled £62.30 on the invoice!

Decided to try and do it myself and after a bit of browsing I found the RapidRail that Grippa use for the Grippa rack at JPLDirect and got the rubber lined munsen rings from a local plumbers merchant.

As I bought four 2 metre lengths of the Rapid Rail and the required fittings I was able to remove the original 2 pole version (which I’ll sell on gumtree)  and fit a brand new 4 pole storage system into my two vans for less than £50.

I know we are all in business to make a profit and I do think Grippa produce some quality items but £12.99 plus VAT for a £1.50 clip is going a bit too far in my opinion.

Rant over.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

You also don't need the plastic tubes to hold the pole.  Just the brackets will do fine.

[Spruce]

I bought a 2 pole GrippaRack storage system in 2016 for my then new van and wanted to upgrade to a 4 pole version as that van is now fitted with a 3 man system.

Bearing in mind I already had a 2 pole version, I was sent an invoice for £146.23 for just the extra parts to upgrade it... I was about to go ahead with the order when I realised that Grippa we’re going to charge me £12.99 Plus VAT each for four rubber lined munsen rings... (£1.50 each from plumbers merchant).

These four items alone totalled £62.30 on the invoice!

Decided to try and do it myself and after a bit of browsing I found the RapidRail that Grippa use for the Grippa rack at JPLDirect and got the rubber lined munsen rings from a local plumbers merchant.

As I bought four 2 metre lengths of the Rapid Rail and the required fittings I was able to remove the original 2 pole version (which I’ll sell on gumtree)  and fit a brand new 4 pole storage system into my two vans for less than £50.

I know we are all in business to make a profit and I do think Grippa produce some quality items but £12.99 plus VAT for a £1.50 clip is going a bit too far in my opinion.

Rant over.

Thank you for the post. This is one of my next projects - your post has been very helpful. 

What plastic pipes did you use please?



.

[dazmond]

i just use 2 black soil pipes from b and q....fixed to the inside roof of my van with heavy duty zip ties.works a treat(despite spruce saying they wouldnt last a few years ago! )

[Spruce]

i just use 2 black soil pipes from b and q....fixed to the inside roof of my van with heavy duty zip ties.works a treat(despite spruce saying they wouldnt last a few years ago! )

My faith in Industrial quality zip ties has gone up a little over time. 

I see even Grippa Tank of all people are using them to secure the water to water plate heat exchangers in your diesel heater. When I first saw that I was shocked tbh. I make no excuse for my 'old world' values where products were over engineered and designed to last. That will be a mind set that I will take to my grave. Its a mind set that was influenced from the era we grew up in. Its not in our genes as my son, who is about the same age as you Daz, is not a fixit person. He has embraced the current world throw away values so would be happy to use zip ties the same as you have done. 

I think that Grippa use the 68mm round gutter down pipes as tubes with the front 'slot' cut out to accommodate the clamps not fitting inside the tubes.

.

[Stoots]

Grippa must be laughing all the way to the bank with the amount of ridiculously overpriced crap they sell us mugs.

How much for some downpipe and clamps?

[Spruce]

Grippa must be laughing all the way to the bank with the amount of ridiculously overpriced crap they sell us mugs.

How much for some downpipe and clamps?

I thnk we have to be honest with ourselves and accept that us 'plebs' aren't their target market in the same way other suppliers such as Ionics don't see us as their target market either.

40 years ago my late brother said to me; " there are two types of money in this world, commercial money and residential money. There is a massive gap between them. Sometimes commercial money will try to solicit work for residential money to make more profit but if you are commericial money then you don't work for residential money. Don't fall into that trap."

Grippa are on a different level to us as they target big industrial companies that charge eye watering prices for work they do. They also will have strict policies to adhere to when it comes to the type of equipment they buy. Grippa and others cater to their requirements even offering leasing facilities for complete systems. That's not for us, its for the benefit of large business conglomerates.

Grippa carry a large inventory of stock which costs money to maintain. If they don't have it in stock, they have to guarantee that they can lay their hands on it virtually immediately from other sources.

25 years ago Black and Decker started to wind down power tool production at Spennymoor as the cost of manufacturing new product was too expensive in the UK at that time.
A 13mm 240v 2 speed hammer action drill including a Rhom chuck was costing them £6.97 to completely manufacture including the packaging. At that time those drills retailed for around £80.00.
They started a factory up in a country which was previouslybehind the then 'iron curtain'.

[Shaun Gill]

I bought a 2 pole GrippaRack storage system in 2016 for my then new van and wanted to upgrade to a 4 pole version as that van is now fitted with a 3 man system.

Bearing in mind I already had a 2 pole version, I was sent an invoice for £146.23 for just the extra parts to upgrade it... I was about to go ahead with the order when I realised that Grippa we’re going to charge me £12.99 Plus VAT each for four rubber lined munsen rings... (£1.50 each from plumbers merchant).

These four items alone totalled £62.30 on the invoice!

Decided to try and do it myself and after a bit of browsing I found the RapidRail that Grippa use for the Grippa rack at JPLDirect and got the rubber lined munsen rings from a local plumbers merchant.

As I bought four 2 metre lengths of the Rapid Rail and the required fittings I was able to remove the original 2 pole version (which I’ll sell on gumtree)  and fit a brand new 4 pole storage system into my two vans for less than £50.

I know we are all in business to make a profit and I do think Grippa produce some quality items but £12.99 plus VAT for a £1.50 clip is going a bit too far in my opinion.

Rant over.

Thank you for the post. This is one of my next projects - your post has been very helpful. 

What plastic pipes did you use please?



.

Hi Spruce,

68mm is fine. Although I am going to be replacing the ones currently in there with pipes long enough to fit the entire pole in and covered at the end as the base caps can be knocked off quite easily when pulling the poles out at the minute.

[dazmond]

Grippa must be laughing all the way to the bank with the amount of ridiculously overpriced crap they sell us mugs.

How much for some downpipe and clamps?

I thnk we have to be honest with ourselves and accept that us 'plebs' aren't their target market in the same way other suppliers such as Ionics don't see us as their target market either.

40 years ago my late brother said to me; " there are two types of money in this world, commercial money and residential money. There is a massive gap between them. Sometimes commercial money will try to solicit work for residential money to make more profit but if you are commericial money then you don't work for residential money. Don't fall into that trap."

Grippa are on a different level to us as they target big industrial companies that charge eye watering prices for work they do. They also will have strict policies to adhere to when it comes to the type of equipment they buy. Grippa and others cater to their requirements even offering leasing facilities for complete systems. That's not for us, its for the benefit of large business conglomerates.

Grippa carry a large inventory of stock which costs money to maintain. If they don't have it in stock, they have to guarantee that they can lay their hands on it virtually immediately from other sources.

25 years ago Black and Decker started to wind down power tool production at Spennymoor as the cost of manufacturing new product was too expensive in the UK at that time.
A 13mm 240v 2 speed hammer action drill including a Rhom chuck was costing them £6.97 to completely manufacture including the packaging. At that time those drills retailed for around £80.00.
They started a factory up in a country which was previouslybehind the then 'iron curtain'.

Grippatank is just a small family run business...the workshop is an old farm shed/building.....everyones gotta make money.....they are planning on moving to bigger premises if they get council approval though......what some simple window cleaners dont realise is the overheads they face,VAT,investment in new premises,stock,paying staff etc and all the other things it takes to run a successful business.....

Like I say everyones gotta make money.its also expensive to live down south!If the likes of grippatank didn't make it worthwhile  for themselves we d have no one to fit the diesel hot systems!

as for pole holders their easy to make yourselves......don't think I'd be able to fit a diesel hot system though....not a chance!

[Den68]

Looks a great job without a doubt, just used downpipes with original downpipe brackets even carries trad poles between the brackets.

[Spruce]

I bought a 2 pole GrippaRack storage system in 2016 for my then new van and wanted to upgrade to a 4 pole version as that van is now fitted with a 3 man system.

Bearing in mind I already had a 2 pole version, I was sent an invoice for £146.23 for just the extra parts to upgrade it... I was about to go ahead with the order when I realised that Grippa we’re going to charge me £12.99 Plus VAT each for four rubber lined munsen rings... (£1.50 each from plumbers merchant).

These four items alone totalled £62.30 on the invoice!

Decided to try and do it myself and after a bit of browsing I found the RapidRail that Grippa use for the Grippa rack at JPLDirect and got the rubber lined munsen rings from a local plumbers merchant.

As I bought four 2 metre lengths of the Rapid Rail and the required fittings I was able to remove the original 2 pole version (which I’ll sell on gumtree)  and fit a brand new 4 pole storage system into my two vans for less than £50.

I know we are all in business to make a profit and I do think Grippa produce some quality items but £12.99 plus VAT for a £1.50 clip is going a bit too far in my opinion.

Rant over.

Thank you for the post. This is one of my next projects - your post has been very helpful. 

What plastic pipes did you use please?



.

Hi Spruce,

68mm is fine. Although I am going to be replacing the ones currently in there with pipes long enough to fit the entire pole in and covered at the end as the base caps can be knocked off quite easily when pulling the poles out at the minute.

My observation. If you have a pole hose attached to the brush then having a 'gap' for the hose to dangle isn't a bad thing. One of the locals had the same idea and the pole hose gave issues at the sharp curve as the hose leaves the pole.
Admittedly it was Aquadapter pole hose which could be a little more susceptible to  the heat off the roof  moulding the hose into that shape and when the van cooled at night the hose retained that shape.

We still have a couple of Unger Teleplus poles we use for trad cleaning at height, so I would find a way of fitting end caps to the tubes.

Point taken about the base caps being knocked off the bottom of the pole. Maybe a little heat to mould a cone or tumpet shape at the end could solve that.

[Simon Trapani]

Shaun that looks great. I want to change mine from the soil pipe & plastic brackets to just the Munsen Rings and the Rapidrail.
I've had a look on JPL Direct  but which exact rails is it I need and how do they attach to the van? I see they also sell the rings under 'pipe supports' or maybe I should go to my local plumbers merchant like you. I think I would ideally like 4".

My current setup, pictured, does crease & kink the PU hose against the bulkhead which is what Spruce is describing I think. That's the reason I would like to change mine. Not sure if it would still hit the bulkhead when I brake though?

With regards pole end caps knocking off, I think the Gardiner's ones are a looser fit than they used to be. A wrap or two of tape first made them a more snug fit for me else the friction of the gritstop washer when new was pushing the end cap off on collapsing the pole.

[nathankaye]

I drilled some small holes through the bulkhead and secured a wooden beam across. At the door end of the van, I used some metal "L" brackets, only small ones and secured another piece of wood.  Another trip to B n Q and I purchased the "D" guttering pvc and simply secured/sat on the two beams of wood. If I need another pole holder, then it's easy to add another piece of guttering. Very simple and fit for the purpose.

[SB Cleaning]

i just use 2 black soil pipes from b and q....fixed to the inside roof of my van with heavy duty zip ties.works a treat(despite spruce saying they wouldnt last a few years ago! )

why you don't buy some brackets and tek screws and do the job properly is beyond me

[Simon Trapani]

Tek screws are just self tappers with a bolt head instead of a pozi, philips or slot.

[Go]

With a waterproof seal too.......



We just sling our poles in the back of the vans. No dramas.

[Simon Trapani]

I've done mine. Thanks for this thread Shaun.  I'm well pleased with it.