Ok Tosh lets take this one point at a time.
Punctures.. yes of course they can happen but I personally only know of 2 that have happened. The benefits of a pneumatic tyre far outweigh the remote possibility of a puncture. I have run 3 of the systems for over a year and have not had any punctures at all so far. We have tried non pneumatic wheels and found them to be very inferior. No cushioning effect when going up/down steps.. far less comfortable to use all day due to bumping up and down and ruts left in soft ground etc.
Weight: 19 Kilos dry. ( Within ROSPA guidelines for one man lift from below knee height) Now.. it isnt just about the dead weight but a major factor is geing able to lift it SAFELY.. the design allows this to be done very easilly. The compactness is a major factor here.. EG.. try lifting a bulky 10 kilo item not well designed for lifting.. its FAR harder than 20 kilos CORRECTLY designed for lifting.
We dont advise users of cars with only a boot to use it. Hatchbacks are no problem at all. I have for a considerable time specifically asked what vehicle a prospective customer uses. If it it only a boot I tell them its not ideal.
We are no longer doing an attachment to carry an extra container. It cuts down manoueverability far too much and adds another 25 kilos to move around houses. Rather like the backpack.. which has to be refilled from containers and holds less water this is all about manouveralability. You get around very easilly indeed. Also you do have a much larger capacity battery so you dont have to worry about running out of charge or as a lot do.. carry another battery to get through the day. On some work like yours where there is very bad access/fences to cross all the time a backpack probably is the tool for the job but really only in those circumstances. In our and others experience manouveralibility = PRODUCTIVITY which of course = increased earning potential.
Regarding the MK1. We have moved on considerably since then. Yes it was heavy but still in most cases excellent for the job. In fact we still use it very effectively and have done now for over a year.. We just cant get our hands on one of the new ones because of demand
Of course you can use a hosereel with it. In fact because we use the 100PSI pump you can use 100 metres of any hose with any length of pole available. Why attach it and carry it around though? You would only want to use a long length of hose in the unlikely event that you cant get near enough to the windows you want to clean. All we do is carry a hosereel around with us and pop it into the trolley outlet as and when required.
It is an advantage as well to be able to just leave it folded down and run out long lengths of hose where access is good and there are not many obstacles. If you do want to add a tank say for commercial work gained because you now use WFP all you need is the tank!!!
I know you are a big fan of the backpack Tosh and rightly so given your circumstances. However for the vast majority of window cleaners our system has many advantages hopefully which I have explained above.
At the end of the day its all about horses for courses. Thats why we now do van mount systems. Many of our customers do mainly commercial work where in most cases a van mount is better than a trolley. Having said that we have sold a great number of trollies to van mount users with access problems on some of their work and where they need to use say a 60 ft pole. Again because of the power of our trolley this is no problem at all.. unlike many others who use very small puimps and weak batteries/powerpacks.
We can never be all things to all men but we are constantly looking for ways to improve our products so that the customer benefits.
It's now a fact that over 80% of our orders come from recommendations from happy customers. I come from a commercial background and can tell you that this would be the envy of even the largest blue-chip company.
Andrew
